The Ending I Want

“I’ll be solo when I start singing because my voice will clear this place out.”

Liam snickers. “Come on, let’s go see Cam and get you fed.”

The bar is really nice. Modern and trendy with a warm feeling to it. And I’m relieved to see that it’s not too busy either. Less people to humiliate myself in front of.

“Cam,” Liam calls to a guy further down the bar.

Smiling, he walks toward us. He’s Megan’s brother. I can tell immediately. He’s as good-looking as she is beautiful. He has the same black hair and contrasting blue eyes as she does.

“Hey, man.” He reaches over the bar to Liam, and they do that handshake-and-half-hug thing that men do.

I see Cam’s eyes go to me. I smile at him.

“Cam, this is Taylor Shaw from Boston.”

“Hello, Taylor Shaw, from Boston.” He reaches over the bar to shake my hand. “Can I get you guys a drink?”

“Beer for me,” Liam says.

“I’ll have the same,” I tell Cam.

I take a seat on a barstool, and Liam takes the seat beside me.

Cam puts two beers in front of us.

Liam picks up a menu and hands it to me. I scan it and decide on a burger and fries, or chips as they call them here.

“I’ll have the same,” Liam tells me. “Cam, can you have Nancy rustle us up some burger and chips?”

“Will do.” Cam disappears into the back.

“Nancy’s the cook here. Makes the best homemade burgers you’ve ever tasted in your life,” Liam tells me.

I take a sip of my beer.

“Hey! Hunter’s here, and he is not alone.”

I turn to the voice approaching. A guy with chestnut-brown hair, who is about the same height but not as built as Liam and more lithe than muscular, is walking toward us.

Liam gets up from his seat. “Eddie, mate.”

They do the handshake-and-half-hug man thing.

“Where the fuck have you been hiding?” Liam says to him. “Feels like ages since I last saw you.”

“I’ve been busy at the hospital. You missed me, you soppy bastard?”

“With all my heart.” Liam chuckles, slapping a hand to his chest.

Eddie’s eyes come to me. “And who is this beauty you’ve brought with you?”

Liam puts his arm around Eddie’s shoulder and looks at me. “Eddie, this is Taylor Shaw from Boston. Boston, this is Eddie, one of my oldest mates. Ugly as fuck, but someone’s gotta love him.”

“Fuck you very much, Hunter. And Boston, eh? What is someone like you doing with this degenerate?” Eddie flicks his thumb in Liam’s direction.

“He sat next to me on the plane, and I haven’t been able to get rid of him since.” I grin.

“Sounds like Hunter. He was like that in school. First day I met him, I just couldn’t shake him off. He’s like a bad smell. He’s been following me around ever since.”

“So, you guys met at school?” I ask.

“Yeah, first day at Eton. I met Eddie and that tosser.” Liam nods at Cam, who’s just appeared from behind the bar.

“Wow, you guys all went to Eton? Isn’t that a really elite school?” It comes out sounding like surprise, which I totally didn’t mean. I just didn’t figure Liam was a private school boy.

Liam laughs loudly, and so do Eddie and Cam.

“Yes. We are from rich families, and we went to the posh boys’ school,” Eddie says in a preppy voice, laughing.

“But you own a bar?” I say to Cam. I slap my hand over my mouth, realizing how bad that sounded. “God, I didn’t mean it like that. I just thought that people who went to Eton became, like, royalty or something.”

Cam chuckles. “No offense taken.” He waves me off. “I was supposed to become royalty, but it didn’t quite work out that way. The call of the bar life was just too strong for me to ignore. Much to my parents’ chagrin.”

“I, on the other hand, did not disappoint my parents,” Eddie says smugly.

Cam gives him the middle finger.

“Eddie’s a doctor,” Liam tells me.

“Cardiovascular surgeon, fuck you very much.” He leans in, telling me, “And I’m the best heart surgeon in England. Probably the world.”

“Wow. That’s amazing. It must have taken you years to become a doctor.”

“It took a while, but it was worth it. Still, after all those years, I don’t make near a scratch of what Hunter makes in a year. What is your net worth nowadays, Hunter? You hit the billion pound mark yet?”

Liam smirks but doesn’t say anything.

“Liam doesn’t like to talk about how much money he has,” Eddie tells me. “Because he has so much of it.”

“I think he probably doesn’t like to talk about his money—not because he of how much he has, but because it’s not what’s important to him. I think Liam’s business achievements are what he cares about most,” I say, staring into Liam’s eyes.

His gaze softens on me.

“Oh God, she’s your soul mate. Marry her, Liam. Immediately.” Eddie laughs.

Liam looks at Eddie, chuckling, as he shakes his head.

“I bet your parents are really proud of what you’ve achieved,” I say to Liam.

I instantly know I’ve said the wrong thing when the tenderness in his eyes disappears, and a dark shadow falls there instead.

“I wouldn’t know.” His voice is sharp, surprising me. “I need to go talk to Lee.”

I watch him go as he walks off, his whole body rigid and tense.