Free Waiting for the Storm by Marie Landry

remove it from the heat to keep thickening.”
    “Huh.” For some reason I found his surprise endearing. Ezra didn’t seem like the type to be surprised by much, and the fact that it was over something so simple made me like him even more.
    I asked him to start the water for the pasta while I assembled the salad. We’d made enough food to feed about half a dozen people, even though I wasn’t sure anyone else would be joining us.
    As if on cue, Ella entered the kitchen and froze when she saw Ezra standing at the stove. Her eyes roved over him from head to toe, and a wolfish smile overtook her face.
    “Hi there,” she said, sashaying further into the kitchen and stopping a few feet from Ezra. She struck what I’m sure she thought was a sexy pose, with her hand on her hip. “Who’s this?”
    I was ridiculously pleased to see that Ezra didn’t look impressed by Ella. I figured that said a lot, considering my sister was wearing about the shortest dress I’d ever seen, baring an almost indecent amount of perfectly tanned skin.
    “This is Ezra,” I said when he didn’t answer right away. “Ezra, this is my sister El…Gabriella.”
    “Ezra,” she said slowly, eyeing him like he was a big piece of man candy. “What a cool name. Where’d you get it?”
    “I’ve always had it,” he said, and I couldn’t help the snicker that rose to my lips.
    Ella shot me a nasty look, her sexy smile fading. “A funny one,” she said, turning back to Ezra. “I like that.”
    Ezra smiled, but it wasn’t one of the knock-your-socks off smiles he’d been giving me all day. I’d seen guys give girls that smile—the kind that didn’t reach their eyes—when they were giving them the brush off.
    “Ezra’s staying for dinner,” I told Ella. “It should be ready in about ten minutes.”
    “Oh, what a shame,” Ella said, looking at Ezra as if he was the one who’d spoken. “I’d love to stay but I already made plans with Caroline from next door.”
    “That’s too bad,” Ezra said, shooting me a surreptitious look of relief.
    Ella must have seen the look that passed between us because her expression turned sour. She covered it quickly, and said to me, “It’s so good to see you making friends, Charlotte.” Her tone was sweet, and she spoke slowly, as if she were talking to a very small child. “It’s not healthy for you to spend so much time alone. I worry about you, you know.”
    She brushed past me, patting my shoulder and sending a dazzling smile in Ezra’s direction. “You kids have fun. Don’t wait up!”
    I turned quickly toward the stove, stirring the sauce with new vigor as I tried to avoid looking at Ezra.
    “What a bitch,” he muttered.
    I looked over at him and almost laughed when I saw that he’d clapped a hand over his mouth.
    “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “That was so inappropriate. She’s your sister, and…”
    “She is a bitch,” I agreed, surprised to hear the words coming from my mouth. I’d thought them often enough over the last few months, but I’d never said them out loud.
    Ezra looked relieved, and when he smiled it was one of those genuine knock-your-socks-off smiles that made my heart stutter. “I’ve never understood why people feel it’s necessary to cut others down in order to make themselves feel better,” he said. “But especially when it comes to family. I…I heard what she said last night. On the beach. I couldn’t see your face, but I knew you heard her, too.”
    I sighed. I’d been hoping he hadn’t heard what Ella said to that guy. And yet, it didn’t seem to change the way Ezra felt about me. He’d still talked to me today, and he was still here now.
    “She just…” I shrugged, uncertain how to explain the odd relationship between Ella and me. “I don’t even know anymore. We used to be close when we were younger. Things just got messed up somewhere along the way.”
    Ezra nodded. “I can understand that,” he said quietly.
    His expression