The Ending I Want
Page 51

I can feel my throat thickening, so I don’t attempt speech. I nod my head.
Liam brings his mouth to my forehead and kisses me there. I close my eyes, my chest feeling too full…with everything.
“So, it’s settled. You’ll come with me to Oxford.” He tips my chin up with his hand and kisses me once more on the lips.
Then, he gets up from the bed. “I’ll make us breakfast,” he says, pulling some black pajama pants from the drawer and putting them on. “After breakfast, we can swing by the hotel, you can pack a bag for the weekend, and then we’ll head to Grandpa’s place. Scrambled eggs and bacon good for you?”
I feel mute. Because I’m feeling too much.
“Eggs and bacon are fine,” I force out the words.
Liam heads for the door. “I’ll get breakfast started, and you can get your hot arse out of bed and make the coffee.” He tosses a smile back at me before leaving the room.
I push myself up in bed and just sit there for a moment.
His grandpa lives in Oxford. The place my parents met and fell in love.
I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence or meant to be.
Coincidence. It has to be.
Why did I tell him about where my parents met?
Because you want him to know you.
No, I don’t want Liam to know me.
And, in many ways, I don’t want to know him. I don’t want to get close to him.
This here, with him, was just supposed to be sex and fun.
But, now, it’s starting to feel like more than that.
On my part at least.
Last night, I wasn’t sure if the feelings I had for Liam were friendship…or something more.
Now, I’m sure. They’re something more.
The only saving grace I have is that Liam doesn’t reciprocate my feelings. At least, I don’t think he does. If he did, then that would make things messy.
No, Liam’s not a relationship person. His job is everything to him, the only thing he cares about. It’s his life. He has no room in it for anyone else—aside from his grandpa and his friends.
He might be spending this time off work with me, but this, for him, is just a vacation.
I’m his at-home holiday romance.
When I leave London, Liam will be someone I have to let go of, and it will hurt.
For Liam, I’ll just be that American girl he had two crazy weeks with. In time, I’ll just be a memory. A fond memory, I hope.
But one thing is for certain. This thing between Liam and me will end the way it was always supposed to end, irrespective of the feelings I have for him.
One more week, and I will leave London and go back to Boston.
And soon after…I will die.
“This is your car?”
Liam stops by the trunk of the car and looks over at me. We’re in his building’s parking garage, and I’m staring at the hottest car I have ever seen.
“It is.” He smiles.
He pops the trunk and puts his bag in along with the empty one I’ve borrowed from him. We’re stopping by the hotel, so I can get my stuff before we head to Oxford. All I have with me is my handbag that I’ve been using for overnights at his place, and sure, it’s big, but a weekend away requires more stuff. The only other thing I have with me is my big-ass suitcase, and I’d prefer not to drag that to Oxford with me, so Liam lent me one of his weekend bags.
And remember when I said that Liam doesn’t spend money to the excess? I take that back.
I might not be a car expert, but I know a Bugatti Veyron when I see one. And that’s what I’m looking at right now.
A sexy-as-hell Bugatti.
“This car is a total babe magnet.” I run my fingertips over the smooth, shiny black paintwork.
“Like its owner,” he says, shutting the trunk with a soft clunk.
“Ha!” I laugh. “Seriously though, you could look like the Hunchback of Notre Dame and still score a supermodel if you had this car.”
Liam gives a mock-offended look. “I hope to fuck you’re not implying that chicks only dig me because of my car.”
I laugh again. “As if. This is the first time I’ve seen your car, and I totally dug you long before this.”
He comes around the car, toward me. Standing before me, he takes my face in his hands, tipping it back so that I’m looking up into his eyes.
Leaning in, he softly kisses me on the lips. “I kinda dig you, too, Boston.”
I don’t know why, but the sentiment really touches me. More than it should. More than I should allow it to.
I blink my eyes open. His are on mine.
My heart bumps around my chest.
He kisses me again and then whispers over my lips, “Now, get your hot arse in my hot car, so I can get her out on the open road.”
He releases me with a chuckle. Then, he walks over and opens the passenger door for me.
“Boys and their toys.” I smile as I climb inside, setting my heart back in place.
Wow. The car is just as nice on the inside as the outside. It’s rich leather and glossy everything. I’m afraid to touch anything in case I leave a mark.
For a two-seater, it’s surprisingly roomy. It even fits Liam’s big body as he climbs in.
I put my seat belt on. “I’m so going to enjoy this ride,” I tell him.
He stops with his seat belt in his hand and looks at me. “I promise that this ride will be as good as the ones I give you every night in my bed.” A grin spreads over his gorgeous face, making me laugh again.
I really like how much I laugh around Liam.
Another thing I like too much.
“Is the car new?” I ask. It looks brand-new.