Page 75 of Coming Home
“You, too.” I squeezed Reed’s fingers. “This is pretty cool.”
I glanced around the garage only to see Ezra glaring at me. He stood next to Carson, while their son, Jack, spoke animatedly with Archer, Kill and Matthais’s son. It was still a surprise that Ezra was a father. No one saw that coming.
“Fuck,” I muttered as Ezra started toward us.
He looked pissed. Although I wasn’t sure what I had to be worried about. I hadn’t done anything that I could remember.
Ezra yanked Reed into his arms. “I’m so happy you’re here, boo.” His dark eyes narrowed as he watched me.What. The. Fuck.“The other WAGs are here. You have to come say hello. We’re going to take a picture together.”
“You want me in your picture?” Reed glanced over at me with a shy smile. “Are you sure?”
Ezra rolled his eyes. “Duh, I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t. Come with me.” He wiggled his orange nails at me. The color matched the fire suit his husband was wearing. “I’m going to steal your boyfriend for a second. I promise to bring him right back.” And then I was left with Silas, who smirked at me.
“What are your intentions with my brother?” He folded his arms over his broad chest. I wanted to laugh, but he looked serious. “Is this like a forever-thing or just a fun reminiscing thing for you while Reed is here? Because if that’s the case, you can break it off with him now. He loves you. I’ve never seen him act this way about anyone else.”
I blinked in confusion. “What? No. I love Reed. I’ve loved him for a long time, and now that I have him back again, I’m going to keep him. As long as he wants me.”
“Good.” Silas grinned, and it was like looking at a carbon copy of Reed. The blond hair, the dark eyes, and that wicked smile. “Because I would hate to sic Hazel on you.” He jutted his chin at my shoulder.
I spun around to find the eldest Kelly sibling standing there. Shit. I knew Reed was close to his older sister. Very close. So, was I about to get another interrogation, or was one enough for the day? The answer was simply when she opened her arms and wiggled her hands at me. When I stepped into her hug, Hazel gave me a quick squeeze, then stepped back.
“I get it.” She giggled. “What my brother has been pining over for the past few years. You’re hot.”
My cheeks burned. “Um, thank you?” What else was I supposed to say?
“Hazy! You can’t just flirt with him!” Reed exclaimed as he walked back into the conversation. “That’s my man.” He linked his arm through mine.
Hazel shook her head. “I’m not flirting. You know he’s not my type.” She winked at me.
“Speaking of...where is this mystery girl? When does the fam get to meet her?” Reed pulled me closer just as I caught a camera go off.
Shit. Someone recognized me. Not that I cared about myself, but I didn’t want Reed to get dragged into this.
Hazel shrugged. “She’s busy, but maybe Thanksgiving. Or Christmas.” Another flash of light in the dim garage. “Think you’ve been spotted, superstar.” She jutted her chin at me.
“It’s fine,” I assured them.
But when a couple of people came over to ask me if I was, in fact, Cole Whitaker, sweat broke out on my skin. I wasn’t worried about them finding out I was bisexual. I just didn’t want them to start digging into Reed and his family. It was none of their business. The man I loved was off-limits, and I would tell the first person who asked me.
Reed leaned into me. “You want to go sit down? It’ll be more private.” His voice was low enough that only I could hear him.
“Okay, that’s enough from the paps.” Ezra waved his hands in the air. “Go touch grass or something and leave these kids alone.” He stomped his foot. “I mean it. Don’t make me get Killian, because you know you won’t survive.” He raised his chin triumphantly when the people and cameras moved away. “That’s going to be all over TikTok in like five minutes. Come with me, kids. Si, boo, you and Hazy good?”
Silas grinned. “Never better.”
Reed and I followed Ezra out of the garage, through more crowds of people, where I heard my name mentioned more than once, and then up a set of stairs. He opened the door to a private suite and motioned us inside.
“I know Silas has one, but this is our CC’s. You can stay here as long as you like. I’m sure the rest of the WAGs will make their way here soon.”
“Thank you,” Reed told him. “Really, you don’t have to do this.”
Ezra sighed. “I get it. When Carson and I got together, it wasn’t this big, huge deal, but sometimes it was. Some of the tracks weren’t so friendly, and some of the fans...yeah, it wasn’t nice. I’ve learned to ignore them. And now that my man is a Daytona 500 winner, along with a NASCAR champion, they can all fuck right off. I needed a safe place for my kid that wasn’t on the track where he could hear the negative comments. Now, enjoy yourselves. I’m going to go back to CC. Come down when you’re ready. Or not. But I figure you want to be there at the start of the race.”
I turned to Reed when Ezra was gone. “We can go out there any time you want. I know you want to be there for Silas.”
“I do.” He stepped toward me. “But I also want to make out with my boyfriend right now.”
That sounded like the perfect idea.
