Page 101 of Snapping the Ice
CHAPTER 21
LUCAS
The next morning, I helped Evan make a breakfast of eggs and avocado toast. It was the first breakfast dish I’d had with Ezra. I glanced at him, opening his laptop and logging in at our dinette. I’d had the soundest sleep of my life. All the shit was behind us, and we’d come out of it together.
“Oh, my God.” Ezra clicked his mouse, covering his mouth with the back of his hand, his eyes wide.
“What?” I turned an egg into the frying pan at the stove. “Here, Evan, take over.” If some troll was berating him on the internet, I would find that fucker and?—
“I have at least ninety, oh shit, no, over a hundred emails here.” His gaze glistened as it met mine.
“What?” I tossed the spatula at Evan. “Don’t burn them.” I stomped toward Ezra. Had the trolls found his email address? Shit, it was right on his website.
“Dude, I won’t.” With a scoff, Evan flipped another egg.
Coming up behind him, I peered into his laptop screen. “What’s going on? What are they saying?” I readthe first email about a gay couple wanting his services. That wasn’t a troll. I squeezed his shoulders. “Ezra, talk to me.”
He opened email after email. “They’re people wanting to hire me. A lot of them are queer couples having weddings, but there are others. Here’s a guy who loves hockey and wants to support us by having me take pictures of his dog.” His voice cracked.
“Are you serious?” With a broad grin, Evan twisted from the stove. “Way to go, Ezra.”
“Thank you. I can’t believe it.” He peeked at me. “I’ll have to hire an assistant.”
“Maybe you can find someone at the college you went to? I’m sure a photography student would love to work with you.” Bending, I pressed a slow kiss on his mouth, my heart soaring for him. “Babe, this is great news. Fucking Tate underestimated what he was up against when he posted those photos of us.”
“He thought it would ruin us. All it did was make us stronger.” Ezra patted my hand, still resting on his shoulder.
Evan plated the eggs. “You two are making me gag a little, but I’m happy for you.”
With a snicker, I said, “Gag all you want.” I kissed the top of Ezra’s head. “Hey, let’s call my parents after breakfast so they can meet you. We’re on a roll.”
“That sounds wonderful. In the meantime, I’ll address these emails while we have breakfast.” Ezra tapped on his keyboard.
While we ate, I set up a time to call my parents. Thankfully, they were both at home this morning. We cleaned the breakfast dishes and Evan left to run some errands. After putting the lastdish away, I led Ezra to the couch with my phone in my hand. “Are you nervous?”
“Very.” He fell onto the couch with me and sighed. “I hate to bring Tate up again, but his parents weren’t nice people. They were condescending as hell. I was never good enough for their son.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I held the phone sideways in my hand so we’d both fit in the screen and FaceTimed Mom.
The phone chimed and Mom’s face filled the screen, the kitchen cabinets taking up space behind her. “Lucas, good to hear from you today. How are things with all the press?”
Ezra stared into the phone. “Your mother is beautiful.”
“Oh, thank you, dear. I’m Jennifer.” She gave him a warm smile. “You’re a very handsome young man. My son did well.”
Ezra’s cheeks pinked. “Thanks, Jennifer.”
I glanced at him. Normally I’d get pissed off, since I’d heard about a million MILF jokes about Mom, but Ezra’s statement wasn’t disrespectful. Into the phone, I said, “Things have taken a turn for the better today. Ezra’s photography business is taking off. He woke up to a bunch of requests from people wanting to work with him.”
“That’s fantastic. Congratulations, Ezra.” She beamed at him. “I looked at some of your photos on your website. They’re amazing. You have quite an eye for capturing the essence of a person.”
Ezra grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “That’s very nice of you to say.”
“Is that Lucas?” Dad’s voice filled the connection.
“It is. Come and pull a chair up.” Mom looked away for a moment.
The screen panned and Dad’s face came into view, his thick dark glasses perched on his nose. “Hi son. I’m Scott, Lucas and Mason’s father.” He narrowed his eyes.
