Sing Me a Song (Songbird Series)

After his sister's death, Nicolas became the legal guardian of her daughter, Wren.
His whole world is turned upside down as he tries to fall into a new routine with his niece, and his best support at the moment is his sister's best friend, Arden - who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend.

He would have done anything to be with her at one point. But right now, how can he think about anything other than Wren? Still, Ari has been there any time he needed her to be, and there's no denying how Wren adored her. Aside from that, Nick is reluctant to get close to anyone given the history of one person after another that he had lost.

***

"It's fine. I should be going anyway." She stood, but instead of leaving, a look of concern washed over her face. "What's wrong?" she asked, stepping toward me.
"Nothing," I said, curious why she suddenly asked. She reached up and swiped a finger across my face. I felt a wetness streak across my cheek under her finger.
"It's, uh," I couldn't find the words. Something that has been an issue lately. "You know, I just haven't been able to explain the whole Bri thing to Wren."
"It's hard to explain something you don't understand yourself," she said softly.
"Yeah, I guess," I replied. She moved again to step around me; before I could stop myself, I reached out a hand to grab hers. "Don't go," I whispered.
She smiled, and for a moment I thought maybe she had hoped I would ask her to stay.

TW: Death, alcoholism