No Good Deed - Marie Sexton Page 0,62

better nonetheless.

Chapter 19

Despite the good news Carmen had given him, Charlie’s heart hung heavy on his wedding day.

He and Jonas dressed in awkward silence. Charlie wore his dress shirt with his best jeans, as Jonas had suggested. He opted for one of his leather vests as well. He’d look ridiculous next to Jonas, who wore a full suit, but it would have to do. They didn’t speak as they drove to the courthouse.

Charlie wished he knew what Jonas was thinking. Charlie’s thoughts kept circling back to a day two months earlier—the day Warren had married Taylor, and Gray had been so overwhelmed by the whole thing that he’d dropped to his knee to propose to Avery. Their friends had packed the Tap House. Complete strangers had cheered for them after they’d said their vows. Women who barely knew any of them had cried at the romanticism of it all. The whole day had been full of love and music. Charlie had rarely seen such a heartfelt outpouring of support.

But for Charlie, there was nobody. Just he and Jonas, driving in silence.

They parked and climbed out of the car, making sure they had the marriage license and their IDs. That was it. That was the only thing they had to show for what should have been a day filled with joy.

The elevator ride to the third floor was awkward, stringed Elton John echoing in the small space. Charlie fought the lump in his throat. The doors finally slid open. The courtroom reserved for their ceremony stood right in front of them. Charlie stopped outside the door and took a deep breath.

“I guess this is it.”

“Charlie, wait.” Jonas took his hand, pulling him close to look up into Charlie’s eyes. “Talk to me, please.”

“What do you mean?”

Jonas’s chin quivered. “We don’t have to do this. I won’t make you.”

“Don’t be silly. You’re not making me do anything.”

Tears welled up in Jonas’s eyes. “But you’re so sad. I didn’t know you’d hate it this much. I didn’t know getting married would make you miserable.”

“Shh.” Charlie pulled him into his arms. He should have talked to Jonas on the drive over, but he assumed Jonas had been caught up in his own thoughts. “I’m not sad to be marrying you, and you could never make me miserable.”

“Then what?”

Charlie held him close enough to look down into his eyes, trying to search them for an answer, wondering if he dared tell Jonas the truth.

“I’m sad that this is it. I wish…”

Jonas watched him, biting his lip as he fought tears. “You wish what?”

Charlie took a deep breath and opted for the truth. “I wish this was real. I hate that it feels more like a business transaction than a wedding. I wish we had time. I wish we had rings and flowers and guests.” He sighed. “I wish we had done it right.”

A slow smile spread across Jonas’s face, his eyes suddenly bright behind the sheen of tears. “Really? You’d marry me for real?”

Charlie nodded. “In a heartbeat.”

“Oh my God.” Jonas threw his arms around Charlie’s neck, standing on his toes so his lips brushed Charlie’s ear. “You have no idea how happy you’ve just made me. I wish all those things too, Charlie. But this is only for now. It doesn’t mean we can’t do it again later, if that’s what we want to do. It doesn’t mean we can’t do it right the second time.”

Charlie nodded, holding him. “You’re right.” Simply knowing that Jonas felt the same way made him feel better. It wasn’t quite the way he might have wished, but that didn’t mean the ceremony had to mean less. “Maybe after the surgery.”

Jonas nodded, smiling. “As long as you’re not hating me for making you do this.”

“I’m happy to do it. And I definitely don’t hate you.” The elevator behind Charlie dinged. “I just never thought I’d do this alone, you know?”

Jonas nodded again, his gaze flicking to the elevator behind Charlie. Sudden laughter burst from his lips as he dried tears from his eyes. “Looks like you didn’t need to worry about that.”

“Finally!” a voice Charlie would have recognized anywhere said. It was a voice that had been an integral part of his life since he was fourteen years old. “I knew we’d find you eventually!”

Charlie turned to find his three best friends in the world headed his way, all of them smiling. Warren wore jeans and a dress shirt, like Charlie. Phil had of course gone for the full