Page 83 of Devilish Ink

Oh shite. He wasstaying? Now what? I had to get him out of the apartment so that Liam could sneak out.

“I really appreciate it,” I told him, guiding him toward the door. “But I only have a few things left at your place.”

“Oh, that reminds me…” Rian said, running down the stairs two at a time.

“Reminds you what?” I called out after him.

He didn’t answer, disappearing as he rounded the first landing. I nearly yelped when Liam appeared behind me.

“Tell him,” he hissed, pointing downstairs.

“He’s going to see you,” I whispered back, shoving at Liam’s chest.

“Tell him,” Liam insisted as he turned to go back to hide. “Tell him now!”

I waved my hand at him and hurried downstairs to see atruck loaded with the rest of my stuff before Rian kicked it shut with his heel, arms piled high with mismatched thrifted pillows.

“Mason let me use his truck,” he said. “He couldn’t believe it when I told him you were getting a place.”

“Why’s that?”

“Said he swore you were out of here the second I got back,” Rian explained stair after stair. “Said the open road called to you or something.”

“Yeah…” I said noncommittally.

“Said something must have changed,” Rian added, glancing over his shoulder as he stepped back inside my apartment.

I didn’t realise until he was standing there, looking at me, that it was more of a question than a statement. I fumbled for an answer.

Rian dropped the pillows on the couch. “You’re packing in your spinach, huh?”

“What?”

He tapped his finger on the big couch.

I felt my cheeks warm. There was no way I got this couch up those flight of stairs myself.

I could practically hear Liam saying,“Tell him. Tell him now!”

“Oh, em, a neighbour helped,” I said, resisting the instinct to scratch at the back of my neck. Isn’t that what liars always did?

Rian nodded. “Nice neighbours,” he said a little distractedly, eyes drifting around the rest of the room.

I glanced toward the entrance to the kitchen. Liam had hidden somewhere just out of sight. Surely Rian didn’t suspect…

When I looked back at Rian his eyes were fixed on mine.

“You know, I told Mason that maybe you just remembered how much you liked Dublin,” Rian said, sinking down to rest against the back of the couch. He crossed his arms and added, “But Mason said nobody really ever stays for a city. Said he would have left Vegas with us had it not been for Rachel.”

I needed to tell him. I’d pushed it off long enough. He was even opening the door for me. Opening it wide open.

But I found my throat dry. My head buzzed and refused to form words. I couldn’t lose my best friend.

“I told him it wasn’t likely that you’d met someone,” Rian continued, “because you would have told me for sure. If you’d met someone.”

I swallowed back a knot.

Rian scratched at some dried paint on his jeans. His kept his gaze down as he asked, “Wouldn’t you, Ry?”

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