I love him. I never want to lose him.
Wren dropped her tote and closed the distance. She felt a magnet-like pull in her belly until she was safe in Elias’ arms. Wren buried her face in the crook of his neck and breathed in his good smell. Sandalwood with just a touch of bright, clean citrus. Warm and comforting. A rumble in his chest like a great cat’s purr told her he was happy holding her.
He feels like home. I’m home.
Elias shifted his head to nuzzle in her hair. “I’m so sorry I gave you a reason to think you somehow didn’t measure up. I never want you to feel like you’re anything less than amazing. If I ever do something that makes you doubt that, I want you to tell me and I’ll stop whatever it is. Then I’ll do everything to remind you how much you mean to me. If we just keep talking to each other, this won’t happen again.”
Elias shifted and tilted her chin up with his finger until she was looking into his eyes. “Is all forgiven, baby, or do you need me to do something else?”
Can this be real?Elias never yelled, never got defensive, never blamed her. Sudden tears sprang to her eyes.
Don’t let him see you cry. What a turn-off.
Wren desperately wanted him to laugh.
“Some clothesnapper I am.” She laughed quietly. “We haven’t even gotten to the negotiations and you already have me in tears.”
Elias didn’t laugh. If anything, he looked even more serious as he gazed into her eyes.
“Sorry. I’m a mess,” she went on. “Didn’t mean to spoil the mood.”
“You aren’t spoiling a thing, baby.” He gently brushed away the first tear that fell.
“It’s stupid.” Wren wiped her eyes. “I just don’t like arguments. I’m usually okay, but sometimes it sets me off, like now.”
“Hey, no need to explain.” Elias stroked Wren’s hair. His fingers felt so good running through the strands. When he got to the ends, he rubbed them between his fingers, sending tingles back up to her scalp. She snuggled in closer to his body, laying her head on his shoulder, loving the warmth from his strong arms encircling her. He held her until her heartbeat steadied.
Now maybe he’ll laugh. Say something funny.
“When I was a kid, my parents yelled a lot right before they split up,” she heard herself say instead. She never told anyone, especially a man she was involved with, about her family. But the words flowed.
“It was when the economy went to hell and tech companies were laying people off right and left in Seattle. Both my parents worked in tech and my dad got laid off first, and my mom lost her job six months later in the next wave of downsizing. Neither one of them could find work, and they didn’t have much in the way of savings so they started skipping mortgage payments. Of course I didn’t know what was going on, I just knew that all of a sudden, my parents seemed to hate each other. They’d go silent for days, then out of nowhere, one or the other would burst out screaming and yelling about whatever. So I’d go running to my room and put a pillow over my head.”
Elias stroked Wren’s hair. Amazing how much it calmed her—that simple touch that he did without even thinking. She lifted her head so she could read his eyes.
“I didn’t get what they meant when I’d eavesdrop and overhear them talking about losing the house. How can you lose a house? Was the earth going to open up and swallow it? Wasit going to slide down the hill and into Puget Sound? I decided that was it, that was why they were yelling. They were afraid the house was going to slide down the hill.”
Elias gave her a warm grin. “Little kid logic.”
“Right?” She chuckled. “So, using my little kid logic, I went into the side yard, the one on the opposite side from the Sound, and took some clothesline and tied one end around the faucet sticking out of the wall. Then I looped the other around one of the pickets in the fence. I pulled the rope as tightly as I could, then tied the other end to the faucet. I ran in and made my parents come out to see my brilliant solution. I told them that we didn’t have to worry about the house sliding down the hill anymore.”
Wren grinned as Elias chuckled. “Cute.”
“They both laughed, too,” she said.
Elias’ smile changed from amused to considering. “I bet you kept making them laugh after that.”
Wren’s eyes widened and her heart bumped at his observation. “You know what? I did exactly that.” She thought for a moment. “Yeah. From that point on, I did everything I could to keep their laughter going. Silly, stupid kid stuff. I borrowed every joke book I could find from the library and memorized them. I got really good at predicting when the next outburst was going to happen, so I’d try and distract them by telling a joke, or just acting goofy. Anything to get them to laugh.”
“Did it work?”
“Kinda, yeah. It did.” Wren nodded. “Not every time, but enough that it became my default way of communicating. I got to a point where everything that came out of my mouth was meant to make someone laugh. It got me peace and quiet at home, and earned me friends at school.” Wren grinned. “The teachersdidn’t always appreciate my commentary but some did. Some would crack up right along with the rest of the class.”
“Wren Stapleton, class clown.”
“Guilty as charged.” She took a deep breath and let it out in a long sigh. “Eventually, though, nothing made my parents laugh. We were probably three or four months behind on the mortgage. That’s when they split up and put the house on the market. I stayed with my mom as we went from one motel room to the next. One week, we were short on money, so we lived in the car.”
Elias’ looked heartbroken. “That must have been scary.”
