Chapter 41
Forty One
Ezra
“What the fuck’s he doing here, Kaeli?” I demand again when she doesn’t answer.
I’ve seen this guy before. He’s the same man whom Kaeli meets every time we’re in Seattle at Holly’s. The same one I warned not to take her name, let alone call or fucking have his paws on her in front of me.
I thought she had lost contact with him. However, I couldn’t be sure because the team hasn’t had a game in Seattle, not since we got together.
An ocean of possibilities swims across my mind, all jumbled and confirming my worst fears. Each worse than the one before.
My fists tighten as the rage at this betrayal courses through my veins. The hurt I experienced years before because of Jenna’s cheating resurges, almost weakening my knees enough to buckle right here on their door.
Nevertheless, this blond dude should’ve paid heed to my threat. Rushing forward, I extricate his hands from my woman and grab the collar of his shirt, yanking him to me.
“Ezra, hey! Stop it!” Kaeli calls out and tugs at my hands, putting herself in between us and pushing us apart as I stagger on my feet.
I don’t want to believe she could do something like this to me. Not after knowing everything about what I’ve been through. So, I lock my eyes with her, and ask only once, “Are you cheating on me? Did you bring me here to break up with me?”
I desperately want her to say no, but her reaction leaves me all out of sorts.
Kaeli bursts out laughing, and the dude with a death wish follows.
Bending over her waist, she holds on to him, and he slings his arm over her shoulders.
I clench my jaw, my eyes bouncing between those two like they’ve grown two heads. And they almost bug out when they do a high-five, and Kaeli gives a hundred-dollar bill to the dude who pockets it.
What the fuck? They’re betting on me? Why?
I’m running out of patience. “Kaeli.” The warning in my tone does nothing to dissuade her.
“Give me one second, sorry,” she wheezes between her bouts of laughter. “I know…I know I shouldn’t, but—”
I drag a frustrated hand through my hair and then cross my hands at my chest, while my foot incessantly taps on the cement ground beneath me.
When she finally feels like she can breathe, she straightens and clears her throat. “Roman, meet Ezra, my boyfriend,” she introduces me, her hand outstretched in my direction.
My teeth grind to powder when she puts her hand on his torso, but I stay put. “And Ezra, meet Roman.”
What a pretentious fucking name!
“My brother.” I think I heard her wrong.
My hands drop to my side as I blink at her. “Sorry, who?” I ask her to repeat herself.
“My brother, darling,” she chirps, barely holding back her smile as she bites into her lower lip.
My eyes widen in horror when the derivation of it all draws on me. I stumble back, glancing between those two. There’s hardly any resemblance, and the contrasting shade of their hair colors didn’t help either. I never would’ve guessed.
Fuck!
I bend over my waist, planting my hands on my knees, wishing the ground to open up and swallow me whole. I rub a palm over my face when I finally muster enough dignity to stand and look him in the eyes.
I step forward and outstretch my hand, “Nice to meet you, Roman.”
He snickers but clasps my hand nonetheless. “Only because I’m her brother. Remember that call? I had to tell Kaeli about that terrific and rather scary guy who picked up her phone.”
I wince, my face heating up. “Yeah, not my finest moment.”
“You don’t say.” He arches an incredulous eyebrow at me.
“You’re never gonna let me live it down, are you?” I ask with the shake of my head.
Roman’s golden retriever smile widens at that as he pats my shoulder. “Not if I can help it.”
“Will you keep hounding the poor boy or let him in?” A mature, feminine voice calls out from the small porch of the house.
I move my gaze to the owner of the voice and find a woman old enough to be their mother at the door, standing with a pleasant smile.
Then it happens for all of one second, and I feel Kaeli tense beside me. But when I look at her, she’s still donning that smile.
Walking toward the house, she hugs her mom, who is almost the same height as her.
“Come on.” Roman pats my back and helps me carry the bags inside. The mother-daughter duo has already found their way into the living room.
Dropping the luggage in the foyer, we follow the ladies inside as chatter fills the walls.
Curious to learn more about her, I browse the framed pictures hanging on the walls. I grin, seeing Kaeli on her father’s shoulders in pigtails and the cutest smile on her chubby cheeks.
There’s one where their parents are holding Roman in the middle, and Kaeli at her mother’s side with an angry expression on her face. She appears to be about ten in this picture.
There are a few more of Roman receiving trophies and medals for soccer. Moving on from them, I see one where both the parents kiss a teenage Roman’s cheeks as he makes a gagging face, while Kaeli stands on the side, giving an awkward smile.
My own grin falls when I identify an odd pattern. Concerned and a little confused, I turn to see Kaeli and find her brother giving her a noogie, while she chortles and yells at the same time.
I shake my head, clearing all the stupid ideas, and move away when I see more of Roman’s pictures receiving his degree and shots with his team holding an MLS cup.
What the fuck?
“You’re an MLS player?” My voice gives away my astonishment as I walk into the living room.
With a smug grin on his face, he says, “Hell yeah, I am.”
“You didn’t tell me?” I look at Kaeli.
“It never came up.” She just shrugs, but I see a flicker of something else in her eyes. It’s gone before I can pinpoint it.
“Come, son. Take a seat,” The older woman points at the couch. “I’ll introduce myself. It seems like my daughter still hasn’t learned her manners,” she remarks with the roll of her eyes at Kaeli.
Her slight jab doesn’t sit well with me, and it bothers me when I find Kaeli’s smile dim as Roman rubs her hand as she stands snuggled in his shoulder.
“Sorry,” Kaeli says in a quiet voice that I don’t think I’ve ever heard her speak.
“I’m Janice.” Her mother ignores her and offers me her hand to shake.
The footfall of someone’s arrival has us looking at them. “And I’m Peter, their father,” the man introduces himself as he goes to stand beside his wife, offering me his hand to shake, which I take dutifully.
Kaeli’s father is a tall man who looks young for his age, with the gray shining in his hair. A total silver-fox if you ask me. I can see a resemblance between him and Kaeli, from his red hair to his brown eyes and freckled face.
“It’s nice to meet you, sir. Thank you so much for having me,” I extend my gratitude.
“Oh, call me Peter, son. Excuse us for the less-than-simple welcome. Looks like Kaeli thought it would be a good idea to surprise us with a guest,” he laughs, as the others follow, even Kaeli.
I act to join in too, though I’m questioning myself if all of this is in my head, or if they’re really talking down to her.
“How about you rest for a while? It must’ve been a long flight. We can all gather around at dinner,” Janice suggests, and all nod in agreement.
“Sure, sounds great,” I nod.
Roman moves to grab the bags. “Come, I’ll help you and show you around ”
“That’s my boy,” Peter’s voice follows us.
As I follow Roman and Kaeli through the corridors, there’s only one thought in my mind.
This is the weirdest fucking interaction I’ve had.