Page 65 of Tell Me It’s Right

Finally, I say, “Why did you call me? Why not your family, or Leo?”

“They only let me make the one, and I knew you were at the shop waiting for me. I didn’t want to leave you hanging.” The corners of his mouth turn down and he shakes his head. “And…I don’t know. I guess I just immediately thought of you.”

That sends a strange, confusing jolt of warmth through me.

Logically, I know bringing someone else into it would’ve raised questions about what happened with Miles, and I’d asked him to keep it a secret. And picking his son up from jail would be far too scandalous for perfect and polished Mr. Candyman Brooks. Or at the very least, he’d hold it over Liam’s head for the next ten years or so.

Calling me was the convenient, smart choice.

“I’m not going to thank you for defending my honor or whatever,” I say, stepping back and breaking the layer of tension in the air. Because saying it out loud would make it too real.

That I liked it far more than I want to.

Chapter Twenty-Three

GRACIE

The shop stays closed through the weekend, and I busy myself with more job applications, tweaks to the new website and socials, and a trip to the bookstore to stock up. They closed the only shop in Sweetspire, and now the closest one is over half an hour away on the other side of Edgewater.

I manage to cover the worst of the bruising on my face with makeup now that Leo and Keava are back, and thankfully they don’t look closely enough to notice. I have half a mind to swing by and say hi to Mom and Dad while I’m over here, but theywouldlook closely enough to notice, and I really don’t have the energy to dodge questions right now.

I sigh as I step through the doors, waiting for the smell of paper and wooden shelves to work its way through my veins and give me that high I can’t find anywhere else. It’s a smaller shop with a café in the back and few store cats roaming through the aisles. I smile as a large orange one struts up to me, tail held proudly in the air, and rubs against my legs, purring.

But still, for maybe the first time ever, browsing the bookshelves and sipping my iced coffee doesn’t bring me joy. There’s not anyone else in here right now, giving me the whole place to myself, and for some reason, I can’t force myself to enjoyit. I stare at the rows upon rows of colorful spines on the shelf, but I can’t focus enough to read the titles.

I meander to the front of the shop where the display tables are. I grab a few with covers that catch my eye on the romance one and check out without reading the blurbs just to have something as I take a seat in the café to read for a bit. I’m not quite ready to go home, and I’m not in a sunny enough mood to go sit on the beach.

But instead of cracking my new books open, I find myself in a Google rabbit hole.

What’s the difference between assault, aggravated assault, and battery?

What happens when someone presses charges?

Can you go to jail for beating someone up?

What if he deserved it?

This is all my fault. And if Miles’s dad is true to his word, Liam is going to pay the price for it.

I stare at my phone like I’m waiting for a notification to appear.

I haven’t seen or heard from Liam at all since patching him up in the kitchen. That was two days ago.

Which before, wouldn’t be that unusual. But for some reason, going that long without talking to him feels different now.

It’s almost physically painful to resist the urge to reach out. But he might not want to hear from me. Maybe the reality of the situation is sinking in too and he blames me.

I hope you know you just threw your entire future away.

Sighing, I grab my bag of books and head to Leo’s car. This excursion hasn’t been nearly as helpful as I hoped. I try rolling the windows down, blasting upbeat music, and taking the longer route with a better view of the water to snap myself out of it, but my mind is stewing the entire drive back to the point of feeling obsessive.

I just wish I knew why Liam was?—

—sitting on Leo’s couch?

I freeze with one foot in the door as Liam’s and Leo’s heads turn in my direction. They’re lounged on the couch with some sports game on the TV.

“Hey!” Leo calls as I finally get my feet to work again and close the door. “We ordered some pizzas that should be here any minute. Got half veg for you.”

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