Page 72 of My Five Daddies

“I’m very serious. I think she can handleit.”

“Guys.” Tori stands up and we all look back at her. I’m smiling, and to be totally honest, I’m proud of her. “Listen, I know how much you’ve all invested in this. Time, money, drama, everything. Dustin can be a big, big star. Someone’s going to take him on, and it might as well beus.”

The guys watch her and I suddenly know why we all love her somuch.

It hits me like a brick wall. I can see it glowing from every pore of her skin, every inch of her: it’s an intense and powerful sense ofself.

I don’t think I could explain it before. But Tori is unlike anyone we’ve ever met. She’s so incredibly and uniquely herself. We saw it the first time we met her, and the more time we spent with her, the more obvious itbecame.

And right now, standing up to all five of us, I can see it so clearly. We love her because she’s herself more than anything else in this world. Most people have little bits and pieces of something else stuck to them, parts of pop culture clinging to their personality, deeply ingrained beliefs that may or may not be true, all the detritus and junk that accumulates with alife.

But Tori, she doesn’t have that stuff. She’s so purely herself, singularly and intensely. Being around her is like standing near a star. It’s bright, burning hot, and glorious. It feels damngood.

I think the others see it now, too. I look around the table and their faces are all the same: slightly awed, slightly impressed. We all look at her like that, like she’s the most glorious thing in the world. And I really think she is. It takes a special person to get involved with us like this, a really incredible person. And Tori’s that person forus.

“I say we let her,” Will sayssoftly.

“I agree,” I sayquickly.

Hunter looks pained. “I won’t force her to do anything,” he says. “But I won’t stop her,either.”

She looks at them gratefully. “I can do this,” she says. “I wantit.”

“No,” Jordan says. “Ican’t.

“Jordan,” Isay.

He shakes his head. “Ican’t.”

“Do it,” Chris sayssuddenly.

Jordan stares at him like he was just stabbed in the back. “How?” he asks. “You can’t believeit?”

Chris just looks away and shakes hishead.

All eyes are on Jordan. He looks around the table and he realizes that he lost, that we’re all against him. He sighs and deflates. “Okay,” he says. “If that’s how itis.”

Tori smiles. “Thank you, Jordan. I know that was really hard foryou.”

He smiles at her weakly andnods.

I look around the table for a second before turning back to Tori. “Are yousure?”

She nods. “I’m sure.” She gives me a wicked grin. “Let’s get that littleshit.”

24

Tori

I’mnervous as hell as we pull up outside of Dustin’shouse.

Well, his parents’ house. I keep forgetting, but he’s still a kid, and he still lives at home. Ethan looks at me for a second. “You’re sure aboutthis?”

“Don’t try and talk me out of it,” I say. “Plus, he won’t take it toofar.”

“That’s what we thoughtbefore,”

I bite my lip and shrug. “I can handleit.”

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