Tell Me It’s Right (Sweetspire #1)

Chapter 33

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.”

I narrow my eyes. “What’s your angle?”

A laugh gets caught in his throat. “My angle ?”

“Yeah. You feel bad about something? Are Liam and Keava busy? I’m your last resort?”

A strange look passes over his face. If I didn’t know him any better, I’d swear he looked guilty . He shakes his head and presses a hand to his chest. “It’s hurtful that you think so little of me. If you recall, at one point, you liked doing things with me.” He pushes the cereal around in his bowl for a moment, the amusement on his face fading. “I know we’ve both been busy since you got back. And I know I haven’t been the best at balancing everything since the wedding. But I just…thought it might be fun.”

I think that’s as close to a I miss hanging out with you as I’m going to get.

“I’m pretty rusty with the paddleboards.”

Now it’s his turn to give me an unimpressed look. “You literally just have to sit on it.” He sighs dramatically. “But we could do something else, if you’d rather. Just please don’t take me to a bookstore.”

“It wouldn’t hurt you to read. Do you even remember how?”

He narrows his eyes but doesn’t take the bait. “With how long it takes you in there, I could make it through an entire book then and there.”

Okay, so he’s not wrong.

My heart warms. He’s not throwing out an invite to something he was going to do today regardless—he’s actually trying to make plans with me.

We used to do all kinds of things together growing up. He’s the one who took me out on a paddleboard for the first time. He taught me to ride a bike, how to tie a shoe. And as much as he made fun of my girly romance movies, he built forts with me and sat through them just the same.

Things changed when he graduated high school, then even more when I went off to college. Life got busier. More complicated.

“I guess we can do the paddleboards,” I mutter.

“Yes!” He grins and pumps his fist in the air. “I’ll drive and get them loaded up. Meet me out front in ten?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond before shoveling the last bite of breakfast into his mouth and sprinting upstairs to change like a little kid.

No doubt he’s going to hold me to those ten minutes by the second, so I hurry to finish and head downstairs. I have a feeling fighting to keep up with him is going to be a theme today.

Seeing the ocean from the beach and sitting in the middle of it are two entirely different things. Something I so easily forget with how little I venture past those first few feet of waves. But despite my concerns about not getting on a board in a while, I paddle my way to the still water with ease, then pause to breathe it all in. The fresh air is marvelous, and the sun soaks into my face in a way that lights me up. I feel my lips turn up at the corners.

Leo’s board comes up beside mine. “See? Like riding a bike.”

“This was a good idea,” I admit.

“You’re just going to lie there all day, aren’t you?”

I settle onto my back and close my eyes. It’s comfortably warm today, but not too hot. “Maybe.”

Water ripples around me as he paddles off, but it isn’t long before I hear him coming back. “Fletch is teaching one of his surf camps over there,” he says with a laugh. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen so many wipeouts in a row.”

I peek one eye open. Sure enough, Fletcher and an older man are a ways down, closer to the beach, half a dozen or so kids surrounding them on small boards.

“You were once one of them,” I remind him.

“Nah. I’ve always been naturally gifted.”

I snort and settle on my back, regretting the strappy bikini I chose. It’s going to make a lot of weird tan lines.

I expect Leo to paddle off again, but then he says, “You noticed any girls coming into the shop lately?”

“Uh, besides the majority of Liam’s customers?”

“You know what I mean. Repeat visitors?”

I frown, not sure what he’s trying to get at. I lower my sunglasses and roll my head to the side to get a look at his face, but he’s turned away from me, his attention somewhere on the beach.

“I think Li’s seeing someone,” he explains.

My heart careens into the pit of my stomach. He’s fishing here, but for what? Does he already know it’s me and just wants me to admit it? He doesn’t sound suspicious, but…Leo’s always been good at hiding his emotions. Liam must not have talked to him yet though, otherwise why not ask me outright? And Liam would’ve told me if the conversation happened, how it went.

I force myself to keep my voice light as I ask, “What makes you think that?”

He shrugs. “He’s been…happy lately.”

I snort. “And that’s unusual?”

The corners of his lips turn down and he nods his head from side to side. “Kinda.”

No, he doesn’t know anything. Not for sure, at least.

I relax a bit against my board.

“So you did have an ulterior motive for this little bonding trip,” I tease. “What, you want to know if I have any secret insider knowledge?”

He groans and rolls his eyes. “Forget I said anything.”

“No, no, you’ve got me where you want me. Trapped in the middle of the ocean. Pump me for information.”

“ Do you have information?”

I shrug. “No. But , if there’s something going on, I’m sure he’ll talk to you about it when he’s ready. Or you could always—this is groundbreaking, I know—ask him about it.”

“Okay, okay, Dr. Gracie. Message received.” He rolls off his board with a large splash before I can respond, and I laugh and cover my face as it rains over me. He pops up a second later and shakes his hair out like a dog. “There is something else I wanted to talk to you about,” he says as he tugs himself on board.

I hum, but when he doesn’t say anything else, I remove my sunglasses and sit up.

He sits with his knees pulled into his chest and drapes his arms around them, his face screwed up like he’s debating his next words.

“Spit it out.”

He smirks and roughs a hand through his hair. “It’s a secret, so you have to keep it to yourself, okay?”

“Oooo, a secret.”

He gives me a flat look, but I can tell by the twitch in his lips that he’s fighting a smile. “Keava and I have decided this is the year we want to start a family.”

My jaw drops. “Is she…?”

“Not yet, but we’re hoping soon. So we don’t want to tell anyone until it happens, obviously—she knows I’m telling you,” he rushes to add.

“Leo, that’s so exciting.” I splash him. “How many?”

That gets a full laugh out of him. “Let’s start with one, then we’ll go from there.”

A whirlpool of emotions swirls in my gut. Excited and happy for them, of course. Stoked at the prospect of being the cool aunt. But also…I cannot still be in that house once they add a newborn to the mix. And I don’t want them to feel like they need to put their lives on hold for me either. The house is small. They’re going to need the basement. If they turn the second bedroom into a nursery, they’ll need the space.

I know Leo would never kick me out, would never ask me to leave. But I don’t want him to feel stuck with me, like I’m overstaying my welcome.

Yet another reason for me to figure my life out. And soon.

“No one else knows?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

“But you told me?”

He shrugs and smiles. “Of course. You know I’ve never been able to keep secrets from you.”

I smile back despite the absolute turmoil wreaking havoc inside of me.

I am the very worst human being to have ever existed. Truly. Right at the top of the pyramid.

Because he’s right. For better or worse, we’ve never kept secrets from each other. And now I’m sitting on an atomic bomb of one. I bite my lip, fighting against everything inside of me screaming to tell him everything.

But I promised Liam I would wait.

And Leo looks so happy right now. This was a moment for him to share something exciting about his life with me. I don’t want to derail that.

“I’m really happy for you, Leo. And I know you’re probably going to give godparent to Liam…but I am officially throwing my hat in the ring here.”

He snorts. “Gracie, shut up. You know you’re top of the list.”

I blink, suddenly a little teary-eyed over a kid that doesn’t even exist yet. “Really?”

“Of course.” He rises to his feet, and I don’t at all like that look in his eye.

“No—don’t!”

But it’s too late. He’s already launched himself at me. His arms wrap around my waist, and his momentum sends us both crashing into the water.