AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Ezekiel is an amazing man who is a protector and loves with everything he has. He’s the one person in this family who is always taking care of everyone else. It would be nice to know someone’s taking care of him. We try but he refuses. In his mind it’s his duty to be everyone’s rock. But always being strong has to be exhausting and verylonely. You’re here for a reason.”
I was about to ask her opinion on that reason but the door opened and Elias stepped in before I could get the words out. Ezekiel followed. “We have to go.” His eyes were on me, searching, gauging like he was concerned and I smiled.
“I’m ready.” I turned to Cress. “It was wonderful meeting you. I’ll be back. I really enjoyed watching you dance.”
“I hope you will.” She hugged me tightly then turned to Ezekiel. “Thank you for coming, Ez.”
He winked and extended a hand to me. We left but I carried Cress’s words with me, unsure what to do with them.
ten
Ezekiel.
“Good morning.” I greeted Jhorie as she sluggishly joined me in the living room. It was just after one. While Jhorie slept in I’d spent the morning handling business. We didn’t make it to our suite until just before six this morning. Although Jhorie had slept most of the flight, she was exhausted.
“Is it good? My brain keeps telling me it’s afternoon, but my body refuses to cooperate.”
I chuckled and pointed to the table near the window. ”I ordered a few things I thought would hold up. I wasn’t sure how long you would sleep.”
“Coffee?” She perked up and I nodded.
“Yes, it should still be hot. It’s only been about twenty minutes since they left it.”
“I’d drink it ice cold as long as the caffeine was still present.”
“That bad?”
She groaned, made her way to the table, and began assembling a mug with coffee, cream, and a heavy dose of sugar. After the first sip, she closed her eyes and moaned her approval then joined me in the living room, folding her body into the sofa with one leg tucked under her and the other dangling toward the floor.
“You let me sleep.”
“You needed it.”
“And you don’t?”
“I travel frequently. It doesn’t take much for me to adjust.”
“Must be nice,” she murmured and took slow sips of coffee.
“Should we talk about last night?” I was anxious to know what Cress had said to Jhorie. I texted and asked but all she sent back as a reply wasgirl code. When I pressed, she sent one last text.I like her.
I wasn’t sure how to read into that or if I should. I was hoping Jhorie would fill me in. Cress wasn’t a fan of Sasha and based on their interactions I couldn’t blame her. Not many people were fans of my ex-wife, especially not toward the end of our marriage. If Cress liked Jhorie that was a plus.
But why the fuck did I care?
Because you like Jhorie and Cress’s acceptance matters to you.
“I had a good time.” She kept her eyes on me but that was all she gave.
“And how was meeting Cress?”
She shrugged. “Good, I like her.”
“Apparently the feeling is mutual,” I rasped, more to myself.
She smiled slowly. “You don’t like being out of the loop, do you?”
“No, I don’t. Care to fill me in on the details of what you two discussed?”
