Chapter 11 #2
After I greeted my other friends, I scooped up one of Skye’s twins and gave her lots of kisses and hugs, then attacked Hayden for the same. “You’re not too old for your Auntie Kaylee to kiss.”
She mock protested, but she hugged me back just as hard.
The dining room was set up for buffet style.
Bri’s dad held up his glass and everyone but the twins quieted down.
“Thank you all for coming. Now that our Kaylee has joined us, let’s eat!
” They’d waited for me. Didn’t start without me.
I wasn’t sure how that made me feel, but it was a good emotion. To feel so wanted, so important.
Porter didn’t speak much to anyone. He likely felt like a fish out of water, or whatever the expression was. I could relate. I’d been the new kid on the block at one point.
I sat beside him on the sofa while he ate. “Here we are again, eating together.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, at least this time I’m not stuck behind a desk, right?”
“Exactly,” I said brightly. “Isn’t this better?”
He nodded and smiled, but his eyes looked so sad, I had to ask. “What’s got you looking like your best friend died?”
Porter cleared his throat and set his plate on the coffee table. “My mother. This is my first Christmas without her.”
My heart splintered for him. I’d never been close enough to my parents to feel the kind of grief that came with a parent’s sudden death, but I was empathetic enough to hurt for him.
“I’m so sorry.” I placed my hand on his knee and squeezed, but that felt extremely personal, so I jerked it back as quickly as I could.
“I don’t have a lot of family to spend the holiday with either,” I continued.
“It’s not easy, even harder for you with your grief, but look around.
You’re not alone. Extended family is a hell of a lot better than no family.
” I grunted. “Or bad family. And you’re wanted here. ”
He turned that intense stare on me again, making me squirm in place, except this time I couldn’t escape. “Stop it,” I exclaimed. “You’re freaking me out.”
Porter grinned, a genuine, unguarded smile for the first time since I’d met him. For a moment, it felt like two magnets drawn to each other and my breath caught in my throat.
“What are you?” he asked, still staring at me as if he had stripped me bare and saw me for exactly who I was.
“What?” I whispered. “I don’t understand. I’m nothing. Just Kaylee.”
“No, you’re more. I just don’t know what it is yet.”
The twins slammed into my knees then, bringing me back to the party with a gasp.
Porter nodded once at me and then stood, walking over to Jace and Anthony to talk.
We didn’t get a chance to talk again until it was time to go.
I’d had a wonderful time and my gifts had been a hit, which was a gift for me.
I loved buying things for other people. As I put on my coat, he grabbed his. “Can I walk you out?”
I’d said goodbye to my friends, so I waved as Porter held the door open. He took my basket out of my hands, full of presents my friends had gotten for me. “Did you have a good time?” he asked.
“I did,” I said softly as I dug my keys out of my purse. “Did you?”
“Yep. You know,” he stopped and tried that stare again. “Your face transforms when you smile. You should do it more often.”
The pleasant camaraderie between us flattened in an instant. “Did you just tell me to smile more?”
He widened his eyes. “Yes?”
“Do you understand that’s something men tell women all the time? Like… all the time? As if smiling and being pleasant and pretty is some responsibility of those with a vagina in order to keep the males of our species happy.”
He gaped at me for a split second, and I could've sworn I saw the lightbulb go off behind his eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Nobody wants to smile all the time.”
I accepted his apology. He hadn’t meant anything bad, but damn, if I was able to get one man to never ever say that again, I called it a win. “Thank you for saying that.”
The energy between us flowed as we stood outside my car, igniting me again. What was this thing we had? It was electric, but almost literally.
“Kaylee, what are you?” He leaned close and stared at me intently.
“Why do you keep asking that? Is it your pickup line?”
He shook his head and narrowed his eyes, but not like he was aggravated. Just studying me. “No, I want to know. I feel like you put a spell on me.”
Good lord, he meant it. A laugh bubbled out of my mouth and I clutched his bicep as I chortled. He flexed his arm under my hand, so I jerked it back like he’d scalded me. “I assure you,” I said through my laughter. “I have no power to cast a spell on anyone.”
Porter made a sound a lot like a growl, which shut my laughter down completely. I stared at him, trying to figure out if he’d actually just growled at me. But he sucked in a deep breath. “Well, I should go.”
I arched an eyebrow and nodded. “I think that’s best.”
“Get home safe.” When he turned and rushed back into the house, I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
What in the absolute hell was wrong with that man? And why was I so intrigued by him that I wanted to dig into it and find out?