The Ending I Want

He gives me a secret smile. “You’ll see.”

Liam and his secrets.

Taylor and her secrets.

Except Liam’s secrets always have me smiling.

Mine…not so much.

I’m surprised to see that Paul isn’t waiting for us, but instead, Liam’s Bugatti is parked in front of the hotel.

The doorman tips his hat to me as we leave. I smile at him.

We reach the car, and Liam gets my door for me. I manage to get inside without showing my panties, and he shuts the door with an expensive clunk.

I put my seat belt on and watch him as he makes his way to the driver’s seat, loving the way he walks with such confidence and authority. Liam gets in and starts the engine. He puts on his seat belt and then pulls out into the evening traffic.

Liam’s not talking. His fingers are tapping on the steering wheel along to the song playing on the stereo—Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson’s “Don’t You Wanna Stay.” But it’s not a happy tap, not that it’s an overly happy song, but…there just seems to be almost an edge to him that wasn’t there before. And it’s weird.

I kind of want to ask him what’s up, but at the same time, I don’t as well.

So, instead, I say, “I love this song.”

He gives me a smile that doesn’t reach all the way to his eyes, and then he just turns the music up.

Okay.

His lack of response and action sets my good mood into unease, so I just stare out the window, looking for a sign of where we might be going, as I hum along with Jason and Kelly.

I’m surprised when I see that we’re near where he lives.

I’m even more surprised when he pulls into the underground parking garage at his apartment building.

“Did you forget something at your place?” I ask him.

With ease, he reverse-parks his car into his parking space, turns the engine off, and puts the emergency brake on. His eyes meet mine. “No. This is where we’re spending our evening.”

“Oh. Okay.”

I’m not disappointed that we’re at Liam’s apartment. I love being at his place. I just thought we were going out somewhere, as he’d told me to dress up and he’s wearing a fancy suit.

Liam gets out of the car. I climb out my side, and I meet him at the front of the car.

He takes my hand in his and leads me to the elevator. Calling the elevator, the door opens. We walk in, and he punches in the code to his apartment. The door closes, and we ride up in silence.

When we reach his apartment, he keys in the code and opens the door, letting us in. The lighting is low.

He closes the door behind us. Then, he takes my hand again and leads me through the apartment, heading through the kitchen.

He stops by the door to his roof terrace. He smiles at me and then pushes it open. “Your romantic movie moment, Boston.”

I give him a curious look and then step through the door. The air is surprisingly warmer up here than it was downstairs.

In all my time spent at Liam’s place, I’ve never been out here before.

It’s gorgeous. There’s a seating area to the left of me. To my right is a table with two chairs, all set up with plates and silverware, and champagne is in a bucket standing by the table.

And fairy lights are hanging everywhere—literally everywhere you could put them. They’re entwined along the railings that edge the whole area. They’re draped over the small shrubs and trees that sit in planters. They’re hanging from the trellis.

They’re just everywhere, and it looks so pretty.

Music is softly playing in the background. London is receding into dusk. The sky is a soft dusty pink.

And I’m in heaven.

I walk further out, looking around in awe. “This is amazing.” I turn to face him. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

Well, I can. Because he’s done so much already.

His hands are in his pants pockets, his head slightly tilted to the side, his eyes watching me. “There isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you, Boston.”

A smile touches my lips. “Like getting your ass tattooed?”

A heartbreaking smile glides onto his mouth, and I have this feeling of fullness in my chest.

“That would be at the top of the list,” he says.

Liam walks toward me. My heart is dancing in my chest. My eyes follow him up until he reaches me.

“Dance with me,” he says.

“You dance, too?”

“I do a lot of things, Boston. You just have to let me show you.”

I wish I had the time to let you show me everything.

Liam takes ahold of my hand, bringing it up with his, and his other hand goes around my waist. He starts moving me with him in time to the music.

The song playing in the background is the Daniel Bedingfield’s “If You’re Not the One.” It was playing when I stepped through the door.

Has it come on again?

“You’re a Daniel Bedingfield fan?” I tease, looking up at him.

“So many things you don’t know about me, Boston.” He shakes his head. Then, a teasing smile slides onto his lips. “Actually, no. But I don’t mind this song. It’s the only one of his I know.” He chuckles.

“Me, too.” I giggle. “But it is a beautiful song.”

“You’re beautiful.”

“So smooth,” I tease.

“I do try.”

A moment later, he starts softly singing along to the words.

“This another one of your smooth moves, Hunter? I thought you only pulled out the serenading to girls who’ve dumped you?” I bite down on the smile pushing up my lips.