“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in jeans, either.”
“I went shopping for my birthday. I decided that the pearls and heels didn’t need to be worn every time I left the house. I have plenty for when it’s time to play society maven for the folks.”
“Speaking of birthdays, I brought this from Mom and Dad.” He handed me a little bag and I set it on the table between us.
“Your mom won’t talk to me; I tried to call her the other day.”
“She’s having a hard time now that you laid down the law. She always viewed you as an ally in the ‘Rule Needs to Get His Act Together’ war. She just doesn’t see what she’s doing to him, to us.”
I sighed. “I know. That’s why I had to stop.”
“This is from me.” He gave me a gift certificate to my favorite bath and body store. I smiled and gave him a big hug. I just love this guy; he looks like a warrior, but he has such a good heart.
“Thank you, Rome, this is so sweet. I’m so glad you’re home.”
“Me, too, little girl. I tried to get Rule to come out but he had a late client. He was grumbling about having to draw yet another Harry Potter tattoo or something. I guess I forget he actually works.”
I peeked inside the bag—it was a picture. Margot had found one of the very first pictures taken of me and Remy and put it in a lovely silver frame. I was so small and awkward and Remy was so tall and handsome—we looked ridiculous. It was a sweet gesture and it brought tears to my eyes. I showed it to Rome and slid it back into the bag.
“I miss him every day,” I said.
“I do, too. I miss the way he made everyone act right.”
I laughed a little and sipped some of my iced tea. “Yeah, he was good at policing the way everyone treated each other. He didn’t tolerate any of the silliness we tend to allow.”
“Rule said he’s run into you a couple times, how was that?”
I cleared my throat and willed the scarlet blush that had been accompanying Rule’s name all week to stay at bay. “Kinda weird. He came into the bar I work at with a bunch of friends on a game day. It’s strange to interact with each other like normal people.”
He nodded and I noticed the waitress openly checking him out when she dropped off our dinner. “He told me you’ve been having some issues with your ex.”
I groaned and gave my head a shake. “He has a big mouth.” Among other things, but I wasn’t going to let my dirty mind go there.
“So what’s the deal, little girl?”
I made a face and shoved a bite of pasta into my mouth. “Rule already talked to him, so did the enormous ex-marine who bounces at the bar. Gabe’s just a spoiled guy who isn’t used to rejection. He’s having trouble hearing me say no.”
“Is he still calling you?”
I didn’t want to lie so I tried to change the subject. “What did the doctor say about your shoulder?”
He narrowed his eyes at me and picked at his own food. “He thinks I need to up my physical therapy and if that doesn’t work I might need a second surgery; either way I’ll be home longer than I thought.”
“Well, that’s good isn’t it?”
He shrugged and I got the impression that he wasn’t as excited about the prospect as I was.
“I guess.”
“You want to go back?”
“I want to finish my tour; I don’t want my tour to end like this. I hate leaving my platoon hanging. I’ve been in the army for six years, Shaw; I don’t really know how to do anything else.”
“You have a whole lot of people who love you, Rome. Getting out of the army and being safe shouldn’t be what scares you.”
“I know that, but it is what it is.”
We lapsed into a minute of silence before he went back to Gabe. “What did Rule say to the ex?”
I lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I dunno. He told him to leave me alone and Gabe immediately jumped to the conclusion that the reason I dumped him was because of Rule. Everyone always thinks that everything I do is because of Rule. It gets old.”
Rome stared at me with eyes that looked so much like his brother’s. I could tell by the twist in his mouth that I was not going to like what he had to say.
“Isn’t it?”
I glared at him and poked at my plate. “No.”
“Rule convinced Remy to move to Denver as soon as they graduated so you decided to move here, too. Rule acts like an ass, making things with Mom and Dad impossible, so you decided to play peacemaker and drag him home every weekend. Rule acts and everyone has no choice but to react and we’ve all been doing it for years, you included.”
“I didn’t break up with Gabe because of Rule.” That wasn’t entirely true but I didn’t need Rome trying to pick it apart.
“Really?” His incredulous voice had me bristling. “I don’t know all the ins and outs of your relationship with Remy—”
I interjected automatically, “We were just friends, best, best friends.”
Rome went on like I hadn’t even said a word. “But I do know that when you thought no one was looking you watched Rule like a hawk. I know that every time he came stumbling home drunk, reeking of sex and cheap perfume from whatever teenage tramp he talked into letting him in her pants, you looked like he had kicked you in the gut. I know that every Sunday you looked the same way when you brought him home, so, Shaw, are you really going to try to tell me that the choices you make don’t involve Rule?”
I sighed and pushed the plate away, my appetite suddenly gone. “What do you want me to say, Rome? My life has been entangled with the Archer boys for as long as I can remember. How much truth do you really think you can handle? I mean, some of it just isn’t anybody’s business. You want to hear that from the second Remy brought me home I loved him but that I was in love with Rule? Do you want to hear that Remy knew and took that secret to his grave? Do you want to hear that I spent years and years being sad and alone with only Remy and you guys as friends, but it was okay because you guys were all I needed? Do you want to hear that every day my heart broke a little more because Rule had no idea I was alive? Do you want to hear that without your mom and dad I would have probably been forced into some boarding school and then some hallowed Ivy League college just so my parents didn’t have to deal with me? Come on, Rome, what do you really want to know?”
By the time I was done my voice was bitter and I had twisted my napkin into a little ball on my lap.
“Why did Remy keep you so close if he knew you were all tangled up by Rule? He had to know that wasn’t a match that was going to happen. Rule doesn’t do anything that takes work, and as much as I love you, little girl, you aren’t easy.”
These were the questions that I wished Remy were around to answer. I sighed. “He had his reasons, one of which was to keep me as far away from my family as he could. He didn’t want me to turn into a Stepford daughter, even though he was only partly successful. Sometimes I still don’t feel I can get out from under all their expectations.”
He tapped his fingers on the table. “So you’ve been in love with my brother since you were fourteen?”
I snorted. “Pretty much, and everyone else in the world seems to know it but him.” I tried really hard to keep the memories from Saturday night at bay.
“Why don’t you tell him?”
“Uh … you’ve met your brother, right? Mr. I’ll Bang Anything with Big Boobs and a Negative IQ? Mr.