13
Sara felt like something had shifted in her life, and that it’d never be the same. Ezreal started spending even more time at her house. She’d wondered if he was ready to take their relationship to the next level, but he seemed to be taking his time.
Which, she reminded herself, was just as well. Until she was able to shut down the distrustful voice in the back of her mind, she wasn’t ready anyway. Even though sometimes she wanted to be.
After the attack, REKD Gaming was in the news, and he came over to hide from the press. It seemed that the added element of Ahri’s story had captured their interest. Sara had been impressed with how well Rafe handled the attention. Even with all the pestering, he kept his calm like a public information officer and couldn’t be tripped up to reveal something he shouldn’t. His most common response was to refer them to the police.
“Have you seen this?” Ryan asked when he arrived for his lesson. He handed her a national business magazine.
Sara stared at the photo of Rafe and Ahri, a queasy feeling starting in her stomach. It looked like it’d been taken at one of the early press conferences since they both sported bruises from the attack. The article referred to him as one of the Harvard Billionaire Boys.
Her brain connected the dots that she must have been ignoring.Ezrealwas a Billionaire Boy too. If they found out he was dating her, would the press try to get a picture of her? The sick feeling grew.
“Are you all right, Mrs. Fortune?” Ryan asked. “You look pale all of a sudden.”
“I’m not feeling very well.” She wiped at the perspiration that had broken out on her upper lip.
Why hadn’t she considered what it could mean to date a billionaire? It was so easy to forget that Ezreal wasn’t just big news in Boone or even in North Carolina but around the world. They needed to have a difficult conversation. As much as she’d hoped to leave that ugliness behind her and not sully this sweet thing between them, it seemed it wasn’t meant to be.
“Oh, good. Mr. Wallach just pulled up. I’ll get him.” The boy sent her another worried glance and jogged out the front door where her children were already clamoring for Ezreal’s attention. As soon as Ryan spoke, Ezreal had picked up both of the children and was jogging to the house.
“Are you all right?” he asked, setting down the children who had turned quiet at the worry in his voice. Never in Sara’s life had someone cared so much about her wellbeing. It was an incredible feeling. Why couldn’t he just be a regular guy?
“I just have a headache,” she lied.
“Want me to come back another time?” Ryan asked.
“You do look a little pale but you’re not feverish.” Ezreal knelt in front of her and felt her cheek with the back of his hand. “I can do his lesson for you, while you lie down. We could use the music room, so we won’t bother you. If you’ve got a headache, I can get you a painkiller.”
“That’s not necessary.” Sara’s eyes stung at his kindness, and she tried to smile.
“I don’t mind. Really.” He stood and held out his hand to her. “We’ll take the kids with us. I came out tonight to check on Darius’s mural anyway.”
“I’ll let you do the lesson, but I don’t want to be alone.”
Ezreal arched a brow at that but didn’t say anything. He took Brand and Sara by the hand, so she held out her free one to Janna.
“Grab your materials, Ryan.” Ezreal didn’t wait but led the way to the music room.
Ryan did as he’d been told and then jogged ahead.
“Wow, it’s hot in here,” the boy said when he opened the door.
“Is something wrong with the air conditioning?” Ezreal released their hands and went to the thermostat on the wall.
“I didn’t want to waste money on the electricity, so I turn the thermostat up when we’re not in here,” Sara said.
“You should only do about five degrees. It’s actually less expensive to keep it at a steady temperature.” Ezreal turned on the air conditioning and the overhead fan too. “It might cost a little more, but I’ll cover it.”
Janna had gone up to the wall where a line of piano keys flowed close to her hand height. She put her fingers to it and started tapping out a silent song.
“I almost wish there’d been a way to make those work for real,” Ezreal said softly as he watched her. He started to hum the notes she was playing, and Sara realized the tune was unfamiliar.
Janna glanced over her shoulder at him and grinned. “Do you hear it too?”
“I hear the song you’re playing.”
“But she’s not playing any song,” Brand said, scrunching his face.
