Page 63 of The Overtime Persuasive

“That’s what your father said.”

“Huh.” Liam glances past me. “He’s forbidden by my mother from complimenting us.”

“He says it makes you unbearable.”

“He’s right.” Liam winks.

I laugh. “I saw it, though.”

“Saw what?”

“Why you want the A.”

His expression stills.

I gesture toward one of the televisions. “You were paying attention to everyone. You knew where they were, what they were doing, and when somebody needed you to cover for them. Even when you and Tripp were clearly annoyed with each other, you didn’t let it stop you from making the play.”

Liam looks at me for a long moment. “You got all of that from one game?”

I shrug. “I notice things.”

“Yeah,” he says, his eyes dragging across me. “You do.”

The way he says it makes the space between us feel smaller.

His hand brushes mine. Not an accident. His fingers catch mine for a second before someone passes behind us and he lets go.

Over his shoulder, I notice Lucy watching us. The second I meet her gaze, she lifts her drink to her lips and turns away with all the subtlety of someone dragging a grand piano across a tile floor.

And—our little bubble bursts.

“Your sister is going to ask what’s going on,” I whisper. “She’ll corner one of us and bully the details right out of us.”

“She won’t get them.”

“She’ll ask anyway.” I glance toward Lucy, who’s pretending to be listening to her father, but doing a truly terrible job of it.

“Do you know what she told me that day you were in the shop, the same day the city inspector walked into Side B?” I ask. “After you left, she said she thought her brother ‘had a crush.’”

Liam’s eyes stay on mine. “She did?”

“She sure did.”

His smile softens. “And now?”

My heart gives one hard beat. “Now what?”

“Do you think I have a crush?”

There are at least thirty people in this room, but it doesn’t feel that way.

I look at the red mark along his jaw, the damp ends of his hair, and the mouth I know feels even better than it looks.

“Yes,” I say. “At least I am hoping that you do.”

Liam draws in a slow breath. “I really want to kiss you right now.”

“I think your father might be standing behind me.”