The first thing Remi had done was call his younger sister, Darcy. He had to admit he’d skirted around the identity of the person involved, the specific nature of the problem and, as much as he’d been able, used gender-neutral pronouns. He was sure Darcy hadn’t been fooled one bit and was holding back a million questions, but in the end, they had come up with a kind of plan together.

Then had come the really hard part. Finding Kris. Remi had started by texting Leon, trying to casually ask if he’d seen his brother without setting off any alarm bells. The last thing Remi wanted was for Leon to think Kris was missing. But Leon was stressing about the imminent arrival of his and Ava’s baby, so didn’t question Remi too much. However, he also didn’t know where Kris might be.

Without having anyone else’s number, Remi decided to get hands dirty. First, he drove to Rocket to see if Kris might have met any of his friends for brunch there again, seeing as it was a Sunday. Unfortunately, he was nowhere in sight, so Remi had been prepared to try the coffee shop or some of the other eateries in town. But then he’d remembered JJ’s.

Feeling only slightly foolish, he’d driven to the grocery store with the hopes of talking to the same checkout clerk, Chase, who had encouraged Remi in the first place. But he wasn’t on the shop floor, and a quick word with one of the other clerks confirmed Chase didn’t work Sundays. Remi then asked about deliveries from the Miele farm, thinking of the other guy, Gabe. Apparently, they weren’t due to make a delivery until tomorrow. That was okay. Remi could still work with that.

Rather than wait around for Gabe to maybe show up, Remi drove to the Miele farm. Everyone knew where that was, even if he hadn’t visited before. He felt a bit nervous walking up to the front door and knocking, but his desperate need to set things right with Kris propelled him onward.

The door was opened by a cute guy in his mid-thirties who smiled and nodded at Remi. From what Remi recalled of Orion Miele from school, he’d say there was some family resemblance there.

“Hi, can I help you?” the guy asked pleasantly.

Remi rubbed his palms together and tried not to look too nervous. “Hey, I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m in a bit of a jam. I’m looking for a buddy of mine, Kris Novak. I’m worried he might be in some kind of trouble.” That much was true. He was genuinely concerned Kris might do something really dumb while he was in such a bad state. Remi would never forgive himself if that happened. “He’s friends with a guy who works for the Miele farm. Gabe…something?”

“Spicer?” the man said. Then he smiled fondly. “Yeah. He’s also dating my nephew, Orion.”

“Ryan Miele?” Remi asked cheerfully. “Aww yeah, I played ball at school with him. Great guy. I’m Remi Washington, by the way.”

“Pete Miele,” said Pete, offering his hand out so they could shake. He had a firm grip. Remi appreciated that in a person. “You said you were looking for Kris? You don’t mean Kris from Bottom’s Up, do you?”

Remi’s heart skipped a beat. “Yeah, actually, I do. You know him?”

Pete nodded thoughtfully. “He helped me out when I was real low a few months back.” He smiled, a fond expression on his face as he glanced off to look across one of the fields surrounding the farm. “If I was fifteen years younger,” he said wistfully, shaking his head.

Remi couldn’t help the prickle of jealousy that flared through him. But that was totally irrational. Of course Kris had a past with other guys. It was the present that mattered now.

And the future.

Whatever emotion had flitted across Remi’s face, Pete caught it. “Ah,” he said sympathetically. Then he gave Remi the warmest smile and nodded, and Remi knew they were okay. “I’m afraid he’s not here and neither’s Gabe. He finished work on my mom’s yard about a week ago. He’s probably at home with Ryan. If you hang on, I’ll give him a call?”

Remi exhaled in relief. “That would be great, man. I really appreciate it.” For some reason, Remi felt like he could trust Pete. Besides, he was tired of hiding, and having someone realize Kris was more to Remi than just a friend felt so fucking good. “Kris isn’t picking up my messages. I know he’s getting them, but, uh, he might be more willing to talk to another friend right now.”

Pete narrowed his eyes. “You fuck up?” he asked.

Remi bit his lip and nodded. “Think so, sir,” he admitted sheepishly. “I’m trying to make it right.”

Pete had pulled out his phone and pressed a number to call. “Roses,” he said pointedly to Remi before the call connected. “A dozen of them, red. I think my mom might be able to help you out there.” His eyebrows went up as the other person picked up. “Ryan, how’s it going?”

Pete turned back and wandered further into the house, leaving the door open. Remi stepped back off the porch to give him some privacy. He had butterflies in his stomach, acutely aware that time was of the essence. Kris had already been upset for almost twenty-four hours. This was a horrible way to start their relationship. Remi needed to do whatever it took to make this right as fast as possible.

He suspected that involved coming out. He needed to pull his thumb out of his ass and just do it. Remi’s dad was going to take some time to adjust, no matter what. It was just a case of how bad his reaction would be. Manageable or horrified? Remi really couldn’t tell which direction he would go.

Pete came back after a few minutes with a thumbs-up as he pocketed the phone again. “Ryan was with Gabe, and once I explained the situation, Gabe was willing to say where Kris has gone. He also assured me he’s okay,” he added, much to Remi’s relief. Then he held a finger up. “Gabe threatened to beat your ass if you’re going to be a douche, though.”

Gabe Spicer was less than half Remi’s size, but his protectiveness warmed Remi’s heart. “I’m going to do everything I can to be a gentleman,” Remi assured him. He had to take a second to clear his throat after a lump threatened to rise. “Kris is very important to me, sir.”

Pete leaned over and squeezed Remi’s shoulder. “Good,” he said. “Here’s what you do.”

And that was how, several hours later, Remi had found himself on the porch of Hunter Duke’s house, dressed in black pants and a blue button-down, twelve beautiful red roses wrapped in paper clutched in his hands. Kris didn’t look quite like his usual fabulous self. There were dark circles under his eyes, he was wearing full-length jeans and his tank top was a simple one with a cartoon cat on it. But even without any makeup on or wax in his hair, he looked beyond gorgeous to Remi. His heart flipped in his chest at the mere sight of him.

Kris’s expression was one of complete surprise as he stepped out onto the porch, allowing the front and screen doors to swing shut behind him. “Remi?” he asked.

Remi had so many eloquent things he wanted to say. He had even rehearsed some words on the drive over. But they all flew out of his head at the sight of his forlorn lover. “I fucked up,” he blurted, trying not to let his desperation show. “I should have told PJ we were dating and I should have told Epstein to shove the idea you would ever start that fire up his ass. I should have acted like your goddamned man and not let irrational fears get the better of me.”

Kris’s mouth dropped open. “What?” he whispered.

Remi shifted on his feet. A drop of sweat from the heat and his own nerves ran down his spine. “That is,” he said, “if it’s not too late? If you still want to date. If…if you still want to be my boyfriend?”

Kris’s arms flew up to hug himself and he blinked rapidly, his silvery-blue eyes suddenly glassy. “But…why?” he asked.

Remi shook his head. “I don’t have a good enough excuse,” he said. “The official investigation, the accusation, I guess it threw me for a loop. I thought about my dad finding out I’m bi from some arson report, which is stupid because how could he? And I thought if I tried to say I knew you better than it seemed I did – you know – basically how could I know you that well if we weren’t dating, right? And I was worrying about my job, especially when the captain implied I could have helped start the fire and, fuck, that was selfish of me, and-”

“No,” said Kris softly. But it was enough to stop Remi from rambling.

“No?” he said, his anxiety immediately spiking.

Kris visibly swallowed. “Why would you want to be my boyfriend?”

Remi was so stunned he was momentarily rendered mute. “W-what?” he eventually managed to stammer. “What do you mean? Because you’re amazing. Because I’m crazy for you. Unless…fuck, if that’s not what you want, I guess-”

“NO!” Kris shouted, making Remi jump.

He wasn’t the only one. The sudden movement made him realize that they had an audience at one of the windows. A small red-headed girl was watching them with her chin in her hands, a smallish golden Labrador panting by her side. When she saw Remi glance her way, she waved then gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up.

Kris glanced behind and waved sheepishly back at the child, then he looked back at Remi. “No,” he said again, slightly calmer. “That’s not not what I want. Uh, I, oh god, Remi.” He rubbed his hands over his face, his expression wretched. “Okay, the truth is…the truth is I’ve had a crush on you forever. And I mean forever. I realized I was gay when I was thirteen because I just couldn’t get over you and it’s so pathetic I didn’t want to tell you. But I just couldn’t imagine this could be real and it was so easy to believe you didn’t really want to date me yesterday, or come out or any of that stuff because I’m not worth all that trouble, and-”

It was Remi’s turn to interrupt. He stepped forward, careful of the roses in his hand, and flung his arms around Kris, burying his face against Kris’s neck and inhaling his sweet scent deeply. From through the glass, Remi heard a faint girlish squeal of delight.

“You are worth all the trouble,” he insisted. He would like to have pretended his voice was muffled from his mouth being snuggled against Kris’s soft skin, but there was no denying his emotions were getting the better of him. “I’m so sorry I made you doubt that even for a second. I still want to come out to my family, soon. But I don’t want to go through something like yesterday again. I – so – uh – yeah. Kris Novak, would you like to be my official boyfriend?”

Kris leaned back to look Remi in the eye. Then he cupped either side of his face and stepped on his tiptoes to kiss him gently. “I would love to be your boyfriend, Remi Washington,” he said with such sincerity it made Remi’s heart melt.

“So,” said Remi devilishly. “Forever, huh?”

Kris swatted his arm and swooned, the back of his hand placed against his forehead. Then he made a show of taking the roses from Remi’s hand. “Oh, honey bear. These are for me, I take it?” he asked. Remi nodded, resting both hands on Kris’s hips. Kris touched the nearest rose to his nose and inhaled slowly, a smile spreading over his face. “They’re gorgeous,” he murmured. “And, yes. Forever. You are and always have been, a stone-cold hottie, as well as an extremely sweet man.”

“So are you,” Remi said, swaying them gently back and forth. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize that.”

For a while, they simply embraced on the porch. Remi briefly worried who might see them, then he chose not to care. This was just the push he needed to be honest with his family – his dad especially – sooner rather than later. For now, he just took all the comfort and pleasure he could from having Kris back in his arms.

“So,” said Kris after a while. “How brave are you feeling?”

Remi smiled and turned his head to face him. “Pretty brave,” he said confidently.

“Brave enough to meet some of my friends and their very rambunctious kid?” Kris asked. He fluttered his eyelashes and flicked his eyes toward Hunter’s front door.

This was it. Remi was officially, publicly, proudly about to announce he was Kris’s boyfriend.

“Hell yeah,” was all he said.

He was ready.