Page 8 of The Holiday Clause

“I thought they broke up.”

“Even I know Jace and Ashley break up every week—and I don’t even go to the high school.” Logan considered all the girls they knew. “If you ask me, Wren’s the prettiest girl in Hideaway.”

The room fell silent, and his brothers fixed him with cold stares. “We don’t go there,” Greyson warned, blue eyes stern.

“Why not? Wren’s just like any other girl in town, only cooler.”

“Because she’s not like other girls. She’s like a sister to us.” Tension coiled in Greyson’s shoulders as he slid his laptop into its sleeve case.

“But she’s not our sister. There’s no real blood between us.”

Soren lifted a dark brow. “He’s got a point.”

“No, he doesn’t. Now, drop it.”

“She’s not the same Wren we used to chase barefoot at the docks. Have you seen her lately?”

“Yes, dumbass. At the funeral.”

“Oh. Right.” Soren glanced away in shame but quickly recovered. “That black dress looked hot—ouch!”

Greyson scowled, his hand still in a fist. “What did I say? We don’t look at Wren that way.”

“Dick.” Soren rubbed his sore arm. “Who made you her keeper?”

“She’s got enough on her plate right now. The last thing she needs is you sniffing around like some junkyard dog.”

Soren’s stare hardened. “Did you ever consider that Wren and I might have something special that you don’t understand?”

“No, because you don’t.”

“You don’t know that. She’s closer to my grade than yours. I know her better.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Oh, please. You barely said two words to her at the funeral.”

“So? Maybe there was nothing worth saying. She barely spoke to anyone.”

“That’s not true,” Logan corrected. “I talked to her.”

Logan had been hiding in the sitting room when Wren found him. He’d been crying and embarrassed. It was a well-known saying that Hawthorne men don’t cry, but he couldn’t seem to stop his tears that day.

When she found him, she took his hand and talked about how they used to catch frogs by the creek when they were young. It was so random, but somehow, it was precisely what he needed in that moment to distract himself from the pain. Wren always had a gift for putting others at ease.

“What did she say?”

Logan’s mouth opened, his words catching in his throat. Something inside of him warned not to share that private moment. “None of your business.”

“Tell me.”

Soren frowned at Greyson. “Since when are you so protective of Wren Wilde?”

“Since her mom died. Don’t you get it? Mom would have wanted us to look out for her, not ogle her. Without Haven around, she’s got no one to protect her.”

“Uh, she still has her dad, dumbass.”

Greyson rolled his eyes. “Bodhi Wilde’s never been reliable. He disappears for days and leaves her all alone.”