Page 119 of Tell Me It’s Right

“I don’t even know,” I say quietly. “Pretty much always.”

His smile turns soft, tender, as he brushes my hair behind my ear. “Yeah, it was pretty much always for me too.”

I have to break the eye contact because this conversation is veering into dangerous territory. The kind that might make me do something stupid like sneak off somewhere so I can tear off all his clothes.

I clear my throat. “Have you and Leo…”

He shakes his head.

I was hoping Leo would’ve reached out to him by now. Maybe it was naïve of me to think the rift this caused would be so easily fixed. But the guilt from it is a constant presence in the back of my mind. Not just for hurting Leo—because that’s the worstpart. I can tell he isn’tangry. He’shurt—but also for being the reason Liam’s lost access to his closest friend.

“I don’t want you to worry about it. I mean it. We’ll work it out.”

He seems so calm, so certain. I settle in against him again, and he kisses the side of my head as his arms wrap around me, blocking the worst of the cool breeze. And I think I could sit here like this with him forever. No matter the amount of lingering guilt, I can’t find it in myself to feel sorry. Because nothing about this feels wrong.

His gaze is trained on the horizon, a thoughtful look on his face as his eyebrows pull together. I run my hands up and down his arms.

“What’s on your mind?” I murmur.

One side of his mouth kicks up in a smile that’s not quite happy, not quite sad. “My mom.”

My hands pause.

“She used to love things like this,” he says. “You could never really tell she came from money, except at these kinds of events. She always made it look so natural. She… I think she would’ve really liked today.”

Slowly, he pulls his gaze back to me. I push the hair from his eyes, then leave my hand cradling the side of his head.

“You don’t talk about her much, so I’ve never wanted to bring it up in case you didn’t want to… But I want you to know that I’m here if you ever do want to talk about it. About her.”

He smiles. “I think she would’ve really liked this—you and me—too.”

I rest my head on his shoulder and trail my hand down to interlace my fingers with his. Admittedly, I don’t remember a lot about his mom. I remember her always being kind to me and how well she got along with my parents. That she and Liam hadthe same smile. But now I wish I’d paid more attention. “You know, I think she is here. In her own way.”

He lets out a slow breath. “You think so?”

“I do. I don’t think she’s missed anything. I think she’s been with you for it all.”

His hand tightens around mine as he rests his cheek against the top of my head. “Sometimes I think I can feel her,” he says so quietly I almost can’t hear him, but I don’t miss the choked-up quality of his voice. “Or it seems like she’s sending me signs.”

“Have you felt her today?”

“I have.” He laughs a little. “I feel her right now, actually.”

I nestle in closer, close enough to hear his heart beating in his chest, to feel the way our breaths sync up.

“I think she’d be really proud of you, Liam,” I whisper. “I know I am.”

We sit there for what feels like a long time, listening to the waves crash against the shore and the music from the party gradually grow louder in the distance.

“We should probably head back,” he says after a while.

I nod. He tightens his hold on my legs before I can move to stand though.

“Just…a few more minutes, maybe.”

I smile and relax against him. “A few more minutes.”

Chapter Forty

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