Page 27 of Fortuity

“Partofwhat?”

“Why the pull between us is so damn strong.” I gasped at his admission, and he tugged me closer with a determined gleam in his eyes. “Don’t even try to pretend it doesn’t exist, Faith. Not when we’re both feeling it. And definitely not when you’re the first person I’ve opened up to aboutDeclan.”

“I—”

Shit.He was right. I couldn’t deny it. Not in a moment where it felt like he was baring his soul to me. The least I could do was be honest with him and own up to the fact that I was starting to have feelings for him. “Yes, I feelittoo.”

“You climbed into my SUV, and it was like I’d been hit by a lightning bolt.” His hand slid around my back to rest just above the swell of my ass. “You haven’t told me much about your childhood, but I figured you had to have experienced your own loss if you ended up infostercare.”

“My mom. When I was twelve.” My gaze slid up to the picture of Dillon and his brother, their arms slung over each other’s shoulders with huge grins on their identical faces. “But it wasn’t much of a loss because she wasn’t much of a mother to me in the firstplace.”

Dillon’s gaze followed mine. “Declan and I were identical in looks, but he was my better half in so many ways. He always got straight A’s, without really trying. Didn’t break any rules. No drinking, not even when we were at parties. He never tried smoking pot because he didn’t want to risk getting kicked off the football team. He played first line for offense anddefense.”

About halfway through his recitation about his brother, I shifted my focus from the photos to Dillon’s face. His despair was etched there, in the lines bracketing his mouth and the pallor in his complexion. “He soundsamazing.”

“Declan wasthebest.”

My eyes filled with tears at how profound his loss had been. I sniffled, drawing Dillon’s attention away from themantle.

“Look at my tough girl, crying for me.” He lifted the hand at his side to swipe at my cheeks while the other pressed me closer tohisbody.

“Don’t expect to see it again any time soon,” I warned. “The last time I cried was almost four years ago when I found out I was getting a newkidney.”

“Four years ago, this coming February,” he murmured. “That’s the last time I cried; when I woke up from a four-week coma and found out Declan had died in theaccident.”

Whoa.Talk about a major coincidence. Four years ago, this coming February, was when I had mytransplant.

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