Russ nodded. “There are just too many groupings like that in our family for it to be random. There are a lot of communities where it’s still common, but they keep things very quiet so you don’t hear about it. At one time there were rumors some scientific group wanted to study it because it’s a lifestyle that’s been around forever, but from what I understand it got quietly hushed up.”
Tanner snorted. “No one wants to talk about anything that’s outside the box.”
“I don’t know.” I grinned. “Austin seems to have made some waves.”
Grinning, Tanner nodded, conceding. “Okay, he’s always the exception to everything. Did we tell you he was going to be on or did you see him on the news?”
“Jonah mentioned it.” I was hoping that would be the extent of our conversation about Jonah, but Tanner wasn’t willing to let it go.
“You seem to be spending a lot of time together.” Tanner ignored Shane’s little noise of surprise. Tanner glanced between us, the business tycoon showing in his eyes. “I guess finding friends who might be accepting of your relationship is hard. He’s very sweet and basically family to me.”
The implied threat was perfectly clear. “Yes, we have a small circle of friends.”
Russ snorted. “You might be willing to let that go, but I’m not.”
Shit.
His sense of right and wrong drove me nuts.
Giving up, I waved my hand and started studying the last few bites of my steak as Russ started to speak. “We haven’t talked about this to Jonah, so I’m not going to go into details, but yes, we’re interested in him. I guess it’s one of those things about my family, but we always know who our partners are supposed to be. I knew the first time I saw him that he was going to be ours.”
Tanner and Shane were completely silent, so I let out the breath I was holding and glanced up. They were intently focused on Russ, but Shane flicked his gaze over to me for a split second and I could see understanding in his eyes.
“We knew you needed to be told about us first, so he doesn’t know much. But he is aware that we’re together.” Russ said it like there was nothing to worry about. It was one of the things I loved best about him. “Feel free to share anything we’ve said with him, but only him until we’ve had a chance to talk.”
“And then just in your group.” It was my turn to put some limits on this shit. “The men I’ve met about the club are fine, but our life is private.”
“I know this isn’t my business, but how private?” Tanner pressed forward, not having an issue with invading our privacy.
I probably couldn’t blame him.
“I don’t like the idea of him having to hide another part of his life.” Tanner took a breath and kept going. “I understand keeping things private, but you can’t ask him to hide his entire relationship.”
That was the hardest part of all of it.
But it wasn’t an unexpected topic. I’d just pictured talking to our omega first. “You’re right.”
Russ must have seen my stress because his leg nudged mine and he took over the conversation. “The people we work with already know and my family knows we’re looking for an omega. We’ve talked about what would happen when we found the right man for us, and we’re still working on how we want to handle that. Honestly, we hadn’t wanted to deal with the drama since everyone is so close and your mothers are so vocal.”
Tanner nodded and Shane groaned, understanding completely how rough that would be.
“We’re not socialites or celebrities, so our personal life isn’t going to be interesting for that many people. When something has to be acknowledged, Graham and our omega would be the public face of our relationship.” Hearing the words we’d talked about so many times come out of his mouth was still hard.
“Isn’t that going to be difficult for you?” Tanner wasn’t willing to give up until he knew Jonah wasn’t walking into an insane conversation. I appreciated it, but it was still a tough conversation.
“No.” Russ shook his head. “I’m the most logical person because I understand better than anyone in our family how it will feel. I know Graham loves me and I know why it’s necessary. I’ve been raised in this lifestyle. I’ve seen the stress that can happen and that makes me more prepared to deal with it.”
Russ’s grandparents had died a few years ago, all within six months of each other. It’d hit him hard, but it also made him more confident about what he wanted. Before they’d died, we’d visited and had several long conversations with all his grandfathers.
He’d had especially long ones with his omega grandfather and his Grandpa Jerry, his alpha grandfather who was the hidden member of the triad. As a teenager, I hadn’t really focused on how he must have felt, but he made sure to talk to us both over time so we would understand.
They’d been incredible men.
“I don’t know. It sounds…” Tanner wasn’t completely satisfied with Russ’s answer, but I knew he wouldn’t change his mind. Russ had been set from the very beginning that it would be his role. Sure, he had logical reasons, like me being the public face of the construction company, but there were other emotional ones.
Russ had family to talk to about us and had done a great job finding employees who would accept our lives and who were looking for privacy for their own needs and lifestyles. He had a sixth sense for people who were a bit outside the box. He’d always said that between his family and his friends, they were really all he needed.
SometimesI believed him and sometimes I questioned both our sanities.