I had no idea where we were headed and was surprised when Liam pulled into a strip mall. The ice cream shop was called Craigers, and I had never seen or heard of it before. There was a long row of motorcycles parked out front, and I got extremely nervous again, wondering why in the world I had gotten myself into such a situation when I could have stayed at my comfy workstation sewing coats and trousers.
Liam must have been able to sense my hesitation as I got off the bike and handed him my helmet because he smiled and said, "It's all good, I promise." He said it quietly because there was a group of people sitting outside on the benches that lined the front of the store.
He turned and smiled at the people who were sitting there. "I thought you guys were eating ice cream," he said.
"We already ate," one guy said with a smile. He stood and reached out to shake my hand as I approached.
"I'm Owen," he said. "And this is my girlfriend, Darcy." There was a girl next to him, and she stood to greet me as well.
"Owen is Daniel's brother," Liam explained. "And this is Daniel's other brother, Wes, and their sister, Ivy."
Everyone stood and shook my hand. They were a nice looking family, and I remembered noticing most of them at the wedding a couple of days earlier.
"Liam said you used to live in London," Wes said when it was our turn to greet each other.
"I did," I said with a smile. "Are you the one who lives there now?"
"I am," Wes said.
"He's going to the university," Ivy said. She made the statement in a thick but terrible British accent that made us all laugh.
"How long did you live there?" Wes asked.
"Six years."
Wes smiled and nodded. "Did you go for school?"
I shook my head. "Just work," I said.
"Liam said you worked on Savile Row."
"I did."
"Fancy," Wes said, lifting his eyebrows.
I smiled. "Super fancy," I agreed.
"You should see her shop," Liam said.
Jesse was in the process of coming out of the ice cream shop along with a whole group of other people, and he heard Liam make this statement. He could see us through the windows so he was already smiling at me before they even opened the door.
"Whose shop?" Jesse asked, "Taylor's?"
"Yes sir," Liam said.
"Oh, man, is it nice!" Jesse said.
One of the young women in the group came up behind Liam and hugged him by the waist, latching onto his side. "Close your eyes," she said, hanging onto him like a monkey.
"I'm scared," Liam said.
"Just do it," she said.
Liam closed his eyes somewhat reluctantly.
I watched as the young woman reached into a box that one of the other women was holding and pulled out what looked like a small piece of fudge. She winked at me as she held it in her hand, poised to feed to Liam.
"Now open your mouth," she said.
"I don't want any ice cream," Liam said, cringing a little.
"It's not," someone else said, causing Liam to trust the first person and open his mouth. She popped the bite into his mouth, and he opened his eyes as he began to chew. "That's good. What is that? Fudge?"
"Yep," the girl said proudly.
"They have like a million different kinds in there," Ivy said.
"Maybe twenty," one of the older women corrected.
Liam looked around the group as if scavenging for another bite, and one of the women held out a box. He reached in, grabbing a larger piece than the one he had before and popped it into his mouth.
"This is my mom and dad," he said around a mouth full of fudge as he pointed at one of the middle-aged couples. "You want a piece?" he added, focusing on me.
I instantly shook my head.
"I'm Shelby," said the girl who had been hanging on Liam.
I could have guessed as much because her extreme familiarity made it obvious that she was his sister.
"My grandparents," Liam continued, pointing at the older couple who were standing on the side. "Michael and Ivy."
"I'm a big fan of your music, Mrs. Bishop," I said, smiling at his grandmother.
Liam glanced at me like he was surprised I said that. I hadn't even told him I knew his grandmother was a singer, much less that I had listened to her music some over the years.
"Thank you so much, sweetie," Ivy said, stepping forward to hug me. Apparently, these women were huggers because, right when she was finished, the woman Liam had indicated was his mother stepped forward and did the same thing.
"I'm Jane," she said. "Thank you so much for taking care of Liam and Jesse for the wedding. Those suits were really nice."
"It was my pleasure," I said. "Is Jesse your brother?" I asked, trying to put everything together.
"Twins," Jane said with a smile. "I know I look a lot younger but…" she trailed off, teasing her brother who made a face and pinched her. "Did you want to get anything before we go?" Jane asked.
Liam glanced at me with an expression that said he didn't want anything but he was happy to go inside if I did. I shook my head. I was way too nervous to even think about eating. Seeing that neither Liam nor I cared to go inside, the family began making their way toward the parked motorcycles.
There were eight motorcycles in total—three of them were single passenger and five were double. I was with Liam, Darcy was with Owen, Jane was with Gray, Ivy was with Michael, and Rose was with Jesse. I couldn't help but notice that Liam's sister, Shelby, and the young Ivy were both riding on their own bike, which I thought was really cool and tough of them. Wes had his own bike too, but I wasn't quite as impressed by that since I saw guys riding motorcycles all the time.
We set off, riding as a group, and drawing glances from literally everybody. I felt like we were famous with the way everyone stared at us. We drove right next to each other for a few miles until we reached Palos Verdes Drive, at which point we spread out and began cruising single file. I had lived in Los Angeles for years and had never taken this drive—even if I had, it wouldn't have compared to doing it on a motorcycle, and definitely not on the back of Liam Kennedy's motorcycle.
We rode for about thirty minutes, witnessing breathtaking views before ending the trip at the Korean Friendship Bell. We all got off of our motorcycles to take a look at it.
"Have you done this drive before?" Jane asked as we walked toward the bell.
"I haven't actually," I said. "I was thinking about that as we rode and wondering why I hadn't. I've been here," I added, pointing at the ornate pavilion that housed the bell. "But we took city streets to get here. I'm not sure why."
"No kidding," Liam's grandfather said. "I'd try to take that drive at least once a week if I lived over here."
There were some other tourist around, and some of our group went ahead while others hung back. Liam and I stayed close to his mom and dad.
"How long have you lived here?" Gray asked.
"Almost four years," I said. "That's why I can't believe I've never experienced that drive. It was really beautiful." I glanced at Liam. "Thank you for inviting me," I said sincerely.
He smiled sweetly as a 'you're welcome'.
"Where did you grow up?" Jane asked.
"Hot Springs," I said. "Outside of Hot Springs, actually. A tiny town called Brookdale."
"Hot Springs, Arkansas?" Gray asked in a disbelieving tone.
I nodded as we walked.
"That's in our neck of the words," Jane said.
Liam glanced at me like he was surprised I had left that piece of information out.
"That's only like two or three hours from us," Gray said.
"You should try to come see us in Memphis when you go home," Jane added.
My heart dropped when she said that. They were such a close, loving family that I knew they would never understand that I hadn't been home, not once, since I was seventeen years old. I left Arkansas and didn't look back. I hadn't even spoken to my family in almost ten years. It gave me a nauseating feeling to realize that the Bishops would probably not understand that at all.
"I usually don't go back to Arkansas," I said, hoping to brush off the conversation without lying or being completely awkward.
"They probably come to you," Jane said, nodding and gesturing at the beautiful vista.
"Yes," I said.
I really did hate myself for lying, but I just couldn't come out and say that I hadn't spoken to my family in a decade—it would just seem ridiculous to say that. To tell the lie seemed like the more reasonable thing to do at the moment.
"Do you have siblings?" Jane asked.
I felt sick.
The answer was 'yes', but the word got stuck in my throat.
I was so used to people caring about the clothing I could make rather than my family background that I literally never had to answer questions about my past. I should've known the Bishops would ask me about my family, but it honestly never occurred to me.
"Yes ma'am. I have two younger brothers," I said, since it was the truth.
"Liam glanced at me with a sweet but curious expression like he never imagined I would say that.
"I bet they love your store," Jane said. "Jesse was telling us how nice it was."
"Thank you," I said, brushing past the comment about my brothers, who, to my knowledge, didn't even know I owned a store.
We made our way to the beautiful pavilion that was home to the Korean Friendship Bell. It was a gorgeous structure, and we spent the next half-hour walking around it and making small talk about other things we'd seen that were similar, like Asian gardens and the Liberty Bell.
I was happy to have gotten through that conversation about my family without making a total fool of myself, but it had left me with an odd feeling of incompletion, and I felt the strangest urge to clear the air with Liam about it.
Before we departed, we gathered to make travel arrangements. They were all headed back to the dealership, but Liam said that he would give me a ride back to my store instead. This detour would either mean that the rest of the family would have to wait on him, or that he would be stuck at the dealership without a ride back to Malibu.
I agreed that I would follow him to return the bike and give him a ride back to his hotel once he had finished. The family asked if they would see me back at the hotel, but I told them that I had to work and would probably just drop Liam off.
This prompted a whole round of hugs, and they told me it was very nice meeting me and that they sincerely hoped I came to see them if I ever made my way back home to Arkansas. In spite of my own insecurities about my family, I truly had a nice time with Liam and the Bishops that afternoon.
It took us nearly an hour to get back to my store, and the whole time we rode, I replayed different encounters I had with them. They were wonderful people, and I could see how Courtney had fallen in love with them enough to pick up everything and move to Tennessee.
My store was locked by the time Liam and I got back. I opened the door and went inside to make sure everything was squared away, and found that Anthony was still working in the back. He told me that he was just about to leave, and we talked for a moment about things he had worked on while I was gone, making plans for what we needed to do the following day.
I knew he considered it out of character for me to have Liam with me, but he didn't make it obvious or uncomfortable. We finished our conversation and I left him in the workroom before following Liam to the dealership.
I went inside with him, and he showed me around and told me a few stories about his grandfather's business. He showed me a portrait of a parrot hanging on the wall and told me it was an actual bird named Elvis who had been the shop mascot at the original Memphis location for half a century. He told me about the bird having certain catchphrases and nicknames for most of their family, and we laughed about how the stubborn creature would probably outlive us all.
We stayed at the dealership for a little while, looking at motorcycles. Liam gave me a brief lesson on how they were made and which parts could be customized, and I couldn't help but compare the buying experience of a Bishop Motorcycle to that of a nice suit.