No Good Deed - Marie Sexton Page 0,4
Jonas to the couch, and they sat as they always had—only a foot apart, turned toward each other, ready to hear what the other had to say.
Except neither of them seemed to know who should speak first.
Jonas took a moment to look around the house. Not much had changed, on the inside. Maybe a few more pillows, and more afghans than before, but otherwise, everything seemed exactly as it had the last time he’d been here, right down to the show tunes playing quietly and the cat curled up on her window shelf. The house across the street still had their Christmas lights up, and their faint red glow highlighted Buttercup as she slept.
It was wonderfully cozy. Jonas ached for having missed out on six years in this room.
He finally took a deep breath and broke the silence. “What in the world is up with all those yard gnomes?”
Charlie’s laugh was heartbreakingly familiar—not loud, but somehow still so big, it filled the room. “One of my neighbors cut her hand with a kitchen knife a few years ago. I stitched her up. Told her I didn’t need anything in return, but they always want to give me something.”
“So she gave you a gnome?”
Charlie nodded. “Yep. Somebody had given it to her, and so I think in her mind, it was valuable. And once I had one, everybody seemed to think I loved the damn things.”
“And you don’t?”
Charlie grinned. “They’ve grown on me.”
Jonas laughed, marveling at how he could already feel so comfortable here. Maybe not quite to the level he had before, but still more than he’d expected, given the way he’d left things between them.
“Tell me what I’ve missed,” he said. “How is everyone?”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “Everyone? Or are you asking about Gray?”
“All of them. Are Stuart and Warren still together?”
Charlie relaxed again. “No. Not for a long time. Warren recently settled down, though. Found this young kid…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. Taylor’s a bit of a mess, to be honest. But you know Warren. Always has to be the hero, and I guess Taylor needed a hero more than most. They just got married.”
“That’s good. Warren deserves some happiness.”
“He really does.”
“I hope Phil finally wised up and dumped Rory?”
Charlie nodded. “Not long after you left.”
“Not that Phil was my favorite person, what with Gray being in love with him and all, but Rory? Ugh.” He shuddered dramatically.
Charlie laughed. “I believe ‘shameless harlot’ was your favorite description.”
“Well, I wasn’t wrong, was I?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I assume Phil and Gray got together?”
Charlie shook his head. “Never happened.”
Jonas’s jaw dropped. “Really? Gray was so crazy about him—”
“Phil changed a lot after Rory left. Really pulled away from all of us. I know he stayed in touch with Warren, but I barely saw him, those first couple of years. It was like he shut down, and Gray went the other direction. Drinking too much and working extra shifts and putting in overtime at the gym.” Charlie brushed invisible lint off the knee of his jeans. “Gray never got over him, but it was like the more he wanted Phil, the more the two of them drifted apart. The times we got together, they were almost at odds with each other. Gray was so angry that Phil had changed, and he’d lash out, and Phil always assumed the answer was to give him more space.”
“He never caught on?”
“No. He assumed Gray was grumpy because you’d broken his heart.”
“Ha! As if I could have.” He’d never owned enough of Gray’s heart to cause him any real pain. “And Gray never told him how he felt?”
“Not until recently when somebody else let it slip. But Phil’s settled down now too. He has this new boyfriend…” Charlie shook his head. “Can’t tell you how many times I wished I’d been lucky enough to meet River first.”
This confession filled Jonas with equal parts annoyance and relief. He didn’t want Charlie pining after anybody but him. On the other hand, it sounded like Charlie was single, which was exactly what Jonas had really wanted to know.
Charlie kept talking, oblivious.
“Anyway, he and Phil are really good together. You won’t believe how much Phil’s relaxed since meeting him. He’s like a whole new person. He’s even growing a beard.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Jonas hesitated, but only for a moment. “I saw all that stuff on the news about Gray after the bombing.” He shook his head. The media was painting