The Ending I Want(64)

“I have no clue.” He shrugs. “But he’s not working. He looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him in years, so I’m happy.”

“He looks more relaxed than I’ve seen him in years.”

That sets me aglow.

Still, I won’t burst Bernie’s bubble and tell him that Liam has worked a few days in our time together.

An older gentleman in a white suit jacket and black pants comes into the room, carrying a tray.

“Ah, Archie, meet Taylor. Taylor is a friend of Liam’s. She’s staying with us for a few days.”

Archie puts the tray down on the table. It’s filled with cups, a small jug of milk, a sugar bowl, a plate of cookies, a coffee decanter, and a tea pot.

“It’s nice to meet you, Taylor.” He smiles at me. “Where’s Liam?” he asks Bernie.

“Putting their bags away.”

Archie shakes his head and laughs.

“You staying for tea with us?” Bernie asks Archie.

He shakes his head again. “I need to get the computer in the office working. It’s driving me crazy. But enjoy your drinks.” Archie leaves the room.

Bernie chuckles. “I’ve told him to call someone out to fix it, but the man won’t have it. Thinks he can fix it himself.” He reaches over and gets the three cups from the tray, setting them on the table. “I wasn’t sure what you would like to drink, Taylor, so I had Archie make both tea and coffee. Or would you like a cold drink? I can go get you one.”

“Coffee is great.” I smile.

Bernie pours out three coffees. I’m guessing one is for Liam, who appears the moment I think his name.

“All sorted?” Bernie asks him as he passes me my black coffee.

“Yeah, I just ran our bags up to my room,” Liam says, taking the seat next to me.

He reaches over and squeezes my hand. I smile at him.

Bernie hands Liam his coffee.

I pour milk in mine and then pass it to Liam. I drop a sugar cube in mine. Knowing Liam takes his coffee the same, I drop one in for him.

“Thanks.” He smiles at me.

I move my eyes from Liam and see Bernie watching us with a smile on his face. I don’t know why, but it makes my face heat.

Ducking my face, I pick up a spoon and stir my coffee.

“Biscuit?” Bernie offers me the plate.

I guess cookies are called biscuits here.

Thanking him, I take the plainest-looking cookie, which is apparently called a digestive, according to the word etched into it.

I take a bite. It’s actually quite good.

“So, Taylor, is this your first visit to England?” Bernie asks.

“Yes.” And my last.

“What do you think so far?”

“London is amazing. And from what I’ve seen of Oxford, it’s equally as wonderful.”

“I do love London,” Bernie says. “But I could never live there. Too busy for my liking. I like to be able to visit and then leave when I’ve had enough. I don’t know how Liam lives there.”

“Twenty-four-hour supermarkets and endless amounts of takeaways, for starters,” Liam says to him.

Bernie shakes his head. “And that’s why I could never live there.”

Archie appears in the doorway. He smiles when he sees Liam. “Liam, you good, my boy?”

“Yeah, I’m good. You?”

“Keeping well as always.” His eyes move to Bernie. “Sorry to interrupt, but Tate is on the phone, insisting he needs to speak to you.”

Bernie sighs.

“Everything okay?” Liam asks. He sounds concerned.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. It’s just a few hiccups with the Watertown project. Nothing major, but you know how Tate gets.”

Liam nods in agreement.

“Why don’t you take Taylor on a tour of the house while I take this call? You know what Tate’s like once he gets talking.”

Liam looks at me. “Do you want a tour?”

“A tour would be great.” I smile.

Bernie gets to his feet and comes over to me. “Sorry to run out on you before we barely got to talking. But we’ll all have dinner together later and get to know each other better.”

“Sounds great to me.”

Bernie leaves the room with Archie.

“You want to finish your coffee first or go on the tour now?” Liam asks me.

I take a quick sip of my coffee and then get to my feet, hanging my handbag on my shoulder. “Go now.”

Liam pushes his chair out and stands. He holds a hand out to me. I take it, and he leads me out of the orangery.

This place is frigging ginormous.

I’ve lost count of how many rooms and bedrooms and bathrooms there are. I’ve seen the library and the kitchen that looks like it belongs in a restaurant.

Now, we’re heading for Liam’s bedroom. His room is at the other side of the castle from his grandpa’s, as he told me, so we can have noisy sex, no problem.

But I don’t think so. These hallways echo. Echoes carry sound.

Liam pushes open the door to his bedroom and walks inside.

It’s huge.

Large windows overlook the garden and lake. The bed is one of those huge wooden sleigh beds. The mattress looks like I could sink into it and never get back up.