“Why?” I press gently.
“Because it was only ever him. And Ican’thave him.”
“That’s not true.” I step closer, setting my glass down on the counter. “What are you talking about? Why are you holding back?”
“Oscar,” Ezra’s jaw tightens, his gaze dropping to the glass in his hand. “He saw it, too, when Levi came to live with us.”
“How come you were living with him? Are you related or…”
“My dad was a light technician for his shows. During a rehearsal, he fell off a scaffolding and broke his neck.”
Fuck.
Poor Ezra.
“Oscar was devastated. He blamed himself, though no one else did. He helped my mom and me financially for years after that. When I was thirteen, and my mom was diagnosed with cancer, he took us in.”
I stay silent, surprised he’s sharing something so private with me.
“When she died, Oscar just… kept me,” Ezra continues. “He didn’t have to, but he did. And when the twins came to live with us, I was eighteen. Levi was almost sixteen, and I… I developed a crush on him. Stupid, I know.”
“It’s not stupid,” I say softly.
Ezra doesn’t acknowledge the words, continuing, “Oscar told me to hold back. He said we were too young, that I could ruin our family. That Levi was impulsive, and if we broke up, it’d destroy our whole dynamic. And he was right. I couldn’t risk it.”
“Levi told me he’s loved you for more than a decade.” I know telling him this is probably not my place, but somebody needs to make sure they get their heads out of their asses.
This can’t take them another decade to figure out.
I touch his forearm. “That doesn’t sound impulsive to me.”
Ezra’s head snaps up, his eyes searching mine. “He did?”
“Yeah.” I nod. “He is very much in love with you, too, Ezra. And you’re not kids anymore. You’re both in your thirties. Maybe it’s time to stop holding back. I bet Oscar would think so, too, now.”
He looks away, his jaw working, the silence stretching out. When he finally meets my gaze again, there’s something raw in his expression—a crack in the armor he wears around me.
“It’s not that simple,” he murmurs.
“Maybe it is,” I counter. “And maybe it’s worth it.”
Ezra doesn’t respond, but the way his hand tightens around the glass tells me he’s thinking about it.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs pulls my attention toward the hallway, and moments later, Sylus bounds into view. Behind him, Ace descends at a slower pace.
Sylus strides into the kitchen, grabs me around the waist, and pulls me up into the air with a playful twirl that makes me yelp. “There’s my Sparkle!” he says before his lips crash onto mine in a kiss so dramatic it has me laughing against his mouth.
When he finally pulls back, it’s only to pepper kisses all over my face, forehead, nose, and cheeks while I squeal and try to squirm free. “Stop!”
“Shut up, you love me.” He grins, setting me back on my feet but keeping his arms looped around my waist as he leans in for another kiss, slower this time. This one is the kind that makes my toes curl and my heart skip. “So? How was it? Did you dazzle everyone?”
I’m lost in the chaos that is Sylus, his unfiltered affection and absolute lack of hesitation. But then my gaze drifts past him, landing on Ace. My heart stutters as a flicker of guilt ripples through me. Sylus is loud and bold and so unapologetically present, and I wonder what Ace thinks, seeing this. Seeingmelike this.
Does it hurt him? Does it feel like Sylus is claiming a piece of me that should be his? The thought weaves a thread of panic through the happiness Sylus’s hug brought me. I can’t bear the idea of making Ace feel as though there’s no space for him like he’s a shadow in a room that’s already full.
But then Ace meets my gaze, and there’s no anger, no jealousy. Instead, he offers me the smallest, softest smile. It’s enough to take the weight off my chest but not enough to stop my heart from aching for him.
“How do you think it was?” Ezra’s dry voice pulls me out of my thoughts as he walks out of the kitchen.
