“Trust me, I have no desire to live in my old room either. As a matter of fact, Doug and I were just talking about me coming to work for The Company.”
“Good. When do you start?” Her gaze shifted from him to Doug, who grinned.
“See what I’ve been dealing with while you were living the life?”
But Mason wasn’t going to feel bad for wanting to live a little before settling down.
“Jeez, Mom. Like you said, I’m thirty. Let me work it out.”
“You’ve had plenty of time to think. Time to start doing.” Her stern tone softened. “We only want what’s best for you. I’m not pressuring you to get married. I know that may not be for you. We love you and want to see you happy.” She gave him a kiss. “Your father and I are so glad you’re home.”
Like the whirlwind she’d always been, she left to join Ilana, who was talking to some ancient relative.
“I thought Uncle Abe was ninety at my bar mitzvah,” Mason said, then smiled and nodded at the cute waiter who’d stopped by to refill his coffee cup. “Thank you.”
Doug snickered. “That’s ’cause everyone over the age of forty looks old when you’re thirteen. He’s eighty-five and danced up a storm last night. But you wouldn’t know that because you weren’t there for most of it.”
“Dougie.” Mason glared. “Don’t make me pull out the old stories of how you used to wet the bed. My private life is just that. Private.”
“Asshole.”
Much as Mason loved to tease Jude, he knew his brother’s best friend would be mortified and downright furious if he discovered Mason had revealed their night together to Doug. And while normally Mason wouldn’t have given a damn, this time it was different. Jude wasn’t a rando hookup he’d never see again. He’d known Jude for so long, the thought of deliberately hurting him weighed heavily on him.
And as it was extremely unlikely to ever happen again, he would tuck it away in his memories. The night against which all future nights would be compared.
Before he got a hard-on sitting at his brother’s wedding breakfast, Mason needed to shift the conversation away from sex with Jude.
“Can we get back to the important matter at hand? My coming to work for The Company.”
In the beginning Mason had snickered about the name they’d chosen for their marketing agency, but now he could admit it was kind of catchy.
He added, “You do remember the conversation we had a few weeks ago, right? I know your headspace was in wedding mode, but you assured me if I was serious, a job would be there for me.”
“Yeah, I remember. I’m still floored you went and got a degree and everything.”
Mason bristled. “It’s not Wharton or the London School of Economics, but I can hold my own. And coming from living abroad all these years, I have ideas—”
“Dude. Chill.” Laughing, Doug put his hands up. “I’m not questioning your credentials.” His eyes gleamed. “I’m impressed you did it in the first place. I didn’t think you were into business or marketing.”
Mason bit back a smartass retort. Doug had a point, and if he was going to work for his brother, he had a right to know why.
“I wanted to come home. Paradise is beautiful, but after years of seeing all the people coming and going, it made me realize I wasn’t really accomplishing anything for myself. I don’t need the private yachts I worked on, but I do want to make money. Not gonna lie.” His one regret would be working in an environment where he’d be trading in his board shorts and sleeveless tanks for suits and ties. He already felt choked.
“Why shouldn’t you? People don’t work for free.” Doug eyed him. “Tell me all about those private yachts.”
“Oh, yeah. You should see some of those babies. And the people spend money like water. My tips were awesome.”
He’d spent the last three years as a personal assistant to an older, extremely wealthy businessman, and that had included taking care of all the man’s needs—businessandpleasure. Mason had learned valuable lessons in the corporate world, and Warren’s generosity in paying for his education, in addition to the lavish salary and tips, had enabled Mason to save money to pay for an apartment when he made the decision to return to New York.
“I’ll bet. But, selfishly, I’m glad you’re home. Even though you said everything was great, I still missed you. I didn’t like having you on the other side of the world.”
He hugged Doug. “I love you. And I missed you too. Much as I loved it over there, I really did miss you all.”
Doug’s eyes danced. “Even Jude?”
Mason recalled locking his ankles around Jude’s waist and clawing at his back.…Jude’s furious, unrestrained lovemaking had left him breathless, on edge and achy.
“What about Jude?” Evading the question, Mason pushed the hair off his brow. “We can be civil to each other. You don’t have to worry. I’m not going to embarrass him or you.”
