EMILIAI’m still wiping my tears when Liam tells me he has to be at practice. I’m a little surprised he’s so willing to leave me here alone with the sculptures, but when I tell him I want a while longer to look around mynew gallery, he just smiles and lets me.It’ll take time to get used to all this.Home, with Liam.And this gallery that’s… apparently mine now.I kiss him goodbye, wish him luck, and watch his car pull away before turning back to explore. The space is mostly empty—just Luther’s sculptures scattered across the room. The walls are bare, waiting. I can already imagine other artists’ work hanging here someday, pieces breathing life into every corner.The thought warms me.It doesn’t take long before I find a door leading outside. There’s a small photo tied to the handle with a bit of rope. I don’t recognise the place in the picture, but I recognise me—a hydrangea tucked in my hair, my tongue sticking out at whoever’s behind the camera.At the bottom, in Liam’s unmistakabl
EMILIAThe doors swing open and I stop dead.At first, I think Liam’s dragged me into a museum. The ceilings are high, light spilling in through a skylight. Everything gleams—glass, stone, polished floors. But it’s not the building that steals the air from my lungs.It’s what’s inside.Sculptures.Everywhere.Some stand tall and smooth, carved from pale marble. Others twist in dark bronze, caught mid-motion like they’re about to move again. A few are glass—fragile and glowing—throwing tiny rainbows across the floor when the light hits them.I stop walking. My breath catches. The room is so quiet it almost hums, like even the air’s afraid to disturb the art. My footsteps echo when I move, and for a second, I feel like I’m walking through someone else’s memory.When I glance back, Liam’s still by the door—jaw tight, shoulders drawn. He’s not looking at the sculptures.He’s looking at me.I walk back to him. “Liam. What are we doing here?”He shifts, shoving his hands into his pockets li
EMILIAThe brunch spot is already packed when we pull up. There’s a line curling out the door and down the block, and I’m ready to tell Liam to forget it and take me to the nearest diner. But he squeezes my hand, grins like he’s got the whole thing figured out, and says, “Trust me. It’ll be worth it.”I roll my eyes but secretly? I kind of love that he wants to do something this… normal with me.By some miracle (or maybe because the hostess recognized him through the world’s worst disguise), we’re seated within fifteen minutes. The place smells like coffee and sugar and way-too-expensive bread.The menu, though, is chaos.“Twenty bucks for avocado toast?” I whisper. “Is the avocado gold-plated?”“Deconstructed waffle flight,” Liam reads. “What the hell does that mean? The waffle comes in pieces?”I snort. “Order it. I want to see.”I snort. “Order it. I want to see.”“Not a chance,” he says, ignoring me completely and handing the menu back like he’s made a life-altering decision. He g
EMILIATrue to her word, Tessa actually helped me finish packing and even called a moving company last night. Apparently the owner had a college crush on her and was thrilled to be her knight in shining U-Haul.Now that I’m really moving out, though, I feel… emotional. Sentimental. Pathetic, honestly. The movers have already hauled my stuff out, Liam’s about three minutes away, and I’m still clinging to Tessa like a deranged koala while she actively tries to peel me off.“Get off me, you big oaf.”“Tess, I’ll miss you so much,” I whine. “I feel awful. You’re obsessed with me, you won’t last a night without me.”“You’re literally just a drive away. I’ll survive.”“Who else am I supposed to watch the Confidential Family finale with while we drink wine and make fun of their life choices?”She shoots me a look so sharp it could kill. I cough. “Right. Sorry. Forgot alcohol is now on the very sensitive topic list.”“You know what? Get the hell out. Oh thank God—he’s here.” Tessa finally pri
EMILIA“Where do I put this?” Tessa lifts up a heavy-looking stuffed animal, and it takes me a second of squinting to realize what it is. One of the ones I won on that so-called date with Liam. The one to the amusement park with that gorgeous restaurant in it.I smile and take it from her. “I’ll hold onto it.”Dinner’s out of the way — which only confirmed Aaron really does have some defect in his tastebuds because it was horrible, but still the most edible thing Tessa’s ever made. Now we’re back to packing. Or pretending to, while I try to figure out how to tell her I’m moving in with Liam.“So, I found this gorgeous house,” she says, sliding one of my books my way. “It has a pool. Huge backyard. Three bedrooms.”I snort. “What are you gonna do with a backyard? Chase squirrels?”She ignores me, because she’s Tessa. “We could finally have a guest room. Or a movie room. And it’s close to the bakery, so you could walk to work.”I freeze, the painting in my hands almost slipping. “Wait.
EMILIAI squint at the screen. “How bad is it?”“Really fucking bad,” Toby says flatly, his face grim on the laptop balanced across Liam’s knees. “They’re already planning to put him in the next game. That’s in two days.”“Two days?” I turn to Tessa, who’s half-buried under a blanket, an eye mask shoved up onto her forehead, remote in hand as she flips through channels. “Isn’t that too fast?”“Not really,” her voice is scratchy. “The public’s on their side. No one’s officially come forward with why the victim dropped the case, so everyone’s running with the same tired narrative—she’s a liar trying to ruin a promising man’s bright future. Blah, blah, blah. You know how it goes. Chicago needs to take a stand, but no matter what, people will be pissed. At least this way, they make money. Tickets sell, the team gets attention, problem solved.”“Except for the girl who had to back down,” Liam mutters next to me.“I haven’t been able to reach her,” I say, checking my phone again. “What if h