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Mom shook her head. “It’s all under control, but grab a two-way, just in case. Ville has them up by the house. Then find Wren and have fun.”

She didn’t give me a chance to respond, just turned away and strode into the crowd. I stared after her for a moment before shaking my head and making my way to the house. For all that my parents were good at treating us like adults, we were still their children and on occasion, they issued orders expecting them to be followed. But since I didn’t have an issue with this order, I complied.

Ville was not dressed up, but I wasn’t surprised. For all that he was American and grew up here, he was a stoic Finn underneath. And he took his security job very seriously. Technically, though he had his own company now, he was still in charge of security for the ranch. An event like this had his head on a swivel. He’d set up a command post on the porch, with several monitors so he could keep track of all the cameras. I wouldn’t be surprised to find members of his staff wandering around either. He barely looked at me when I stepped up to his table, just handed over a two-way, which I clipped to the waistband of my pants. I gave him a two-fingered salute and waded once again into the crowd.

People mostly ignored me, which was great, because I was on a mission and I didn’t feel like small talk. I exchanged greetings with a few people, shook a few hands, but mostly, I was scanning the crowd. I knew Wren was in this mass somewhere, probably with a bodyguard nearby because Ville would never take chances. I’d feel better when I found him too, knowing he was probably being mobbed by fans.

“Hey there, Marine,” my quarry suddenly said behind me. “You doing okay?”

I whipped around and sucked in a breath. And instantly smiled. Wren was not surrounded by fans, because he was almost unrecognizable. The Zorro costume, complete with a mask, looked just like the one Banderas wore in that movie from the late 90s. We’d watched it on repeat as kids.

Wren looked incredible, even though I sort of hated the mask for blocking his face. He had a great face, which I loved looking at. But I totally understood why he’d want to go incognito. The brim of the hat shaded his face even more, and if I didn’t know it was him, I’d have never guessed.

I took a step back so I could really take in the costume, and my gaze got caught on the skin of his chest, peeking through the open V of the shirt. He had no chest hair, and I wondered if he’d shaved or waxed or something so that the costume would look better. The last time I saw him without a shirt had been before he ran off to sing and I joined the Marines. He hadn’t had any chest hair to speak of then, but we’d both been barely eighteen. I didn’t know if it was natural or on purpose, but it looked good. His pecs were defined, as though he worked out, but not heavily muscled. I wanted to touch and see if his skin was as soft and smooth as it looked.

“Bode?”

The hint of worry had me jerking my gaze up to his, hard to see behind the mask. I smiled to show him I was okay, but had to clear my throat before I could speak.

“Yep. I’m good. Amazing costume. You look fantastic.”

Wren’s breath hitched, and the fading twilight made it look like his chest and neck flushed. He took a step forward and his voice was low when he said, “Thanks. I didn’t want to be recognized, so I contacted Lina, who did my tour wardrobe, and she sourced this for me.”

“It was an inspired choice and you wear it well.” A group of people passed by, jostling Wren, and I immediately stepped close and put a hand on the small of his back. I steered him toward the food trucks, which were all clustered, one after another, along the drive. There was a taco truck I knew he’d enjoy. “Come on, let’s get tacos.”

“Uh, okay.” Wren fell into step beside me and when we had to squeeze through a gap in the crowd, he moved in close. Even after we cleared them, he stayed right there. I was glad for it.

We joined the line and because there were so many people, I moved my hand from Wren’s back and instead looped that arm around his waist. I needed to keep protected and safe. I didn’t want anyone to get close enough to recognize him. Or touch him, actually.

That was a weird thought. I never cared about that before. But I didn’t think too much about it and chalked it up to the fact that there were so many dang people around.

“Can I just squeeze—oh, Bodhi. Hey.”

I turned my head to see Shannon Landry smiling at me. He clapped me on the shoulder and then turned to the man standing beside him, who was holding a little boy who looked to be about Aria’s age.

“Dave, this is Bodhi Harrington. The oldest of the family. Bodhi, this is David Finch and his son Hayden. They just moved to town because Dave took a job at his uncle’s demo and reno company.” Shannon glanced at the pair, and his profile showed a soft smile. “I told him he had to bring Hayden and check this out.”

“Nice to meet you. Welcome to town,” I said, even as I felt Wren stiffen beside me. I only glanced at him for a second, but noticed he was staring hard at David.

Shannon tilted his head, looking back and forth between Wren and David, and then realization dawned, “Wren? Is that you?”

“There’s a soft play area over by the donkeys Hayden might like,” I said quickly, trying to divert the conversation. I didn’t want Shannon to say Wren’s full name or for any recognition to happen at all.

“We just came from there and are heading for hotdogs. Little man is hungry, huh?” David tickled his son’s belly and the boy giggled before burying his face in his father’s neck. Then the man surprised me by tilting his head at Wren. “Nice to see you again, Wren. Great costume.”

I went utterly still but Wren grabbed the back of my T-shirt, holding it tightly in his fist. “Thanks.”

David’s gaze never wavered. “I feel like I should apologize for my uncle. Well, actually, he’s my mother’s uncle.”

Already on guard, I came to full attention. I had to work to keep my voice even when I asked, “What happened?”

“Well, it’s just that—”

“Nothing,” Wren blurted, but he stepped in closer and pushed his fist into my back. “And it’s fine, David. Mr. Gardner acted exactly as I expected.”

Turning my back on the trio, I gave Wren all my focus, stepping into his space so we were practically nose to nose and Wren had to tilt his head to keep eye contact. “What. Happened?”

“No. Thing.” Wren emphasized the word exactly as I had, and though his expression was firm, I saw something in his eyes that I didn’t like. He was too soft hearted, and I got the feeling he was giving the old man a benefit that wasn’t deserved.