My heart hammers, my mind running through the implications. No onewouldunderstand. Ezra and I have had a Hollywood “bromance” for nearly twenty years. Everyone knows we’re best friends, and the media eats it up.
But to move in together?
“Gray.” Ezra’s voice is soft, his hand squeezing my arm, the touch like a tether. “I don’t care what people think. We’ve talked about it foryears. How nice it would be if it could just be…us. The two of us. Why can’t it be?”
“They’ll assume we’re a couple.”
He shrugs.
“It won’t stay quiet,” I continue. “This will blow the fuck up.”
A smile begins to form on Ezra’s face. If I didn’t know him inside and out, I’d be alarmed by that smile.
But it’s not the chaos Ezra craves. It’s the fact that he knows he’s already won.
I drop my head with a groan. “This is the stupidest thing we could possibly do,” I tell him, knowing he’s well aware of that fact.
Ezra simply holds out his hand, waiting for my answer, a wide grin on his face.
It feels inevitable as I clasp my palm with his. This will go supernova. All the media sites, all our fans, our agent, our family and friends. There won’t be a way to come back from this.
Do I care?
Madison wanted me to do something for myself this weekend. Something that would make me happy.
Somehow, I doubt moving in with fellow movie star Ezra Gold was what she had in mind.
Chapter 20
Ezra
Grayson unpacks the last of his books as I make us a quick lunch in the kitchen overlooking the living room. He hums to himself every so often, stopping to read a line here or there or simply stroking over a spine.
My lips twitch, my chest ballooning as it’s been doing ever since Grayson agreed to move in with me weeks ago. I figured he’d prefer it to the reverse. His old home… Well, it was full of memories I think he’d rather part with.
The front door opens without a knock, slamming shut a moment later. Our agent’s voice rings out before he’s even in view. “You’re really going through with this?”
Shawn stops at the entrance to the living area, looking between me and Grayson. Grayson’s head is out of his books now, and he stands with a resigned sigh.
“Well, hello, Shawn,” I greet, grabbing an extra plate. “So nice of you to drop by.”
His lips purse, and he struts forward, taking a seat at the island in front of me. “I asked you to wait.”
“And I said no,” I retort, giving him the ghost of a smile.
“We need to get ahead of this. Put out a statement. Plan an announcement on our end that you and Grayson are—”
“No,” I repeat, sliding him a plate piled with buffalo wings and fries, blue cheese dressing on the side. At his look of abject horror, I say, “Filming is done. Enjoy the calories with me.”
“I cannoteat like you do and still fit in my clothes,” he says, inching the plate away.
Grayson takes a seat beside him at the island, digging into his own meal. I shoot him a pleased smile.
Shawn lets out a big gust of a sigh. “If we don’t control the narrative, rumors are going to fly rampant. You two need to announce that you’re in a relationship—”
“Gray and I are not in a relationship,” I tell the man for the umpteenth time. “Not the kind you’re thinking.”
Shawn’s shoulders deflate. His eyes ping to Grayson, who’s immersed in his food, before coming back to me. “Drop the act. It’s the twenty-first goddamn century. Are you two going to get flak for this? Yes. Big time. You—” He points to me. “Are one of the biggest movie stars on the fucking planet. And Grayson is right there behind you. You’ll have fans who won’t like it, but you’ll have plenty of people rooting for you. If I can’t convince you to keep this hidden, whichapparentlyI cannot…” He pauses, flourishing a hand around at our now commingling possessions. “Then let me set the fucking narrative from the start. You two are in a loving, committed relationship. You’ve always been friends but it wasn’t anything more until recently. Grayson wasn’t fucking around behind his wife’s back, and you two are going to be the picture of a happy, gay, monogamous couple. Got it?”
