“You better.” Danny shook a finger at me. “And Ezra better not hurt my brother.”
“Thanks. Dad’s done his share of shitty stuff, but I’m glad for you.”
“I’m glad for you too.” Danny gave me another hug. “And for what it’s worth, if Dad leaves you without a home, you can come crash with Cash and me.”
“Thanks, I can take care of myself—”
Danny cut me off with an epic eye roll. “I know you can. But you’re my brother. Let other people take care of you sometimes.”
“I’ll try.” I followed him farther into the tent, scanning for Cash and Ezra. Ezra, who’d shown me exactly how good it could feel to let someone else take care of me. I’d been alone for so many years that I hadn’t realized how much I needed looking after. Because of him, I could let Danny fuss a little. “I’ll tell you if I need you to prep the pool house.”
“Good.” Danny beamed at me, then pointed. “There they are.”
And there Ezra was, heading toward us with Cash at his side. And when he smiled at me, that golden grin, all the places frozen by my dad’s indifference thawed. Ezra was what I wanted. What I needed. What I deserved, and I was going to do my damnedest to believe that.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ezra
After I left Duncan with Harley, I kept an eye on him, lurking nearby but out of his sight line. I was protective. Not possessive. I wanted him to have friends and a life that wasn't all me, but I was also willing to do damage to anyone who hurt him. Harley might be big and scary, but he was going to answer to me if he didn't forgive Duncan soon.
Accordingly, I dawdled my way toward the drinks line so I could swoop back in if Duncan needed a rescue from his friend or anyone else.
“Fancy meeting you here.” Ilene's cultured voice and expensive perfume scent wafted from behind me before she stepped in front of me in an elegant lilac sheath dress.
“Well, you know what they say, fifth times the charm and all that.”
“Hee-hee.” She giggled like the glass she was holding might not be her first. “The bride wants to branch from acting to singing. The label is considering a deal.”
“Ah, working wedding for you then.”
“Yes, and you? I saw you come in with Duncan.” Her eyebrows danced almost all the way up to her silver hair clip.
“Yep.” I braced for a lecture about bad publicity, but all she did was salute me with her champagne flute.
“Lucky you.”
I quirked my mouth. I wasn’t convinced by her carefree attitude. “I'm sure the label has opinions on my love life.”
“I didn't say that.” She flipped her hand, sparkly purple nails catching the overhead twinkling tent lights. “You're selling well enough that the higher-ups are more concerned with your next single and getting you back on tour quickly.”
“About that…” I took a deep breath. I’d been thinking about the next tour constantly, but I hadn’t told a soul about my ruminations. However, this was the perfect opening. “I'm taking a break.”
“A break?” She cocked her head, updo leaning precariously to the side. “Like a vacation?”
“Like a break,” I corrected. I’d had plenty of vacations, and the thing about days off was that I always had a countdown timer in my brain to the next obligation, next tour, next recording, next event. “We've been on tour and releasing steadily for a decade now—”
“And that's made you one of the top acts,” Ilene finished for me, moving her fingers like she was counting out dollars. “You don't want people to forget about you.”
“They won't.” My voice was way firmer than it would have been two months prior. I was far less concerned with what I owed our fans, what I needed from our fame and recognition, and what I trusted our fanbase to understand. I couldn’t give my everything to touring and leave nothing for myself, no matter how much I loved the fans. “And I'm not talking about forever, but I'm burnt out.” Simply saying the words was a huge relief. I’d been ignoring the symptoms in myself and others for far too long. “The band's starting to burn out too. Everyone needs a little time to rest and reset and not have the pressure of a tour starting right back up.”
My conversation with Carl had weighed heavily on my mind the past few weeks. I wasn’t the only one who needed some time to figure out my priorities, and my relentless drive toward touring and performing had affected others in ways I couldn’t always see. I wanted to do better at figuring out their needs, listening better and not seeing only what I wanted to see.
“I suppose that's reasonable.” Ilene’s pretty pink lipstick thinned out to a narrow line as she made an expression between impatient and understanding.