When he was out of earshot, Axel looked at me. “You’re very protective of my brother. Is there something going on I need to know about?”
I smiled. “He’s a nice guy and we enjoy each other’s company.”
“Nothing more?”
I shook my head. “Nothing more. I spent over ten years as a bodyguard, and I worked for the FBI. Protection is what I do.”
Axel took a sip of his drink, then looked at me. “I sense there’s more you’re not telling him.”
“What makes you think that?”
“The way you look at him. The way he looks at you. He won’t go anywhere without you. He worries about what you think. It’s pretty clear to me that my brother has feelings.”
I held his gaze. “Mason is important to me. I’ll admit I’ve never been involved with a man, but he makes that irrelevant. He makes me happy.” I looked over my shoulder. “But I also want to protect him. If you haven’t noticed, his world has recently been blown apart. When the time is right for him, we’ll figure ourselves out.”
Axel studied me. “Are you afraid?”
My automatic answer was that I wasn’t afraid of anything. But like his brother, he deserved an honest answer. “The last relationship I had didn’t end well, so there’s always going to be some doubt. But afraid of being with him? Not one bit.”
“Does Mason know that?”
“Yes. He knows almost everything.” I chuckled. “We spend a lot of time together. I’d say he knows me better than anyone.”
Axel brought his index finger to his lips as he casually rested his head in his hand. “Uh huh. Have you thought about kissing him?”
All the damn time. But I didn’t say that. “I don’t think that’s any of your business.”
He grinned. “That’s a yes. Maybe you should give it a go. Waiting for the right time is an excuse. And you know it. There’s no better time than the present.”
I thought about what he was suggesting, and wordlessly acknowledged his comment.
“Just be honest, Thomas. The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be for him if you change your mind. He’s not a hardened asshole like me. I can already tell.”
I hid my smile behind my glass. Mason was the farthest thing from an asshole. He was kind and tender-hearted. He cared about other people and put their needs first. He was everything I was drawn to. “I’d never hurt him, but it’s been a long time since I’ve acted on an attraction. Things have changed in the dating world.”
“Here’s what I think,” he said. “Stop fucking thinking about it, and just do it. Time’s a-wasting. If you want more, you should tell him. It’s like hockey. You don’t wait and think about taking the shot. You fucking take it. If you waste your time waiting for the perfect opening, the puck will be stolen before you turn around.” He finished his whiskey, then put the glass on the table. “He needs to move on if you’re not going to take a shot.”
I caught sight of Mason walking across the pub. He stopped when a patron reached out to speak to him, then pointed over to us. He shook his head no, but smiled just the same. He was happy. And just being in his presence made me smile. Maybe Axel was right, and it was time to take a chance. I saw what Hudson had with Evan after losing Carrie, and I wanted that. “He’s vulnerable right now.”
“He is,” Axel agreed. “But he’s also a fucking grown-up. Give him some credit, Thomas.”
He was right. And when Mason returned to the table, I spent the rest of the evening thinking about what Axel said. As they talked, I got lost in my head, allowing myself to admit how good it would be with him. To hold him and run my mouth all over his body. To kiss him breathless and hear him moan my name like he did in his dream. Waking up with him in my bed, making breakfast for us, walking the dogs, living my life with my best friend. I’d never had that, and it was within reach.
We stayed at the pub for a couple more hours, enjoying the atmosphere. A few hockey lovers came by to say hello to Axel and lament how much they wished he still played in England. It was amusing to watch every time they noticed Mason. Their eyes widened, looking back and forth between them, making both men laugh. They’d missed that growing up. “This is my baby brother, Mason. He plays professional football in America,” Axel explained.
“By three minutes,” Mason added.
“Still makes me older,” Axel teased.
Their conversation shifted from training routines to how grueling the season could be. Mason wanted to know if he’d thought about the NHL, and Axel wondered if Mason had considered rugby. It was evident they wanted to be in each other’s lives, and putting a continent between them now would be difficult for both of them.
At the end of the evening, plans were made to meet up the next afternoon. Axel had a meeting the following morning he couldn’t miss, and we needed to sleep. Still on San Diego time, the jet lag was beginning to set in.
We left the pub and walked out in the cool night air. It was damp from the rain that had started some time ago. But the wet streets and glittering lights made for a picturesque evening. “I’ll call you tomorrow after my meeting. If she’s in good spirits, I’ll take you to meet her if you want.”
I pulled out the umbrellas as Mason agreed. “Yeah. I want to do that.”
Axel pulled his brother into a hug as they said their goodbyes. I held an umbrella over Mason as Axel hailed a cab. When he noticed, he took it from me as I lifted my arm to hail a cab. “We aren’t that far. It never rains in San Diego, and I’d like to experience it.”
