"Yes," Vaughn and King responded at exactly the same time.
Vaughn added, "The closest thing to Luca owning a pink shirt is the single blue shirt he has. Which, by the way, is the one he should wear tonight. That way Remy can see that Luca knows how to change it up."
I had no doubt my brothers were trying to provoke me into participating in the ridiculous conversation, but I just wanted to focus on the picture of my son.
My son.
Remy had shown me the picture on his phone when he’d gotten home about an hour earlier, and then he’d sent it to me so I’d have a copy for myself. He’d seemed extremely positive about the visit he’d had with Gio today and while I hadn't asked for specifics, seeing my son with his arms wrapped protectively around Violet as the pair slept gave me hope like I hadn't known in a really long time.
"You think Remy sent him a dick pic or something?" Con asked.
That got my attention. "Hey," I snapped. "That's my guy you’re talking about—" I began to say as I looked over my shoulder. All three of my brothers were staring at me with grins on their faces. I silently cursed myself for taking the bait.
"Well, your guy is going to end up waiting for you downstairs if you don't get a move on," Con said.
He was holding the pink shirt up along with what I assumed was supposed to be a matching tie.
"The blue one," I said, more to watch his expression fall than anything else.
Which it did.
"I give up, you guys are beyond help." Con tossed the shirt on the bed. "Show us what you've been staring at for the past twenty minutes.”
I handed the phone over to my brothers and then began to change into the blue shirt. My thoughts drifted to my upcoming date with Remy. As excited as I was, I was strangely nervous too. I'd never been particularly good at charming people unless it was in a boardroom. If I wanted something, I pretty much took it.
"Oh wow," Vaughn said as he, King, and Con huddled in close so they could look at the screen.
"Is Gio actually talking?" Con asked in surprise.
The question, while innocent, brought about a mix of feelings. I was beyond happy that my son had seemingly come out of his shell a little bit with Remy. But it was bittersweet because I hadn't been able to see my son at all since the day I’d visited the hospital shortly after he'd woken up. I still went to the hospital every day to talk to his doctor and get updates, but Dr. Taylor didn't think it was a good idea for me to try to talk to Gio again. At that point, only Remy seemed to be making any kind of headway with my angry son. Based on the picture he’d taken that afternoon, he’d made a lot of progress.
I felt a hand on my shoulder as I was in the process of buttoning up my shirt. Vaughn was at my side, his expression one of understanding. "He'll get there, little brother. You're going to get him back."
I nodded because my throat felt thick with emotion. I was so glad to have my brothers back with me, though Lex's absence was noticeable. For once, King and Con weren't at each other's throats about Lex and whatever was keeping him away from us, so I figured that meant they'd had a chance to talk about it when they’d gone to pick up Marilyn on the day Remy had taken off.
My thoughts shifted to Remy as I continued to get dressed and my brothers talked amongst themselves. Although Remy had been back home for the past few days, there'd still been a level of awkwardness between us. I’d tried many times to draw him into conversation about unimportant things, but he'd seemed nervous in my presence and all we ever really talked about was Gio and Violet. Not to mention with the presence of my brothers and Marilyn, it meant that we were rarely alone. I was hoping our date would change all that.
As I slid my jacket on and checked my tie, my brothers gave me all sorts of what they probably considered useful advice, ranging from just being myself to remembering to open the door for Remy to whether or not I should order for him and on and on and on. I tuned most of it out because besides Con, none of my brothers were particularly good at romance. Vaughn had only had eyes for Aleks the past couple of years and I doubted King stopped working long enough to meet anyone. And if he did, it wasn't likely that he was in search of a relationship that would last more than the time it would take him to get off. The man wasn't exactly a people person. While Con did better in the romance department, he wasn't an expert at the long-term stuff either.