Page 80 of Gathered Sparkle

“Go change. I’ll get her a glass.”

Koen hesitates for a fraction of a second before nodding and kissing my temple, then he disappears up the stairs after Levi, and I follow Ezra into the kitchen.

The tension feels different now, less about Veronica and more about us. Ezra pulls a glass from the cupboard and fills it.He slides it toward me across the counter, then grabs a glass for himself.

I take a long sip, letting the cool water soothe my throat. “Do you think all of this is a good idea?”

“No.” Ezra doesn’t hesitate. “But it’s not like anybody ever listens to me in this house.”

I chuckle, leaning my hip against the counter. “That can’t be true. You give off big brother, man-in-charge vibes.”

He snorts. “Yeah? Tell Dove that. That little brat does whatever the hell he wants.”

I smirk, swirling the water in my glass. “Speaking of Levi—”

“Don’t.” His tone is sharp but not unkind.

“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”

“Oh,I know.” Ezra’s gaze flicks to me, and there’s something guarded in his eyes. “I know you’ve figured it out, just like Alaric did. Ask him how that’s going for him. Giving me all these looks like he wants me to know he cracked my secret.”

“Why is it a secret in the first place?” I tilt my head, watching him closely. “Are you uncomfortable with being—”

“I’m not,” he interrupts, the words quick and clipped. I raise a brow, letting the silence linger, waiting him out. Ezra sighs, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. “It doesn’t matter what I am or what I’m not.”

“Why?” I press gently.

“Because it was only ever him. And Ican’thave him.”

“That’s not true.” I step closer, setting my glass down on the counter. “What are you talking about? Why are you holding back?”

“Oscar,” Ezra’s jaw tightens, his gaze dropping to the glass in his hand. “He saw it, too, when Levi came to live with us.”

“How come you were living with him? Are you related or…”

“My dad was a light technician for his shows. During a rehearsal, he fell off a scaffolding and broke his neck.”

Fuck.

Poor Ezra.

“Oscar was devastated. He blamed himself, though no one else did. He helped my mom and me financially for years after that. When I was thirteen, and my mom was diagnosed with cancer, he took us in.”

I stay silent, surprised he’s sharing something so private with me.

“When she died, Oscar just… kept me,” Ezra continues. “He didn’t have to, but he did. And when the twins came to live with us, I was eighteen. Levi was almost sixteen, and I… I developed a crush on him. Stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid,” I say softly.

Ezra doesn’t acknowledge the words, continuing, “Oscar told me to hold back. He said we were too young, that I could ruin our family. That Levi was impulsive, and if we broke up, it’d destroy our whole dynamic. And he was right. I couldn’t risk it.”

“Levi told me he’s loved you for more than a decade.” I know telling him this is probably not my place, but somebody needs to make sure they get their heads out of their asses.

This can’t take them another decade to figure out.

I touch his forearm. “That doesn’t sound impulsive to me.”

Ezra’s head snaps up, his eyes searching mine. “He did?”

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