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As he walked away and looked over his shoulder, their eyes met, and she grinned, quickly looking back down at her drawing.

He browsed the store, all the while keeping an eye on Scarlett.

As he was paying, a man approached her. He grabbed his things from the counter, not even waiting for his change.

The shitface now stood before her, looking down on her with a smug smile that Ezra wanted to punch right off his face.

Scarlett looked awfully pale, her head tilted to look up at the man.

“Is he bothering you, princess?” he asked, his throat vibrating with a threatening growl as he stepped up next to the man.

“I believe he was just about to leave.”

“Good, I would carve his tongue out if he stayed a second longer.”

The man’s eyes flickered between the two of them.

Scarlett always liked to wear light, sunny and flowery things while Ezra wore the darkest of blacks and let his tattoos and scars speak for himself.

“My bad,” the man said. “I didn’t know she was accompanied.

I just saw a beautiful woman sitting all by herself. ”

“Keep talking and I’ll be sure you never see a thing ever again.”

The man shrugged it off and gave Scarlett a courteous nod. “Ma’am.”

Ezra stared after him, contemplating if now was a good time to beat him within an inch of his life.

“Is all of that mine?”

Her question snapped him back to reality—where he couldn’t touch that fucker with so many witnesses around. They had a hunt to get to and unwanted attention like beating someone would only make it harder. “Yes.”

“I think you overestimated me.” She took his hand and pulled him down to sit next to him. “Hold this, please.” He took her sketchbook and let her choose from the selection he’d bought. “That made me feel special.”

When Ezra felt eyes on him, he lifted his gaze from the sketchbook. “What?”

“It made me feel good that you came right away. I didn’t like that he came over, but you were right there.”

“One of us will always be there.”

“Well, it made me feel safe.”

“No one has ever told me I make them feel special and definitely not safe.”

Scarlett’s hand blanketed his and she smiled up at him. “ You make me feel special and safe, Ezra.”

Why the fuck did that make his eyes burn? “Thank you.”

Scarlett stretched and gave him a kiss before returning her attention to the food in her hands.

A few moments later, Vince and Mateo joined them. Mateo sat to his side while Vince stood to the other side of Scarlett.

“Were you allowed to peek inside?” Mateo asked, indicating the sketchbook.

“No, but I was allowed to watch her work today.”

“If you don’t make any comments, you may look inside,” Scarlett offered, making them all smile at the same time.

“We won’t,” Mateo promised.

She nodded and slipped off the bench sitting on the ground before him and rested against his knees.

“Why are you sitting on the ground?” Ezra asked, rather irritated that she thought this was acceptable.

“So you all can see equally and I don’t see your reactions.”

Though he hated it, he accepted it, nevertheless.

As Vince sat down, Ezra opened the book to the first page and found himself looking at the Brighton skyline.

They flipped through, finding a mixture of landscapes, lakes, and people.

She seemed to love drawing children with their families, with even Kurt thrown into the mix too.

All were beautiful drawings, which was hard to admit when it came to Kurt and even her family.

When they neared the end of the book, Ezra flipped a page and froze.

Looking back at him was his own hard and hateful face.

It was like a dark mirror of himself, a terrifying and eye-opening portrait.

Ezra knew what he looked like, but seeing himself through her eyes felt like a baseball bat right to the gut.

Mateo reached over and pointed to the bottom of the page where she’d scribbled the date she’d drawn it—the first night she’d come down to see them.

The night where she’d run away and rejected them.

He’d been so rageful and looking back now, he hated that version of himself.

He could only hope that now she saw him in a different light.

Running his fingers over the edge of the paper, careful not to smear the drawing, he recalled her words from just a few minutes ago.

‘You make me feel special and safe, Ezra.’

He wasn’t that same person anymore, not in her eyes, at least. They’d come so far and unable to face his past mistakes, he turned the page and saw Vince.

He gave Vince time to intake his portrait, then turned the page to find Mateo smiling back at them.

He was the only one of the three who’d had her comfort in mind from day one.

He’d always looked after her needs, and Ezra couldn’t help but feel grateful for all of Mateo’s efforts.

The rest of the book was filled with their home and the weeping willow by the lake before they ended up back at the fountain where they were currently sitting.

“Thank you for sharing that with us,” Mateo said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “We enjoyed seeing that part of you very much.”

“You’re welcome.”

With the day getting away from them, they ventured off for lunch, then returned to the cabin to turn in for the evening.