No Good Deed - Marie Sexton Page 0,94
feet that proves otherwise.”
Phil touched his cheek, still searching his face. “I love you. You know that, right?”
“I do.” If he’d ever doubted it, he sure as hell didn’t now. “I love you back.”
River lay down next to him, pulling Phil into his arms. He’d been so upset about Gray. Now, his whole view of the event had shifted.
“Are we okay?” Phil asked.
“We’re more than okay.”
They fell silent, but River could almost hear the gears turning in Phil’s head. He knew Phil worried that River would resent him, or would doubt him, and River debated how best to reassure him.
“Do you remember the first time I met your friends?” River asked. “It was a poker game at Gray’s house. Gray was flirting with Taylor, and you said something to Warren like, ‘Doesn’t it drive you crazy, knowing Gray wants what you have?’ Do you remember that?”
Phil’s answer was muffled against River’s chest. “Vaguely.”
“And do you remember what he said to you? He said, ‘Not as crazy as it drives him, knowing he’ll never have it.’”
“I remember.”
“I just realized I’m like Warren now. I have something Gray wants and will never have.”
Phil laughed. “Yes, you do. And how does that feel?”
River laughed, holding Phil tight. “It feels pretty damned good.”
Gravy
Avery watched Jonas walk out of the Tap House feeling like he’d been sucker punched. Not only was Gray’s ex back, he was dating Charlie and fully expected to be brought into the group and accepted as if it weren’t weird as hell.
“Here.” River appeared at his side and handed him a beer before claiming the bench on the other side of the table. “I’m not sure what that was all about, but it looked like you could use a drink.”
“Definitely.”
Avery stared at it as Taylor settled in next to him, practically vibrating with impatience. “What’d he say? What’s going on? Was that about Charlie?”
Avery outlined the situation. It took more to explain it to Taylor because he’d never heard Jonas’s name before, but it seemed like River had. “And so he says he hopes we can be friends so that he can fit in here,” Avery finished.
Taylor sat with his eyes wide, his fingers over his mouth, an almost comical picture of shock and horror. “Oh my God, Avery! That’s terrible. What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. What I really want to know is how Gray feels about it.”
Taylor shook his head. “I’m not sure what I’d do if it Stuart suddenly showed up and wanted to be friends. I’ve never met him, but I think I’d rip his hair out.”
River said nothing. Only scratched at a knot in the wooden tabletop, his gaze low.
“What do you think?” Avery asked him.
River winced, looking sheepish. “I don’t know, Avery. What do you want me to say? I mean, yeah, if Rory was back and was suddenly about to become a regular fixture in my life, I’d hate it too. But…” He shrugged. “I get the impression Phil liked Jonas. He said something once about him being a great guy, and I trust Phil’s judgment.” He sipped his beer. “I’m curious what he’ll think about all this.”
“Yeah,” Avery said, thinking of Gray. “On that note, maybe I’ll head home.”
It always took him a while to get out of the Tap House, though. He ended up chatting briefly with Robert and Emily, who were also both curious and far more sympathetic than River had been. Finally, he summoned an Uber, having let Gray take the car that day. They really needed a second vehicle, but that wasn’t likely to happen until Gray found a steady job.
The Uber driver tried to make small talk, but Avery wasn’t in the mood. His head was full of Jonas and Gray and Charlie. Did Gray hate Jonas enough to lose his best friend over him? What would happen to his friendship with Warren and Phil? What would that mean for Avery, Taylor, and River?
What if Gray didn’t hate Jonas at all? What if seeing him brought back memories of when they were good together? What if Jonas was only using Charlie to get close to Gray again? What if they decided they’d loved each other all along?
What if Avery’s marriage was going to last as long as that of two drunken Hollywood stars on a bender in Vegas?
His car was in the driveway when Avery arrived home, meaning Gray had beaten him there. Part of him didn’t want to go inside. Up until this moment,