When the encore was winding to an end, I gestured for the family to follow me to the large dressing room next to the smaller one Wren was using.
The kids were giggling with enthusiasm at being able to surprise him, and when Emery and I went to the smaller room to wait for the few minutes we had left, we could hear them talking next door.
I knocked on the wall and called out, “It won’t be a surprise if you don’t quiet down.”
They did that, and I turned to Emery, then gathered him in my arms.
“Hey there, sugar,” he murmured, then kissed me with all the longing we both felt.
The door opened without us separating.
“Jesus Christ, guys,” Wren complained, but when we looked at him, he was beaming.
Well, he was a disgusting, sweaty mess as usual, but he was still beaming.
“Good concert,” Emery told him.
“Thanks. Felt good.”
“They thought you had the bigger room so your snacks are there,” I told him. It was another thing that was routine: he needed to hydrate and have something to eat before we left the venue.
“Oh, okay. Well I’ll change and come over there, then,” he said easily, which was a testament to how chill he was even at this level of fame.
Emery and I went back to the bigger room and he shushed his family, explaining the situation.
About ten minutes later, Wren opened the door and Payton and Aria yelled, “Surprise!”
The instant tears in Wren’s eyes were no surprise to me. He’d missed his family.
“You little buggers,” he play-growled at the kids who ran to him as he crouched to their level. “Were you hiding?”
“We were, Mr. Wren!” Payton said, hugging his neck. “You sang really good tonight.”
“I did? Thanks, buddy,” he replied, then tugged at Aria’s braid. “How about you, Miss, did you have fun?”
She was a bit shyer, but she nodded and then squeezed him again. More than one adult was wiping their eyes by the time Wren stood back up.
I pulled Emery into a hug, and while our family did their thing, we soaked in as much comfort as we could. There was a clear plan, Wren was safe with Abi and the boys on the case, and I could have the night and tomorrow morning off.
There’d been more messages from the stalkery fan, but they weren’t anywhere closer to identifying them. The police wouldn’t get involved because that shit happened all the time to famous people. We’d told Wren he needed to be a bit more careful and to pay no mind to the tightened security measures we had in place, but that wasn’t new. It had happened before in his career, so he wasn’t worried. The security staff, myself included, were, but that was why it was my job to keep him safe and his job to sing his heart out every night.
Speaking of which,Dislocated Hearthad become a hit immediately. I saw Bodhi, who had been standing by another wall out of the way, finally get his hug with Wren. They didn’t seem to say anything, but the way they were looking at each other seemed different.
Maybe Bodhi finally figured some shit out or maybe I had turned into a romantic and was reading into things, who knew.
“Okay,” Wren said as he stepped back from the hug. “I have about half an hour before I need to motor.”
“What does that mean?” Payton asked curiously.
“It means Wren needs to go get some sleep. He’s been working all night,” Mal replied as Wren sat on the couch and grabbed his first Gatorade and snacks.
“Uh-huh. I need to drink and eat first. Do we know anyone who would like snacks?” he asked, and the kids swarmed him from both sides.
“He’s so grateful y’all came,” I told Emery when we finally closed my hotel room door behind us.
“Yeah. I think it was a good surprise.” He kicked his shoes off by the door next to mine.
We left a trail of clothes across the suite and ended up in bed, with him on top of me.
