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He was stunned that sweet, shy Mila would demand to be painted. He was desperate to put her on canvas but scared that she’d be insulted by his clumsy efforts.

“Yes! Gio needs to paint you, Mila. And you need to be naked, and I need to be naked with you.”

They both looked over to see Carter standing in the open doorway with his usual puppy-dog grin.

“Oh, I don’t know about being naked,” Mila said, letting go with her arms and legs. Gio let her drop softly to the floor. “I was thinking I could wear something nice.”

“Naked is a must!” Carter said.

“Carter!” Gio reprimanded, fighting a smile. “Don’t be obnoxious."

Carter smirked. “You love me when I’m obnoxious.”

“Still, you’re not helping me if you scare Mila off by demanding she pose naked,” Gio pointed out dryly.

“Fine,” Carter said with teenager level drama. “Half-naked!”

Mila and Gio laughed, which only encouraged Carter to keep negotiating how many clothes Mila would take off.

Gio was so struck by the raw joy radiating from Mila that he picked up a sketch pad and pencil and started drawing. Mila didn’t notice at first, she was too busy bantering with Carter. It allowed Gio to get the lines of her smile and tilt of her head.

Gio could picture the painting now. He’d have Carter sitting on the floor with his long legs stretched out.

Mila would be facing forward and tucked in against Carter.

The wolf’s arms would be around her. Carter would be staring down at her with love and devotion while she stared ahead, inviting everyone to join in their happiness.

“How long until they get here, Gio?”

Carter’s question pulled Gio out of his drawing. “What?”

“You were supposed to order pizza,” Carter said.

“I was?”

Mila made a little gasping meep. “I forgot to tell him! I was so distracted by the art. I'm sorry, it was all my fault.”

Carter patted his belly. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but if I don’t eat soon, I’m going to starve to death!”

“Is there anything in here for you to eat?” Mila asked, going to the small fridge Gio had delivered after she moved in. Neither of them was fast enough to stop her before she opened it to reveal his blood supply. “Is this…blood?”

So much for thinking storing the blood up here would keep her from discovering it!

Before either of them could think of a proper excuse, Mila turned to him with tears swimming in her eyes. “What’s wrong with you? Is it sickle cell disease?”

“Sickle cell disease?” Carter repeated, looking bewildered. “Uh, yes?”

Mila turned angry eyes on Carter. “How can you not know? If he needs regular blood, you should know what’s wrong with him and how to administer it. Carter, this could be life or death for Gio!”

Gio moved to stand between the stunned Carter and Mila. “ Bellezza , science doesn’t have a name for what I have yet.”

A tear slid down her cheek. “Are you going to die?”

Her distress made him want to reveal everything, but fear held him back. Humans often reacted badly to finding out about the magic world hidden all around them. His personal experience meant he was also scared of betrayal.

“Of all the things that might be considered negative about my condition,” Gio said, holding out his arms. “Dying young is not one of them.”

Mila fell into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

She still didn’t know, not really. Was this subterfuge going to help by giving Mila more time to settle into her love for them or was it going to cause her to distrust them later?

Mila pulled out of their hug and took both his hands in hers and words started pouring out of her.

“What can I do to help you? I notice you don’t eat much, is it your condition?

Tell me what foods are good for your stomach, and I can fix those.

I know a chef with a blog about how to eat healthy but still make tasty food.

There was a boy I knew in middle school who had PKU so I know some diseases require really restrictive diets. ”

“What the hell is PKU?” Carter asked.

Mila looked over at where Carter stood, hands buried in his pants pockets, and his shoulders hunched. He was still hurt from Mila’s earlier reprimand.

“It stands for phenylketonuria, it’s a rare genetic disease," Mila explained, holding out a hand to him. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I was scared. I don’t want to lose either of you.”

“You won’t,” Carter promised, rushing to grab Mila’s hand as if she was going to rescind the offer. “I can’t believe you remembered the name of that disease all these years later.”

“I remember because I almost killed him,” Mila said, another tear escaping.

“I would share my lunch with him every day.

My ham sandwiches. My cheese and crackers.

My chicken salad. He was always so hungry because of his diet that I felt bad so I split my lunch.

He got really sick that year. He was constantly in and out of the hospital. "

“You were a child also,” Carter said. “You can’t blame yourself! You didn’t understand.”

“I know that now, but when his mom found out why he kept getting sick, she went looking for me at school and yelled at me. She said it would be all my fault if he died.”

Gio hissed out a breath and felt rage emanating from Carter. “Who says that to a child?” Carter muttered, trying to hold onto his temper.

“Someone who almost lost their son,” Mila said with a shrug and another tear. “I learned all about the disease and started finding or making things to give to him at lunch that wouldn’t hurt him. That might be where I started obsessing over baking. I felt so guilty for years.”

Gio shook his head. “If the same thing happened to one of your nieces or nephews, would you let someone tell them it was their fault if their friend died?”

Mila jerked back. “No! of course not!”

Gio raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you blaming your child self? There were adults everywhere meant to monitor both of you. I’m sure that child knew he shouldn’t have accepted your food, but he did. Why is all the blame on your shoulders, bellezza ?”

He could tell he was getting through to her by the way her shoulders relaxed, and the tears stopped falling. “I never thought of it that way.”

“That’s the only way to think about it,” Carter grumbled.

That seemed to remind her that Carter was hungry. She tugged at their hands to urge them to the stairs. “You need food, and Gio needs to tell me what he can eat.”

Gio didn’t want to leave the studio. He wanted to strip Carter and Mila, then pose and draw them. Unfortunately that would have to wait.

Judging by the longing look Mila gave one of his paintings, he might not have to wait too long. They would be the most beautiful thing he ever painted.