Jay Crownover - Rome

Ayden cleared her throat and took a swig of the Coors Light she had in front of her. Her amber eyes considered me thoughtfully.

“What about just keeping your place? Jet’s been talking about taking part of the studio and converting it into a loft so he’s closer to work when he’s in town. It’s right downtown and close to work and school, plus if Jet follows through, then I could actually see him more when he’s in town and not working.”

I looked at her in shock. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I want to be with him whenever I can. I’m actually thinking about putting grad school on hold for a year so I can travel with him. He’s going to the UK at the beginning of next year and I want to go. Grad school will always be there; traveling the world with Jet is an opportunity I might not get once I have a steady job.”

I loved my house, loved my neighborhood, and if all the other rooms were empty, it would have plenty of room for me, Rome, and the baby. I bit my lip and tilted my head to consider her thoughtfully.

“What about you and Asa?” Her brother wasn’t at the barbecue. Since it was a weekend and the bar was going to be busy, he had offered to go in so Rome could come hang out with me and the rest of the hooligans. My guy and the Southern charmer had some kind of bromance going on. I didn’t question it, but where I knew Asa could be slippery and scandalous, Rome only saw a coworker and a buddy. It was actually kind of cute and I felt bad for the girls who came into the bar trying to get in between them. I think Asa was one of the few who didn’t give my guy a hard time when he got lost in his own head. He just waited it out until Rome was back to being Rome.

“He’s still ticked off at me. He acts like everything is fine, but I can tell he hasn’t forgiven me, and I don’t really blame him. He comes by sometimes, but mostly he just shoots the shit with Jet and pretends like I’m not even there. He’s nice enough when we talk on the phone and whatever, but I really hurt his feelings when the bar got robbed. I’m not really sure where he’s been staying, but he seems happy with whatever he has going on, so I don’t pry.”

I could see that she was upset about it but I didn’t know what to tell her in order to make it any better.

“I’m sorry, Ayd. That blows. I’ll ask Rome about staying in the house. It would suck for you to go to all the trouble of moving out if he won’t go for it.”

She nodded and Shaw tapped her finger on my left hand. “What about you guys? You think you’ll join the ranks of the hitched and the engaged anytime soon?”

I put a hand over my rapidly growing belly and felt a little tremble under my hand. I wasn’t far enough for Rome to feel when it happened but I knew my baby was in there safe and sound thanks to Daddy, and it always made my heart swell and overflow with love. I didn’t need a ring or a wedding to make that any better.

“We’ve had a lot of excitement in a short amount of time. I think we’re both just looking forward to things settling down and being normal for a little while.”

Shaw threw back her head and laughed while Ayden rolled her eyes.

“Cora, nothing with you is ever normal.”

She wasn’t wrong, so I tossed the cap of my water bottle at her.

“Shut up. Besides, you know Rome has to get better so he can be Rule’s best man. We already have one wedding to focus on. We don’t need another.”

Rule wanted to wait until after Shaw graduated to get married; Shaw didn’t. The compromise was they would have the ceremony in December—a Christmas wedding before she and Ayden went back for their final semester in the spring. That was almost no time to plan a wedding, but with all of us chipping in and Shaw’s determination to be an Archer, I had no doubts it would happen and be wonderful. I wasn’t excited about being the size of a whale in my bridesmaid dress, but I would do it for her.

“How did your parents take the news?”

Her green eyes darted away and she chomped down on her lip.

“I maybe, possibly haven’t told them about it yet.”

Ayden shook her head and I rolled my eyes. I looked pointedly at the rock on her finger.

“That’s gonna be kind of hard to hide, girly.”

She fidgeted nervously. “I know. It’s just a fight I don’t want to have. I’ve never been so happy. I never, ever would have thought Rule would want to do something as traditional as get married. No one, and I mean NO ONE, is going to rain on that parade.”

I understood where she was coming from and I didn’t envy her going forward. That was a battle that wouldn’t be fun and I think we all knew it.

I looked up in surprise when Rowdy was suddenly looming over me with his hands on my shoulders.

“Tink, you might need to rally your man. I think beer and pain meds might’ve done him in.”

I spun around on my chair, and sure enough Rome was zonked out on the lawn chair. Rule and Nash were hovering over him, trying to decide if they should find the situation cause for concern or hilarious. I patted those tattooed hands and got to my feet.

“My turn to save him.”

That’s what we did. We saved each other. He forced me to see that living in fear got me nowhere and that holding out for some unobtainable ideal of perfection was just silly. I made him realize that whoever he wanted to be and whatever he chose to do was enough. He didn’t have to be anything more. He wasn’t perfect, I wasn’t perfect, but the love we had for each other … nothing was more perfect than that.

I elbowed my way between Rule and Nash and bent down so I could put a hand on one of Rome’s prickly cheeks. He didn’t look bad with a beard; in fact it made him look almost too rugged. The last thing he needed was anything that accentuated his raw and undeniable man-ness. But I liked his pretty face and missed it hidden behind those bushy whiskers.

“Come on, Captain No-Fun, time to go home.”

His dark lashes fluttered along the high ridge of his cheeks and those breath-stealing blue eyes blinked open. It was strange to see him so vulnerable, so open, but he had never hidden from me and apparently he was done hiding from himself because it was all there in his gaze when he looked at me. Everything he was—hero, lover, stubborn pain in the neck, and a man with or without a plan—I could see it all and it just made me love him all the more.

He had to have both the other guys help him to his feet and it was slow going on the way to the truck. Even though it took some maneuvering and the use of every swearword in his vocabulary, he insisted on taking the Dodge instead of riding in the Cooper, which I thought would have been easier. He was going to have to get over his hatred of my car because sooner rather than later it was going to be too hard for me to hop up into the massive 4×4. He didn’t argue when I held out my hand for the keys and tossed his crutches in the back. I noticed that he had white lines of pain fanning out around the corners of his eyes despite the meds and the booze. It looked like he might have overdone it a little.

I reached out and patted his knee.

“So I have a question for you.”

He shifted his gaze to mine and just grunted. Okay, Captain No-Fun was in serious effect.

“Ayden told me that she and Jet are more than likely moving out. He wants to convert the studio. How would you feel about just moving in with me and staying at my place?”

He was quiet, which made me nervous. I looked over at him and was surprised to find he had his eyes closed and his head resting against the window. I thought maybe he was asleep and I wondered how I was going to get him inside and had a sense of déjà vu.

“Can we tone the pink in your bedroom down just a little bit so my balls don’t shrivel up and fall off?”