The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2)

“He’s…” Getting worse.

When I’d left that morning, his cardiologist wouldn’t even look me in the eye. It was literally overnight that he had gone from winning the uphill climb to crashing back down to below baseline. His decreased heart function was taking its toll on his lungs and liver to the point that I worried that, even if a heart did arrive, he wouldn’t be physically strong enough to handle the stress of the surgery. I hadn’t slept in what felt like forever because all I could do was stay awake, night after night, and watch his vitals.

Swallowing hard, I finished on a semi-lie “He’s doing fine. Mom and Tom are with him.”

Porter nodded, but judging by the purse of his lips, he wasn’t buying it. He could see right through me. However, he didn’t want to acknowledge the hovering reality any more than I did.

We weren’t exactly pretending as much as faking positivity.

“As soon as we finish here, we’ll go straight up to the hospital,” I whispered.

He shot me a genuine smile, one of the first I’d seen from him in a while. “Yeah. I can’t wait to see him.”

Hand in hand, we walked up the courthouse steps. Once we’d gotten through the metal detectors, we found our attorneys huddled together in quiet conversation.

“Hey, Mark,” Porter said.

Mark’s gaze cut to me and then dipped to Porter’s hand in mine. “So, this is the front we’re portraying?”

Porter’s forehead crinkled. “This is the only front I have. So, yeah, this is what we’re portraying.”

Mark stared at us for a beat longer like he had something to say that wouldn’t quite come out.

My attorney, Victoria, moved to my side, her shoulder brushing with mine as she whispered, “You sure about this guy?”

I hooked a finger at Porter. “Him? No. I just found him in the parking lot.”

Her lips thinned as she cut her gaze to Mark. “Charlotte, as I told you, Brady has filed for full custody. This is not something to joke around with. After the scuffle at the hospital and Porter breaking the order of protection, being here with him is not going to help your case. And, quite honestly, if you lose custody, it’s not going to help Porter, either.”

A hum of adrenaline started in my fingertips before clawing its way through my body. “I’m not losing custody. I have done nothing wrong. Porter has been cleared of all involvement in the kidnapping. We were dating before we knew about Travis. And we’re dating after. This should be a non-issue. And if this is an issue, I’m paying you an exorbitant amount of money to make it a non-issue.”

Porter’s hand tensed around mine in silent agreement.

“Relax,” she urged. “We’re on the same team.”

“Right. So, please”—I pointedly looked to Mark and then back to Victoria—“act like it.”

Side-glances were exchanged between the two of them, but they eventually nodded and stepped away.

I huffed and chanced a glance up at Porter, fully expecting a scowl to be covering his handsome face.

It wasn’t.

A sexy-as-sin smirk pulled at his lips. “You are so getting laid tonight,” he whispered. “That whole ‘make it a non-issue’ thing was hot.”

I rolled my eyes, but only to hide the fact that my stomach was fluttering. “It’s true though. Combined, we could probably put Travis through college for what this is costing us. And, paying this kind of money, I sure as hell don’t expect it to come with a heaping side of judgment.”

He grinned again and bent low to kiss me. “I like the idea of us putting Travis through college together.”

My whole body warmed as I stared into his blue eyes. “I like the idea of that, too.”

“All right. Break it up, you two,” Tanner said, sidling up beside his brother.

“Where’s Dad?” Porter asked.

“At home, probably digging cash out of his mattress for bail money.”

Porter’s eyebrows shot up. “For which one of us?”

Tanner straightened his ridiculous pink-and-white-striped tie, which only he could make look masculine. “If he’s smart? Both.”

Porter grinned. Tanner’s lips split to match.

Tanner leaned around his brother and aimed that megawatt moneymaker on me. “I owe you big time.”

“For what?”

“For that.” He jutted his chin down the hall.

I turned and found Rita clipping toward us in a fitted black dress and a red pair of stilettos.

“Don’t even pretend that you didn’t have something to do with her showing up at my door last night,” he said.

“Oh, I had everything to do with that, Sloth. And don’t worry. I’ll let you know when I think of some way for you to return the favor. But, in the meantime”—I lowered my voice to a whisper—“don’t show your ass in here today and make me regret it. I don’t care what Brady says. You keep your mouth shut.”

He lifted his hand to his temple in a salute and clicked out of the corner of his mouth. “Aye aye, captain.” His gaze heated as he slid it to Rita. “Hey there, my sexy lady,” he greeted in a sultry bedroom purr that I feared could impregnate her from across the room.

He frowned when my best friend came to me first.

“Hey, honey. You nervous?”

“Not really,” I answered. “I just want to get this over with so can we go back up to the hospital and be with Travis.”

“Good. Because it’s going to be great.” She reached into her black Fendi satchel and pulled a stack of papers out. “This is everything you asked for. Including a few more that I dug up on my own.” She winked. “You got this.”

I took the papers from her hand. “Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

She gave my arm a squeeze and then clipped her way around to Tanner, muttering, “Okay. Okay. Hold your horses. I’m coming. Jeesh, you Reese men sure are needy.”

Tanner wrapped her into a bear hug, and she started giggling as he murmured something in her ear.

I smiled on the inside, enjoying the idea that people we loved were finally happy too.

“What’s that?” Porter asked, tilting his head to the papers in my hand.

“You’ll see in a little while.”

He smirked. “Naked pictures?”

I purposefully kept my face blank as I replied, “Yeah. Of Tanner.”

He narrowed his eyes. “For the record, I find you negative amounts of funny right now.”

“For the record, I find you negative amounts of funny most of the time. But I love you anyway.”

He chuckled and opened his mouth to reply, but he didn’t get the words out.

“Incoming,” Tanner whispered.

We all turned and saw Brady and his wife striding toward us, his angry, green gaze leveled on me.

Porter rolled his shoulders back and straightened so he stood a little taller, his muscles flexing under the confines of his suit.

“Ignore him,” I said, leaning into my man’s side.

Porter grunted in acknowledgment, but he tracked Brady all the way until he disappeared into the courtroom.

“You two ready?” Mark asked, Victoria smoothing her skirt out beside him.

I looked up at Porter. “Are we ready?”