“I can’t ...”
“I know. I get it.” He presses his lips to mine. It’s chaste, not demanding, not seeking more. He kisses my nose and my forehead, and then he lets me go.
I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how we come back from this, or if things will ever be the same between us, so I break down again. Gut-wrenching, harrowing cries rip free of my chest and he holds me until they subside, and then my best friend pours us both a stiff drink.
Gabe stares down into his whiskey and meets my eyes with a sad smile. “So Mace? What a jerk, huh?”
Despite my tears, despite the pain in my chest and how my heart is in tatters, despite how it hurts and it’s killing me to hurt him, I laugh. “Yeah ... total asshole.”
Gabe clinks his glass with mine. “You want me to kick his ass?”
“No. Maybe he’ll go back to Australia and get eaten by a koala.”
Gabe laughs. “I don’t think they’re carnivorous.”
“Well, I hope something eats that rat bastard,” I say, as I rest my head on Gabe’s shoulder.
He places his chin on my crown, the way he has a million times before. “Yeah, me too.”
“I don’t really hope he gets eaten. I just ... this hurts so much.”
“I know, Freckles.” Gabe strokes my hair as I cuddle into him. “You’re gonna be okay.”
I know he’s right. I know he means every word because he’s Gabe. He’ll go out of his way to make sure I’m alright, probably for the rest of our damn lives, but right now, I can’t see a future without Mace.
Mace who’s leaving. Mace who I should’ve asked to stay. Mace who probably would have married me, if I’d only asked, if only I hadn’t meant it when Gabe and I made that stupid pact so many years ago.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Gabe
Thirty
Iroll over and grab my phone from the nightstand, answering the call because I know who’s on the other line. “Freckles.”
“Happy birthday, old timer!”
“Thanks.”
“Open up.”
“What?”
“I’m downstairs, you need to come open the door for me.”
I check the time on my phone and scrub a hand down over my face. “It’s eight a.m.”
“Uh-huh, and this shit is heavy so will you please put on some pants and come open the door for me?”
“What if I’ve got morning wood?”
“Then I’m sure you can take care of it in the bathroom while I make your breakfast.”
“You’re making me breakfast?”
“Of course, it’s tradition.”
“I thought we did away with that after what happened on your birthday.”