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Jay sent Chester an appalled look. “Seriously?”
“Shut up. This is not about my couch.” Chester moved to sit on the overpriced piece of furniture next to Jayson. “You know I adore you. But, Jay, honey, why didn’t you tell her you let her dad give you that position while you were married?”
“Secrets like that tend to grow hair.” Mason sat across from them in a chair that matched the couch, but at least he had a pillow that looked squishy.
“Tell me about it. Before I had the chance, we were talking about divorce and then... I dunno.” Jay felt his mouth pull into a miserable frown. He knew why he’d procrastinated telling Gia. He didn’t want her to hate him and she’d seemed to be heading there at a fast clip already. And if she hated him he couldn’t live with himself. Which was where they’d ended up, even though he’d tried his damndest to prevent it. “She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you,” Mason argued. “She’s pissed off. There’s a difference. And by the way, she has a right to be. Probably feels like she was swapped for a flock of sheep or something.”
“Thanks, Mas.” Jay reached for his beer. Not needing it, but wanting it.
“Don’t be mean to your brother,” Ches warned his husband as he patted Jayson’s back. “He’s going through a tough time. Jay, you can stay here tonight.”
“Yeah, you can sleep on our five-thousand-dollar patio couch,” Mason said with a smile.
Jay surprised himself by laughing. “Pass.”
“You were supposed to move on,” Mason reminded him unnecessarily. “That’s why you took Natasha to the wedding, right? You weren’t supposed to sleep with Gia at said wedding. And you weren’t supposed to sleep with her over and over again. Especially since she didn’t know her own father bribed you.”
“Not helping,” he grumbled at his brother. Jayson’s arms felt like cement. He let them lay heavy on his legs when he leaned back on the couch that might as well have been crafted of that same cement. “I do not like this couch, Ches.”
Like that, he lost his only ally. “You two hash it out. I’m done helping.”
Once his husband was gone, Mas lifted an eyebrow in judgment.
“Like if you lost the love of your life you wouldn’t do anything in the world to be close to him again? Even temporarily?” Jay gestured to the house behind him where Chester had disappeared.
Mason blinked. “I didn’t realize you were still in love with her.”
“It’s a moot point, dontcha think?” Jayson lay on the couch anyway, his spine screaming in protest.
“I don’t know. Did you tell her that?”
He let out a morose laugh. “Are you kidding?”
“No. I’m not.” Mason sounded scarily serious. “If you’re in love with her why not tell her?”
“Um, hello? How much have you been drinking? We’ve said everything we needed to say and most of that was said too many times and the wrong way.” Jay took a hearty gulp from his own beer glass. “And she just found out I’ve been trying to control her for my own gain.”
“Have you?”
“Jesus, Mason. No! But that’s how she sees it. And if you know Gia—and I know Gia—you know that the only thing that matters on this planet is her perspective.” He lifted the glass again then set it aside, an idea sparking. “I know. I could quit.”
“You’re not going to quit. You love ThomKnox.”
He did.
“I could step down,” Jayson said anyway. “Give her my position. Work in the mail room or something.”
“Are you high?”
“No. Drunk.” But he didn’t feel all that drunk. Sure, the earth was moving under his feet, but he couldn’t say he wasn’t thinking clearly.
“Tell her how you feel,” his brother said. “Man up. Grow some balls.”
“Weren’t you just banging the don’t-date-your-ex drum?”
“That was before I knew you were a goner for her. How long have you been in love with her, anyway? And how much longer are you going to let your bravado stand in the way of what you really want?”
