The ocean stretched endlessly beyond the railing as distant laughter from other decks floated on the air.
We lounged on the balcony furniture, listening as the guys recounted their indoor golf adventures.Ezra bogeyed, Scott nailed a hole-in-one, and Jordy somehow managed an eagle.They’d played as a team against another group and ended with a combined score of 83...mostly thanks to Scott, who, apparently, was a golf prodigy, according to Ezra and Jordy.
What did that all mean?It meant they’d had a blast, and I was about to kill the vibe with my news.
I needed to tell Ezra first.Dropping my health scare on him in front of everyone wasn’t fair.I shifted closer to him and touched his arm.“Hey, I need to talk to you for a moment.Alone, if that’s okay?”
“Of course.”His brow furrowed as he studied my face.“Did I do something?”
I let out a soft laugh.“No, you didn’t do anything.I just need to tell you about something that happened today.”
“Something that happened to you?”His voice sharpened with concern.His eyes searched mine.“Let’s go inside.”He glanced over at Scott and Jordy.“Be back in a bit.”
They gave noncommittal grunts of acknowledgment, already diving back into their golf recap with Pippa and Gilly.
Inside the suite, the room was cool and dim compared to the balcony.Housekeeping had come earlier, and the bed was made, fresh towels hung neatly in the bathroom, and the faint scent of lavender from the housekeeping spray still lingered.
Ezra rested his hands gently on my shoulders, his thumbs brushing over the tops of my arms.He leaned down, eyes level with mine.“What happened?”
I swallowed hard.“I don’t want you to get upset…”
“Like a Band-Aid, Nora.Rip it off.It’ll hurt less in the long run.”
We were about to find out.I took a breath.“I had a minor, teensy-weensy angina attack this afternoon.”
His face went from surprised to worried, then confused, then back to worried...a full circle of emotions in less than three seconds.“When?How?”
“At lunch,” I admitted, fiddling with the hem of my shirt.“Apparently, a lot of things can cause it.Gilly and Pippa dragged me to the clinic, and Doctor Patel figured it out.”
Ezra’s brows knitting together.“Did he give you nitroglycerin?”
I blinked, startled.“How did you know that?”
His voice stayed low and steady, a calm undercurrent to my churning nerves.“I know things, Nora.Did it help?”
“Really fast,” I said, my fingers tracing the seam of his shirt now.“I’m supposed to pick up a prescription at the pharmacy.”
“Then we should go do that.”He didn’t hesitate.Instead, he treated it like any other errand on a to-do list, not a follow-up to a heart scare.
I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, maybe panic or an over-the-top reaction.Ezra wasn’t built for that, though.“Easy” wasn’t just his nickname.He’d been weathered by life young.A dad at sixteen, a husband before he graduated high school, working full-time, then putting himself through college to become a detective.He wasn’t a man who buckled.He absorbed life’s punches and kept moving.I didn’t want to be another beating he had to take on.
“Wedon’t have to do anything,” I said quickly, the words tumbling out.“I don’t want to be a problem for you to fix.”I slid my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek to his chest, where his heartbeat thumped slow and sure.“You don’t have to take care of me.”I leaned back to meet his gaze.“I’m really good at taking care of myself.”
A flicker of anger tightened his jaw, but it passed as fast as it came.“Yes, you are, babe,” he said gently, his hands moving to my back and rubbing slow circles.“You’re great at taking care of yourself.But I love you, and it makes me happy when you let me in enough to help.I know it’s hard for you to let someone else take a burden off your shoulders, and if it really makes you uncomfortable, I’ll back off.But I want to be here for you like you’re there for everyone else, including me.I want you to know that you can rely on me no matter what.I just want to love you the way you deserve to be loved, Nora.So, let me, okay?”
His words moved me, but they also made me afraid.“I’m not an invalid, you know.I am really good at bouncing back.”
“I know that.”He sighed, his hands resting on my hips.“Are you going to let me help you?”
A breathy chuckle escaped me.“I guess so.But only because you’ve got a cute butt.”
He let out a surprised laugh, the tension cracked.He leaned in, brushing his lips over mine, the kiss slow and sweet until my knees wobbled like jelly.
“Can we go get your medicine now?”he murmured against my lips.
“Yes.”I sighed, kissing him back, lingering just a second longer.“We probably should.”
“I’ll let the others know we’ll be back soon.”
