Page 8 of Tell Me It’s Right

I pace out to the garage and set my hands on my hips, considering my options. Definitely can’t get the bed down there by myself. Or the dresser. But I could handle a few smaller things. At least it would give me something to do.

After changing into leggings and a sports bra, I start with the lightest objects—lamps, the desk chair, some leftover boxes. By my third trip down the stairs, I’m sweating. If I could just get one of the pieces of furniture down, then I could start unpacking the boxes and get them out of the way.

Maybe the bedside table. It’s heavy, but small enough that I think I can manage it on my own. Once I’m standing at the top of the stairs, fingers barely holding on to the edges and sweat dripping down my face, I realize I most certainlycannot.

No stopping now though. Might as well run with the momentum. I grunt, leaning back to balance some of the weight against me while also craning my neck to see the stairs beneath my feet.

A door opens somewhere behind me.

I miss the last stair. Luckily, the table lands right-side up on the ground. Unluckily, I pitch forward and ram into it. It knocks the air out of my lungs, and I topple off the side and land on my back.

Shit, that hurt.

“Gracie?”

Leo? He shouldn’t be home yet…should he? What time is it? I groan and blink toward the stairs as someone jogs down. They lean over me, and the silver chain around their neck hangs above my face. The tattoos disappearing into the collar of his shirt come into focus next…maybe some kind of wings?

Definitely not Leo.

The rest of Liam’s face swims into view. A harsh line cuts down the center of his brow as his eyes sweep over me.

“You okay? You couldn’t wait for me?”

Wait for me?I blink. Maybe I hit my head.

“What are you doing here?”

He leans back and offers a hand. Ignoring it, I scoot away and sit up.

“Didn’t Leo tell you I was coming by? Said he needed help moving you in.”

Liamis the friend he asked?

I’m going to kill Leo.

Good to see some things never change. He’s clearly just as comfortable waltzing in like he lives here as he always was at Mom and Dad’s.

Heat burns my cheeks as something occurs to me. He’d known I was moving in all along, that I wasn’tjust visitinglike I’d said earlier, but hadn’t bothered to correct me.

“Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” I snap, pushing to my feet.

We stare at each other. He’s still in the same shorts and black T-shirt from this morning. What doeshedo all day? Does he even have a job? His eyes slowly trail down me, and he pushes his hair back with his hand.

Then I remember I’m sweaty and standing here in nothing but my sports bra.

“Well,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest, “consider yourself officially off the hook. I’m fine here.”

A single eyebrow lifts as his gaze shifts to the table that nearly killed me.

“Leo’s not even here anyway,” I add.

“Looks like it’s up to you and me then.” With that, he jogs up the stairs and turns right for the garage,notthe front door. “Push that aside so we can get the next thing down.”

“Liam—” I sigh but grab the table and yank it farther into the room. By the time I turn the corner to follow him up, he’s already on his way down, two of the heavier boxes I left behind stacked in his hands.

“Wait for me for the heavy stuff” is all he says as he passes.

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