“Your mom would like a crooked attorney.”
They shushed each other as they burst into another fit of giggles. Both of June’s mothers were free spirits but Agnes was rebellious and occasionally mischievous where Penny was a wild child and loved nature.
“They’re both so gorgeous,” June said, sighing at the kitchen door.
“Who? Matteo and Truman?” Milo asked and she shook her head.
“Don’t get me wrong, Truman’s pretty hot. But Matteo and Elio aregorgeous.”
“That does seem to be the consensus…” Milo narrowed his eyes, considering the age ranges of his sources. His mother had said the same thing, as had several of his coworkers at Starlight. But June was closer to Milo in age, being only two years younger. “They’re very different but they’re both gorgeous?”
Attraction was obviously subjective but Milo was curious about what someone his ageshouldfind attractive. And the younger von Hessen brothers had vastly different appearances, aside from their shared features. Matteo was immaculately groomed and wore expensive suits. He was charismatic and tended to be the center of attention. Elio, on the other hand… He was dark, unruly, and unsociable.
At least, he pretended to be. Beneath his intimidating exterior, Elio was considerate and sensitive.Protective.Milo no longer braced himself when Elio entered the room and looked for him in the Olympia’s lobby in the evenings instead of sneaking to the elevators to avoid him.
“It depends on what you’re into,” June began. “If you like pretty boys who know how to dress, Matteo is your guy. If you have a weakness for bad boys, Elio checks all the boxes. He’s tattooed, moody, and he comes with a skateboard.”
“And tennis balls,” Milo added. “They used to get on my nerves but now they’re kind of soothing, like listening to a clock or a metronome tick.”
“Ohhh! What’s it like, working with Elio?” she asked excitedly but Milo shrugged.
“It’s fine. A lot better than I expected. He lets me make most of the decisions and he actually listens to me. That’sweirdand has taken some getting used to,” he admitted and June’s lip pushed out.
“It’s so sad! Why is Elio the first person at Starlight to treat you the way you deserve to be treated?”
Milo wrinkled his nose. “You guys think I’m special because you love me, but at Starlight, I’m just another kid from a wealthy family with a high IQ. Everyone’s ‘special’ at Starlight.”
“Not as special as you,” June said with a threatening look. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I know you’re better than all of them.”
“Maybe… Elio said something like that, but he doesn’t hold a very high opinion of the rest of our coworkers so that might not be saying much.”
“Oh, no!” She covered her mouth, laughing. “I wouldn’t be able to work around him. I’d have a mega crush and be useless.”
“A mega crush? I’ve never even had a crush. What’s a mega crush like?” he asked and June rolled her eyes.
“You’ve come to the right place if you want to know. I’m the Queen of Crushes and I’ve seen them all! Easy, breezy spring crushes and the kinds of crushes that take over your life and become your identity. I could write a book.”
“Probably,” he said with a soft laugh.
Junelovedfalling in love. She regularly shared the details of her latest crush but none of June’s relationships ever made it past the second date. Milo had no idea why and assumed that June must have had bad luck when it came to the men and women she dated. As far as he was concerned, June was one of his favorite cousins and one of the coolest people on the planet.
“A regular crush doesn’t derail you from your regular routine or mess with your appetite. You say hi, wave at each other, wonder if they’re single… But you’re not ready to play phone tagor shave things on a regular basis so you let it sit on the back burner and go about your life.”
“Okay…” Milo nodded along. “What about the mega crush?” he asked and June snickered wryly.
“I haven’t had one of those in a while, thank goodness. You will go out of your way to ‘accidentally’ run into them and you’re always too nervous to eat. And God help you if you have to eat in front of them, it’s like you’ve never seen a utensil before and you forget how your mouth works. Your sleeping cycle goes all out of whack and you start shaving things you probably shouldn’t, just in case.”
“In case of what?” Milo asked, looking down at his lap. He was beginning to notice more hair in strange places but he hadn’t considered shaving anything below his face.
“You know… Just in casethingshappen with your crush.”
“Things.” Milo almost asked her to elaborate, then remembered that he didn’t want to know about those sorts of things. “They talk about me and Elio at Starlight and they think I have a crush on him.”
June scooted closer on the bench. “Do you?” she asked in a hushed whisper but Milo shook his head.
“I don’t think so… I like working with Elio and it’s nice when it’s just the two of us. But we eat lunch together almost every day and I haven’t had any problems with my mouth or sleeping at night.”
“Results may vary,” she said with a shrug, then muffled a shriek when the back door opened and Penn and Elio stepped out onto the stoop and waved at them. “Smile and act natural!” she whispered out of the side of her mouth.
