Page 50 of Romeo vs Romeo

As Tristan and I stepped to the sidewalk in front of Neon Nights, joined by Mama Viv in her finest clothes, wig, and immaculate makeup, we lifted our hands to wave at the crowd. The cheers were growing louder, and several agents from my security team spoke quickly into their communication devices.

For a single instant, I worried that something was wrong. Then, only a hundred paces behind us, another black limo was moving through the crowd.

Tristan gasped and grabbed my hand as we both looked at the approaching car. People moved aside to let it pass, and a combination of Verdumont and US flags billowed in the wind on its hood.

My heart leaped, and I held Tristan’s hand tightly as emotions surged through me.

The car slowed down a few paces away, and the chauffeur got out. He marched around the car and opened the door facing the sidewalk before Neon Nights. Wearing an elegant white dress that left one of her shoulders bare and an extraordinarily styledshort hairstyle that was bound to set new trends, my sister, Sophia, stepped out of the car and looked at the cheering crowd.

They called her name, I realized. People on the other side of the street and on either side of the clearing in the middle knew my sister’s name.

“They know us,” I whispered to Tristan. “They know my family.”

Tristan grinned, his eyes tearing up even before mine, and he pointed again.

As Sophia’s gaze crossed the crowd and found us, behind her, a blond and beautiful girl in a blue dress and with an elaborate silver necklace stepped out of the limo.

“Élodie,” I gasped. “And Max!” I had to hide the shock as my brother got out of the car and smoothed his black blazer. It was only then that I noticed that each of them wore a rainbow-styled pin, and Maximilian’s was the most prominent against the black fabric of his blazer.

The three royals greeted the crowd as their limo moved along. They walked over to me, and I realized that my cheeks were hot and wet with tears of joy.

My family hadn’t forgotten all about me.

Sophia was the first to hug me. “Did you think you’d have to do this alone?”

“Yes. I did.” My voice was rough and hoarse with emotions, but I hugged her tightly and held her close for a long while. After she let go, my brother hugged me for just as long.

“We nearly damn missed it,” he said.

“You’re here now,” I said.

And when Élodie, the girl I had been ordered to marry, came to us, I hugged her like I hugged my siblings. She was as much our family as Tristan, and for that, I loved her. “Thank you,” I whispered close to her ear. “Thank you for being here.”

The commotion lasted less than a minute, and when I faced the crowd of fans, journalists, and photographers, there wasn’t a single doubt left in me.

Everett

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said.

Roman’s hand slid around my waist, and it felt wonderful. “Sorry I never told you.” Then he chuckled. “No. Scratch that. I’m not sorry. The look on your face is priceless.”

Today, he had insisted on me finding a way to come. He had never mentioned that there was a public event happening or that a guy I’d been hanging out with for the past two weeks was a freaking prince. “You all knew?”

Roman shook his head. “Some of us knew. They wanted to have a few weeks of anonymity before this happened.”

I didn’t mind being the last to find out. The truth was, I had been around Cedric just enough to know that he was loved by everyone, but I hadn’t had a chance to get to know any of them that well.

And now, as Roman and I stood with the crowd of onlookers across from Neon Nights, I watched Cedric, Tristan, and three royals join Mama Viv for photos by the open door of her bar.

Cedric stepped forward and began to speak to the crowd, which immediately went quiet and strained their ears. His eyes glimmered. He pressed a closed fist against his lips for a second and grinned broadly before speaking up. To everyone here who had ever visited Neon Nights, his words rang a familiar bell, but to me, they were as if he spoke for us both.

Neon Nights was the place where he found acceptance in the times when he didn’t think he would find it anywhere. And not only had Mama Viv provided him with her protection, but she had also given him a home. There, he’d found the love of his life. There, he’d found friends and freedom.

The cheers exploded when Cedric pulled Tristan close to him and kissed him passionately, Cedric’s siblings applauding and beaming with pride. Their rainbow glimmered in the flashlights of the countless cameras that had gathered to document this moment.

Together with Tristan, Cedric warned everyone that Neon Nights was the target of a ruthless campaign and that its cultural significance meant it had to be protected.

Guilt roiled in me. It was my father who threatened this place. It was my family that wanted to see Neon Nights dismantled and torn down. And a sure way to win rested in my pocket, but I didn’t dare use it.

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