Page 19 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

HENRY

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Atticus Thompson: Need a lawn mower.

Comments:

Kerry Winsor: I thought Simone mowed your lawn?

Atticus Thompson: She made a phallic crop circle so now she’s banned.

Marjorie Brown: You got pics? For science?

Jade Clark: You want pictures of the crop circle penis? YOU?

Marjorie Brown: This is bi-erasure!!!

Jade Clark: You’ve got a good point. Sorry, Marj.

Marjorie Brown: Jk I hate penises.

Kerry Winsor: Do I need to post the admin rules again?

Mid-afternoon came and went. Normally, I still had energy at this time of the day, but my feet were dragging.

I’d left early to grab the flowers for Wren and get ready for filming before the clinic opened.

Doing that single interview took more prep than I expected, which meant using up more of my energy.

I was more than happy to help Wren. She looked vibrant today, like she was enjoying life, and I didn’t regret saying yes.

I would just need to stick to the rules, go home alone, relax at every moment, and be the perfect man when I left the house.

No big deal.

I debated closing the office for a while so I could eat lunch in peace, but before I could get up and turn the sign, Jade walked in.

I instantly scanned her for injury. Other than her hair now being purple, nothing was new.

“Hey,” I said. “Is everything okay?”

“Your girlfriend is a fucking lifesaver!” She bounced on the balls of her feet. “The show put up all of our shops online and posted about it. Do you know how many online orders I’ve gotten?”

“A lot?”

“Two, but that’s way more than ever! Imagine what it’ll be like once the show starts airing. I might even sell out!”

There was another reason I had to make this work.

The town. Putting up information about the town was one of my ideas, but Wren had ensured it was included in the contract and that they followed through.

While no one was hurting for money because of the STM grant, I knew we all wanted to stand on our own two feet in case the money ran out.

“I’m so happy for you,” I said. “Did you come in here just to tell me that?”

“Mostly. I was honestly hoping you’d pass on the message to Wren. She’s been busy all day. I don’t know how she does it.”

“To the detriment of her health,” I said. “I’ll definitely pass on the message.”

“And can you put in a good word for me? I have a feeling I said something wrong when we first met, but I wanna get to know her. She’s so cool.”

It was one of my worst nightmares to be in the middle of a social situation, but I nodded anyway. Jade was a good friend of mine, and I wanted her to get to know Wren if she could.

“I’ll do my best.”

“Hey, maybe she’ll drag you to the bar. It’s the one place I’ve never seen you at.”

And there was a reason for that. By the time the clinic was closed for the day, I was more than ready to get home and be alone. The last thing I wanted to do was go be around more people.

“Y-yeah, maybe.”

Jade’s eyebrows pinched. “Are you okay? You seem ... off.”

I was off.

“I’m good. No need to worry about me.”

“Right, but I also know you. Usually, you’re so happy. If you’re feeling weird about all of the change, you can tell me. I’ll make sure it doesn’t get to the Facebook group.”

For a second, I was tempted to. But a younger version of me had tried that. Not only with Mom, but with Ace and Norah.

I was able to seem normal most of the time, and everyone had certain expectations of me. But under the surface, there were needs I had that no one understood. To some, sights and sounds never bothered them. They were fine with anything that happened around them.

But to me, it was like a cheese grater on my brain.

I loved this town and the people in it. I loved it so much that I made sure they only saw the best in me. The Henry that they could deal with. I didn’t think I could take it if they saw the real me and gave me the same confused look everyone else had.

“No, I’m really fine. Just a little hungry.”

“Oh, say no more.” She laughed. “I get it now. You’re way nicer than when Tammy’s hungry. Or, God forbid, Hugh.”

“I try,” I replied. “You just happened to catch me right when I was gonna eat lunch.”

“I’ll leave you to it. Thank you for listening to me rave about Wren.” She waved and left. I walked up to the door and watched her walk away before my eyes went to the library where Wren was.

I would need energy to make it through the tour, so I locked the front door and turned the sign to closed. When I did, I walked back to the office, where I was completely and blissfully alone. As I loosened my tie for just a moment, I was able to breathe deeply and feel like myself.

As time went on, I would have to rely on stolen moments like this. It would have to be enough, because I refused to let everyone know everything about me, only for them to be disappointed in what they saw.

And if that happened with Wren?

I wasn’t sure I would ever recover.

If I’d had time to get another flower for Wren, I would have. But Madison expected me at the library at five on the dot, so I had to make my way over without a gift in hand.

Wren had shed a layer. She was only in a tank top and shorts now, and her long hair was tied up in a bun.

She looked incredible after a long day of work.

Dimly, I wondered if she needed another massage, then I shoved it out of my mind.

That was an excuse to touch her again and I didn’t need to be thinking that way.

When I saw her, I did the same thing I had this morning. Pulled her in for a kiss, ignored the way my body insisted I let it go on for far too long, and then moved away.

“Wait!” Madison called. “We don’t have your mic on.”

I resisted the urge to tense. The mic had been a nuisance when I wore it.

“Madison, chill.” Wren said, glaring over my shoulder. “You don’t need to hear what’s going on here!”

“I absolutely do!” Madison said. “Henry, come over here. We’ll redo the kiss when I’m done. Wren, freshen up. We want you to look good on camera.”

“Is it a bad thing for me to look like I’m working?” she muttered.

My eyes followed her as she walked away, tracing the freckles on her shoulder. She didn’t need to do a damn thing.

After my mic was on, Wren walked out of a makeshift trailer. Her hair was brushed and fell over her shoulders, and her skin was patted dry of any sweat.

She was still in the tank top. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

“All right, redo time!” Madison called.

Wren rolled her shoulders and her eyes met mine.

Then she ran at me.

I had to brace myself when she ran into my arms. This time, instead of being shocked by my kiss like she had been this morning, she was ready. Her lips pressed against mine, but instead of keeping it chaste, she immediately moved to capture my bottom lip between hers.

The very few things I saw on fake dating told me to keep it as respectable as possible, but there was no way to once she was all over me like this.

I put my hand on her cheek and returned the favor, but this time, my teeth caught her lip.

My other hand gripped her hip and I pressed her closer to me.

“Really?” Madison yelled. “That’s so overboard!”

Wren pulled away. “You’re the one who said you wanted every bit of this!”

Madison rolled her eyes, muttering about them hopefully being able to use something. I came back into myself. Was that kiss just to make Madison regret redoing it?

I must have gotten caught up again.

No matter what everyone said about us, Wren wasn’t into me. She was sweet, she was kind, but she was still out of my league. She trusted me to do this, and I needed to stick to my rules rather than get caught up in my own head.

“Is it time for the tour?” I asked. “I want to see what Wren worked on today.”

My hand trailed down her arm to grab hers. I was the perfect boyfriend. That’s all I needed to be until this was over.

“Yes!” Wren said. “Wait until you see the wall where the shelves were. I found the coolest old wallpaper.”

She dragged me inside, with Madison following us to tell us to slow down for the cameras.

Wren did no such thing, and I only had seconds to take in the state of the first floor. Some of the older furniture was cleared out. The faded tiles were still there, but they would be replaced soon.

We went through the kids’ section and then up the stairs. The second floor was completely different. More open and inviting. I didn’t know someone could work so fast.

“Look at this,” Wren said, showing me where the tan plaster had fallen. Under it was green and white striped wallpaper.

“Whoa,” I said. “That has to be from the seventies.”

“Groovy, right?” Jude said. I’d forgotten he was following us to stay included. It was hard to remember he existed when he only talked to the camera and never to us.

“I bet Marj and Henrietta remember this,” I said, pulling out my phone. “They ran the library from the day it opened. Then fell in love during the process.”

“You should put it in the group,” Wren said. “I bet all of the locals would love it.”

I nodded and took a picture. Once that was done, Wren told me her plans. She was all excitement. Her limbs moved as she talked and her smile only grew. I couldn’t wait to see what it looked like when it was done.

But mostly, I loved seeing her this happy as she talked about it.

“All right, I think we’ve got what we need.” Madison cut the cameras. “And now we can talk about the future.”

Wren’s hand tightened in mine, but she turned to Madison with a nod. “Okay, what’s next?”

“First, we need to decide what businesses we will showcase in what order. We can do some B-roll in the diner, then have you two shopping for candles at the candle shop. Then a night at the bar.”

“A night at the bar?” I asked. “I’m not sure if that’s my thing.”

“So you wanna skip that one?” Madison asked. “I’m only doing it if you’re there.”

No, I didn’t. I knew Mark would want the publicity.

I would just have to deal with all of the sounds.

“No, never mind, I can do it.”

Wren’s eyes moved to me, and I hoped she didn’t pick up on my misstep.

“Okay, so most of the things I wanna showcase we have plans for. I did notice a clothing shop. Maybe it’s time for a makeover, Wren.”

“I’m not changing my whole look,” Wren said. “I deal with the makeup, but my main goal is to work .”

“You’d be prettier in a dress,” Jude said. “A lot of people agree with me.”

“We won’t be doing that.” I said it flatly. A miracle considering the curling anger in my gut.

“I’m not demoing a library in a dress. You probably could, though.” Wren looked at Jude as she crossed her arms. “Since most of your stuff is for the camera anyway.”

I had to cover a laugh with my hand.

Jude rolled his eyes. “I meant for the other things we do around town.”

Madison nodded. “Exactly, we could?—”

“We won’t be doing that.” Now my voice was louder. More firm. “Wren is exactly how she should be.”

A silence stretched across us, and I wondered if I’d overstepped. But then Wren reached for my hand and squeezed.

“Thank you,” she said. “And obviously, I agree with my boyfriend.”

“Your boyfriend isn’t the director.”

“But I have a vested interest in making sure my girlfriend is treated right. The answer is no.”

Madison glared, but I held firm.

“Fine. We can skip the shop.”

“I shop there,” I said. “There’s no need to punish the woman who owns it because Wren doesn’t want a new look.”

“Do you two have any more demands?” Madison asked. “Because the list keeps growing.”

“I’m sorry boundaries are hard for you,” I replied. “Hopefully, over time, you figure out that they’re helpful for making a peaceful work environment.”

Usually, I would wonder if my attitude was too rude. But when Wren pressed her lips together to smother a smile, I didn’t regret a thing.

“I’m done here,” Madison muttered. “Jude, you’re free to go.”

“Finally,” he said. “Hopefully, the bar has some hotties tonight.”

Wren rolled her eyes, but her hand stayed in mine until we were blissfully alone.

I stepped away the second I could, even though every cell in my body screamed for me not to. Now that they were gone, we were friends. Only friends.

“It’s working. And I still owe you. Want some food? I could take you out to eat. Hell, if you’re tired of diner food, we could go to the next town over. Or even the bar?—”

My control was slipping with every given second. I was exhausted . And this was only day one.

“No, not tonight. I need to get home.”

“O-okay. Of course. See you tomorrow.”

The way her smile faded was almost enough to get me to stay, but I needed to go. I couldn’t be the Henry she wanted me to be if I did. So I waved at her and walked out of the library, ignoring every part of my body that wanted me to take her up on her offer of more time together.