---- high tide

The Montgomery Sunday Brunch was as it always was—elegant, tasteful, and very white. From the tent to the table cloths to the dress code. White linen as far as the eye could see. But Wren barely batted an eye at the extravagant set up, he’d been to more of these events than he could count over the years.

It had been several weeks since Elle’s birthday party, which had been a turning point in Wren’s summer.

He and Aria had finally stopped pretending and gave into the pull they’d felt toward one another for years now. Wren realized that he’d been tamping it down. His feelings for Eloise had been allowed to manifest throughout the years as both his family and the Montgomery’s had encouraged a union between the two—whereas his feelings for Aria had always been dismissed as the way one is supposed to feel for a best friend. But he had quickly realized that was not the case. There was nothing platonic about the way he felt toward her.

Wren’s hand drifted to Aria’s lower back as they approached the gathering of Montgomerys. It had become second nature over the last few weeks. Touching her. It was a simple pleasure he was sure he would never get tired of.

Wren had continued working at the shelter, had continued living in his tiny place on the Southside—had scarcely heard a word from either of his parents but, in truth, he was the happiest he had ever remembered being. He saw Aria nearly every day, her volunteer hours had increased since he started his job—but he was certainly not complaining. Working together brought him back to old times when they’d spent nearly every waking moment together before they’d gone their separate ways for college. And behind closed doors, he could barely keep his hands off of her.

Wren no longer minded when he saw Elle’s car at Beck’s house across the street—didn’t flinch when he saw their relationship blossoming as well. He didn’t care because he had Aria—he had his friends back. He wasn’t under his father’s thumb any longer, he worked for what he made and was damn proud of the work he did, and he finally felt the noose of self-loathing starting to loosen its grip.

The two of them had decided to keep whatever their relationship was turning into, just between them for the time being. After everything that happened the last time they were together, they thought it best to try and minimize any damage their actions might cause. Not that Wren thought Elle would be particularly upset by the development now that she had her own little Southside boyfriend. And besides, everything with Aria was so new—Wren wasn’t ready to share her just yet.

He and Aria had arrived early to the brunch, because Wren never showed up late to a function like this. He hadn’t been surprised to be invited to the family brunch. Wren had always been welcomed by their family, but especially after he stood up to his own father in Elle’s defense that night, he’d been nearly officially inducted into the clan. Plus it was an excuse to be near Aria, outside of the shelter and his tiny one bedroom. And seeing her in that white linen dress made him all too excited for after brunch when he could slide the thing from her shoulders.

Wren greeted the patriarchs of the Montgomery family with a firm handshake and polite small talk. It was an art form he had perfected over his many years of dinner parties and business meetings with his father. He greeted the women with a kiss on the cheek and a compliment about their dress, their jewelry, their new hairstyle. That was a skill he’d learned from his mother. However sour his feelings towards his parents were, they had taught him a few things that were worthwhile.

After he’d made his rounds, Wren snagged the seat next to Aria. He brushed her hair behind her shoulder, the tips of his fingers lingering a beat too long against her skin, before resting it on the back of her chair.

“Just how you wanted to spend your Sunday, right?” He teased knowing that Aria had never been a fan of these types of Montgomery gatherings. Wren’s gaze caught on the scene behind Aria—on the couple approaching the tent. “Fortunately for us, this Sunday is about to get a lot more interesting.” He nodded toward Eloise and Beckett as they entered.

Wren could feel the tension in the other members of the family as all eyes turned toward them. Beck looked about as uncomfortable under the weight of every Montgomery’s stare as they seemed to feel by his presence. But to the southsider’s credit, he had cleaned up well—though Wren was sure that was courtesy of Eloise. And Wren was almost certain that seeing Beckett Greene in khakis was a sign of the impending apocalypse.

After the couple sat down at the table, the rest of the crowd started to lull back into their various conversations. He greeted the two of them with an easy smile. It was much less challenging to be cordial when Aria was next to him.

“Welcome to the family,” he joked with Beck from across the table.

The brunch continued uneventfully as the food was served and the champagne was poured. Wren ate with one hand while his other rested on Aria’s knee under the tablecloth. His thumb brushing slow strokes over her bare skin. It was a dangerous game, but he hoped to be just distracting enough to keep the look of utter boredom off her face.

His thumb stopped in its tracks when he heard Aria and Elle’s uncle call out to Beck from down the table. Wren winced when they started launching a barrage of questions surrounding Beck’s job and income. Most of the folks here didn’t understand what it meant to earn an honest wage. Wren certainly hadn’t before everything had gone down with his father. Beck held his own though, and Wren was pleasantly surprised when Warren—Elle’s father—had even offered the boy a job. Wren respected the hell out of Warren Montgomery. He was one of the few Newport elite who gave people the benefit of the doubt despite where they came from.

Wren perked up at the sound of his name. He shot Elle’s mother one of his practiced, charming smiles at her dinner invitation. “I would love to, Mrs. Montgomery. Thank you for the invitation.” He passed a knowing but apologetic smile to Eloise—and to Beck. Her mother and his own had tried to push the two friends together at every available opportunity nearly their entire lives. And her lack of invitation to Beck was not lost on him, even before Warren suggested it. Wren squeezed Aria’s knee.

This was definitely the most exciting Montgomery brunch he’d been to in years.