A million questions exploded in my brain, but Mia breezed into the kitchen before I could speak, and instinct warned me to keep quiet as she kissed her brother’s cheek and smirked at me over his shoulder, as though she remembered how hot I’d always been for her with long, wet hair.
“Sorry about that,frère.I didn’t think you were home.”
Gus scowled. “Liar.”
“Am not.”
He snorted and I took my cue to leave, shooting Mia a glance to let her know I was far from done with her before heading for the door.
I was halfway there when Gus called me back.
“Wait,” he said. “I need to talk to you about something else before you go.”
“Something else?” Mia said. “Whatelsehave you two beengossiping about?”
Gus ignored her and shifted uncomfortably. “It’s kinda personal, actually, and I wasn’t going to bring it up, but someone mentioned it in the pub last night, so I want you to hear it from me.”
I frowned. “Hear what?”
“Um...maybe you should sit down.”
“Gus.” My voice lowered an octave. “Don’t fuck me about.”
Mia seemed mystified. She shot her brother a searchinggaze and took a seat at the table.
I didn’t follow her. I couldn’t imagine what Gus had to tell me that warranted his clear discomfort, but I was willing to bet it was something fucking awful. It had to be, because my life was just like that these days.
“It’s about Billy,” Gus said. “I—um—had kind of a thing with him a few years ago...before both of you came back.”
“A thing? What,like a fight?” Like I would get up in his face about that. Billy had fought pretty much every dude in Rushmere at some point. I’d grown out of defending him long before I’d joined the Navy.
“Not a fight. The opposite.”
I glanced at Mia for clarification, but she was suddenly fascinated by her nails. “The opposite. You mean—” The penny dropped. I stared at Gus, my head shaking slightlyof its own accord. “I don’t understand. He’s not gay.”
Gus shrugged. “He doesn’t have to be. Bisexuals exist, remember? And everything in between. He doesn’t have to be anything at all. But that’s beside the point. I’m only telling you because I’m not the only bloke he’s ever been with, so someone else might tell you before he does.”
“Someone else?”
“Yeah.” Gus ran both hands throughhis hair, clearly exasperated by my apparent inability to grasp what he was saying. “Look, it’s not a big deal, okay? It was years ago, so don’t get into a Daley existential crisis about it. I just wanted you to hear it from me before some clown down the boozer told you.”
“How does anyone in the boozer know you hooked up with my brother?”
“I didn’thook upwith him. It was a drunken snogin an alleyway that half the world probably saw. I half wondered if you already knew. If he’d told you himself.”
Of course he hadn’t. And why the fuck would he? I’d given up my right to know what went down in Billy’s life when I’d walked out of it ten years ago.
“Luke?”
I focussed. Gus and Mia were both staring at me, though I couldn’t work out who’d said my name. “What?”
Gus frowned.“Are you okay?”
“He’s fine,” Mia said before I could speak. “You just blindsided him. Let him go.”
I shot her a grateful half-smile and backed my way to the door. I wanted to tell her—tell them both—that I loved them.
But I didn’t. I spun on my heel and left.
