Wren’s instinct was to shield Evan from Stephanie’s onslaught of questions. But he surprised her when he smiled at Stephanie.
“I moved, yes, but not because I wanted to. It’s a long story, and you’ll be reading about it soon enough in theMile High Marker. I heard you were looking for me, so I decided to come find you instead.”
“You bet I was, Evan.” She pointed at Elias. “So was he, and I guess he found you.”
“No, it was all Wren,” Elias said. “A stroke of luck.”
Evan laid his hand on Wren’s arm. “I’m here now, thanks to this kind lady who talked a bit of sense into me. She was going to tell you I was coming in, but I wanted to surprise you myself.”
Stephane beamed as she looked back and forth between Wren and Evan. “Let’s head into the conference room where we can sit. I’m calling Sue and Fran and telling them to get their buns over here, ASAP. Oh, andGabe!” She shouted Gabe’s name down the hall. “Come here, right now! I’ve got a surprise for you.”
“Oh dear,” Evan said. “I didn’t think to make a batch of fudge.”
Stephanie laughed and pulled him into a hug. “I don’t think they’ll mind just this once.”
Wren spentthe rest of the weekend with Elias. She only stopped by the townhouse Saturday night to check on it andpack a weekend bag. She couldn’t keep stealing Elias’ clothing indefinitely. What would he wear?
Not that she would mind watching him walking around naked all day.
She considerednotpacking a weekend bag.
They spent their days talking, with Elias pelting her with questions about herself. What was her favorite color? Red. What was her favorite food? Taco Tuesday, duh. When would she like to move in with him?
She surprised both of them with her answer. “As soon as my lease is up.”
It felt right. Like finally finding her forever home.
Tuesday, Elias went to work. Wren got up early when he did and insisted on frying up some eggs and making toast before he left, since he’d cooked every meal up until then. Wren had always heard that firefighters were good cooks, but Elias had them beat. He’d told her during their first dinner together Saturday night that he’d learned how to cook at the fire station where his ambo was based.
“Well, the student has surpassed his masters,” Wren had said as she patted her tummy. “Good thing I belong to the rec center.”
Now this morning, she set plates of eggs and toast on the table, both dogs at her feet. Elias was getting dressed in his bedroom.
Make thatourbedroom soon. Wow. Her tummy warmed inside.
“Listen, guys. I’m moving in,” she told Penny and Chuck. “I hope that meets with your approval.”
Chuck sat down and thumped his tail against the floor. Penny stood on her hind legs and twirled in a circle.
“You’re just doing that because you’re hoping I’ll give you that extra plate of scrambled eggs I happened to make, aren’t you?”
Penny yipped. Chuck thumped his tail faster.
“I thought so.”
“Are you kidding? Penny understood every word,” Elias said as he came into the room. “She’s as thrilled as I am and so is the Chuckster.” He took Wren into his arms and kissed her. Like every other kiss, it lit up all the cells in her body at once. Her cootchie tingled, even though it was pleasantly sore. Elias had pelted her with questions by day, but he’d pelted her with multiple orgasms by night.
“Is thismyscrubs top?” She plucked at the back of his collar.
“Hell no. That one smells like you and I want to keep it that way. Same with the tee.” His smile turned devilish. “And the jeans, little Miss Goin’ Commando.”
Wren laughed and kissed him again. “So naughty.”
“Yes, you are.” Elias winked as he let her go and they sat down to breakfast. “What are your plans for the day?”
“Well, I’ve got another real estate shoot with Chase over in Boulder, then I’m calling Kit to tell her the good news about Evan. I think it will lend the article a bit of hope, and God knows we all need that.”
Evan was going to be alright. Sue took the guest cottage—a converted carriage house behind hers—off the B&B site she used to rent it to tourists and insisted Evan move in immediately. He put up a token protest, but in the end, Elias and Gabe helped him pack up the rest of his things, loaded them into Elias’ other, modern truck, and moved him in by the end of the day.
