Page 84 of Sugar

Miles laughed with him. “Yeah, I was. And it’s worse because they knew I was putting up with you-know-who?—”

“Mm,” Juno said darkly. Miles’s ex, who happened to be Emmett and Cosimo’s daughter. It was a whole thing that Juno still wasn’t over.

“We don’t talk about her much. She calls sometimes to whine at them about needing money.”

“Have they given in?” Juno couldn’t help but ask.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to know,” Miles said. “At some point, I’ll have to see her again. Something will crack, and they’ll give because she’s their daughter, and now that I’m a part of this unit, I’ll have to be involved at least a little.”

Juno had a feeling both of Miles’s lovers would go out of their way to shield him—daughter or not. He didn’t have the full story about what happened still with Miles and his breakup with Selene. He knew that Miles had been basically saved from the streets by her dads. And over a week, he’d fallen in love with them both.

But Juno hadn’t wanted to ask much more than that. It seemed too personal. All he knew was what he’d seen and heard. That two men who loved each other also loved Miles for everything he was worth. Juno would have been jealous, but he had that now.

Piper held his heart in his hands, and for the first time, Juno wasn’t afraid of it being crushed.

“You love him, right?” Miles asked.

Juno blinked, startled by the question. “Yeah. I do.”

“And he’s not weird about your eyes?”

Juno rubbed at his temple. “He can get a little overprotective sometimes. We’ve fought about it, but he’s also building me a bakery in the backyard so I don’t have to keep paying mall rent, and he gave me my own room, even though I literally never sleep there.”

Miles laughed quietly. “I have my own space too. It’s a pool house.”

“You didn’t show me your own fucking pool house when I came to visit,” Juno accused.

“Yeah. Uh…it’s. Well.”

Oh. It was probably a kink thing. Juno wished he hadn’t asked. He was all for Miles getting everything he needed from his lovers, but he didn’t want to know details. They were family. It was too weird.

“Forget I asked,” Juno said. He stretched his legs in front of him, then stood up and extended his hand. Miles took it after a second and used Juno to haul himself up. “Guide me to the kitchen.”

“Do you really need that?”

Juno laughed and gave him a small shove. “No. But it’s good practice for when I’m in a strange place and don’t want to fall on my face. I’m trying to learn how to be brave, you know? With people watching.”

“Yeah,” Miles said, almost a whisper. Because he did know. More than anyone. “Come on. Let’s go be bullies and make Victor tell us embarrassing stories about Oliver on their honeymoon.”

“Ooh,” Juno said with a grin. “My favorite kind of bullying.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

At first, Juno wanted to bring everyone with him to meet Roe. In the end, he had Piper drop him off at the curb and agree to wait at a café down the street. Piper kissed him soundly before Juno stepped out of the car, and it calmed his nerves, but only until the car door shut and the sound of Piper driving off faded into the distance.

It was very sunny out but much cooler that far north, and Juno appreciated the reprieve from the late-summer heat and humidity. He had his cane with him—not the first time he’d used it on the trip. He was getting bolder, especially since Oliver kept relentlessly mocking him for being shy about it.

He’d taken it to dinner on the first night they arrived. Then to the mall when Oliver insisted he needed a new meet-the-brother outfit. He’d used it that morning at breakfast and during the afternoon walk he and Piper took together.

A small part of him wanted to hide it now as he approached the front door to his brother’s house, only because he didn’t want to seem weak, but he supposed that was pointless.

His heart was beating against the back of his tongue as his fingers felt around, then pressed on the doorbell. It gave a long, heavy chime. Then there were footsteps.

The door opened, and Juno didn’t bother trying to turn his head to see the man. He’d sat with his nose close to his laptop screen for hours, staring at their similarities. And all their differences. He still couldn’t get over sharing someone’s face.

“Juno.” Roe’s voice was deeper in person. Juno saw him extend his hand, so he took it. His palms were soft, and his grip was firm. And he hesitated before letting go like he wasn’t sure if he should do more than shake his hand.

“Thanks for having me.”

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