Page 140 of Doughn't Let Me Go

“Not letting you run anymore.”

We don’t move.

We stand here, waiting.

For what, I don’t know.

“Turn around, Dory.”

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because if I look at you, I’ll go back with you. If I go back with you, it’ll be nothing but heartbreak.”

“If you leave, it’ll be nothing but heartbreak too.”

I bite my bottom lip, trying to hold back the tears that are threatening to spill.

I’ve done such a good job not crying over him. I refuse to let it happen now.

“Please,Dory. I need to say this to your face.”

Taking a deep breath, I turn to him, but I don’t meet his eyes.

I stare at his lips.

His stupid, stupid lips that I still want to kiss so badly it aches.

“Myheart will break, Dory. It’ll break because I love you. I’min lovewith you, okay?” He licks his lips. “I tried.”

He lays his forehead against mine, and I breathe him in like I haven’t seen him in days.

“I tried really fucking hard to keep my feelings out of it, but you were right. Kisses mean feelings, and I started falling for you the moment your lips touched mine. And I’m not sorry for any of it.”

I close my eyes, my heart hammering so fast I’m scared it’s going to explode in my chest.

He loves me.Porter loves me.

And I love him too.

It doesn’t change anything though. He’s still leaving. He has a company to run across the country.

This moment is too good to be true, just like we were from the start.

Porter pulls his head away, tucking his pointer finger under my chin, making me meet the gray eyes that have become my undoing.

“Talk to me, Dory. Tell me what you’re thinking. Why are you doing this? Why are you leaving?”

I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “Because you’re leaving, Porter.”

His thick brows pull together tightly. “But I’m not.”

“Don’t lie to me. I’ve been overhearing your conversations with Fran. I know why Mel is here. You’re going back to California like you told Foster you were.”

His head jerks back. “Are you shitting me right now?”

I don’t say anything, and he pinches the bridge of his nose.

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