Ezra groans. “Jesus Christ.One day. Give us one fucking day to enjoy some peace and quiet. We’ll be home tomorrow, and we can discuss it then. I’ll even let you set me up for a talk show appearance if it’ll make you happy.”
“Ezra.”
“One day, Shawn. This is important.”
Our agent relents with a sigh. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Joy.” Ezra ends the call, plunking my phone down on the counter beside the telescope box before pulling off his sunglasses to rub his eyes. He looks tired. Worn down.
“Hey,” I say lightly, wanting to pull him away from the storm that awaits us. “Remember the first time I showed up at your place, your old place, when Naveen was over?”
He snorts. “Oh, God. Hefreaked.”
“He tried to tell me he was your plumber. As if he’d have needed to be in his briefs to look under your sink.”
Ezra’s smile splits wide. “He didn’t know you knew about him. Aboutme. Then he about fell on his ass once he recognized you. He was starstruck.”
“You were far more famous than me, even then,” I point out.
Ezra waves a hand dismissively. “You were famous enough. Naveen has never seen me that way. It’s hard to view a friend you once saw eat a worm on a dare as a celebrity, even if they are one.”
My smile is soft. “How is he?”
“Good. Dating again.”
I nod. It’s been years since I last saw Naveen. Same as Ezra. “Are you really going to do an interview?”
Ezra nods slowly. “Yeah. One of us will have to be the first. And you know how I love a good crowd.”
My friend’s smirk doesn’t fool me one bit. Sure, Ezra has always been comfortable in crowds. He’s never had a problem being the center of attention and knows exactly how to play up his fame.
But he’s not doing this for himself. He’s doing it for me. Because he’d rather it be him than me taking that first bullet.
“What time’s the show tonight?” I ask, collapsing the telescope and putting it back in the box.
Ezra feigns confusion. “The show? I have no clue what you could possibly be talking about. But, theoretically, we should get there by seven-thirty.”
I huff a laugh, and Ezra grins, replacing his sunglasses on his nose.
“Ready to go? You’re getting that telescope.”
“I am,” I agree, eyeing the fur still draped around his shoulders. “Are you buying that coat?”
“Absolutely yes.”
Ezra heads toward the front of the store with a swagger in his step. I follow. Of course I do.
The employee at the register looks from Ezra to me as we approach. If he caught any of our conversation on the phone, he doesn’t mention it. Then again, I doubt he’d have heard a word if he was in this spot the entire time.
“What’ve you got?” he asks, squinting at the tag Ezra plucks off his coat. He writes the numbers on a pad of paper as I set the telescope on the counter. “Together or separate?”
Ezra pulls out his wallet. “Together, please.”
“You know, you look like an actor my niece likes,” the man says, squinting at Ezra.
My friend beams. “Is that so? Should we take a picture so you can show her?”
The man chuckles, slipping the telescope into a plastic bag. “Suppose so. She’d probably get a hoot out of that.”
