“Gigi, Chase and Oby had a sleepover so now we can all have breakfast together!” Madison shrieked.
Tobias cast a worried look in Chase’s direction, wondering how he would handle the chaos of their typical mornings, and he relaxed when Chase started to giggle.
“Good morning, Grace,” he said sheepishly. “I hope you slept well. I’d be happy to help with breakfast.”
His mom sucked her lips between her teeth and tried her absolute hardest not to laugh at them. Once she composed herself, she got a quick handle on the situation.
“What a wonderful surprise. We’re so glad to have you, Chase,” she said, and then focused on Madison. “Maddie, how about we let Uncle Toby and Chase get dressed and we’ll head down to get started on breakfast?”
“Okay!” Madison shouted before hopping out of bed and tearing out of the room.
Grace raised her eyebrows at the two of them, a teasing smile on her face, and shut the door behind her.
When Chase and Tobias turned toward each other, they fell apart in laughter. Tobias’ abs were aching by thetime they got out of bed.
It wasn’t the morning he expected, but if Chase was going to stick around then it would be good for him to get a sense of how his family operated.
Tobias hoped it didn’t scare him away.
Judging by the wide smile on his face, he was fearless.
24
CHASE FLOATED INTO HERO’S Pub to meet his brother for lunch.
The last twenty-four hours with Tobias had been some of the best he’d had in years, and a part of him was disappointed he’d made these plans with Shawn. It wasn’t easy leaving Tobias, Madison and Grace that morning, which left Chase both scared and excited.
He couldn’t bring himself to cancel, though. Shawn had texted him the previous week asking to get together again, and Chase couldn’t find it in him to refuse. Chase hadn’t forgiven Shawn yet, but he would some day. For so long, it had been just him and his mom against the world. It would be nice to get some family back.
The tables and barstools were mostly vacant, with only a smattering of people throughout the welcoming space.
The servers and bartenders were starting their shifts, so everyone had bright smiles for Chase as he walked through the bar.
Shawn sat at a table against one of the walls underneath a television playing horse racing. He was distracted by his placemat menu and flinched when Chase pulled out the chair across the table from him, the wooden legs scraping on the tile floor and echoing through the space.
“Chase, hey!” he said brightly. “Sorry, I didn’t see you come in. Did you know they have pulled pork nachos here? I never noticed it before.”
“Oh yeah, I had them once,” Chase said as he inspected his own menu, still a bit edgy around Shawn. “They’re pretty good.”
Shawn opened his mouth to talk when their server arrived and took their drinks order.
The distraction helped Chase get his bearings, and he used the opportunity to take in Shawn, noticing the small changes from fourteen years ago.
Like Chase, Shawn had brown eyes and medium-brown wavy hair, although Shawn let his fall over his forehead while Chase preferred the combed-back style. Chase noticed the silver at his temples extended to a few strands of gray throughout the rest of his hair, and fine lines framed his mouth and eyes. Shawn was identical to his old self in so many ways, but he wore the years well.
“So, how’s everything going with you? Are you stillliking your new job at the gym?” Shawn asked, and Chase, invigorated by the topic, couldn’t help grinning.
“It’s going great, actually. We started the kids’ yoga classes and they’re really popular so far. It’s been really great.”
Did he say great twice? There were so many words he could use to describe his time working under Tobias—and on top of him. Life-changing. Soul-fulfilling. Perfection. Great wasn’t nearly a good enough word, but he didn’t want to be over the top.
The server arrived with their drinks and took their food order, which thankfully gave Chase a moment to get his thoughts organized. Shawn pounced as soon as she left their table.
“Great, huh?” Shawn said teasingly. “Are you getting used to working for Tobias Moyer? I still can’t believe you get to see him at work every day.”
“Yeah, um…” Heat rose in Chase’s cheeks. He wasn’t doing a damn thing to hide his smile. Shawn immediately picked up on it.
“Oh, shit. Do you like him? Like,like himlike him?”
