I get my coat, Wren helping me into it, her hands lingering on my shoulders. She walks me to the door while my parents gather their things, not caring about the Halls’ stares.
“My place in an hour?” she murmurs, pulling me close.
“Yes.”
She kisses me right there in front of everyone. Bless.
“Edie!” my mother scolds.
“Let her go, Mrs. Montgomery," Wren says, her eyes never leaving mine. “She knows what she wants.”
I head to my car, knowing that everyone watches from the windows. Wren stands in the doorway, looking mighty chuffed with herself. Nick appears behind her, fury radiating from every line of his body.
Wren’s touch continues to mark me even though we’re not several yards away from each other. The good girl everyone expected me to be just fucked my ex's sister in their parents’ bathroom during Christmas dinner.
And in an hour, I’m letting her do it again!
Chapter 6
Wren
The door closes behind Edie, and all hell breaks loose.
“You absolute…” Nick’s voice breaks as he shoves me hard in the chest. The impact knocks me back into the hallway table, a photo frame of the family clattering to the floor.
The pain blossoms across my ribs, but I’m not done. I’ve been waiting for this moment for two years. The moment Nick finally drops his perfect politician act and shows his true colors.
“Feel better?” I ask, straightening, working my shoulders like nothing bothers me.
“Nicholas!” Mom gasps, horrified, but he’s already moving toward me again, face flushed with rage.
I catch his wrist before he can grab me, twisting just enough to make him stop. “That’s your one free shot, dumbass. Next time, I’ll put you through that wall. Don’t act like I can’t.”
“You screwed her in our parents’ bathroom!” Nick’s voice cracks with disbelief. “During Christmas dinner!”
“And?” I release him, stepping back, brushing off my sleeve like he’s nothing. “She’s not your girlfriend anymore. Hasn’t been for six months.”
“That’s not the point…”
“That’s exactly the point.” I turn to the room full of stunned relatives and family friends, frozen mid-gawk. “Nick dumped Edie because she didn’t fit his image. Called hertoo muchwhen she’s perfect. Said she was too loud at parties, too proud of her job, too everything that makes her who she is.”
“Wren,” Dad warns, his voice that low growl that used to make us both shut up as kids. “Now’s not the time.”
“When is the time, then?” I shoot back, the laugh that escapes me as brittle as the broken photo frame. “When Nick brings home another polite woman he’ll treat like a prop? When he finally runs for office and needs a Stepford wife for campaign photos?”
“At least I have ambition.” Nick’s voice shakes, the golden-boy sheen cracking. “At least I’m not wasting my life playing with motorcycles.”
“I’m building something tangible. You’re just auditioning for approval.” I take a step closer. “What are you doing besides trying to become Dad 2.0?”
“Enough!” Dad snaps, the authority in his voice cutting through the chaos. “Both of you, in my office. Now.”
Dad’s office, which we used to call the “computer room” in the 2000s, still has the same cracked leather chairs and dusty blinds from my childhood. Same overstuffed chairs, same stupidly big desk from a big-box office store, same books no one’s read in decades, and that same disappointed silence. We’re in our twenties, but the air in here makes us feel like we’re eight again.
“Explain yourself,” Dad says finally, eyes on me.
“Nothing to explain.” My heart is still hammering, but my voice is steady. “I want Edie. She wants me. End of story.”
“She’s your brother’s ex-girlfriend,” Mom says, coming into the room behind us. “There are rules, Wren. Boundaries.”
