Page 34 of Tell Me It’s Right

It needed to be done, but God, I regretted it the second it left my mouth.

It used to roll off my tongue so easily before. Now it feels like I’m grinding it out through my teeth.

Because the truth is, in the hours I spent at Gracie Collins’s bedside today, not once—not even for a second—did it occur to me that she’s Leo’s sister.

But I’ll do well to remember it.

The appointment takes up the rest of my afternoon, which means, unfortunately, the timing works out perfectly. I pull up to the Brooks mansion about five minutes early, but by thelooks of the cars in the drive, I’m the last one here. I debated not showing up at all, but when Dad announces anemergency family meeting, it’s usually best to suffer through it than deal with everything you’ll get from him after if you don’t.

I frown as I head toward the front door, not recognizing the car parked closest to the front. Judging by the Pennsylvania plates, it’s a rental. Is that…isMakaylahere?

I push into the entryway without knocking, my hands starting to sweat. Dad’s always had a talent for being overdramatic, so I didn’t give much thought to thesummoningout of nowhere. But if Mak flew in after not being home in nearly a decade, what if something is seriously wrong?

I stop short at the dining room, where everyone is already seated—Dad, Christine, Casey, Asher, Taylor, and—sure enough—Makayla, though her kid and husband aren’t here. She grimaces when she sees me and drops her gaze.

That’s not a good sign.

“Oh, Liam!” Christine beams as she rises to her feet. “So glad you could make it. We have a seat for you right here!” She gestures across the table to the chair between Taylor and Casey.

“Hey, Liam,” says Casey with a big smile as I approach, and I rustle his hair as I sit.

“Hey, bro,” offers my older brother, along with a slightly too forceful pat on the back.

“Taylor” is all I say.

“Glad you could finally make it,” grunts Dad.

My eyes flick to the clock on the wall—two minutes until seven—but I grit my teeth. It won’t make a difference.

The table has all the fancy shit on it, and everyone here is dressed like they’re ready for Easter Sunday. The moment I walked through those doors in jeans and Vans, my opinions became obsolete.

Hell, who am I kidding. It happened long before that.

A server appears from the kitchen a moment later and starts pouring champagne.

I eye Christine, who’s still grinning like she physically can’t stop, then my Dad. They usually do red wine for these kinds of meetings.

“We won’t hold you in suspense for too long,” says Christine. “But before we get to celebrating, Makayla, would you like to do the honors?”

Mak smooths her hands down her sweater set and offers the server a closed-lip smile as they pour her glass.

“Well, Dad and I have been discussing the possibility of this for years. The Brooks Candy Company has been a national brand for generations. Of course, we’ve expanded along the boardwalk and around town with other businesses over the years, but we’ve gotten comfortable. Expansion hasn’t been a priority. So we got to talking about what would be scalable while still staying true to the Brooks brand.” She smiles and waits until everyone has their champagne before raising her glass. “To the new sister company with healthy candy alternatives, True Sweets!”

“Cheers!” says Christine as she clinks her glass against Makayla’s then Dad’s.

I exchange a glance with Asher at the other head of the table. He presses his lips together to hide his smirk then downs his entire glass in one swallow.

Taylor elbows me under the table. Sighing, I pick up my glass too and clink it against Casey’s sparkling apple cider.

“Of course, this is more than just another business,” Mak continues. “I really want to keep the Brooks heart in it.” She turns to us with the same puppy dog eyes she’s used her entire life. “I’d really like if we could all work on this together. Just the siblings. And I don’t mean a little bit here and there. I mean full-time employment. A real role for everyone. One that plays to all of our different strengths.”

Ah, here we go.

All eyes turn to me like they already know I’m going to be the problem.

“I think it’s a great idea,” I say.

Makayla blinks. “Really?”

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