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When I opened the tin, though, there were no cookies inside. Instead, I found something I hadn’t laid eyes on in over five years: Leo’s necklace—the one with the diamond ring that had belonged to his grandfather. It was probably worth the price of a small house, and I’d been too afraid to take it with me to Pennsylvania. I’d worried something might happen to it, and it had been too painful to look at. I’d told Mrs. Angelini to put it in a safe place, and she’d assured me she would take care of it. I knew why she’d put it in this canister. If someone were to rob the house, this would be the last place they’d look for jewelry that cost a fortune.
Placing it around my neck, I remembered exactly what it felt like when Leo had put it on me. I’d been devastated because he was about to leave, but also confused as to why he was entrusting me with such an important family heirloom when he wasn’t ever going to see it—or me—again. It had seemed like some strange form of insurance and left me a little unsettled. I couldn’t imagine him wanting me to keep something so important forever.
When it hit me, chills ran through my body. This is it. This was the sign I’d prayed for. Mrs. Angelini had led me to where she kept the necklace, but only I could interpret what that meant. I closed my eyes and knew she wanted me to follow my heart and go to him. That’s what I wanted, too, even though I was scared.
Fiddling with the sparkler around my neck, I picked up the phone and dialed Bailey to fill her in on everything that had just happened.
“Have you Googled him at all?” she asked.
“No. I don’t want to see photos of him with her. And I’ve managed to not Google him all these years. I’m not going to start now. I wouldn’t even know what to believe.”
“Okay. So what’s your next step?”
“Do you think I should call him?”
“What if you just went there?” Bailey suggested.
“With no warning?”
“Maybe you need to see him to know whether you want to go through with stopping a freaking wedding. Don’t you feel like you have to be there to know whether the connection is still there? If you call and fuck everything up for him, it might be premature. This kind of thing has to be done in person. I say get your ass on a plane and go. Look him in the eyes, and I think within seconds you’ll know whether it’s right. And if it’s not, at the very least, you can have one final goodbye.”
If I allowed myself to overthink things, nothing would ever get done. And I didn’t have the luxury of time in this instance. I needed to make a decision before I could even begin to waffle.
My stomach started churning, not because of my internal debate, but because I knew I’d decided to go.
* * *
Felicity
Track 19: “Long Long Journey” by Enya
Riding through the English countryside seemed like a dream, more picturesque than I could have imagined—animals grazing off the sides of the road, beautiful stone architecture, sprawling green fields for miles. Chills ran through me almost the entire length of the car trip.
My driver finally dropped me off at the cottage covered in vines where I’d be staying.
The little old woman who ran this bed and breakfast greeted me at the door. “Welcome to the Bainbridge Inn.”
She stepped aside to let me enter. I’d chosen this place because it was only two miles from the Covington estate in Westfordshire.
By the time my flight landed, it was too late in the day to go straight to Leo. I would go in the morning. I needed time to find my bearings. It had been a long flight, and the stress of anticipation left me mentally exhausted. I didn’t want to see him like this. I needed a good night’s sleep and then, come hell or high water, I’d go to his house in the morning.
“I’m Lavinia,” the woman said. “I’m at your service for the length of your stay.”
She was short and frail. Asking her to do anything for me seemed wrong.
“You’ve provided me with a safe place to sleep, and that’s all I need.”
“Serving my guests is what I live for.” She smiled. “And I very much enjoy the company. Let me make you some tea. I’d show you to your room, but stairs and I haven’t been getting along lately. I try to limit the number of trips I have to make.”
That made me feel bad. She was too old for this shit.
“Tea sounds great,” I told her. “And no worries at all. I don’t need you to accompany me. Just tell me where it is.”
