“And because I needed to just do something that wasn’t about being a Wright. Just for a little while.”

  That left him blinking again. “Is it so bad?”

  “Hell no! I appreciate every single thing you’ve given all of us. You and Daddy both, but it comes with pressure.” She stroked her belly again. “It means a lot of people depend on you. But you have the right to find someone who makes you happy and rearrange things to be with him.” She shrugged. “The man isn’t going to steal you away from us. That’s not possible. But maybe… shit, maybe you can focus on something just yours.”

  “I want to try.” He did. “How do you and Doug do it?”

  “First, I told Doug’s daddy to suck it up, I was marrying him. Then I took him away for a while and proved that he was more important than anything else.”

  “I can do that.” He could. He would figure this out. More than anything, he knew he needed to do whatever he was going to do with Mason face-to-face.

  “I know you can. I do. I love you, Ark. I’m sorry if I messed up anything for you.”

  “No way. If it wasn’t for you, I would never have met him. Well, that and he thought you were two grooms.”

  “Yeah. I blame Trev.”

  That was the new saying around the Wright Corporation. People who weren’t even at the wedding were heaping blame on Mason’s former assistant.

  Trev and Bryan were engaged and talking about moving someplace more friendly. Not Colorado.

  “I love you, Sammy. You want some chips and salsa?”

  “Oh my God. You have pickle slices to put on top?”

  “That’s nasty, Sammy.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I have pickles.” He stood, reaching out to help her out of her chair. “Thanks, baby girl.”

  “I love you, Ark. I want you to be happy.” She groaned and stretched. “Heavy baby.”

  “Soon, grasshopper.”

  She shot him a glare. “You don’t get to tell me.”

  How many times had she said that to him since she learned to talk?

  “Come on. I need your help plotting.”

  “You make chips and salsa, I’ll plot.”

  With Sammy on his side, he could hardly lose. Two Wrights couldn’t make a wrong. Or whatever. Time to implement plan “Get Mason Back.”

  Between Sammy, Maydell, Rachel, and him, Mason was doomed.

  Chapter 23

  “B oss?”

  “Yeah, Rach?” Mason was heading for the coffee shop. He was craving a hazelnut latte. It was November, snowing, and he needed a shot of sweet, sweet caffeine.

  “Are you going to shoot me in the face if I book you next week?” Her voice was a lot excited and a little nervous. “A client is coming into town for personal reasons and wants to talk to you about setting up a wedding next year. Says it will take two or three meetings.”

  “Did I have anything else set up next week?” Lord, he had a headache.

  “Nothing I couldn’t reschedule.”

  “Is this a big contract?” He wasn’t sure if he wanted the answer to be yes or no.

  “Potentially an engagement party, a shower, and a wedding, apparently. Complete with rehearsal dinner.”

  Oh. Oh, he couldn’t turn that down. Not only that, it would be an easy week. “Rock on. Do it. I like meetings. Book a conference room, and I’ll get a few pastries and coffees. Speaking of, want a latte?”

  “Oh God yes. Peppermint mocha, please.”

  He fully expected to show up to the office soon and find Rachel wearing reindeer horns. She loved her holiday stuff. It actually made him happy, believe it or not. She reminded him why he’d chosen this business.

  “Peppermint mocha it is. I’ll be there in a few.”

  “Okay, boss. Oh, cranberry orange scone?”

  “If they have one, it’s yours.”

  He ordered, getting a scone for Rach and a bagel with cream cheese for him, then pulled to the side to wait and then grabbed his phone.

  Miss u. Hope ur day is good

  The reply came with gratifying speed: Not bad at all

  Yay! Mtg w/new client next week. Crosses fingers

  Good luck honey

  Thnx. Love you.

  He did, even though he was beginning to believe that Noah had moved on a little. He’d hoped they could get together for the holidays, at least for a few days, but he worked weekends, and Noah worked weekdays.

  Love you. XXOO

  He laughed softly and pocketed his phone. Silly Texan. Mason thought he was the most wonderful butthead on earth.

  Which was why he still held out hope of surprising Noah with a Christmas meet-up. Just a few days between Christmas and New Year’s.

  If Noah couldn’t come to the mountains, then he would go to Noah.

  Chapter 24

  N oah hosted Sunday dinner at his place. Maria had made tamales and chili, and everyone wanted to come anyway, but this time Noah had an agenda. This was a prayer meeting with his family and best friends, because he was going to change the rules, and they all needed to know up front and have a chance to figure shit out.

  Everyone piled in, Barb taking coats and gloves. Sammy was the size of a house, waddling over to the stuffed chair that he had put there, just for her. It sat higher than the rest of his furniture, so she could get up easily.

  Noah waited until everyone was set and looking at him curiously. Yeah, with Jenna, Jonah, and Gene there, the family unit had to be wondering what the heck was going on.

  “Hey, y’all. Thanks for coming over. I know everyone is busy this time of year.” He grinned. Making them do this before feeding them ensured attention.

  “Is this a meeting to plan the Christmas party?” Gene asked. “Because it’s blackmail to hold up tamales.”

  He chuckled. “Nope. We can talk about that over lunch. I wanted to talk to all y’all about something else.” The only one not there was Lee, his head wrangler. He’d told Lee his plans and gotten a long, measuring look. Then Lee had nodded and spit on the ground.

  “I run all this shit, anyway,” Lee had said. “No big deal.”

  Noah did love the cowboy way.

  Sammy smiled at him, nodded. She and Doug knew his plans, and so did Jonah, and he had their support, so that made it easier.

  Nerves curled in his belly like a big snake, ready to strike down his confidence, so Noah just launched right into it. “So. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, y’all, and I’ve decided that I need to step back a bit.” He held up a hand to forestall his momma, who had already opened her mouth to protest. “I’m not quitting my job or moving out of town permanently or telling anyone to take a flying leap. What I am doing is rearranging my life to get a little more time for myself and to do what makes me happy.”

  He pulled out a pile of stapled papers. “Maydell will be emailing this information to you after this meeting, but here is a list of the people in charge of different situations. When I am out of pocket, the only phone calls I will be answering are Sammy’s and Jonah’s.”

  “What?” That was a chorus, and he shook his head.

  “I promise I’ll open the floor in a minute. Jonah is stepping up to do a good bit of the business stuff, but, Gene, I’ll depend on you for the foreign markets, and, Jenna, I’ll need you to coordinate more of the financials and communicate with Sammy about the charity arm.”

  This had been way easier in his head. Jonah was nodding, but his folks and Jeremy and his Uncle Tom looked unconvinced.

  “I need to be able to live my life, y’all. I love this company, but it’s not enough.”

  “Rar!” Sammy said. “It’s about damned time!”

  “Samantha!” Momma stared at Sammy, aghast.

  “What? It is. We all get to be part of something more than the family and the company, but Noah doesn’t because he’s gay? So not fair.”

  Jonah’s eyes went comically wide. “Noah’s gay? Oh my God!”

  “You are not funny, young man,” Momma snapped. “Of course we want him to be happy.”

  “Then help me do this. Maydell has agreed to train a couple more people on her systems, because she would like some time off as well. We’ve set up a timeline for that, but diversifying is good.”

  “As long as she hires them,” Jenna said. “She’ll know who can read minds and wear their superwoman costume under their business suits.”

  Maydell laughed out loud. “Miss Jenna, you are a treasure.”

  Jenna blew her a kiss.

  “You children are not giving this the seriousness it deserves!” Oh, Momma was pissed.

  “Oh, Momma, do give it up. He’s a fudgepacker. Your tolerance seams are showing. Noah loves Mason. Mason loves him. Let it go.” Sammy was getting less and less ladylike as her belly swelled, and she hadn’t been particularly ladylike to begin with.

  “Oh dear God.” Daddy rolled his eyes. “Are you moving to Colorado?”

  “Not full-time, no. I will be there part of the time.” He hoped. If Mason turned him down, he sure was gonna look like an ass.

  He was going to go into this like Mason cared for him as much as he loved Mason.

  “Well, y’all can stay in that house by the hospital. I liked it, so I bought it.”

  Noah blinked a little. “It’s a nice house.” He had no idea what he would do about Mason’s condo, but that was Mason’s decision, not his. He wasn’t going to demand anything. Only offer himself.

  “Anyway, Lee has agreed to handle the properties. He and I will meet once a week either in person or online.” Lee skyping. The idea made him cackle. “Emergencies will go through Doug, as I think he really has a handle on maintenance.”

  “I do. Y’all know I’ve been working hard to be useful.”

  “You’re always useful, baby.” Sammy was smitten. No question.

  Noah got it. He really did. Not to mention that Doug was into land stewardship and eco-friendly ranch techniques, which Noah loved.

  “Okay. I know y’all will have questions, but that’s the gist of it. I’m heading up to Colorado tomorrow for at least a week.”

  “Are you sure about this, son?” Momma asked. “Are you really sure?”

  He smiled at her, meeting her gaze without flinching. “I am. I really want to give this a try, making a life with someone. Mason’s it.”

  She sighed, then nodded. “I’ll cut his balls off myself if he hurts you, baby boy.”

  “Woo!” Sammy punched the air. “Go, evil Momma.”

  Noah rolled his eyes. “We’re all good?”

  Even Jeremy nodded, wide-eyed but clearly willing to go along with everyone else.

  “It’ll be rough at first, but we’ll figure it out. Hell, it’s the holidays.” Gene grinned over. “It’s not like any of us intend to work for weeks.”

  “Ass.” Noah felt as if a huge weight had lifted off him. “Thanks, y’all. It means a lot to me, your support.”

  “You’re family. That’s what we do,” Daddy said.

  “It is.” He couldn’t stop grinning.

  The whole meeting had gone better than he’d expected.

  Now he just had to hope his talk with Mason went as well.

  Chapter 25

  M ason made his way across town with a box of doughnuts and a huge thermos, his crate of contacts and his laptop. Lord, this snow.

  He parked as close to the door as he could, then pulled his wheelie crate out and stacked everything up.

  He hummed a little, making it a game to avoid the icy patches on the sidewalk. The conference rooms were at an office building, so the salt stuff was out in force, melting away the snow.

  He waved at Kathy at the concierge desk, then went to grab someone from the events office to open the conference room for him.

  Lord, it was a nice space, but beige? Oh my God.

  He set up the food and coffee, then put some classical music on his computer and started spreading out pictures and flyers—venues, cake, flowers, candles, invitations.

  There was a lot of rainbow in there. Rachel assured him she had checked. Two grooms.

  He chuckled and sat to wait, taking a second to grab his phone and text Noah.

  Happy day Noah. Miss u.

  The sound of a text tone playing the wedding march made him spin around, his mouth dropping open when he saw Noah standing in the doorway behind him.

  “Mister?” He stood up and ran over, grabbed Noah and pulled that gorgeous son of a bitch down for a kiss, damn his clients.

  Noah kissed him back, all but lifting him off his feet, that big body swathed in too much fabric. It didn’t matter. What mattered was that Noah was here, and it was the best surprise, the most wonderful gift.

  Noah finally let him slide back down to the floor so they could catch their breath. “Hey, honey. I’m not interrupting am I?”

  “I have a client. I’ll call Rach, have her come down.” Rachel could handle it. She’d have to. “This is the best present ever.”

  “Uh.” Noah smiled gently. “I’m your client.”

  “What?” He searched Noah’s eyes. “Really?”

  He was going to kill Rach. And give her a bonus.

  “I swore Rachel to secrecy. I know how hard it is for you to rearrange your schedule, and she promised me you had one event this week and she could do it with her eyes closed.” Noah beamed, looking so tickled with himself.

  “You’re amazing. Seriously. I have doughnuts. Coffee.” They wouldn’t need the rest.

  “Do you?” Noah took his hand and led him to the table, then plopped down in the big chair at the head of the table before pulling Mason down on his lap. “I do love doughnuts. Are there maple?”

  “I always get two of those.” A silly sentimentality, but it made him happy. “And there’s good coffee.”

  First, though, kisses. He brought their mouths together again, letting himself sink into them. He wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. Noah was here, and it was an early Christmas miracle.

  He’d been so damned sad, worrying that they were going to drift away from each other and that was that, but these kisses meant that, even though they weren’t going to see each other much, when they did, it was perfect.

  Noah held him tight, finally just resting a cheek on the top of his head. “I missed you.”

  “Yes. I was worried. It’s been so long.” Months.

  “I know.” Noah sighed, breath stirring his hair. “I have so much to talk to you about, and some of it scares me half to death.” When he stiffened, Noah stroked his back. “No, it’s not bad. I swear.”

  “We’re not breaking up?” Because as teenaged-angst as it was, it was true. It was the last thing he wanted.

  “No! I mean, please tell me that’s not what you want.” Noah tilted back to stare at him.

  “I love you, Mister. You know that. I want you.” Simple as that.

  “That is the world’s most perfect answer.” Noah kissed him again, then again for good measure. “I might need a doughnut for moral support.”

  “Moral support? Okay, hold on.” He brought the box over, along with the thermos and two cups. “Ta-da!”

  “You’re amazing.” Noah grabbed one maple pastry and munched. “Mmm. I was light on the food this morning.”

  “Did you fly up this morning in this weather?”

  “Alan flew me into Grand Junction early-early, and I drove up.” Noah had a chocolate cream next. “Yum.”

  “And now I get you for a whole week?” There was so much they could do, starting with a few shared orgasms at the condo.

  “I hope for way more.” Noah chuckled, wiping his hands. “This is gonna sound super businessman of me, and this is so not business, but it’s the only way I know.”

  “All I need is for you to be you, Mister. What’s up? Seriously.” He wasn’t sure what Noah was up to, but the nerves were obvious, and that was wigging him out.

  “I want us to try to be together. I mean together-together. My phone? In the glove compartment in the car. I mean, I’m still going to be busier than a one-legged butt kicker, but I’ve worked hard the last month or so to rearrange everything.” Noah’s green eyes held uncertainty, but also so much hope.

  “I don’t understand. What are you talking about, exactly?” Because he wasn’t going to be Noah’s boy toy. He liked working, most of the time.

  “I’m talking about us making a life together, Mason. Splitting our time between here and Dallas. We can do it and not have either one of us have to give up what we love to do.”

  “How?” How on earth would that work for them? “Come home with me? I want to talk, but… there’s something else I want more.”

  Noah nodded, rising to hold out a hand to him. “Bring the doughnuts. We’ll need our strength.”

  “I need my things. Give me two minutes.” He gathered all his papers, putting them back willy-nilly. He could organize them later.

  “I really do have a wedding to plan. Well, to pitch to you, anyway.”

  “Really? You want to use the Leanin’ N? I checked this time, two grooms. Oh! Oh, Trev and Bryan. How funny!”

  “Right? Bryan’s dad said he wasn’t interested in even attending, so I thought I’d throw them a wedding.” Noah held the door for him before taking his laptop bag.

  “That’s sweet, Mister.” He could do something easy and fun. “Did you know when?”

  At least he knew what Trev liked.

  “Trev wants an Aspen wedding, so I would say just after ski season when it’s cheaper for people to come up.” Noah helped load his gear. “I’m in the Escalade over there. I’ll follow you.”

  “Good deal. You can park in my spot, and I’ll park in visitors’. Be careful.”

  The snow was still coming down, big white flakes that were going to make the guys up at the slopes happy.

  “I’m much more confident this time.” Noah winked at him, and they separated reluctantly.

  The drive to his condo seemed endless, and all these worries started popping up. How was he going to split his time? This couldn’t work. It couldn’t. This was a pipe dream that Noah had thought up. Together? Noah was a Texas oil baron billionaire, and he was a wedding planner in a one-bedroom condo, and that didn’t blend.