“Son of a bitch. What did you do?”
“I tried to suck it up. The theater is my world. My life. My everything. But I couldn’t get my weight down. And then I stopped trying. It wasn’t hard to get out of my contract—the director didn’t want afat actress. So I handed over my costumes to my understudy and flew home. I’ve sort of been hiding out in my closet recording for LULU since.”
I’m shocked I just spilled itallto Ezra, but damn, it feels good to finally get the whole truth out. The theater is supposed to be my safe, happy place, and that prick of a director ruined it.
“Fuck. I’m so sorry.” He balls his hands into fists on his thighs. “I could kill that man.”
“Easy tiger,” I laugh. “Don’t go all morally gray on me. That’s only hot in romance novels.”
He doesn’t react to my joke, but after a moment, his pinched expression relaxes. “Do you know why I chose that song last night?”
“So we could beat that other couple?”
He shakes his head and inches closer. “Because it’s how I feel about you. You’re beautiful just the way you are. And it kills me that you don’t know it.”
My nose stings, and tears flood my eyes. With a deep breathin, I fight back the emotion. I’m used to finding ways to make myself cry on stage—not the other way around.
Ezra lays a hand across my stomach, the sensation making me flinch.
“Don’t do that,” he commands. “I love your body.”
“Yeah, right.” I sniffle. “My old one, maybe.” The one that carried me through every audition, that fit into every costume. I’m sure he wishes he could see that body again. I do too.
“No.” His voice is gruff. “This one. Right fucking here. Right now. I lovethisbody.” He gently squeezes my thigh, sending an unexpected bolt of electricity shooting straight to my core. “I will tell you every damn day until you believe it, even if I have to remind you every day for the rest of your… for the rest of this trip.”
16
Ezra
IT WASdifficult to pull myself away from Millie and leave her on the sofa looking pained and pitiful. She insisted she was fine, but her tone suggested she’s used to feeling this way, and that didn’t sit well with me.
But as much as I wanted to stay and rub her feet, I had to discuss my brother’s future with my lawyer.
I don’t know whether the meeting went better or worse than I expected. Custody by guardianship is fairly easy to obtain, and though I can petition for termination of parental rights, most courts won’t allow a parent to relinquish their rights just because they no longer want their child. Typically, severe child abuse or neglect must be present. We can, however, push to prove that Rob is an unfit parent. It just may take a while to prove to the judge that Rob’s parenting and involvement won’t improve.
After that meeting, I had a telehealth appointment with my therapist. By the time I hung up, I was 100 percent confident I’m doing the right thing.
I’ve been dreaming of having a family for years now—I justdidn’t envision I would have a fifteen-year-old kid before having a wife. A real wife, that is.
MILLIE
Are you almost done in there? I really need to pee
Cringing, I hop up off the bed and dart out into the living room. “Shit, why didn’t you say anything?”
Millie leaps off the sofa and bumps my arm as she strides past me. “I didn’t want to interrupt,” she says as she disappears.
I’m brewing tea when she returns. “Want some?”
“Sure, thank you.”
“You could have come in, you know.” I hold out the tin of tea bags to her.
She picks a lemon and ginger blend. “You were on an important phone call. I didn’t want to disrupt you.”
“You can always disrupt me.” The second the words are out, I wish I could suck them back in. They were way more intense than I meant for them to be. Even if they’re true. Between the made-up marriage and the situation with Rob and Kane, my whole world has been disrupted.
Once upon a time, this would have caused me to spiral. Honestly, I still might, but this part right now—a new beginning with a brother I never knew I had and steeping tea in paradise with the most beautiful and interesting woman—feels right.
