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“Oh, really?” All other thoughts fled from her mind as she peered down the street, hoping to catch a glimpse of the historical site. Yellow lights lined the busy road, the hazy glow expanding into a soft fog that now slipped across the sky, but the Tower was nowhere in sight.

“I was surprised that wasn’t on your list of things to see today,” Liam said.

“Well, it was originally. But Melody said it wasn’t that impressive.”

Liam stopped walking, turning to face Claire with a slack jaw. “The Tower of London is not that impressive?”

Claire paused in the middle of the sidewalk, turning to face him. “Yeah, she said not to waste my time.”

Liam ran his fingers through his thick hair, the strands somehow remaining back, despite his tousling them. “Leave it to my cousin to convince you to miss out on one of the most incredible places in London.” He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Alright. Come on. We’re going to see it right now.”

SIXTEEN

Liam took a left down the side street, striding across the pavement. Claire hadn’t thought he was serious. He really wanted to prolong the evening with her?

“Wait, isn’t it closed?” she asked, jogging to catch up with him as the frigid air infiltrated her lungs.

“Yes, but at least you’ll get to see the outside of it.”

A sudden lightness overcame her, and she fought off a smile. She’d been so disappointed when Melody had pushed the Tower from their schedule. Catching a glimpse of it would be better than nothing.

“Not that impressive,” Liam muttered, continuing in a louder tone as they progressed down the street. “The history there alone is mind-blowing. Not to mention the architecture.” He stopped walking abruptly, and Claire followed suit, trying very hard to match his serious expression, though his unexpected ferocity was nothing short of adorable. “Do you know, there are carvings in the Beauchamp Tower from the people who were imprisoned there hundreds of years ago?”

He didn’t wait for a response before he continued, walking down the street once again. “It’s nine hundred years old, for heaven’s sake. How old must a building be to be ‘impressive’ to Melody? I mean, the horrific history there must be shared and respected by everyone, if not for history’s sake, then for the sake of those who were forced to give their lives within those walls. You know?”

When he finally stopped, his scowl directed down at Claire, she raised her hands in a gesture of retreat, still attempting to hide her amusement. “No need to blame the messenger. I wanted to see it, remember?”

He paused, her words seeming to sink in as he shoved his hands in his pockets and continued in a lower voice, though his brow still hung heavily over his dark eyes.

“You’re right, of course,” he said. “Leave it to Melody to be far too opinionated about a subject she knows next to nothing about.”

Claire bit her tongue for as long as possible, but her desire to tease him won out. “Far too opinionated. Hmmm. I wonder if that’s a family trait?”

She watched him from the corner of her eye, his gaze shooting to hers before her shoulders visibly lowered and that smile-not-smile touched his lips. “Touché, Claire.”

How she loved her name on his lips. No, no. In his accent. No, in any British accent, not just his. It just sounded so delicate, so feminine. She’d never really liked her name before, but in that accent…Mmm. She could get used to such a sound.

With Liam clearly feeling better about life as he stopped his rant—which, to be honest, sounded more like a song than anything due to that accent—the two of them made their way to the tower, stopping first to use the public restrooms.

To add insult to injury, Claire once again had to borrow money from him.

“Just add it to my tab,” she said, trying to embrace being at the liberty of her embarrassment around him.

“That’s seven hundred and one pounds, then,” he joked, and she grinned all the way to the stall.

Afterward, they walked around the outside of the wide, light-stoned structure, Liam pointing out the different towers and sharing a few facts Claire had never heard before. They took a moment to watch the ice skaters in the moat, gliding across the temporary, frozen rink, before taking in more of the sights. By the end of their makeshift tour, Claire was enraptured—not only by the history, but by how impassioned Liam was with the whole site.

“Alright, you’ve convinced me,” she said. “I’ll make Melody go there with me before I go back home.”

Liam gave a firm nod. “Excellent. Then my work here is done.”

She smiled up at him, then looked beyond his shoulder to where a concentrated set of lights glowed across the Thames.

“What’s that?” she asked, motioning with a nod of her head.

Liam turned, following her gaze. “Christmas by the River. It’s one of the markets they hold every year.”

“Wait, a Christmas market?”