never dreamed Declan would be here now, holding him and saying all the things he had said. Ezra would fight his way back to good health and find a way to make Declan happy if it was the last thing he ever did. He would never let Declan worry he had made the wrong choices. Ezra understood the chance Declan was taking on him. “You pick the mini-golf place and I’ll pick dinner.”
A smile exploded across Declan’s face. “Deal.”
“I love you, sexy protector.”
Declan’s smile slipped away and was replaced with enough heat to blast Ezra off his feet. “I love you too, angel. I’ll give you a beautiful life.”
Ezra didn’t doubt him. Not even for a second. They had silently loved each other too long. Neither of them could fail now. Losing each other wasn’t an option left on the table any longer.
Six
Three weeks of nonstop eating, making love, and pampering had Ezra feeling better than he had in a long time. No doubt that being back on his meds for three weeks also helped, but Ezra knew Declan made the biggest difference in his life. Without Declan, Ezra still would have tried to do better for himself, but he wouldn’t have done half as well without Declan’s constant presence. Declan did whatever it took to motivate Ezra. He nagged, demanded, and bribed Ezra back to health. Soon they would be home and would have to deal with something neither of them spoke about. The elephant in the room. Jessie.
Ezra lived in fear of what life would be like when they got home. There were too many unanswered questions. He didn’t know if Declan planned to go back to work for Jessie and pretend they never happened. Ezra didn’t know anything at all, and it was killing him. Every time he worked up the courage to ask, he felt like an idiot. Everything he thought to say sounded childish. Ezra had never known how to talk to Declan about them. That was something that hadn’t really changed between them.
The drive back to California was made mostly in silence. Ezra swore he could feel the heaviness in the air. Declan toyed with Ezra’s fingers while seeming lost in his own thoughts. Ezra wanted to climb inside his head and crawl through his every thought. He needed to know what would become of them when they weren’t miles away from Jessie’s wrath.
“I’m not broke,” Declan said suddenly, startling Ezra from his internal panic.
He blinked at the odd statement. “Okay.”
Declan didn’t look away from the road. “I mean, I’ve worked for Jessie for seventeen years with barely any personal expenses. So I have some money saved. I mean, we might have to downsize some eventually, but I can take care of you.”
As Declan’s outburst sank in and finally made sense, a smile exploded across Ezra’s face. “That’s incredibly sweet, but why would you think you need to support us? I’m doing fine. We’ll be good, baby.”
Declan still looked worried. He shrugged. “I just think it’s worth considering that Jessie might be angry enough to disown you. It’s a given that he’ll fire me before I can even say I’m quitting, but he won’t likely be very happy with you either. We should get married before we tell him. He’s a lot less likely to kill me if he knows that I’m not just toying with you.”
Ezra’s throat swelled. He wanted that, but not like this. Not coerced. Ezra wanted Declan to marry him because it was what Declan wanted. He tried to skate past the suggestion. “You are so sweet and amazing. But, first off, Jessie would never cut me off. No matter what I did. Secondly, I’m worth six point two million on my own without Jessie.”
Declan glanced his way, looking horrified. “I’m sorry. What?”
Ezra covered his mouth, trying to fight back a smile. “YouTube, sweetie. All those videos I’ve been uploading for the past four years. Surely you didn’t think I put that much work into it for nothing.”
“People get paid to do that?” Declan sounded adorably outraged.
Ezra gave Declan’s chest a pat. “Don’t sound so horrified. At least now you don’t have to worry that we’ll be poor.”
Declan immediately turned cranky. “I was not worried about being poor. I didn’t want you to be poor.”
Declan went silent. Too quiet. It weighted the air. Ezra couldn’t take it. “Are you mad at me now? I don’t understand.”
Declan flashed him a quick look. “No, baby. It’s not that at all. I just...