Page 25 of Tell Me It’s Right

“It could be subzero temperatures and I’d still be drinking iced coffee.”

She snorts and leads the way outside. There are decent enough waves this morning that I spot a few surfers in the water, but the beach itself is empty. Carson and I slip off our shoes before treading into the sand, and for a moment, the déjà vu is staggering enough that I forget where I am—whenI am.

I watch the gentle morning sun reflect off the water, and an overwhelming sense of peace washes through me, so contrary to the heavy, suffocating feeling that’s been weighing on my chest every morning that I wake up in that basement. There’s something about being this close to the ocean that makes any problem feel small.

“So are you looking for work around here?” Carson asks as I sip my drink.

I try in vain to tuck my hair behind my ears as the wind whips it around my face. “Not exactly. I’ve been applying mostlyfor positions in the city. Either Philly or New York. For now, I’m working at Liam’s shop on Main Street.”

“Liam Brooks?” she practically screeches as she whips around and comes to an abrupt stop.

“I—yeah.” I shrug.

“Liam Brooks,” she repeats. “Leo’s best friend, Liam Brooks.”

It doesn’t sound like a question, so I don’t respond.

“Your biggest childhood crush, Liam Brooks.”

“I—what?” I sputter. “Ineversaid I had a crush on Liam.”

She snorts. “Yeah, you neversaid.”

“I hated him growing up. And he hated me.”

That gets a full laugh out of her.

“What?” I demand.

“Gracie, acting like you hate someone has always been your idea of flirting.”

“I—that is not true.”

“Mm-hmm.” Her expression turns thoughtful. “Admittedly, I don’t think you realize you do it.”

“OrI was actually irritated by Liam always teasing me.”

“Did it ever occur to you maybe that was his way of flirting too?”

I scoff and ignore whatever the hell that little flutter in my stomach is. Now she’s really lost her mind. “You’re being ridiculous,” I mumble into my coffee.

“Mm-hmm.” She’s full-on grinning now, and I shake my head and turn my attention to the incoming waves.

I absolutely never had a crush on Liam Brooks. He was annoying and smug, and he and Leo were always ganging up on me. And I absolutely never noticed when he had his growth spurt in seventh grade and suddenly his limbs weren’t so gangly. Or when he stopped with the buzz cuts and grew out his hair in high school, which suited him much better. Or the way his eyes always looked different after his mom died.

“He runs a tattoo shop now, right? No offense, but what does he need you for?”

“Updating his website, social media marketing, that kind of thing.”

She purses her lips and nods. “Well, that could be good, right? So many jobs won’t hire you because you don’t have experience, but this would technically be professional experience to put on your résumé.” The look on her face twists from contemplative to mischievous. “So is he as hot as I remember?”

“Can we talk about you for a minute? It’s been four years. Catch me up.”

She squints and looks away with a shrug. “Stayed around home for the first year or so after high school. Once I had enough money to move out on my own, I came down this way to get a little more distance from my parents, and there’s just more to do over here. I have roommates—three of us total. We rent a house a few miles that way.” She points the way we came.

“How’d you meet them? Your roommates?”

An odd look passes over her face, but it’s gone so quickly that I might have imagined it. “From work.”

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