Page 81 of Gideon's Gratitude

“Two gay guys live on my street?”

“Well, six gay guys.” He squinted. “So Maddox is a ginger with a beard, and he’s married to Ravi, and they have two-year-old twins.”

“Okay.”Where is he going with this? I’m never going to meet these people.

“Now, the other gentleman’s name was Adam. He lives with his boyfriend Dean. In a castle.”

I blinked. “You met the guy who lives in the castle? My grandparents told me about that place. How the rich guy moved out and some other guy moved in. They tried to call on him, but…nothing. I think they might’ve met him once, later. I can’t remember. But Grandpa used to make jokes about living in the south of France.”

Archer laughed. “You’ll have to tell Adam that. He’ll be amused.”

Before I could respond that would never happen, he kept going.

“And between Maddox and Adam’s houses is Stanley and Justin’s. They have a son and a foster daughter. Total sweethearts.”

Great. More kids. All the more reason to never go out.Seeing other people’s kids, all the while knowing I couldn’t see my own was—to me anyway—torture.

“Stanley is Maddox’s ex-boyfriend and somehow everyone’s now friends.”

I blinked. “Stanley is Maddox the ginger’s ex-boyfriend, and he lives nearby with his husband and everyone’s okay with that?”

“Yep.” Archer stroked my hand one final time before letting go. Immediately, he started cutting his pancake. Pancake that was now lukewarm.

“That was quite a…” I waved my fork around, uncertain of the right word.

“Visit.” Another quick grin. “They were so friendly. I showed them around the new house. You know, Maddox even recognized the architectural influence my, uh, architect used.”

“Oh?” Right, of course thisMaddoxguy did. I sure as shit didn’t. All I knew was that the house didn’t look like any one I’d ever seen. Certainly not in my old neighborhood in Surrey or the townhouse complex where I’d lived with Leo. Sure, I knew big fancy places were all around Vancouver. I’d just never lookedforthem. Lookedatthem. Why aspire to something I couldn’t possibly understand or afford?

Archer’s eyes shone. “Well, I wasn’t specifically thinking about Arthur Erickson, right? Because his style is so distinctive. And well-known. I didn’t want to be accused of having a knockoff. I’m all about originality.” He gazed at me expectantly.

“Right.” Because he seemed to want some sort of a response.

“But Knight, my architect, saw the lot and said inspiration struck. He drew up several façades, but we agreed this one was the right fit. In some ways it’s discordant, right? The masonry in the forest. But the wood designs felt too…” He waved his hand around. “On the nose. I like your wood cabin idea, though. The juxtaposition of the two completely different styles somehow accentuates each. Or it will, once the cabin is finished.”

“Right.” In truth, what he was saying didn’t make much sense to me. I’d always thought the house was…discordant? That was the word he’d used? Out of place had been my idea. Riley said this style had come back into popularity because of…something about the concrete and the windows and… Again, I hadn’t understood. I was just glad I didn’t live in a house that big and fancy.

“Gideon?”

Shit.“Yeah?”

“Are you okay?”

“So you’re now friends with this Maddox guy?”

He cocked his head. “Well, friendly. He and Adam… They were affable men. Interestingly, both admitted to having being hermits before they met their respective partners—”

“So, like, you’re all buddy, buddy? And you’re thinkinggee, Gideon’s just like them. He was a hermit until he met me—”

“I didn’t—”

“I don’t need anyone knowing about me, Archer.”

“I didn’t—”

“Fuck you. I’m fine, you know? I don’t—”

“Gideon.”

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