Rome (Marked Men #3)(51)
Author: Jay Crownover

Rome growled at me, “What did you do, Cora?”

I just shook my head. “You all need closure, and this was the only way I could think to do it. You told me you had to figure it out on your own, and that’s just not true, Rome.”

I pulled away from him and went to the door to let Shaw and her guest in.

He was a blindingly attractive young man. He was tall and elegant-looking in a fitted gray suit. His shaggy auburn hair hung messily in kind brown eyes and he looked almost as nervous as I felt. Shaw was grinning from ear to ear, and when she hugged me I finally felt like maybe I could get through this without throwing up all over the place.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, thank him.”

I blew out a breath and stuck out a hand. “Hi, I’m Cora. Thank you so much for doing this.”

He smiled, and it was just as sad as when Rule or Rome did it. “Nice to meet you. I’m Orlando, but my friends call me Lando. When Shaw tracked me down I was surprised, but I’m happy to help. Remy loved his family; he would hate to know he was the reason they were divided or struggling.”

“They don’t know you’re coming or who you are; it might not be pretty.”

He nodded as they moved into the entryway, I saw both Rule and Rome hanging over the rail of the stairs watching our little party.

“I can handle it. I am well versed in how to manage an angry Archer.”

“Who’s the suit?” Rule’s voice was sharp and had us all looking up. I felt Lando tense next to me as he released a long breath.

“They look so much alike.” His voice was barely a hint of sound, and Shaw put a reassuring hand on his arm.

“Yeah, but it becomes apparent really fast that they are only similar on the outside.”

“Cora?” Rome’s tone brooked no argument, so I hurried up the stairs to where everyone was gathered. I clasped my hands together in front of me nervously and waited until Shaw and Lando were at the top of the stairs.

“I know all of you have questions about why Remy did what he did, why he hid behind Shaw and didn’t tell you what he was doing in his life. I know Rome in particular has questions that keep him up at night. The only person that I thought might be able to answer them was the guy he was in love with. Orlando Fredrick, the Archers. Archers, meet Remy’s boyfriend, Lando. I asked Shaw to track him down for me. She didn’t want to do it at first, but I convinced her it was what you all need in order to move forward. I would apologize for overstepping my bounds but I really feel this had to be done.”

You could have heard a pin drop. It was so tense, so silent, I was waiting for the volcano to erupt. Shaw stood next to me while everyone else just gaped at each other. Lando couldn’t take his eyes off of Rule, and the brothers couldn’t look away from their late sibling’s attractive lover. I thought I was going to have to do something, anything to move things forward, but my guy surprised me by clearing his throat and extending a hand. His voice was gruff, but he took the first step forward and clasped the hand Lando stuck out.

“It’s nice to meet you. Thank you for coming.” If I hadn’t thought my idea of what was perfect for me was wrong before, I knew now, without a doubt, how wrong I had been. I knew it couldn’t be easy for Rome, but he was making the effort, that is what a perfect guy did. And the idea of loving this remarkable man was as easy as it was terrifying; I was going to have to figure out what kind of risk I was going to take.

Rule followed suit and Lando had to visibly gather himself.

“Those eyes are pretty hard to forget.”

Rule gave a wry grin and walked over to pull Shaw to his chest. “Tell me about it. I see him every time I look in a mirror.”

Margot and Dale were a little slower to react, but when they did I was happy to see they were welcoming if reserved.

“Well, come in. Shaw, why don’t you go set another place since we weren’t expecting an extra guest and we can all sit down and get better acquainted.” Margot’s suggestion gave everyone a chance to process the shock for a little bit before trying to pull apart the past. Frankly I was surprised she was being so calm about it all.

We all sat at the table and I looked at Rome under my lashes when he put his big hand on the top of my thigh and squeezed it under the table.

“Always trying to make everything perfect, aren’t ya, Half-Pint?”

I winked at him and put my much smaller hand over the top of his.

“No, I like things imperfect, I’ve found out, but if I have the ability to make things easier for you, I’m going to do whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Brunch was actually pleasant. Lando was interesting, charming, and it was so easy to see in every word, every look on his face when Remy came up, how much he had honestly and truly loved Rule’s twin. It was heartbreaking, but lovely to see nonetheless. It was also apparent that Rome’s parents had missed Rome greatly and had suffered at the hands of his stubbornness. They weren’t looking at him as anything other than a beloved member of the family, and I think as the brunch wore on he recognized it. I helped Shaw clear the table and we gave each other a sneaky high five in the kitchen, when I heard Rule finally ask:

“Why didn’t he want us to know? Mom and Dad had it figured out, but he still didn’t want Rome or me to know. Why?”

“Remy didn’t want who he chose to love to define him. Rome was the hero, you were the troublemaker, and it was his greatest fear to be simply ‘the g*y brother.’ It kept him up at night.”

“He had to know we would never try and stereotype him, to pigeonhole him into any kind of role. We loved him.”

Lando shook his head. “He was convinced that if you found out it would change your relationships. He was scared you would force him to live out in the open and that Rome would be so worried about him while he was supposed to be focused on staying alive in the desert that something awful would happen. He had his reasons, flawed as they may be. He believed he was doing the right thing and it was all done out of love.”

“It made me feel like I didn’t even know my brother.” Rome’s voice was raw and I just wanted to hug him, but the family had to get through this on their own.

“Why? He was still funny, kind, smart, and more loving than anyone I have ever met in my life. None of that changes when you know who he chose to take to bed. You were his hero, Rule was his other half, and Shaw was his best friend. He felt that way about all of you and he would have still felt that way be he straight or g*y.”