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Ezra didn’t seem too bothered that I was creasing his top. He glanced over, studied them, and then peered back at me.
“Talk, Dana,” Ezra demanded.
“The blonde in the centre, that’s my sister. The guy sitting with her is my ex-fiancé, Shania’s husband. It’s a long, nasty, horrific story, and I don’t want to see them,” I told him.
Ezra looked again, taking a sidelong glance at the tables filled with laughter. A frown crossed his brow. Then he focused his attention on me.
“Come on, honey, trust me,” Ezra coaxed.
Anxiously, I bit my lip, really just wanting to get away from the embarrassing scene Shania—and our mother—would no doubt cause.
“Okay, a quick overview of the situation. Shania is my older sister by two years, and Patrick’s the same age. But Patrick and I got together when I was eighteen, and he was twenty. Honestly, I thought Patrick loved me, but he didn’t. Patrick was sleeping around the whole time we were in a relationship. He desired a sweet little homebody who would do as she was ordered.”
Ezra made a noise that sounded like a growl. “Carry on,” he snarled.
“The day before the wedding, I’d been staying at Mom’s, you know, all that shit about not seeing the groom. However, I forgot something, drove home and found Patrick giving my sister it up the ass in our bed. They didn’t notice me, as I took some photos on my phone as proof…” Embarrassed, I broke off, flushing red, and swallowed.
That moment’s humiliation came rushing back.
“Shania claimed I was a boring lay and Patrick was a virile man, so what did I expect, me being the wallflower I was? Five years Patrick and I were together.”
“Fuck,” Ezra swore.
Hurt rising, I carried on not seeing Ezra’s anger, lost in a nasty memory.
“Heartbroken, I ran home to Mom and Dad and announced the wedding was off. Naturally, they went mental. Not at Shania, but at me. Asking if I knew the money they’d spent and the time dedicated to organising everything.
“I explained what I’d discovered, Patrick fucking Shania up the ass, and my mother hit me. Mom actually slapped me. She screamed I was a liar, so I pulled out my phone and sent her the pictures. Then I demanded to know if she wanted me to send them to everyone on my contact list. Mom shut up, then.
“Shania and Patrick had followed me home, and I informed Patrick the wedding was off. Shania laughed and wondered how stupid I was. It was obvious I couldn’t keep a man like Patrick happy. Shania declared that instead of me getting married the next day, she’d marry Patrick. They’d been sleeping together behind my back the whole five years that we’d been in a relationship.”
“Your mom hit you?” Ezra growled out, anger clear in his voice.
“Yeah, as hard as it is to believe. Shania was the favourite, but I’d never been struck until then. Mom virtually slapped me again when she told me if I had kept Patrick happy, then I would be marrying him tomorrow instead of Shania. They wed the following day with Mom and Dad’s blessing. You see, it didn’t matter which child wed; they had spent a fortune, so one daughter would get married. My parents, sister, and Patrick are rabid social climbers.
“Dad even tried advising me privately on how to please a man intimately. I left that afternoon. Naturally, I did not hang around to attend the farce of a wedding. It was humiliating.” Tears welled in my eyes.
Ezra’s arms clenched, and he looked furious.
“I haven’t seen or spoken to them in two years. Luckily, I had my job at Hawthorne’s and kept my head down. Hell, I don’t even think they know where I live now.”
Ezra
Ezra took a deep breath, barely holding on to his anger and stopping himself from going over and punching the guy out who had hurt Dana so badly. He’d tried making approaches to Dana, but she appeared so horrifically introverted they’d been rebuffed—or she ran away.
Ezra had been determined to break through, and whenever they were around each other, he attempted to pin her down. Dana wasn’t just shy; Ezra realised she was also protecting herself from feeling that kind of hurt again.
But Ezra had her number now. There’d be no more running.
“Honey, I hate to tell you, but they are looking over here. I’m gonna help you out, but you’re going to have to play along,” he said as Dana’s eyes rounded in surprise.
Dana looked like a scared rabbit as she nodded. The desire to save her from new humiliation surged to the fore.
“Gonna start with this,” Ezra murmured and bent his head.
Dana
My eyes widened as Ezra’s mouth hit mine, and the world exploded. His lips were firm and gentle, and he coaxed my lips open before his tongue plundered my mouth. Yes, plundered! There was no other word for it.
