“I’m sorry. I am. That wasn’t fair of me. But goddamn it, I’m pissed off.”
“I know,” I repeat. “And I could say I’m sorry for all the years I couldn’t love you the way you needed. I could apologize for not understanding myself for so much of my life. For not knowing the way I felt wasn’t…how did you put it? Normal? I could tell you again and again that our divorce had nothing whatsoever to do with Ezra. But you don’t seem to want to believe me. So what else can I say? I just want to be happy, Cam. I just want to be allowed to beme.”
It’s quiet on the other end of the line. There’s the softest of thumps on the outside of the bathroom door, and I reach over, twisting the knob. Ezra steps inside as Camilla lets out a small, shaky breath.
“I’m not going to talk,” my ex says again. “Don’t make me look a fool, Fox.”
With that, Camilla clicks off the call.
Warm hands bracket my shoulders before circling around to my front. Ezra takes my phone, setting it aside before his chin hooks over my shoulder. “Normal is such a terrible word.”
I heave out a breath, and he grips me tighter.
“Okay?”
“No,” I answer. “And yes.”
Ezra hums. “There’s an antiques store in town. Should we visit?”
“Is that what we came here for?”
His laughter passes quietly near my ear. “No. But you know why we’re here. You’ll just keep pretending otherwise so it’s a surprise.”
I lift my head off the wall and open my eyes, but Ezra doesn’t yet let go, his voice soft but lined with an edge of steel.
“I’m glad you’re not normal. If you were, you’d probably be with Camilla or some other perfectly nice person in your midwestern two-story home with a white picket fence and another one-and-a-half kids.”
I croak out a laugh, and Ezra squeezes me harder, his hand resting over my heart.
“Normal doesn’t exist for guys like us, Gray. And I can’t bear the thought of having missed out on all of this. If I’d neverfound you?” He shakes his head quickly, as if he can’t even bring himself to contemplate it. “Camilla can keep her normal. You’re extraordinary, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I blink back tears, my eyes stinging and my chest tight.
“Antiques?”
I nod at the offer, and Ezra lets me go.
The antiques shop looks like nearly every other I’ve been in. Cramped aisles. Knickknacks of all varieties interspersed with furniture and tools and old magazines. The sections are split by seller, small tags on the items indicating their price.
Ezra stops in front of a rack of faux-fur coats. He pulls one free, slipping it on with a flourish, looking absolutely ridiculous with his ballcap and sunglasses in place. “Ooh. The perfect disguise.”
“Yes, no one would possibly see you and thinkHollywood.”
Ezra snorts, not taking off the coat. There’s a display of vintage watches he examines as I step into the next aisle. A small, handheld telescope catches my eye. It looks like brass, collapsed and nestled in a cushioned box.
Ezra speaks before I have a chance to pick it up. “You’re getting that.”
“I doubt I’d be able to see the stars with this,” I point out, even as I take it out of the box. The metal is cool to the touch, matching the air in the room. “This was probably used at sea.”
“You could bird-watch, then.”
“Am I seventy now?”
He cackles, picking up the empty box and looking at the bottom. “It’s forty bucks. You’re getting it.”
“It is neat,” I admit, expanding the telescope. At its full length, it’s maybe six inches long.
Ezra lets out a soft, thoughtful sound. “Would you ever want to move?”
