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“What?”

“Still saying nothing is going to happen there?” He gestured with his head at the door Zeb had just left through.

“Do you want to poke at the little brother, or shall we talk about William?”

His brother didn’t have the best track record with men either. Leo had a lot of “fans” who could be intense. Mason didn’t really have that. There were people who loved his food, but they weren’t like what Leo had to deal with. His friend Ryder had crazy fans. He was a fitness influencer with millions of followers. When he’d met Felix, his so-called “fans” had a lot to say about it, and had nearly fucked it up for them. Ryder had been the ultimate party boy for years, and now he was well and truly whipped by Felix.

His brother didn’t push the Zeb thing any further, which he was grateful for. His friends brought it up enough. Sebastian was in town for the weekend, so all five of his closest friends would be in New York. It was rare for the six of them to be together without a partner or more joining. This time it was just them, and Mason was looking forward to it. The lunch would be at Sebastian’s penthouse, and it was being catered. Mason was sure he could do better than anyone Sebastian hired, but he’d been told to shut up, turn up, and eat. At least it was during the day, so he could be back at the restaurant for the evening service.

Sebastian gave Mason a hug. He wasn’t much of a hugger, but you didn’t get a choice with Sebastian Steele. The man was a giant, and had definitely picked up the hugging from his husband, Charlie, who was the sweetest guy and perfect for his friend. They balanced each other well.

He passed Sebastian a bottle of red wine from his private store. Sebastian looked at it and smiled. Yes, it was a five-hundred-dollar bottle of wine, but he couldn’t arrive empty-handed and had been told he couldn’t bring food.

“You’re the last to arrive, so let’s get you a drink. The food’s all done and warming, so we’re serving in half an hour, and then it’ll just be the six of us.”

Mason followed Sebastian into his vast open living space. Why he needed such a huge apartment in a city he no longer lived in, Mason wasn’t sure. The place had been a soulless white box until he met Charlie. Now, the man’s creative flair was all over the place, which was probably why Sebastian had kept it. In London, they had a renovated Edwardian townhouse, but this place couldn’t be more modern if it tried. Ryder lived in the same building.

“How is the grumpy chef this fine Sunday afternoon,” said the man in question, giving him a hug.

Max, who was a lawyer, also greeted Mason with a hug. He was the youngest in their group and lived outside the city with his fiancé, Paolo. They were getting married next December, and it couldn’t happen to a more deserving couple.

Ethan raised his glass in Mason’s direction and gave a nod. He wasn’t a hugger either. Their nerdy friend had his own successful wealth management firm and had everyone in this room as clients. Mason had made a lot of money based on Ethan’s advice over the years. The last one for him to greet was Deacon. He worked for Sebastian, who had a global property business. Deacon ran the North American operations. His partner was Hunter, who was Zeb’s best friend, and Hunter was also Mason’s sous chef. The whole thing was a bit incestuous when you thought about it.

A glass of red wine was put into Mason’s hand. Not the bottle he’d brought. That would fly back to London with Sebastian to join his impressive wine cellar. What he’d been given was still delicious, though.

“How was Leo?” asked Sebastian.

“The usual.”

“You should take a leaf out of his book.”

“Do you mean literally? I’m not an author.”

He had been offered ridiculous money to do a cookbook, but it didn’t interest him.

“I was thinking more about getting away for a bit. You have your own cabin, remember. When did you last go there?”

He couldn’t remember the last time he was there. He had someone local who would check on the place, so it wasn’t left abandoned all the time. It was upstate, and he’d bought it a few years ago. After his brother had bought a cabin, he discovered he liked the idea of having a getaway. The problem was that he never had time to actually get away from the restaurant.

“Are we talking about Mason’s sex cabin?” asked Ryder.

Everyone laughed. Oh great. He was the focus of everyone’s attention now.

“It’s not a sex cabin.”

“It was when Felix and I used it.”

“Hope you had it fumigated after,” said Deacon.

Ryder had borrowed it over the summer to take Felix away, and the poor guy looked like he’d spent a week being impaled on Ryder’s dick when they’d come back.

“That reminds me,” said Ryder. “Mason still hasn’t paid up for our little wager last year.”

“You used the cabin instead, and I didn’t charge you, so that was the debt fulfilled.”

“I don’t think so. You didn’t charge Max and Paolo or Deacon and Hunter when they used it. And you wouldn’t charge Sebastian if he didn’t need Egyptian cotton whenever he fucks Charlie.”

Sebastian snorted and shook his head. They were all used to Ryder. Felix might have tamed his free-love antics, but nobody was ever going to tame his mouth.