Saved (A Standalone Romance) (A Savery Brother Book)

by Naomi Niles

  “Is that all you wanted to tell me?”

  “And,” she stood up, her full-figured body calling my name the same way it did during the times that we were dating, “I am kind of horny right now.” I laughed out loud at her advance, but she paid no attention to it. She continued walking in my direction, her breasts shaking with each step she took. Her smile was seductive. She licked her bottom lip and lowered her eyes, and it was that look she gave me that always turned me on.

  “Horny? First of all, the kids are in the other room–”

  She straddled onto my lap and untied the back of her shirt, “They will not step foot out of that room. I told them to stay put, and that’s what they will do.”

  “Second,” she started kissing me on my neck, “I’m sure you have… I’m sure… I’m sure you have other guys that can handle that for you.” Her soft kiss made me forget how to put my words together. She always had a way of finding the softest spots on my body.

  “No, Ezra. No guys this time.” She leaned in for another kiss, and this time, her breasts rubbed against my chest. I glanced down the hallway to our kids’ room. The door was closed, and there wasn’t a sign of either one of them coming down the hallway. I closed my eyes as her soft kiss sent tingles down my spine. “I realized,” she continued, “that I made a mistake. I let something go when I should have held on. I know we both did a lot of bullshit in the past, but I want to start over, Ezra.” She kissed me again. “Don’t you? I know you miss this,” she said as she took my hands and placed them on her backside.

  Her cheeks were soft as I wrapped my hands around them. She giggled as she started a slow grind. I wanted her. I would be lying if I said the thought didn’t cross my mind a few times, especially after I saw the pictures. The pictures?! The words sent an alarm off in my mind that instantly regurgitated thoughts of Hannah. My heartbeat sped up as if she were in the room with us, watching everything unfold. “No, get up, Tanya,” I said as I grabbed hold of her hips. She laughed as if I were joking, so I said it again, only this time, I stood up and popped her off my lap.

  She looked offended. Her lip curled up. Her brows wrinkled like an English bulldog. “What the hell, Ezra?”

  “I can’t do this, Tanya. I can’t.”

  She quickly copped an attitude and threw her hands on her hips. “And why not?”

  “Because I am with somebody now. This is not like the old times when you could just come back around at any given moment and get some dick. I’m committed to this woman right now, and that’s how it is.”

  “Oh, really? So, you can commit to this whore, but when it came to me, you were sleeping around like nobody’s business. Really, Ezra? You get this fuckin’ movie deal and then all of a sudden, things aren’t like they used to be? Really?”

  “Yeah, really. With age, comes maturity. Well,” I gave her a once-over, “usually, that is how things work, but I don’t know where the fuck you came from, so your species might not adapt the same way.”

  “What? The big breasts species?”

  “Yeah. The one that sacrificed brain power for larger breasts. That one.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Fuck you, Ezra, and I swear if that whore comes around my boys, there will be hell to pay. I was joking around before, but this time, you’ll see how it ends for you, and it won’t be pretty. Trust me.”

  I smirked. “Well, that makes two things in your life that won’t be pretty.”

  She didn’t utter another word as she stormed out of the house and slammed the door shut behind her. I exhaled and sat down on the couch, knowing that I was just minutes away from falling into another one of her sexual traps. She was good at what she did though, and I couldn’t lie about it. She was good in bed, but that was about all she was good for. Just then, Nolan ran out of his room with Tanner right behind him. “Hey, was that Mom? She told us to stay in the room until she left.”

  I grabbed him and put him in a headlock. “Yeah, she’s gone! Now it’s time for the fellas to hang out! What do you boys want to do?” He struggled to break free from my grasp, and when he finally pulled himself loose, he socked me in the chest. “Nice punch, Tanner! I might need to put you and your brother in some boxing classes. Teach you how to use that punching power correctly.”

  “Yeah. I wanted to join some classes at the gym they have after school, but Mom said no.”

  “Oh yeah? Well, Dad says yes. A lot of things are going to change around here for you and Nolan, and your dad is going to have a lot more say in what happens in his boys’ lives. It’s time for some changes.”

  I kissed them both on the tops of their heads. They screamed out, “Yuck,” then ran back to their rooms as I called Hannah. I wanted her to come over and meet the boys, and I couldn’t care less what kind of threats that Tanya made. She wasn’t going to stop me from moving forward in my life with the woman I loved.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Hannah

  I heard them running around inside the house as I stood on the other side of the door. I could count the number of times on one hand that I had been around children. Ezra was the first man I’ve ever dated that had kids from a previous relationship. Just before I knocked on the door, I heard a loud boom from inside. “Tanner! Tanner, you and Nolan settle down in there before you break something!” Ezra’s voice traveled through the door as I hesitated before going inside. Break something? It sounded as if they already did.

  I knocked on the door a few times before Ezra finally opened it up. “Hey, baby,” he said, embracing me as I walked inside. “These boys have been here for almost two hours, and they are determined to turn my house upside down.” Inside, there were action figures and sports equipment scattered around in the front room. The television set was turned to some cartoon that I hadn’t seen before. The last time I saw one of those was on Saturday mornings when me and my cousins used to get up early just to watch them while we ate cereal. I held my purse close as if somebody was going to run up and snatch it out of my hand for fun.

  Just then, in a blur, two boys sped past me, nearly knocking me to the side in the process. Ezra grabbed both of them by the arm. “Hey, hey, what did I just tell you two? Settle down. Didn’t you see that there was a woman in front of you while you guys were running? You bumped into her and didn’t say excuse me.”

  “No, it’s fine, Ezra,” I said with a smile, as the two young boys looked up at me like I spoiled their fun.

  “It’s not fine. They have to learn to show better manners when they are around women. They know better than that. Boys,” he said, looking at them sternly. “What do you say?”

  “We’re sorry,” they said in unison.

  “Good. Now, introduce yourselves to her.”

  The oldest boy dropped his toy to the ground and extended his hand towards me. “My name is Tanner.” I didn’t expect his handshake to be so firm at his age.

  “Well, hello Tanner. My name is Hannah. And who is this little man right next to you?”

  “That’s my brother Nolan. He doesn’t talk that much because he is shy.”

  “Shut up, Tanner!” he said, punching his brother in the arm before he ducked behind his father for a shield.

  I thought it was cute how he hid behind his father for protection. They were both cute little boys, and I could see traces of Ezra in both of them. “It was nice to meet you two.” They waited quietly for a few moments until Ezra gave them the nod. After that, they picked up their things and ran to the back of the house and slammed the door to their room. Seconds later, there was another thud, followed by a rumble of laughter.

  Ezra shook his head. “Boys will be boys. They won’t be satisfied until one of them breaks their arm or something. Shit. That’ll give Tanya another reason to try to take them away from me.” He shoved a few toys off the couch to clear a space for me to sit down, “Sorry about the mess,” he said. “I made them clean it up about 30 minutes ago, but somehow, everything was placed right back in the same spot just minutes after they moved it.”


  “They look like they have nothing but energy.”

  “They look like it? Yeah, that’s because they are just a ball of energy. That’s it. I wish I could bottle what they had and sell it. I’d make a killing in the energy drink market. No question about it. But, I was thinking of taking them bowling or something later today. Are you down for that?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, bowling is cool.” I looked to the right, hesitant to ask the question that was bubbling in my mind. I was afraid that he would say something I didn’t want to hear, but I was dying to know what happened. Ever since I saw the pictures she sent to his phone, I was worried about their initial interaction after that happened. “So, um, Tanya stopped by?”

  “Yeah. She dropped the boys off almost two hours ago. Why?” I looked at him, hoping he would get the idea and I wouldn’t have to ask him about it. “Oh, that. Yeah,” he laughed. “Yeah, Tanya is just… I don’t know, she is weird. Sometimes, she hates me, and other times, she wants to jump my bones. What can I say? I’m irresistible.” I was unamused by his narcissism and his smile quickly faded when he saw my straight face. He cleared his throat, “So um, yeah, she did try something, but I shut it down.”

  “Ezra!”

  “What? She tried, but I told her no. I let her know that I was happy and in a committed relationship. I mean, times before, she would call me, and we would have sex, but things are different now. I’m in love with you, and I don’t want to do anything to mess that up. I can’t lose you, not for her or anybody else. So, I told her to leave, and she got upset and stormed out of the house. That’s all that happened.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Yeah. I mean, we can call her if you want and you can hear her snap about it for yourself. I mean, she was upset! Cursed me out and everything, but it was worth it. I am happy with who I am with.”

  He started to dial a number on his phone, but I put my hand on his and took his phone out of his hand. “No.” I pressed my lips against his. “There is no need to call her. I believe you. Thank you.” I kissed him again, but I quickly moved my lips away from his when I heard the pitter-patter of little feet running down the hallway.

  “All right boys, get your shoes on. We are getting ready to go bowling.”

  “Yeah!” they yelled together as the scurried to grab their shoes.

  We arrived at the bowling alley 20 minutes away from Ezra’s home. He wanted to take the boys later in the evening so they could participate in the glow in the dark bowling at 7 pm. One of the pins glowed in the dark, and if somebody got a strike when one of the pins glowed, then they got little prizes to celebrate their victory. “All right boys,” Ezra said. “We are going to split up into two teams. Whoever wins gets ice cream, and the loser has to pay for it.”

  “But Dad, I don’t have any money,” Tanner said as he slipped on his shoes.

  “Well, that just means that whoever has money on your team has to buy it. Nolan? You and Tanner get to pick who you want on your team, OK?”

  I tied my shoes, knowing that one of his boys would pick him first. To my surprise, Tanner chose me. My eyes widened as he said my name. Ezra looked at me and shrugged his shoulders with a smile on his face. “Oh,” I said, “all right. I wasn’t expecting that, but OK. Let’s kick some butt, Tanner.”

  “Ooooh, Tanner, you’re going down! How dare you pick her over your old man?”

  “That’s just it, Dad. You’re an old man. She looks younger than you, so I’m going with the younger person. That’s it.”

  “Yeah, your father is almost 50, so you made a good choice with me.”

  Tanner smiled as he picked up one of the bowling balls from the center. “Wait, Tanner,” Ezra said, approaching him from the side. “Let me show you how to hold that thing before you go throwing it down the lane.”

  Nolan sat beside me, struggling to slide his foot into his shoe. He stood up and stomped his foot into the ground, but it still wouldn’t slide in. He hadn’t spoken much at all since we were introduced to each other and his big brother said he was shy, so I figured that he just needed a little time before he came around. “Do you need some help?” I asked softly. He ignored me and kept stomping his foot into the ground. I looked at Ezra as he held the bowling ball in his hand in front of the lane, showing Tanner how to bowl right. “Here,” I said, reaching down to Nolan’s foot, “let me help you, sweetie.”

  He sat down and let me remove his shoe from his foot. I loosened his shoe strings, then held my thumb at the back of his shoe to help his heel slide into place better. “OK, now try it.” When he stood up, his foot easily slid into the shoe; then a wide smile jetted across his face. “You see? That wasn’t that bad, was it?” He shook his head no, then ran away from me to find a ball. Before he got too far, he came back to me. “Thank you,” he said bashfully before he turned and sprinted away to find a ball.

  “What was that all about?” Ezra asked while he took a seat next to me.

  “Nothing. That was just me stealing your other son away from you.”

  He laughed. “I wouldn’t be surprised. I guess I’ve got a bunch of traitors on my hands. A bunch of small backstabbers! But, looking at you? I think I would have done the same thing if I were them. Hell, they might have a crush on you. I wouldn’t be surprised.” Just then, Nolan came back with his bowling ball. It was a small ball that would easily bounce off the bumpers that we had set up on our lane. “All right, is everybody ready? Let’s go, Nolan! We’ve got some ice cream to win!”

  I sat back and watched Ezra’s interaction with his boys. The way they were drawn to him made me want to have kids of our own. I wanted to be around him and see how he built that kind of connection with his children. I could tell they loved their father and it hurt me to think that Tanya would want to come between that bond. Even though she said it was a joke, I still believed that she would make good on the threat if the opportunity came. “All right, Hannah, you’re up!”

  Ezra called me to the lane. I grabbed my bowling ball and ordered him to step to the side. I threw the ball down the lane, and it ricocheted off each bumper until it made its way down the lane and knocked all of the pins onto the floor. “Strike! In yo face, Ezra!” I slapped hands with Tanner as he cheered for me.

  “Those bumpers saved you, Hannah, and you know it!”

  “So! A strike is a strike and um, I want sprinkles and caramel on mine. Thank you.”

  It was only the first frame, but I was a shit talker when it came to competitions. As they bowled next frame, my phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Hey, Hannah? It’s your agent. Listen, I need you to come to the office when you get a chance. It is urgent.”

  The boys cheered in the background as I covered my ear to hear her better. “What is it about?”

  “The movie. If you can come today, that’d be great, but if not, then Monday will work.”

  “Um, OK. Monday. Monday it is.”

  “All right. See you then.”

  I hung up the phone as an uneasy feeling sank to the pit of my stomach. I didn’t know what the meeting was about, but I was scared that it was going to be bad news. Maybe I stopped performing to the expectations that were set, and they wanted to replace me? I didn’t have much time to think about it, because a few minutes later, Ezra called my name. “Hannah, you’re up! Try not to use the bumper this time. You’re a grown woman!”

  “Well,” I said, standing up with sassiness, “if the bumpers are there, I am going to use the bumpers. Now, if you will excuse me, Tanner and I have some ice cream to win later on. Right, Tanner!”

  “Yup!”

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Ezra

  “Ezra. Babe. How’s life?”

  Marc called me bright and early on Monday morning. The boys had just left my house yesterday, and I didn’t even allow Tanya into the house. I told Tanner and Nolan not to let their mother know about Hannah. I figured that I had to treat that situation delicately because Tanya was liable to fly off the deep end at a mome
nt’s notice and I wasn’t ready to handle her theatrics just yet. “Marc? It’s fucking 7:30 am. I'm sleeping. What the hell do you want this early?”

  “I know it is 7:30, but you’re the busy, big-time actor now, so I figured you’d be up working on your script or something of that nature.”

  “My script was memorized months ago. What’s going on?”

  “Well, hey, I’ve got some news. Shouldn’t be anything big, but I got a call from the director. Says that we need to have an urgent meeting with you today around 2 pm.”

  I sat up in my bed. “Today? Shit, Marc, I couldn’t get an advance notice? I’ve already got shit planned for the day.”

  “That is the nature of the beast, babe. You gotta stay flexible.”

  “Bullshit, Marc. How long have you known about this meeting?”

  He paused. “For about a few days now.”

  “Goddamnit!”

  “Hey, hey, calm down babe. The meeting should be no longer than 15, 20 minutes. In and out, you know? Just like you like it. In and out. I promise you that.” He put the phone down and yelled at someone in the background. “Hey, get the fuck off that, buddy! You’re going to break it!” He slid his mouth back to the phone and continued speaking as if he never stopped. “So, meet me at 85th and Boulevard at 2 pm.”

  “85th? That’s not where your office is.”

  “Yeah, I know. We are meeting somewhere else. I have to–” he yelled again, “Shit! You know what, I’ll do it! I’ll fucking do it myself!”

  “Marc?”

  “I’m sorry, babe, I’ve got to go. This mechanic is supposedly fixing my hoverboard, and he has no clue what the fuck he is doing. None! I will see you today at 2 pm. Don’t be late, Ezra, this is serious business.”

  He hung up before I could ask him anything else about the meeting. I had plans to go work out with Jeff today and get our routine up and going again, but now, I was going to have to cancel. I wondered what the meeting could be about. Things seemed to be going well as far as I could see, so I didn’t know what to expect. I sent a good morning text to Hannah, thanking her again for the time she spent with my boys. Things got off to a shaky start between them, but once I saw Nolan open up to her, I knew she would be fine. Nolan was the hardest cookie to crack, and if he didn’t like you, there wasn’t a thing you could do to change his mind. He was a shy kid, and on top of that, he was very selective with whom he wanted to connect with.