“Oh, son, don’t be embarrassed. Avery had proposed to Kane after just a week of dating, and I had only heard of the man hours before. I suspect the Adams men just know. I can’t see why Robert would be different. Have you proposed to him, Robert?” She looked at Robert expectantly.
Landon’s heart suddenly stuttered so violently he had to look down to see if it had fallen from his chest.
Robert busted out with a hearty laugh, straightening the computer in his lap, glancing over with a smile aimed directly at Landon. “I haven’t, Nonnie.”
“It’s just a matter of time.” She angled her head again, trying to see Landon, and thankfully, Robert didn’t accommodate her movements. “Landon, you come to the wedding. You two come early if you can. I want to get to know you, and if I wait for Robert to bring you, I might die of old age first.”
When Landon didn’t have to look at her, and he had the second to calm down, he decided she was purposefully goading him. She definitely had a sense of humor. Since her comment was directed to him, and he didn’t know how to respond, he gave his standard, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Look at those fine manners. He looks Italian. Paulie would like that, Robert,” Kennedy’s voice grew softer.
“Yes, I agree. He’d like him.” Robert nodded his confirmation to Landon who seemed to be mute with how quiet he’d grown.
“On a serious note, Landon. You’ve helped put a smile back on our Robert’s face. We all appreciate what you’ve done. I look forward to meeting you in person, young man. Robert, call Autumn for me.”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too. Now how do I turn this off?” she asked. Her assistant came back into view. She smiled at Robert and lifted a hand before the screen went blank. Robert closed the lid and placed the laptop on the coffee table before sitting back and casually taking Landon’s hand in his. This time he didn’t fight the hold.
“So, you’re going with me to the wedding?”
“If you want me to. I gotta make sure I can get the time off, but if you’d rather me not, I can use the lack of time off as my excuse not to go.”
“I want you to. I’ve just been putting on the brakes to all this emotion to help build time for us, keep from coming on too strong.” Robert lifted Landon’s hand to his lips. “I’m pretty sure I’m failing miserably, but I’m trying.”
“Yeah, if this is putting on the brakes, I can’t imagine what you’d be doing otherwise,” Landon answered honestly.
“Yeah, that’s why the brakes are needed. You look freaked out.” Robert scanned his face, caution in his gaze.
“When I read your father proposed so quickly, I thought that was his way of speeding up the story,” Landon confessed.
Robert grinned at him and reached for the remote. “You ready to watch Game of Thrones?”
“So, it really was in the first couple of weeks of meeting your dad?” Landon asked, curious for some reason, wanting to know the truth.
Robert pushed the power button on the television, and the screen again flashed on. “I wasn’t there, but it’s the story I heard. I think it was like ten days. They didn’t head down the aisle for a year, but my dad moved to Minnesota to run for the United States senate and then met my daddy. Things had to be sorted quickly.”
“You aren’t running for office, are you?” Landon asked, knowing one hundred percent, if he didn’t fit in Robert’s current world, he certainly wouldn’t fit in a political world.
Robert fiddled with the remote, pointing it at the screen as he barked out another laugh. “Zero plans for anything political. I’m a people pleaser. I don’t have the temperament.”
“Good. Don’t.” It seemed enough for right now. Landon reached for one of the new sofa pillows and started to lie across the seats, trying to redirect his thoughts. Robert obliged him, scooting over to the end of the oversized couch as the HBO app came up. Normally, having his head in Robert’s lap would lead to them both getting a blow job, but he didn’t see that happening tonight. He was, in fact, completely freaked out. What would he have done if Robert had asked him to marry him like that?
He’d marry him.
That answer was so loud it echoed in his head. In fact, the words were so loud, he looked up to see if he’d blurted them. Robert looked down in question, and Landon shook his head, turning back to face the television.
Fuck. Now, he was wondering why Robert hadn’t asked him to marry him. If all the men on the Adams side of the family declared their forever devotion at warp speed, why hadn’t Robert?
“You’re getting agitated,” Robert said, running his fingers through Landon’s hair as the show began.
“Because I’m a fucking idiot,” Landon muttered, and Robert laughed again.
“You’re anything but.” Robert increased the volume.
Landon decided to ignore himself and adjusted his body, getting more comfortable. After a second more, he settled his head back on the pillow only to be poked in the cheek. He lifted to see a gray feather edging out of the pillow’s casing. Of course. Only because Robert seemed to be keeping every feather they found, he tossed it on the coffee table close to the others and focused on Ned Starks’s face.
“No more kisses then?”
“Not right now,” he said gruffly. Robert’s good nature held. He heard the low rumble of a chuckle before Robert reached over and tickled his side. It helped the anxiety. He wrapped an arm around Robert’s legs and watched the episode.
Chapter 20
Robert darted across the street at the light, checking
