Page 29
“Remarkable, isn’t it?” Liam asked.
She hummed in response. “Does it ever get old? Seeing it every day, I mean.”
“You grow used to it. But it’s still a marvel to those who appreciate what it took to build it—and what it takes to manage it.”
Claire dropped her eyes for half a second to Liam as he focused on the tower with a steady gaze. So he appreciated the building, then. Who would’ve thought?
The longer she’d spent with him at Kew Gardens, the more he’d driven her crazy. And yet today, he was being so helpful and nice. She, of course, was also on her best behavior. Maybe the ground rules really were helping them both.
After another few minutes of marveling at Big Ben, the two of them progressed across the street toward Westminster Abbey.
She and Liam didn’t speak as they moved through the silent Quire of the abbey, where dark brown stalls holding red, mushroom-shaped lamps lined the black and white checkered flooring. Claire had only ever seen the sight before on The Crown and when she’d watched the royal weddings.
Was it pathetic that the only cool things she’d ever seen had been on TV? Probably. Did she care? She was beginning to.
Pushing the unsettling thought aside, she glanced at Liam, his attention focused on the golden backings of the stalls.
She glanced around, the Quire nearly empty apart from the two of them. In an effort not to dispel the silence of the abbey, she leaned toward him with a soft whisper. “Did you watch the royal weddings?”
He shifted his gaze forward, bending down to whisper back. “They had them televised in the office while I was at work, but I didn’t watch them for long.” He cast a sidelong glance at her. “I’m guessing you did.”
“Of course. Why would I not wish to be a part of history?”
He nodded as they stopped midway down the Quire. “Ah, yes,” he responded, turning back to look at the stained-glass windows, “because watching extravagant weddings on television is comparable to having seen Winston Churchill giving a speech or Queen Elizabeth I ascend the throne.”
Alright, that had to be breaking one of their rules. He was totally making fun of her. And yet, when he looked down at her with that same twinkle in his eye as before, her desire to chastise him faded away.
“Or watching George Washington’s inaugural address,” she responded in another whisper, raising a knowing brow.
He narrowed his eyes. “Who’s that, then?”
She stopped her smile before he could see it. “You know, the great man who led my country to victory over a tyrannical king.”
He clicked his tongue as if to scold her. “You’d best be careful what you say here. That very king walked these halls.”
Claire paused. Wow. She’d never thought of that before. But she couldn’t admit that the idea actually astounded her. Instead, she gave a playful shrug. “Meh.”
“Typical American.” Liam’s lip twitched, but he looked away before she could see if it turned into a smile.
Their time at the airport flashed through her mind, and her defenses rose, though she did her best not to allow them free rein. She didn’t want to lose the progress the two of them had made in the last few hours.
“You know, I’ve been meaning to ask you about that,” she whispered, stepping to the side as a group entered the Quire and walked past them.
“About what?”
“What you have against Americans. You do know your mom is from the States, right?”
He nodded at a passerby before responding. “I have nothing against Americans. Most of them, anyway.”
He gave her a sidelong glance, and the playfulness in his eyes knocked down one of the barriers around her heart. Still, he hadn’t answered her question, nor had he given her any explanation for his words at the airport or beyond.
They took a few steps forward before she paused again, observing the carving across the ceiling that appeared like bare, stone branches.
“So, with your bias,” she continued, “I assume you’re Team Kate and not Team Meghan?”
He was silent for a minute. “I never would have cast you as a tabloid reader.”
“Ew, what?” She scrunched up her nose. “I’m not. I only follow the royal family to covet their wardrobes.”
