8. Wren

8

WREN

S tepping inside their house, I wasn't sure what to expect, but this wasn't it.

"Wow."

My mouth fell to the floor as I did a complete one-eighty. I should have known that everything down to the wall furnishings would be immaculate. Kate had expensive taste and by the looks of this home, they went all out. Dark brown walls gave it a sophisticated, unique look while the high ceilings made it seem like they lived in a mansion.

"This is…" I couldn't find a fitting word for how their home looked.

Amazing, beautiful, stunning, it was every word combined.

"Thanks," James said from behind me. "I guess you can call me a jack-of-all-trades. A kick-ass hockey player, dancer, and an interior designer."

Kate immediately scoffed and the sound of a light smack against his abdomen filled the air.

"Stop trying to rile me up, James. You know damn well you didn't design shit in this house." She grunted.

"Hey! What about the backsplash in the kitchen?"

Kate gave him a look before stepping around him and grabbing my hand.

"Come on, let me give you a quick tour of the house then we can get you settled into your room." She dragged me along with her down a never-ending hallway until we stepped into the kitchen where my mouth dropped even farther.

Holy shit.

This kitchen was the size of my whole house. Probably cost more than it too.

"This is where I do all my cooking." She released her grip on my hand and circled around the center island. "Well, where I try to do it anyway."

Smiling, I was then reminded why we will always be best friends.

"Don't listen to her, Wren. She's a great cook." James entered from behind us and gave her a cheeky grin.

Kate's cheeks instantly went red.

"Don't try to butter me up, Hendricks. You know those meatballs last night were complete shit."

His laughter, along with mine, echoed throughout the kitchen and a quick kiss to her cheek soothed the flushness from her face.

"They were not shit, they just had a certain flavor I wasn't expecting." He then gently tucked some brown curls behind her ear. "I love your cooking and willingness to try new things."

God.

He really was sweet as fuck toward her.

"And I love your willingness to eat my crap food."

Their eyes were locked together, exchanging what I could only assume to be sentiments of love and adoration for one another. It was plain to see just how gone they were and for a moment, I think they may have forgotten I was there.

Standing awkwardly in the background with my hands in my pockets, I quietly coughed, causing their moment of intimacy to end.

"Shit, I'm sorry. I get easily distracted when he's around." Kate gave James a light shove on the chest and waddled her way over to me.

"I can tell." I chuckled while peering over her shoulder at a lovestruck James whose eyes were tracking Kate's every move.

God, I forgot what that felt like.

To have someone look at you with that intensity.

"Babe, I'm going to show her around the house. Can you bring in the rest of her bags?"

"Oh, you don't have—"

"Don't worry about it, Wren," he quickly interrupted with a soft smile across his face. "I'll bring 'em up to your room while Kate is giving you the tour."

"Thank you," Kate and I responded in unison as he disappeared down the hall.

She then took me through every room—including the dining room, master bedroom, soon-to-be baby room—and it took a good half hour. When she was finally finished, she took me down a hallway until we stopped at the second door on right.

"Well, here's your room." She swung open the ivory door, revealing the coziest-looking room I've ever seen in my life. A soft sandy color coated all four walls while directly in the center of the room held a bed that appeared twice the size of mine. Perhaps it was the cloud-like comforter that covered the top of it, making it look like a giant square pillow that I desperately wanted to fall onto.

Taking a step inside, I let my eyes take everything in.

"Wow, Kate. This is beautiful. Thank you for letting me stay here." I spun around and found her sitting on the edge of the bed with her hands clasped together and in her lap.

"Of course. You can stay as long as you need to."

My heart swelled even though I felt unsure of this entire new journey. Because, let's be honest, nothing about this was going to be easy.

Not in the least.

"Hopefully not too long." I sighed and went to take the spot next to her on the bed. For a minute we just sat there. Waves of unsureness washed over me and Kate could instantly sense it.

"Nervous?" she asked.

"More like unsure of myself."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as a frowned worked across her mouth.

"Do you have any idea about how you're going to get him to talk to you? Or what you're going to say?"

My shoulders sagged in premature defeat.

I couldn't answer her question because I had no plan. All I had was hope that he would hear me out, but it seemed less and less probable with each passing day.

"Show up at one of his games? Practices? His house?" My voice went high as if I already knew how unlikely they all were. "I haven't come up with a solid plan yet."

I glanced over at her nodding head and noticed her teeth tugging onto her bottom lip.

She appeared deep in thought, almost like she had something she wanted to say that was on the tip of her tongue.

Then finally, she turned her face to look at me.

"What if… What if James and I had an idea for you?"

My eyebrows dipped together.

"What do you mean?"

Still gnawing on her bottom lip, she went to place her hand over mine.

"Well, James actually came up with the idea and I thought it would be your best option, but…" she trailed off. "I'm not sure if you'd actually go for it."

Already I was feeling apprehensive. Especially if Kate assumed that I wouldn't go for it, but at this point, I had limited options.

There was no way he'd agree to see me, even if I showed up to one of his games. So what other choice did I have besides listen to what Kate had to say?

"Okay, well, let's hear it anyway."

With her eyes still on mine, she nibbled lightly on the bottom of her lip before opening her mouth.

"There's a position open on the team. They're looking for a social media manager and from what I've heard, they haven't been able to find anyone to fill the position," she announced, and already I could tell where this was going. I wanted to stop her, but I felt like I had to at least hear her out.