If Juno could describe his life in three ways, it would be: A little lost. A little happy. And maybe a little hopeful.

At least, he was hopeful, but he stops feeling that way when a diagnosis falls into his lap and his entire world turns upside down. Panic sets in, and he can no longer remember what it's like to see a light at the end of any tunnel.

Enter Piper, stage right. Juno has been crushing on the older man from behind his bakery counter since Piper started his mall security job. And just as Juno is certain everything around him is going to crumble, Piper appears and makes Juno an offer: a single trip with a bucket list for everything Juno can reasonably see before he goes blind.

It's not a cure. It's barely hope. But it is something no one else can give Juno. And it helps that whenever Piper touches him, when he kisses him, it gives him visions of forever.

He's terrified of what the future is going to look like, literally, but he's starting to realize there's still a promise of happiness. He just needs to learn to let himself be vulnerable, and that's the only real battle he has left to fight.

Sugar is the third book in The Beginning of Always series. It contains a swoony, steamy, age-gap, friends-with-benefits relationship, baked goods, northern lights, Jupiter's moons, picnic dates, waterfalls, a road trip to remember, and the most tender-hearted happily ever after.