Page 7 of A Sugary Life

Thankfully, Shay woke Phoenix up before he left to head down to the gym. That was the only way Phoenix made it to the kitchen on time. His feet dragged throughout the day. Phoenix hadn’t known this much exhaustion in years. Halfway through the day, Shay appeared with the boys.

The pair held hands. They were clean and looked much better. Shay helped them up onto stools at the kitchen island.

A bright smile lit Phoenix’s face at the sight of the three. “Hey, guys. I’m so happy to see you.”

Tobie managed a small, sweet smile. Graham still looked too much like an adult.

“So you two really live here, huh?”

Phoenix nodded. “We do. After we were rescued, we went to the school next door and lived there until we graduated. From there, Shay moved here to train to be a guard. I went to culinary school and came back to work here.”

“Is that what we’ll do?”

At Tobie’s quietly spoken question, Shay jumped in while Phoenix got cookies and milk for the boys. “I don’t know yet. It’ll depend a lot on what you want or if you have any family looking for you. If you decide to stay, you’ll be given all the options in the world. You could become anything you want. Work and live wherever you want.”

“We don’t have no family.”

Tobie nodded at Graham’s words. “We were in a boy’s home when the men came.”

Phoenix’s heart hurt, but he couldn’t show any reaction. The pair were being strong. He couldn’t be the reason they broke.

Phoenix set the cookies and milk in front of them. “I guess that solves that part.”

“Hey.” Shay sounded offended. “Where’s my cookie?”

He sounded so childish, Phoenix couldn’t help but snort. “What? Your hands broke? Do I look like I get paid to serve you?”

With an exaggerated sulk, Shay circled the counter and got out a glass.

The kids giggled.

Phoenix smiled and winked at them. “So, what are you three out doing today?”

Shay set a glass of ice water in front of Phoenix, a plate of cookies between them, and then took a drink of milk.

Phoenix fought a smile. He was allergic to milk. Shay hadn’t forgotten. There had never been any chance of Phoenix getting over him. Shay was just his person, and that was that.

Graham’s gaze never stopped following everything they did. He reminded Phoenix so much of Shay when they were little. He had always been observant as hell, watching and absorbing every detail.

Tobie yawned, and Graham snapped to attention. “Are you okay?”

Tobie nodded. He looked exhausted. “I’m just sleepy.”

Graham rubbed his back. “We should take a nap. You’re not better yet.”

Phoenix hid a smile. He already knew these two would be brothers for life. His gaze slid Shay’s way. He found Shay watching him. For a moment, they simply held each other’s stare. Some people weren’t meant to be apart. When he looked at Shay, he couldn’t remember why he had ever tried.

Shay spent the day showing the boys around and getting them settled. He dropped by to check on Phoenix as often as he could. Shay hadn’t forgotten that watching Phoenix was his job. He just felt a kinship with the boys. Shay had to make sure they weren’t separated, and they were okay.

When it came time for Phoenix to leave the kitchen, Shay hauled ass back to the third floor. He hit the top step just as Phoenix took off his chef’s coat and sent it down the laundry chute.

“Hey.” Even Shay heard how breathless he sounded. He sounded exactly like he had run all the way there.

Phoenix smiled as if he was genuinely happy to see Shay. “Hey.”

Shay took a breath, trying to calm his racing heart. He had worried he would miss Phoenix. “I wanted to make sure I got back in time to walk you to your room.”

“You did it.”