“She’s not mine,” he whispers. “Molly isn’t mine.”
His grip tightens on his phone, drawing my attention to it again. Suddenly the magnitude of his grief takes on a new, deeper significance.
“She’s—?”
“Slade’s,” he confirms in a husky breath. “She’s my brother’s. He died, never even knowing she existed.”
He taps something into his phone, then turns the screen toward me. I’ve seen photos of his brother before when I searched Sullivan up online. But they were press shots, and ones taken at business events. The one Sullivan’s showing me is of the two of them sitting together with drinks in their hands and the sunset behind them, painting the sky a vivid orange. Slade’s hair is longer and his physique more muscular, but he still looks so much like Sullivan and vice versa.
Twins.
“The last photo of us. He died the following day.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, knowing nothing I can say will help.
Sullivan winces as he studies the image. “They say losing a child is one of the hardest things to endure. And I’d have argued that losing a twin was on the same level. He was mybrother. I was created from the same cells as him,” he chokes. “But then Molly came along, and I became a father. And despite missing him so much that I didn’t want to wake up some days, I understood. Losing a child really is the worst thing someone could endure. And every time I saw Natasha’s name flash up on my phone, I wondered if that was the day I’d finally lose everything.”
“I had no idea,” I say, unable to stop my own tears from falling.
“Molly gave me a reason to keep going. It’s like Slade brought her to me the exact moment I needed her. I was so close to giving up. And I swore the second I read Natasha’s note telling me she was his, but that now she heard he was dead that Molly was myproblem, that I’d protect her with my own life. She’s family. She’s his. And that means she’s mine too. I wouldn’t have survived without her.
“I’ve never been able to understand how a parent can abandon their child like Natasha did. She left Molly with me. With a stranger.”
“You’re not a stranger,” I say, cradling his face so he’ll look at me. “You’re her daddy.”
“I’m…” He blinks at me before screwing his face up and sobbing.
I pull him to me again, wrapping my arms around him. Although this time it isn’t only Sullivan who’s crying, it’s me too.
“She’s lucky to have you. I’ve never met such a loved little girl. Such anamazinglittle girl. You’ve done an incredible job.”
“Thank you,” he whispers.
I pull back and look into his eyes. My heart’s beating so deeply that I feel it through every fiber of my body.
“You’re an amazing father,” I breathe.
I run the pads of my thumbs over his damp cheekbones. He’s always been a beautiful man. But now, with fragments of his soul laid bare in the remaining tears coating his dark, thick lashes, he’s breathtaking.
I lean closer and press my lips to his in a gentle kiss. His breath stutters, and he kisses me back softly. Tenderly.So heartbreakingly gentle.
“I couldn’t give you what you deserved, Tate.” His soft words mix with our slow, light kisses. The kind of kisses that you know can’t go any further, but yet you aren’t strongenough to hold back from giving, because they spill from you like whispered promises and shared secrets.
Carrying the weight of everything with them.
Sullivan rests his hands on my hips as I position myself in his lap and continue to stroke his face and press delicate kisses to his mouth.
“DNA tests will show that I’m Molly’s biological father because we were twins. Natasha knew the results coupled with her behavior meant she would never get near Molly without getting herself clean first. But for me to have a future with someone it would have meant telling them the truth. It’s why I kept away from relationships. Only my family know the truth. I lied to Claudia and told her Molly was mine because of the way she reacted when we found her. And I decided I would never fall in love, because it would mean I’d have to tell someone the truth. I’d have to trust them. And if something happened one day. If they changed their mind and decided bringing up another woman’s daughter was too much for them, like Claudia did, then it would be Molly who paid the price. My word against Natasha’s was one thing. But the possibility of someone else knowing and telling someone? Having people look into it and ask questions? It could have meant me losing Molly forever if the truth had come out.”
“And yet, somehow you still think you’re not an amazing father,” I say through tears. “Everything you do is for Molly. I understand that. And I admire it. I grew up with just my dad looking out for me for most of my childhood, remember?” I take a deep breath and look him straight in the eye. “All those decisions you’ve made for Molly… It’s okay to have made them. Every single one.”
The breath leaves his chest in a sob.
“It’s okay,” I repeat gently.
He pulls me to him, and our lips crush together in a single, bruising kiss before he rests his forehead against mine.
“I had to ID Natasha. I had to?—”
