“Well, technically, it wasourmeeting. But Tasha’s handling it for us.” Jude’s lips curved in a smile, lighting up his eyes, and a rush of love swept through Mason.
“Us? Does that mean thereisan us?”
“You tell me.”
Time to prove he was the man he came home to be. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stay. I had to get out of there.”
“Because?” Jude’s gaze was steady and unbreakable. “Talk to me. Help me understand what really happened on the yacht.”
Defiant, Mason tipped up his chin. “It wasn’t that way with Warren, not sordid as Dex made it all sound. Yes, I slept with Warren, but I worked for him as well. Damn hard, in fact. And I liked him. I agreed to our arrangement without any pressure or stars in my eyes. I chose to stay because I learned so much. I wasn’t simply his flavor of the month.”
“Why did you need to keep it from me?”
“Because…it was a part of the past I no longer felt connected to. Almost like it wasn’t the real me who lived that life, not anymore. I don’t regret it because that’s a futile thought process, and more importantly, it’s brought me to this point with you. And that’s one thing I wouldn’t change at all.”
“I’m trying to make sense of it all. You worked for Warren and slept with him. You’re working for me and sleeping with me. How is it any different?”
“You can’t see it?” The words fell from his numb lips.
“I’d like to hear it from you,” Jude said softly. “I don’t want to think one thing and have it be something else.”
In business, Jude might be decisive and controlling, but in his personal life, his innocence and vulnerability shone through, and Mason could see Jude’s internal struggle to find his footing. Seeing this human side of Jude only he’d been privy to made Mason love him more.
“Haven’t you grown from when you were younger and did things that you’d now think,If I had the chance to change, I wouldn’t have done what I did?”
Jude sat next to him. “Not really. All I knew was taking care of my mother and Ilana, making sure there was enough food and that the rent was paid. I didn’t date. If I needed sex, I went to a bar and picked someone up. I couldn’t spend my time or money on someone else when I had to be there for my family—they always came first.”
Mason touched his face. “And so you sacrificed your life for theirs.”
Jude stiffened, and his jaw tightened. “I told you before, I didn’t look at it like that. I still don’t.”
“I know. But didn’t you ever wish you could escape and throw off all responsibility? You could’ve had a boyfriend or gone to parties and hung out with your friends.” The play of emotions on Jude’s face as he struggled with his loyalty to his mother hurt to see, and Mason loved him too much to put him through that hell. “I’m sorry. Using that comparison was wrong of me. You did what you had to do, and like you said, chose what was right for you and your family. I chose the path that was right for me at that time because I was a spoiled brat and had no one to be responsible for but myself. I was lucky to always have my parents to bail me out.”
“Until I put my two cents in,” Jude said with a wry smile.
“Well, yeah. But if you didn’t, who knows where I might’ve ended up? The thirty-year-old me appreciates you butting in, even if the seventeen-year-old me didn’t, so I owe you a long-overdue apology. Spending the night in jail gave me a chance to think about the direction my life was heading in, and I didn’t like it. I was embarrassed and ashamed, not so much for myself, but for what I put my parents through. They didn’t deserve it.”
“I never knew it affected you that way.”
Mason arched a brow. “Let’s face it. Would it have mattered if you did? I was a wise-ass and baited you at every turn. And I’m not blaming you, but it was probably the main reason I left after I finished college.”
Stunned, Jude shifted to face him directly. “Because of me?”
“No, you idiot. Because of me. Before I got too lost, I had to go find myself.”
“Which brings us back full circle to you working on Colchester’s yacht.”
“I didn’t hurt anyone, and I didn’t feel like I compromised myself.”
“But you hid it from me.”
“For this exact reason. Your judgment. You’re looking down on me, thinking I sold myself to him, but that’s not the case. Warren turned out to be a good boss and an even better friend; he taught me about hard work and valuing myself.”
“I know. I spoke with him.”
Mason’s jaw dropped. “Y-you called Warren?”
“We had a long talk. He’s very fond of you still. Maybe even in love with you.” Jude focused that dark, direct gaze of his on him, but Mason didn’t falter.
