Page 92 of Tell Me It’s Right

Granted, I did surprise myself a little. His portrait is in a completely different style. I didn’t even bother trying to get into the details of his features, instead opting to get the outline of him as accurate as I could before experimenting with wide and multicolored brushstrokes, letting the sunset blend in with him.

It’s not that I’ve never tried painting before. I took plenty of art classes in college, but I was never a natural at them.Something about the canvas has never spoken to me the way a camera does.

But tonight, admittedly, was fun.

“I still think you won,” I sigh.

He pumps his fist in the air.

I rest my head against the seat and look at him. “What’s the prize?”

He purses his lips, considering. “You have to do whatIwant for our next date.”

“You’re going to put me back on that death trap, aren’t you?”

“Oh, don’t act like you didn’t like it. We’ll see. To be determined.”

Liam keeps one hand in mine for the rest of the drive, but the closer we get to the house, the larger the unspoken part of tonight grows between us.

As he parks his truck beside the curb—several houses down from Leo’s—he sighs and turns to me. “I want to tell Leo, if that’s all right with you. And I’d like him to hear it from me. As much fun as I’ve been having with you…I’ve hated feeling like I’m hiding something from him.”

“I know. I have too.”

He gives me a tight smile before stroking his thumb across the back of my hand once then releasing it.

“You seem worried,” I say. “You don’t think he’ll take it well?”

His eyes dart to Leo’s house down the street as a crease forms between his eyebrows. The lights are on inside, so Leo and Keava must be home now. “I don’t know. I just need a little bit to figure out the right way to tell him, okay?”

I nod. “Thanks for tonight, Liam. I had a really nice time.”

He smiles, softening whatever that look in his eyes had been. “Me too. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

I climb out of the truck once I realize he’s not going to kiss me or open my door like he did before. He smiles and wavesbefore he takes off, and I hesitate on the curb, a weird mix of disappointment and confusion in the pit of my stomach.

Chapter Thirty-Three

GRACIE

“You got in late last night.”

I freeze with my spoonful of cereal halfway to my mouth as Leo turns the corner into the kitchen. My brain quickly dissects every quality of his voice—inflection, cadence, volume, tone. Unless he’s trying to hide it, he doesn’t sound suspicious.

His hair is a tousled mess like he just rolled out of bed, and judging by the wrinkled T-shirt and shorts, he did. “You with Carson?” he asks as he ducks into the fridge.

“Mm-hmm.” I wince, grateful his back is to me so I don’t technically have to lie to his face. Surprisingly, I haven’t had to lie to him much despite the sneaking around Liam and I have been doing the past few weeks. At least one of us works late most nights, and what free time he does have, he’s usually off with Liam or Keava.

He smiles as he pulls out the milk carton and pours himself a bowl too. “I think it’s great that you two are hanging out again. You two used to be inseparable.”

She was never around as much as Liam was growing up, but if the Collinses were going to add a fourth honorary child to the mix, it would’ve been her.

“Yeah. It’s been really nice.”

“So, I was thinking about hitting the water today. Want to come?”

I give him an unimpressed look. “You know I can’t surf.”

He shrugs. “We’ll take the paddleboards.”

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