“I don’t know about that.”
“She loved you, Chase, and that’s all that matters. Regardless of what happened between us, you need to always know that.”
“Thank you.”
They stood in silence, one that stretched to the point where Chase felt he had to break it with, “Whose turn was it again?”
“Do you think it’s going to be this awkward this whole week?” Mason asked.
Chase laughed. He couldn’t help it. It was just nervous tension, and he could tell Mason eased up because of it, too. “I know, right? Can I be honest with you?”
“Always.”
“I’ve been so stressed out about this, and I know I shouldn’t be, considering how well we know each other, but it’s just… it has been a long time… and there’s so much history between us. I feel awkward as fuck that it’s like this.”
“Like what?”
“Come on. Going from being able to chat with you every day, being the only person I ever talked to, and then…”
“You could have always talked to me.”
“We couldn’t. At least for some time, and then… I never knew when the right time was to start talking again. Or if that’s what we were supposed to do. There really isn’t a handbook for this kind of thing.”
“You’re right about that. Definitely should be a book about a situation like ours.”
“How to Plan Your Husband’s Sister’s Wedding in Style?” Chase teased.
“How to Act Cool When Your Husband Who You’re No Longer With Comes to Help Your Sister Plan Her Wedding?” Mason glanced at the horseshoe in his hand. “Chase, I’ve missed you. A lot.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
There was such relief in being honest and open about how they felt about the situation they were in.
The tension Chase felt dissolved even more.
“It’s not easy when your best friend leaves,” Mason said.
“No, it’s not. But obviously things are better now.”
“The dairy’s fine. Me, I don’t know. Do I seem that different? Maybe a couple more lines on my face… a few grays on my head.”
“You can’t notice any grays in those beautiful blond locks, I promise,” Chase assured him, wishing he could stroke his fingers through them just once more.
“And you’re still the same beautiful Chase I fell in love with.”
And Chase felt how much Mason believed it as he looked at him with that loving expression on his face.
Chase wished they could have said so much more—that he could tell Mason he’d never met another man who could affect him the way he had… who could soothe him with just a touch or a kiss. Even as he stood before him, all he wanted was his man’s arms around him, pulling him close, clinging to him in a way that made him feel so desired, so needed.
But he knew it would have been wrong to say that, just as it was wrong that they’d even allowed themselves to say as much as they had.
“Mase, you know, when I left, I was doing what was best for—”
“I understand why you did what you did, and I’m so happy to see you living a life you’re pleased with. I would never take that from you. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
As Chase said the words, they reminded him of when he said them in such a different context—before the wedding arch Emery had decorated with flowers by the barn—and he could tell by Mason’s deepening frown that he’d picked up on the same similarity.
