“I see where you’re going with this, Jeffrey, and the answer is no.” Ezra’s voice is hard, his expression sterner than before. “Grayson was never unfaithful to his wife. And if he were here now, he’d tell you himself that it was me who all but pounced the moment his divorce papers were signed.”
“Didn’t waste a minute, did you?”
Ezra’s expression eases, and he chuckles. “No, I did not.”
There’s not a doubt in my mind Ezra told Jeffrey to guide the interview specifically in that direction, if only to have the chance to defend me and Camilla publicly. None of this is by mistake. Ezra is making a statement. An unequivocal one.
“If Grayson were here now,” Jeffrey says, picking up on Ezra’s thread, “what would you say to him? I think we’re all dying to know.”
Ezra lets out the softest exhale, his chest drawing down with it. He aims his gaze directly at the camera, the look in his eye stealing my very breath.
“I would say I’d have loved you in whatever form you came to me. In whatever time. I would defend you with my dying breath, and I would follow you wherever it is you go. The pieces of us were made to fit, Gray. To be drawn together and shared. You told me once bound stars are destined to go out together. And I’m glad for it. Because I can’t imagine a life, now or ever, without you in it.”
The audience once again rumbles in a chorus ofawws, but I only have eyes and ears for Ezra.
“You’re quite the romantic, aren’t you?” Jeffrey asks.
A slight smile graces Ezra’s face. “Some would even call me a poet.”
“Well, there we have it. Poet Ezra Gold, everyone.”
The audience erupts in cheers and clapping, and a pair of warm, familiar arms slip around my shoulders. Harper jolts, letting out a curse before realizing it’s Ezra. He simply chuckles, the sound like quiet thunder near my ear.
“What do you think? Pretty good, right?”
“You’re an absolute ham,” I tell him, my throat tight.
“Well, I like ham, so I’ll take that as a compliment.” He smacks a purposely messy kiss against my cheek before standing upright. “Harper. Good to see you.”
“For what’s it worth,” our costar says, setting her empty wine glass down, “the people who have a problem with you two? Fuck ’em. You guys have already made it. You’re stars, babies. And no one, not even the harshest critic, will dull your brilliant fucking shine.”
Ezra’s gaze meets mine, a small smile on his face. “You know what, Harper? I think you’re absolutely right.”
Chapter 26
Ezra
It’s late when Harper leaves, Grayson and I promising we’ll catch up with her in a few weeks at the premiere. With the house quiet, we naturally drift outside. The air is cool tonight but not unpleasantly so, the surface of the pool calm, like glass.
Grayson leans his arms on the back of a chair, glancing at me. “Was Shawn happy with the interview?”
“As happy as he ever is. Appeased, I think. Now he has a narrative he can stand behind.”
Grayson nods.
“Camilla?” I ask.
“Haven’t heard from her since the interview, but I asked Shawn to keep her updated from now on. I’m done trying to justify myself to her, and every time we talk, it’s all I do.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” I tell him seriously. He’s done enough of it. “I’m proud of you for recognizing that.”
The smile he gives me is warm. “Coming from anyone else, that would sound condescending. But…thanks. I’m ready to move on.”
With me.
I don’t say it, but the thought warms me from the inside out.
Grayson lets out a sigh as he looks up at the barely visible stars. “Do you know why I became an actor?”
