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Percy, for his part, didn’t look annoyed at all. He just leaned forward and didn’t do that annoying thing where he spoke slowly, like Wren was three. “She and her husband got divorced right in the middle of IVF. I offered to help her with any possible pregnancy, but it was a total disaster. Last year, she took a job here and almost immediately started the adoption process. She’s at the end of that now.”
Wren nodded. “Got it.”
Percy bit his lip for a second, and Wren tried not to stare too hard at the way it got all plump and pink. “The agencies she went through would only accept her for special needs placement.”
Wren bristled, but there was no point in going on a rant about the fucked-up system. It wasn’t like Percy was behind it. “And you decided to come join her?”
Percy drummed his fingers on the table, and Wren almost forgot to look up in time to see his answer. “I didn’t want her to be alone. And it’s not like I can’t do my work here.”
Wren was tempted to ask what he did, but that was part of his rules. No questions. Questions led to connections—mental and emotional ones. Ones that led to deeper conversations and relating over childhood traumas and all that shit.
Percy looked like he had pain in his past, and Wren absolutely could not know what it was.
He was too fucking weak. He’d want to help. He’d want to be his friend and comfort him and fix it, and that would create all those feelings in Percy he was trying to avoid.
Luckily, the moment was interrupted by one of the cocktail servers, who Wren didn’t recognize, but he could tell she knew him when she greeted him with his sign name. “Hey, Wren. Can I get you a drink?”
He sat back and tapped his chin for a second. “I think I’m gonna stay dry today. Just bring me a tonic water with a splash of grapefruit and an orange twist.”
She nodded and walked off as Wren turned his gaze back to Percy.
The man’s eyes were a little wide. “It really is different.”
Wren snorted. “Yeah. I thought you figured that out at the café.”
Percy’s cheeks pinked again. “Right. I mean, yes. I did. It’s…only just…now that I know, it’s more obvious. I sort of thought your friend was taking the piss and trying to make me feel stupid.”
Wren shook his head. “Trust me, Luke can be kind of a hothead. Like, I’m pretty sure he was about to rearrange your face if you kept going, but he’s actually a teddy bear.”
“With…?”
Wren frowned. “Missed the last word.”
Percy lifted his hand and curled his fingers. “Claws.”
Wren choked on a laugh. “Oh my God. Yeah. Ananda’s worse, but she’s also a little less irrational when she thinks she’s being insulted. Trust me, I talked to everyone. They know it was a misunderstanding.”
Percy didn’t look like he believed Wren, which was a fair assessment. Luke knew now, but he wasn’t exactly being understanding about it. Caleb had already decreed that if—or when—Percy came back, Luke could just sit in the kitchen with Jori or Peyton if he was unable to put his customer-service face back on.
“He’s also getting married soon, and I think it’s taking a toll on him,” Wren added. Which was also a fair assessment of Luke’s stress. Wren didn’t know if groomzillas were a thing, but if they were, that was a hundred percent Luke. “He had a meltdown the other day trying to plan his bachelor party.”
Percy pulled a face, and Wren noticed he’d relaxed quite a bit. He no longer had his shoulders hunched up toward his ears, and his hands weren’t fidgeting with everything on the table. “I never quite understood the fuss over one day. But I—” He stopped abruptly, and it took Wren a second to realize he hadn’t missed anything. Percy had just gone silent.
“You okay?” he asked after a few beats.
Percy cleared his throat loudly. “Yes. Sorry. I’m only recently getting back into being social, and it turns out I’ve lost a lot of my skills.”
Wren turned on his most flirty smile, feeling a small surge of triumph when Percy blushed, and he leaned closer to him. “I think you’re doing just fine.”
Percy licked his lips, his gaze moving down to Wren’s fingers, then back up to his eyes. “You think?”
“I think. I also think we should get out of here soon. Go somewhere I can understand you better. You know—” He lifted his hands and signed the last half of his sentence. “—until you learn to speak my language.”
“Someday, I’ll know what that means,” Percy said, clearly flustered.
Wren smiled wider. “I have no doubt,” he said aloud. “But seriously. Unless you really wanna have more beer and bar food.”
Percy glanced toward the front doors, then back at Wren. “Your drink hasn’t even come.”
