Page 86 of Doughn't Let Me Go

“I don’t tell many people this. In fact, I think Foster might be the only person who knows other than my mother and father.”

I lick my lips, enjoying the taste of the alcohol. “Why are you telling me, then?”

A V appears between his brows, his lips twisted. “Because it feels right.”

I swallow, and it’s audible. “Okay.”

He doesn’t speak for a long time, just staring out over the water.

Then finally…

“Kyrie isn’t mine.”

My breath leaves my lungs in one big whoosh.

Whatever he was going to tell me, I never in a million years thought it would be that.

I am so not drunk enough for this.

“I think I’ll have another drink now,” he says, like he can read my mind.

He pushes back from his position against the railing and heads inside.

I hear him moving around, pouring us more shots.

Shots I desperately need becauseWhat the fuck?!

She’s not his? If I’m being honest, I never thought they looked alike, but I just assumed that meant she favored her mother.

But to learn she’s not his…Wow.

“Here.” Another glass filled with booze slides into my vision. “You look like you could use this too.”

He sets more shots down on the railing and I eye them.

“I thought you were just going to have one,” I hedge.

“Yeah, well, I just spilled one of my deepest darkest secrets to you, so I think I’m allowed to break my own rule. Besides, the more I drink, the more I can bring the Tequila Clause into play. I’ll just say you got me drunk and pried the information out of me if this ever gets out.”

He laughs, but I hear the nerves in his voice.

“Your secret is safe with me, Porter. I promise.” I hold the shot up. “Besides, I plan to be too drunk to remember this later anyhow.”

We clink our glasses together and then down the burning booze.

“My ex was pregnant when I met her. We didn’t find out until a month after we were already dating.”

His voice is rough, and I wonder if it’s from the alcohol or talking about his ex.

“She talked to the father, and he wanted nothing to do with the baby. Wrote her a check for an abortion and that was it. She couldn’t do it, and I didn’t want her to. So, we told everyone the baby was mine, and it’s been our secret since.”

Suddenly, I’m wrapped in Porter’s arms.

I don’t know who grabbed for who first, but I know I’m not letting go.

He needs this too much, and maybe I do too.

“I couldn’t let the baby grow up without a father.” His lips move against my hair. “My father left me, so I know how that feels. If I could help it, I wasn’t going to let someone else go through that too.”

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