Page 34 of Kiss and Tell

“Nothing?” Joey reiterated after he’d demolished one pancake and reached for another.

“You can have a plate, you know,” she said, trying to distract him. “And butter and syrup.”

“I’m fine.” Joey leaned against the counter, munching on the second pancake, clearly waiting for an answer to his question.

Miles didn’t offer anything else, though she noticed his stoicism was slipping slightly, guilt starting to color his features as he continued looking around the room to avoid facing Joey.

“We were just chatting about our families,” Lucy said.

It was the truth.

Or at least part of it.

Joey grabbed the last pancake and plopped down on one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

“How was your ride?” Lucy asked, going for distraction.

Joey gestured toward the other chairs at the table, an unspoken invitation for the two of them to join him. They did, and Miles finally seemed to recover enough to revert to his old self.

Unfortunately.

He closed down again, his arms crossed, that scowl back in place.

She instantly missed the engaging and entertaining man she’d just been talking to.

“Great. Not sure I’ve ever learned so much about trees and birds and bug sounds and woodland creatures. To be honest, I didn’t know Iwantedto learn about that stuff until Remi started talking. Her facts were fascinating.”

Lucy grinned. “She’s a walking encyclopedia when it comes to subjects that interest her. She was always top of her class in science, just as she was the bottom in math.”

“Sounds like my brother, Luca. His report card was a potpourri of hit or miss. I think it’s safe to say he’ll never be fluent in Spanish,” Joey said.

“That’s alright,” Miles added. “He’s got Conor now. His billionaire boyfriend can translate for him.”

Lucy was confused because the other night at dinner, Joey mentioned his brother Luca was dating former supermodel, Harper Branson. Needless to say, that tidbit had captured the attention of every single one of her cousins, all of them wanting to know if she was as beautiful in person as she was in the magazines and commercials. Joey told them about her restaurant in Philadelphia, promising to take them there if they ever came to visit.

“Conor?” she asked.

“His partner,” Joey quickly responded.

“Oh.” Lucy frowned. “I thought Luca was the brother who was dating Harper Branson?”

Joey stood up, walking across the kitchen to help himself to a cup of coffee. “He is. He’s in a relationship with both of them.”

Aaaaaand that cleared nothing up for Lucy. “I don’t understand.”

“My brother Luca is happily shacked up in a committed throuple with Conor and Harper, the three of them currently living in a bougie-ass penthouse in Philly.”

Lucy blinked a few times, wondering if Joey was going to hit her with a “just kidding.”

Instead, he rejoined them at the table, taking a sip of his coffee. “Harper and Conor recently opened a restaurant together. The one I mentioned at dinner. Luca was their contractor.” When she didn’t respond, Joey reached over and tapped her hand. “No follow-up questions? Because they’re allowed.”

Miles rolled his eyes. “Jesus, man. Stop playing with her. Joey’s siblings have all found their happily ever afters in threesome relationships.”

“Seriously?Allof them?” she asked, wondering how in the hell Joey had failed to mention that in all his stories of home.

Joey nodded. “It all started with Layla.”

Suddenly, a light bulb went on. Joey had mentioned being overprotective when it came to his kid sister. When she acted shocked that he’d let a guy date Layla, Joey had casually dropped in that it had beentwomen. She thought he meant she’d had two different boyfriends, at different times. “Wow, she was the first?”

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