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Except what kind of advice was Taylor even looking for? He’d had boyfriends before. He knew what to do when it came to that. What he didn’t know how to handle was royalty and dragon shifters, but he supposed he could learn. Palmer had, and he wasn’t nearly as adaptable as Taylor.

“Tell me about Twig,” Palmer said gently.

He could probably see that he’d finally worn Taylor down. Taylor wasn’t going to leave this room without telling his brother what was going on, even though he wasn’t quite sure himself.

“Why do you want me to?”

“Well, I know you’re serious about him. You’re not the kind of person who’d spend so much time with him if you weren’t, or if you’re only interested in friendship.”

“I have friends I spend time with,” Taylor argued.

“I know that, but come on. No one thinks what’s between the two of you is only friendship.”

“I don’t know what it is. We haven’t talked about it.”

“What do you want it to be, then?” Palmer’s expression turned serious. “He’s a very sweet person. You could do so much worse.”

Taylor snorted. “I have done worse in the past. And yes, I know he’s sweet. I really like him, but things are a little more complicated than they’d be if I’d fallen for a human, or even a different kind of dragon.”

“Fallen?”

Taylor took a moment to answer. He hadn’t fully admitted this even to himself, but yes. “Fallen,” he confirmed. “The last thing I want is to push him into something he’s not ready for.”

“I can see where you’re coming from, but I believe there are some things you’re never fully ready for. Starting a relationship with someone is scary. You don’t know what can happen, and you have to let yourself be vulnerable. It wasn’t easy for Rune and me, but I’m so glad we let each other in.”

“Twig isn’t the problem.”

Palmer nodded, his expression understanding. “Everything else is. I get it.”

“I know you do. Twig and Rune are half-brothers.” Taylor chuckled. “Look at us. Dating brothers.”

“I do hope the two of them can grow closer. Rune really wants that.” He glanced toward the kitchen, where Rune was very obviously taking his time, giving the two of them space to talk. It made Taylor like him even more, which he hadn’t really needed. As long as Rune made Palmer happy, Taylor didn’t have to like him. It just happened that he did. Family gatherings might have been awkward otherwise.

“Twig wants that too,” Taylor said. “I’m sure they’ll get there. They just need a little time and the opportunity, and they finally have it.”

“So what’s going to happen with Twig?”

“Well, I can’t know for sure, but I promise I’m working on it. I want to make him happy, and I want to be happy the way you and Rune are.”

Palmer reached over and squeezed Taylor’s wrist. “I want that for you too. I think you might just get it, with Twig.”

“I don’t know for sure, but I think we’re definitely headed that way.” As long as nothing went wrong and no one else tried to kill Twig, Taylor was pretty sure it wouldn’t be long before people were as disgustingly happy for him and Twig as they were for Palmer and Rune.

* * * *

TWIG HAD BEEN TRYING to read for a while now, but he couldn’t focus on the book, even though it was one of his favorites. He dreaded the conversation he needed to have with his mother.

Maybe he shouldn’t. He knew his mother loved him, and while he wasn’t sure how she’d react to what he was about to say, he knew she’d stand by him. She might disagree, but that wouldn’t change how she felt about him.

Nothing would. He was his mother’s only child, and they’d been extremely close as he grew up. They still were, closer than most dragons were to their parents, and Twig loved that. He didn’t want it to change, which was probably why he was so scared to open his mouth.

“Is something wrong?” his mother asked, startling him out of his thoughts.

He put down his fork. “Not wrong, exactly.”

“But something’s happening.”

Twig sucked in a breath. He supposed the moment had come. “It’s about Taylor.”