Page 44 of As They Are (Strawberry Springs #2)

WREN

RWL Superfan Discussion Central

Alicia Parrish : Henry in just a T-shirt? He looked so HOT.

Comments:

Neve Bullock : Still waiting for more Jude content. They’re dragging this one out WAY too long.

Kaitlyn O’Brien : Why is this group so anti-Henry? He’s way better than Jude.

Kerry Winsor : THANK YOU!

One string of the fairy lights on the square had stopped working.

It had been bothering me since the sun went down. I was supposed to be sealing the windows, yet all I could see was a dark spot over one of the buildings. The Strawberry Springs town square was incredible each night.

And I wanted it to stay that way.

The fondness for the town had crept up on me. Now that I’d realized how much I liked it here, it was all I could think about.

I tried to finish the work, but I couldn’t focus on it. Eventually, I abandoned my station and trotted across the street. These types of buildings always had some sort of roof access, and I snuck around the back to find it.

There was a metal staircase. I would find out how the lights were installed and figure out what I could do. I got to the rooftop and saw a figure already there.

They turned the second I came up, and for a brief moment, I wondered if I was finally about to witness a crime in this tiny town.

Instead, it was the last person I expected to see.

“Henry?”

“Wren?” His eyes were wide, just like mine. “What are you doing up here?”

“The lights aren’t working.”

“Ah, well. You don’t have to worry about that.” He put a plug in. “I already have it.”

“You’re a doctor and you do light maintenance?” I crossed my arms. “You have a lot of secrets.”

“It’s not a secret. It’s just something I don’t advertise.” He rubbed the back of his head. “When I moved here, these were all broken, and I asked if there was any funding to fix it. The STM grant sent it to me and I’ve ... been taking care of the square ever since.”

“By yourself?”

“Normally, people aren’t out at night. When I finish up with my hobbies, I do this and the flower pots.”

“The ones always in bloom?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re taking care of the whole square and no one knows?”

“No one knows because no one’s ever asked. Besides, I like to take care of things,” he said. “And people.”

I could see it. He was always in tune with how I was doing. Just like Mollie and Tammy.

“That’s ... so sweet,” I said around the wad of cotton in my throat. So this was what he was like when no one was around.

I was glad I caught him, but sad that I didn’t get to see it as ...

As his girlfriend.

Fuck. It was getting harder and harder to ignore. I thought I’d done well by not telling him about Mom, but the feelings were already there. I wanted this. All of it.

“Wren, I?—”

“I think I need to get back,” I said, turning away. “I probably shouldn’t have delayed what I was working on to come over here anyway.”

“Hang on.” His hand wrapped around mine. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Is it important?” Because I have to go hide for a bit.

“Yes, it is. It’s about us.”

Ice made its way into my chest. Was he done with this? Had he grown bored or met someone else?

That would be my luck. I found a friend in Tammy and then would lose Henry.

“Y-yeah?” I asked. I kept my eyes on the stairs, unable to turn back.

I was terrified someone else was going to leave.

“Wren, turn around.” This wasn’t like his usual orders. It was soft and gentle.

Would his rejection be like that too?

I slowly faced him, heart in my throat.

He let out a breath. “You know, I spent hours trying to figure out what to say and ... I have no idea where to start.”

“Start anywhere.” I can take it.

I was lying.

“I broke a rule.” He gulped. “Most of them, actually. I don’t think I can just fake date you anymore.”

The words washed over me. He was done. It was over. I’d?—

“Did you say just ?”

“Yeah, I did. I have feelings for you.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “A lot , actually. And I want this to be real.”

I could only blink at him. He what ? This wasn’t the end? He wanted more, with me ?

A voice distinctly like Tammy’s sounded off in my head. “Duh.”

“You can say no,” he added. “And I won’t back out of anything. I realize we never talked about what could happen if things changed, but I’d be willing to work it out with you.”

He liked me .

He wanted more with ... me .

Once, when I thought I could be something with Jude, I had an image of what it would be like for the guy I liked to return my feelings, but after his rejection, I’d silently accepted that people never liked me back.

And now I had no fucking clue what to say to Henry.

But I could show him. I could tell him with actions.

I grabbed him by the tie—one of my favorite things to do—and brought his lips to mine. I had no idea how to say yes because no one had ever offered me more before.

Henry hesitated for only a second before his hand cupped the back of my neck and brought me closer, pressing my body tightly against his.

“Is that a yes?” he asked. “Or did I misread the situation?”

“It’s pretty hard to misread this.”

“I do have a talent,” he said.

“Then I’ll say it. Yes, I’d love to be more with you.”

“Thank God.” Henry let out a breath of relief. “I was preparing myself for you to turn me down.”

“I was preparing for you to say it was over.”

He gave a disbelieving laugh. “Why would I ever do that?”

I shrugged. “It happens.”

“No, Wren. It’s not gonna happen with me. I’ve been yours since I saw you on the side of the road.”

Seriously? Had it been that long?

I didn’t get a chance to ask. Henry’s lips found mine again and I lost myself in his embrace. Had anything ever been like this? Would anything top it?

A moment later, he pulled away. “Come back to my house.”

My eyebrow raised. “I thought that?—”

“I’m inviting you over. Screw all that I said before.”

A thrill of excitement made its way through my stomach. All I could do was nod eagerly before he grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of his home.

Henry grabbed his keys as my gaze trailed over the front door of his house. I’d done all of this before, but now I had the excitement of going inside.

“So, what should I expect?” I asked. “Hoarding? No decorations?” I shuddered. “Bikini model posters on the walls?”

Henry paused and turned to me. “You really think that’s what’ll be in here?”

“You were pretty secretive,” I said. “Sure, you said you didn’t want this to be too real, but you could have some massive skeletons in your closets. Or on your bed.”

He turned the key with a laugh. “No skeletons. I was telling the truth. If I invited you into everything, then I’d never let you leave.”

“Are you never letting me leave now?”

“We’ll see,” he replied as he opened the door.

The space was clean. This was an older home, a craftsman that was built when the rest of them went up.

Each room was separated a lot like the ones in Mollie’s, but here, all of the walls were a simple yellow, though it wasn’t a bachelor pad by far.

Decor was on nearly every wall. It was mostly paintings of mountains or florals.

Henry had an office with a massive bookshelf on one side and a small table on the other. Pictures of his mom and places he must have visited were on the walls, as well as floral artwork.

“Who’s your decorator?” I asked.

“This is all me. I wanted it to feel like a home.” He took off his sweater and folded it over his arm. “I reset here, so it needed to feel like mine.”

“It’s nice ,” I said, eyes trailing over it.

“Are you saying that as my girlfriend or as a contractor?”

“Your girlfriend, huh?” I liked the sound of that.

“That’s what you are now. And I am curious. You’ve seen hundreds of houses, and other than basic maintenance, I have no idea what’s going on.”

“It is in good shape for its age. If it were mine, I’d change the color on a few walls. The floors could use a recoat. Usually, I wouldn’t go for honey oak stain, but it’s growing on me. A lot of things are.” I walked through the short hallway to a modest kitchen. “No dishwasher?”

“I prefer doing it myself. It’s calming.”

I hummed as I looked at the old wooden cabinets. “Original cabinets too. They’re in good shape.”

“You’d change them, wouldn’t you?”

The old me would have said that I needed to completely change it. But now, I wanted to change only what was needed. “I’d change the layout, mostly because washing dishes sucks. No matter what you say.”

He laughed. “You’ve just never listened to a podcast about bone density while doing it.”

“You’re right. I haven’t, and I won’t be. I’ll leave that to you.”

I went through the kitchen, stopping when I saw something on the fridge. It was a list in Henry’s handwriting, attached with a magnet.

“What’s this?”

“That’s nothing you should worry about.” He tried to grab it, but I moved it behind me.

“Now I’m really curious.” I pulled it out to read it. “Is this a list of dos and don’ts?”

He huffed out a laugh. “I made it the night you asked me to fake date you.”

I read off the things he’d allowed himself. “Only touch her when you’re on camera. You struggled with that one.”

“Yeah. I figured that out quickly.”

“Hold hands, give her gifts. Kissing but not real kissing.” I laughed. “This was exactly what I told you to do.”

“I like to remind myself,” he replied.

And then I went down to the off-limits section. “Catching feelings. We both failed that one.”

“Immediately.”

“Touching her when I want to. You could have failed this one sooner.”

He crossed his arms. “I had to at least try .”

“Letting her stay over.” My voice went quieter. “And here I was thinking you had secrets. Or just didn’t want me around.”

His hand tilted my chin up to make me look at him. “That was never the issue.”

“You had me fooled.” My eyes went back down to the paper as I read the last one. “Letting her see the real me. Is this the real you?”

“Partly. The frustration at noise and bossiness in the bedroom is a part of it. I thought they were bad things.”