Page 84 of Bourbon and Secrets

“Don’t do that to yourself,” I say, stopping him. “You are so many things to so many people. A dad, a grandson, brother, friend—and that’s just in your personal life. Those are a lot of places where you need to step up and be the strong one. I’ve been trying to step up and be that my entire life. It’s hard every single day. And you do it so effortlessly too.” I run my fingers along his hairline and down toward the back of his neck. “There’s nothing hypocritical about loving the people in your life. You can worry about what will happen or you can choose to enjoy people while they’re with you.”

Nodding subtly, he leans into the way I’m touching him. There are parts of this man that feel so much like me, but the way he can make the people around him feel so good and cared for without it seeming like much effort at all has me not wanting to leave his side. And as we lie together, I let myself do exactly what I just told him and enjoy what I have with Lincoln Foxx while I can.

The thunder turnsinto a low rumble. A constant hum that never seems to end.

I blink my eyes open, and a wet nose surrounded by black and brown fur rests on the edge of the bed, inches from my face. “Good morning, Kit.” Growls turn into whines as her tail thwaps on the hardwood floor below her. “Where’s Lincoln?” I whisper.

She jumps onto the bed as an answer, which would be more of an issue if Lincoln was sleeping next to me. The drapes have been pulled shut, but they still let in enough light to let me know the day has begun. Our clothes from last night are still thrown around the floor and I am very naked under these sheets. Dropping my head back to the pillow, I pet Kit as I remember last night and how it feels to be wrapped up in Lincoln. I can't stop the smile I have, looking up at the vaulted ceiling and noticing the colors of the wooden beams. I’m relieved to be in here and not in a room he’d shared with his wife. He’s already had so many firsts in his life that I haven’t had yet—love, marriage, building a family. It’s a dangerous thought spiral to run down if I let myself.

Kit lets out another growl. “Yes, I need to get up. How did you get in here anyway?”

I spend a minute combing my fingers through my hair and washing the leftover makeup off my face. After tossing on a white Foxx Bourbon t-shirt, I swish with the mouthwash on the counter and listen at the door for a moment, but the only thing I can hear is a teakettle whistling and the sound of something being fried in a pan.

There’s plenty I left unsaid last night, but a part of me feels so good.Happy.

I didn’t tell him the details that Maggie shared with me. What she saw. I couldn’t put him or his girls in any more danger, and if he knew more, I felt like I would be. He’s the kind of man to stop at nothing to protect the ones he loves and, selfishly, I’m not ready for him to either push me away, or worse, do something he shouldn’t, like confront Waz.

“What does that mean, ‘she’s your friend’?” Lily asks. I stop short. I hadn’t heard anyone.Shit.“She’s my friend too, right?”

Lark pipes in, “Yeah, but Dad is going to suck face with her too.”

I slap my hand over my mouth, trying to hold in my laugh.

“Ew, why? Do you mean kiss her?” Lily says. “Dad, is she a kissing friend like Jordan?”

Lincoln says, “Yes—Wait, who the fuck is Jordan?”

“Curse purse,” the girls say in unison.

I inch forward to see if there’s an easy path out of here. Nope. Instead, I watch Lincoln in a pair of those thin cotton pants, black this time, hanging low on his hips. He’s in a cut-off shirt and a black baseball hat turned backwards as he serves out scrambled eggs from a pan. I swallow and feel my cheeks heat instantly at the sight.

“It’s been me and you two for a while now. And I’m not saying that’s going to change, but I like Faye. I’d like to spend more time with her, and I want to make sure you’re both okay with that,” he says.

“What if we weren’t?” Lark asks.

I lean against the hallway wall and struggle to hear his response. “Then I would have to see if she’d wait for me until you were.”

It isn’t the answer I was expecting and part of me wants to throw my fist up in the air while the other is terrified that he’s serious.

“Well, I think she’s amazing. And I think you should kiss her as much as you want, Dad,” Lily says as she chews on something.

A fork clatters against the plate like someone dropped it, and I quickly try to decide if I should listen to any more. This isn’t meant for me to hear. This is for them.

“Lark, you saw the beauty mark. It’s not a coincidence,” Lily says, and then whispers something else I can’t make out.

The tapping of nails hitting the hardwood gets louder as Kit turns the corner and is headed right for me, barking like she’s tattling on my presence. I raise my finger in front of my lips as if the dog has any idea what that means. Instead, she sits in front of me and starts whining.

“Good morning,” Lincoln says with a smile, peering into the hall.

“Hi,” I whisper, eyes wide as I gesture to his girls. “Should I crawl out the window or something?”

He holds out his hand and then leans in to grab mine. “Come on. I can’t keep this a secret from them.”

And just hearing it makes me realize that I’m completely in over my head with a man like this. But instead of holding back and pushing him away, I hold on to him.

“Look who I found creeping in the hallway with Kit,” he says.

The dog barks at hearing her name. Lily waves, and Lark says, “Hi, Faye.”

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