Chapter 48
CHAPTER 48
“Holy shit,” Porter breathed.
And then, like a hurricane, they descended on him, intense expressions on their faces. I stepped back, unsure what they were going to do to him.
Bear hugs.
They were pulling Porter into giant man bear hugs.
It was borderline roughhousing. One guy ruffled Porter’s hair. Another pulled him into a headlock. There was a lot of backslapping and affection. The entire room watched in bemusement.
Friends? Army buddies? Guys from his SEAL team? I scanned the room for Emily. If that was the case, where was Jackson? Emily said they wouldn’t be arriving until tomorrow morning.
One of the guys caught my eye. His eyes widened, he stopped moving, and he called out, “Guys. Guys!”
I stood silently as they all stopped short.
“This is the bride,” he said in near reverence.
Six pairs of eyes, including Porter’s, all turned and measured me. Six pairs of beautiful grey eyes. All fringed with the beautiful lashes. Holy shit. These were his brothers. His big brothers .
They stared at me, and I stared back. They all shared his same physique, but their hair ranged from caramel blonde to dark brown. My eyes found Porter’s and he watched me with an expression I couldn’t read.
“Hi,” my voice cracked slightly.
One of them slapped Porter across the back of the head. “Are you going to introduce us?”
Porter stepped out of the bear pack and wrapped his arm around my waist. “This is Beth. My fiancée.”
The first guy stepped forward and gave me a devastating smile. “My name’s Jordan. As you might have noticed, I’m the best looking one in the bunch, but don’t hold that against Porter.”
They roared with laughter, and I snickered as he shook my hand.
Jordan.
Brice.
Calvin.
Forrest.
Miles.
One by one, they introduced themselves to me, all the while razing each other or Porter. They were funny. They liked to joke. And they all held deep affection for Porter.
“I can’t believe you’re here.” Porter looked like he’d woken up in some sort of dream.
“Well,” Brice—or maybe it was Miles—said, “Weddings are about family, aren’t they little brother?”
A female voice, soft and so full of emotion, spoke, “Porter.”
The boys parted, and there stood an older woman, looking at Porter with her hands over her mouth. An older man in a wheelchair sat beside her. He had the same grey eyes of the man I loved. Porter had gone completely still, his eyes moving between the couple.
“Mom. Dad.” His Adam's apple bobbed as he repeatedly swallowed.
“Oh, my baby.” She rushed into his arms.
They hugged for a long time, his face buried into her neck. It felt like a reunion hug between two people who hadn’t seen each other in a very long time. I didn’t know why, but I was fighting tears. Looking around the room, I was pretty sure I wasn’t the only one.
And then Porter stepped back and focused on the man in the wheelchair. “Dad.” Emotion coated his voice.
“Come here, son,” the man said.
Porter crouched beside him and gave him a long hug. Pure joy and love cross that man’s face while he hugged Porter tightly.
Roo sidled up to me and gave me a sideways smile. “Do you think Porter likes his surprise?”
“You did this?” I gawked at Roo in shock.
“When I asked Porter about his family, he told me that they wouldn’t be interested.”
No shit. Because this was a fake wedding that wasn’t supposed to happen .
“Wow, Roo,” I was at a loss for words, watching as Porter crouched beside his father to talk to him.
His father surreptitiously wiped tears from his eyes. Eyes that never left Porter’s face. I was fascinated with all of this. Fascinated with these people that made Porter’s identity. This was his family.
“You must be Beth.” Porter’s mom approached me.
“Hello.” I was terrified to face this woman without Porter at my side.
She pulled me into the warmest, softest hug imaginable. “Thank you so much for inviting us. I can’t tell you how much it meant to us.”
I was about to explain that it had nothing to do with me, but Roo stepped in, “Beth knew how much Porter would want you guys here. She killed herself to find you guys.”
Porter’s mom beamed at me. “Thank you so much. I’ve been worried sick about Porter for years. And this…” she choked up. “This is so special for us.”
“Oh, yes,” I pretended to know what she was talking about, but I wondered why Porter’s mom had been worried about him for years. How much time had passed since he’d seen his family? “I’m so glad you could come.”
She pulled me into another wonderful hug. “I can’t wait to get to know the woman my son has fallen in love with.” She had a warmth to her.
I liked her. “Are you hungry? Can I get you something to drink?”
She tucked her arm in mine. “Maybe some wine, but first, I need to meet your parents.”
Three hours later, I watched as four of Porter’s brothers, Dad, Roo, and six other men, arm in arm, tried to perform some complicated circle dance that involved a lot of Hungarian kicks and laughter. A dozen other people gathered around, cheering and clapping.
It took the arrival of Porter’s family to shake this party loose. Now, instead of a formal, staid affair, in which everyone stood around and quietly talked, it actually felt like a party. Jackets and ties had been shed. People danced, drank, laughed, joked and fell down drunk.
I glanced over at Mom, who was stared lovingly at Calvin doing a full-on demonstration of a story that involved what appeared to be a horse. Porter’s mom stood beside mine, sipping a glass of whisky as—I couldn’t believe it— Mom burst out laughing. Now Calvin was pouring out two shots of amber liquor, and it appeared he was trying to teach Mom how to do a shot.
My eyes scanned the room, trying to pick Porter out of the crowd of sweaty, happy, drunk people. As if he could sense that I was looking for him, his eyes pinned mine across the room and he walked towards me.
“Porter.”
He looked fucking delicious. His jacket had been shed. His dress shirt was rolled up at the sleeves and untucked from his pants. His hair was rumpled .
He stated the obvious, “My parents and brothers are here.”
“I noticed. They really know how to liven up a party.”
“I didn’t invite them.”
“Roo did.”
Porter paused and gave a short nod. “Roger.”
“He thought it’d be a nice surprise for you.”
He didn’t respond.
I stared at Porter. I could see concern and tension in his eyes. “Porter.”
“Can we hold off on our announcement?” he interrupted.
I looked around the room of so many happy people, “We might cause a riot if we called it off now.”
A sad smile teased his lips. “I need to talk to you. And with my family being here…”
“I get it.”
He rubbed his eyes with one hand. “My brothers want to take me out drinking after this party. Can I wake you when I get home?”
I stared up at him. “Won’t you be drunk?”
“No. I’ll keep it under control. I might be late, but I really need to talk to you.”
“Does this have to do with that conversation you had with my dad?”
“Yes. No. Part of it does, but this is another part.” His stress was palpable.
I reached out and grabbed his arm. “It’s going to be okay.”
He nodded, but I could tell that he didn’t think things were going to be okay at all.