Page 44 of Toren

The second page was of more interest, a summary of recently found genetic matches, all of them falling in the range that indicated there was one shared parent between them. Six lines representing six people, all of whom Toren knew. He skimmed the other pages, finding additional details about Donovan’s genetic origins, all of which were less important than the bombshells on the second page.

“Did you talk to your mom?” Toren asked, joining him in the kitchen. Donovan had a beer in his hands, already half gone.

“I called her on the way over.”

“What did she have to say?”

“Nothing like what Andrew said. She swore she doesn’t know who my father is, and no one has reached out to her at any time since conception.” Donovan propped his hip against the counter and Toren passed him back the papers. “But all this proves Andrew right. I am his brother…their brother.”

“That doesn’t make Frank any less your dad,” Toren reminded. “And it doesn’t make Knox any less your brother.”

“Doesn’t it?” Donovan countered, raising a brow in his direction.

Toren couldn’t remember a time he’d ever seen Donovan like this. Donovan, who was always on top of things, methodical sometimes to the point of annoyance, conversational always with the intent to learn as much as he could. And Donovan was in his kitchen now, looking shattered without much to say.

“Anyway.” Donovan cleared his throat, chased whatever itch was there with another drink of beer. “I stayed at Rapture after you left on Saturday. Made some new friends.”

“Tell me more.” Toren slid onto a barstool and propped his elbows on the counter, his chin in his hands. He batted his eyelashes neatly at his best friend, understanding that sometimes everyone needed a distraction. He felt that way a lot with Andrew, but not because he wanted to avoid Andrew, only because things were so serious between them so fast.

“Met a couple guys in the loft when I went to get a drink. A couple, Archie and Owen. A little older than us but very nice.”

Toren nodded, not sure where the story was going.

“They’re part of a big friend group. All of them were there basically monopolizing the entire upstairs all night. One of them told me I looked sad and offered me his husband’s mouth if it would make me feel better.”

Toren chuckled, mouth twitching in the corner. “Did it?”

“Oh, God. Very much.”

He let himself laugh because Donovan laughed too. Donovan ran a hand through his hair, glancing up at the ceiling like the memory was playing in the lights.

“They go there pretty often, told me to text them next time I’m up in LA.”

“And are you going to?” Toren asked.

“Probably.” Donovan sipped his beer, slowing down the pace. “I think they’re all really rich, which⁠—”

“So are you,” Toren interrupted.

“So are Mom and Frank,” he corrected. “But I’ll get there myself sooner or later. I just meant I think it might be good to be friends with guys like that.”

“As long as you don’t replace me,” Toren teased, knowing Donovan would never.

“As if. Now tell me more about Andrew before I have to get back to work. Actually, wait. Maybe not. I don’t think I want to know about my brother’s sex life. Oh, God.” Donovan covered his face with his hands and paced the length of his kitchen. “Did you look at the last page?”

Toren pushed the papers around until he found the last page. It was a photocopy of a letter, Hunter’s name at the top asking for a courtesy phone call if any matches were found in the system. The testing company clearly couldn’t make those connections, but they had agreed to pass the request along if anything ever flagged in the system.

“Have you called him yet?”

Donovan shook his head. “I felt like I should tell you first, maybe Andrew, before I called a stranger about it.”

Toren scratched the top of his lip. “Did you want me to call Andrew here?”

“I don’t know, but I think if I don’t do it now, I never will.”

Toren really hated seeing Donovan so out of sorts, but he’d heard nothing besides good things about Andrew’s brothers and he really didn’t think anything bad would come of the new familial revelations. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up Andrew’s contact card, then slid the phone over toward Donovan who stared at Andrew’s name like it might sprout horns.

Donovan grumbled something under his breath, counted down from five and pressed the call button. Andrew answered on the second ring with a thankfully innocuous, “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since you left.”