She shrugs. "You're welcome?"
I look again at the truck. Thanks to my nerves, I must not have noticed it there before, and thanks to the tint in his windows and the darkness that's settling, I can't see if he's noticed me yet either.
"Just be honest with him," Jo says, placing her hand on my arm. "Tell him what you told me, remember?"
I pause, realizing for the first time that at some point between Jo's confession and now, those nerves from before have morphed into something closer to anticipation. I'm excited to see him. Excited to get all of this out in the open.
"I can't believe you called him," I say to the steering wheel.
"Well… there's one more thing."
My eyes snap to hers.
"I also texted Margot on the way here and told her that she needed to come pick me up instead." She glances into the rearview mirror. "She just pulled in."
I twist around, spotting Margot's red Kia. She waves to us as she slows into the spot directly behind me, and Jo waves back cheerfully as my eyes flick between the two of them.
I spin back in my seat, staring again at the way the red bricks stack so neatly on top of one another—until Jo's hand finds my shoulder.
"You got this," she says. She dangles a key in front of my face. "Just go inside, talk…" She arches her brow. "Do… whatever. Then call me later and give me all the details."
"You don't need to go in?"
She shakes her head. "It's just for the night. I'll use Margot's stuff."
My heart flutters with appreciation for my sister—my overbearing, overstepping, pain-in-my-ass little sister—but appreciation nonetheless. "Maybe she'll lend you a blazer," I say in mock excitement.
Jo pretends to gag. "On second thought, maybe you guys can chat tomorrow."
I purse my lips, and she tosses me a wink, slapping the key into the palm of my hand. "I'm kidding. Go. Get your man. But I'm serious about the details."Shehugsmethis time. "I want every big, juicy…"
"Stop picturing his ass," I mumble against her.
She pulls away chuckling. "It's just so good."
I laugh too. "I love you, Jo. Thank you for this."
She nods, reaching for the door handle. "It's nice to be the fixer for once."
With that, she pops out of the car. "And I love you too, Tessie Lou."
She slams the door shut then waves over her head to Liam's truck. I still can't be sure if he's seen us yet, but judging by the fact that his engine shuts off when Margot's car pulls away, I could probably make a decent guess.
I take one last deep breath before slowly opening the door and stepping out onto the pavement. I walk with nothing but two sets of keys in my hand, only to stop halfway to his truck.
There he is.
"Liam," I say, my voice already breathless.
He smiles at me the way he always does—like he doesn't see anybody else—anythingelse but me. "Hi," he says simply, his tone soft but steady.
My knees instantly buckle despite having seen him just last night. Despite the fact that half of his body is still covered. "I was coming to meet you."
He chuckles, dropping his hand onto the bed of the truck and nodding toward my car. "Me too."
I throw my thumb over my shoulder. "Do you want to…"
He rounds the truck so I can finally see the rest of him. He's wearing gym shorts, a t-shirt, and those sneakers with the neon green swoosh—the same outfit he had on my first day on the job.
