Tell Me It’s Right (Sweetspire #1)

Chapter 51

Chapter Fifty-One

GRACIE

I’ve always loved the beach during the colder months. It’s quieter, sure, but there’s something so peaceful about listening to the waves crash against the shore while you’re bundled up in layers, the cold air against your face making you feel fresh, awake, and alive.

No one seems to mind—or seems surprised—when we head out together while they’re watching the game. We end up in the same spot we had our first official date, and Liam pulls a blanket out of his truck to throw around our shoulders. We sit with my legs across his lap, our intertwined hands sitting on top as I lean against his chest and watch the ocean ebb and flow. His heart beats steadily beneath my ear, and I feel like I could melt into it. His fingers trace along the back of my hand, then thread through mine, then dance along my palm before he starts all over again, and it sends shivers down my spine.

“So I’ve been thinking about this a lot since you left,” he says quietly. “And if Philly is where you want to be right now, then that’s where I need to be too.”

I stiffen against him, the words not quite registering at first. “You want to…come to the city? You would leave?”

“Like I said before, I’ve brought on some help managing the shop, and the drive’s not that bad. I could find a spot to rent and tattoo a few days in the city, commute out here a few days. I can make it work.”

“You would leave,” I repeat because my brain refuses to process it. “But…your whole life is here.”

He nods and runs a hand up and down my back. “Yeah, and I’ve never left. I’ve never had a reason to. But now I do. You made me realize maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to get out of my comfort zone. I’ve been so in awe of you, Gracie. You find these things that terrify you, and you just do them anyway. I want to be with you, but I also want you to have everything you want. And if that’s Philadelphia, Gracie, I will follow you wherever you want to go…if you’ll still have me.”

I turn around in his arms, tears building in my eyes.

“I want to make this work with you, Gracie,” he murmurs. “Whatever it takes. But I know this wasn’t just about the distance. I know you had stuff in your life you wanted to figure out too, so if you need more time and space?—”

“I don’t. I don’t want time, and I don’t want space.”

The line between his eyebrows finally relaxes, and I smile as I frame his face with my hands. “I’ll need to stay in the city until I’m able to quit my job. But after that…the idea of finding some way to do half and half sounds amazing. I mean, with Keava pregnant now, I want to be around. I want to be the coolest aunt ever. And I want to be close to the water, and my parents.” I jab him lightly in the chest. “And I want to make sure you don’t screw up all my hard work with the shop.”

He grabs my hand before I can pull it away, holding it above his heart.

“But what if you hate it?” I whisper. “What if you try moving out there and hate it?”

He nods his head to the side, acknowledging this. “Then we’ll talk about this again. That’s how this works, Gracie. Everything isn’t always going to run smoothly. But we agree to work it out together.”

I wince a little, seeing as that’s the exact opposite of how I handled this. But it had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. “I’m sorry about the past few months?—”

He shakes his head and tightens his hand around mine. “Don’t be. I think it was good for both of us.”

I know I feel different now. Better. More capable. Proud of myself for seeing it through. But I’ve never been able to shake the guilt that I was being selfish and unfair, and it was only a matter of time until he’d see it that way too.

“Really?” I whisper.

He nods and runs a hand down my hair. “I’ve been putting so much of myself into work for so long, I guess feeling like I had something to prove. And I didn’t realize I might have been neglecting some other parts of my life.”

“I meant to ask—I was surprised to see Asher today. You two seem to be getting along.”

“He’s still a little punk half the time.” He rolls his eyes as a begrudging smile pulls at his lips. “But yeah, we’ve been spending more time together.”

My heart warms for him. His family has always been such a weird, touchy subject. From the outside, it might look like Liam’s the one who’s pushed them away. But after spending some time around the Brookses, I can’t help but think it had more to do with self-preservation. He distances himself so their lack of acceptance can feel more like his choice than theirs. Despite him having so many more siblings than me, it’s always been obvious that he’s never had a bond like Leo and I do. Not with any of them, except for maybe Casey. He’d probably never admit to it aloud, but I think a part of him has always wanted that.

“But if you want to try this again,” he says, “I’m going to need something from you.”

My eyebrows lift. “Oh?”

He nods seriously. “I’m going to need to hear you say it.”

I shift so I’m straddling his lap. He tries to show no reaction to this, but I don’t miss the way his pupils dilate, how his throat bobs as he swallows.

“Liam Brooks.”

His hands land on my hips. “Mm-hmm.”

“Will you…” I slide my hands around his shoulders and let my fingers tangle in his hair. “Pretty, pretty please…”

His smirk breaks into a full-on grin.

“Be my boyfriend again?”

He leans forward and kisses me so hard it sucks all the air from my lungs.

And I let him.

God, do I let him.