He nodded. “I understand that. I just wanted you to know how happy I am for both of you. You deserve all the good things in life, my friend. I bet your mama is delighted.” My eyes widened. Shit. I rubbed the back of my neck as Hudson laughed. “You forgot to tell her, didn’t you?”
I sighed. “Yes, but she’ll understand. I’ll tell her we eloped. Because we did. Kinda.”
Hudson grinned. “It’s okay. You’re entitled. We’ll celebrate when you get home.”
The sound of a car approaching caught my attention. I didn’t have to tell him; he knew. “Give me back to Carson and go get your happily ever after.”
My eyes chose that moment to betray me as the lump in my throat left me temporarily unable to speak. Swallowing thickly, I breathed deeply. “Love you, friend.”
Hudson’s eyes were glassy. “Love you too.” With damp eyes, I handed the phone back to Carson, then waited for the love of my life.
The driver stopped the car, and Mason got out, followed by Axel. He looked over my shoulder, confused at everyone waiting in the distance. Axel stopped, then pulled his twin into a hug. As he whispered something into his ear, Mason’s eyes stayed fixed on me. I could see the love in them as he began to put things together. When Axel pulled away, he patted his brother on the cheek. “I’ll be over there waiting for you when you’re ready.”
Turning away, he stopped in front of me and held out his hand. “I couldn’t ask for a better man for my brother. I know you’ll take care of him for me. I wish you both nothing but happiness.” He pulled me into a hug and clapped me on the back before walking toward the others.
Mason was speechless as he looked from the glass enclosure back to me. Holding my hand out, he took it without question. “Tommy? What’s going on?”
I cleared my throat as I looked at him. “I love you, and today was the perfect day for us to get what we wanted. Come with me.” Leading him down to the chapel, our friends sat smiling on the pews lined with our borrowed flowers. Checking his face, all I saw was happiness mirrored back at me. Stopping at the large glass wall that overlooked the ocean, I turned to him. Taking both hands, I lifted them to my mouth and kissed them. “Sweetheart, do you remember when Lennox would set you up on dates at the Squid?”
His eyes widened as he smiled, “Unfortunately.” He cut his eyes toward his friend, who grinned like a fool.
“I used to hate that,” I said. “I would wait on pins and needles for your text asking me to come save you. I never put it together that you never drove to those dates, always choosing to ride with Lennox or take a car. I would be antsy and try to distract myself until I got that message. But my unease wouldn’t dissipate until I had you in my car.”
Mason’s shy smile, which I loved, caused him to dip his head before he looked up at me. “They weren’t always terrible, but when I thought about how much happier I was with you, they didn’t compare. But there was never a level 5.”
I kissed his hands again. “I know. No one was dangerous enough to warrant that.”
Mason rolled his lips in. “You’re my swan, aren’t you?”
“I am. We could be a host of other male animals that fall for each other, but the swan was more romantic. They’re very protective when it comes to their mate because they bond for life. Males sometimes find each other and fall hopelessly in love. They will even mate temporarily with females until she produces an egg, which the two daddy swans raise together as a bonded pair. You and I are swans, sweetheart, bonded for life. And if you’re ready, I’d like us to marry here with our family present.”
As Mason processed my words, a tear slipped down his face. I reached up to wipe it away, as another one followed. “You really want that with me?” he whispered in disbelief.
“You’re the only one I want a life with. I want to spend every day with you. To raise children with you, and to grow old with you.”
Mason wiped away the tears and smiled. “Me too. All of it.”
I smiled, then looked over at Lennox. He left his place with Dane and stood in front of us. Axel stood and took his place beside his brother, while my brother in arms, Lt. Dane Calloway, stood with me. “I’m standing in for Hudson.”
With everyone in place, Lennox smiled at us. “I’m honored to be here to marry two of the best people I know. If you’re ready, we’ll get started.”
Mason blinked at his best friend. “It had to be you, Lennox. You always pull me up when I’m down. There’s no one better than you.”
Lennox nodded, trying to avoid becoming emotional. “Don’t make me cry, Mase.”
Everyone chuckled, breaking the tension. Axel put his hand on Mason’s shoulder and squeezed it in support as Lennox pulled out his paper to read the words I chose. When he got to the vows, I got to go first. Pushing down the emotion, I spoke from the heart. “The first time I saw you, I knew you were someone special. Someone I needed to know. You walked into my life like a quiet ray of sunshine, lighting up every dark part of my life with your smile, making me see myself in another light. I fell for your friendship that night in Sacramento, and I fell for your heart with every taco run, every time you smiled at something I said, every time you looked at me like I could be someone lucky enough to have you. You made me believe in love again, and I want to spend the rest of my life giving it back to you. I love you, sweetheart, more than there are stars in the sky and grains of sand on the beach.”
Tears streaked down his face as he stared at me. Lennox gave him a minute before calling his name. “Mase?”
Swallowing thickly, he smiled as I wiped his tears away. “There was a night when we stood under the stars when I told you my truth. In all those words, I tried to tell you how I felt about you without actually saying it. You stood there and looked at me as I quietly searched for some sign that you returned my feelings. I knew you cared, but I hoped for more. That’s the night I knew if you never returned my feelings, I would stay by your side as your best friend until the day I died. I would ratherhave that part of you than none at all because you stood by me through everything. And when you kissed me in the rain in London, you made every dream I had come true. I will never love anyone the way I love you, Tommy. You are my everything. My beginning and my end.”
By the time he was finished, tears had formed in my eyes. I’d almost broken his heart with my silence, and I would never do that again. Mason reached over and wiped it away, then leaned down to kiss my cheek. The chapel was silent until Lennox cleared his throat. “Let’s uh…exchange the rings.”
I pulled his ring out of my pocket. I didn’t wait for Lennox as I reached for his left hand. Holding it in mine, I slid it on his finger. “I love you, and give you this ring as a symbol of unending love.”
Mason looked down at it, then he realized he didn’t have a ring. “Tommy, I don’t…”
“Here ya go, little brother,” Axel said, extending his palm with my ring. “You didn’t think we’d let you do this without one, did you?”
