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“Wow.” I grinned.
“He almost ruined it.”
“How?”
“In typical Sigmund fashion, he challenged her to join the mile-high club.”
“Oh, Sig.” I chuckled.
“She told him where he could stick that proposition. He said in that moment, he knew he was never going to be the same again.”
“What happened after the flight?”
“Remarkably, even with all the talking they’d done, she wouldn’t tell him why she was in England or where she was going. He only had her first name—Britney.”
“Huh…”
“Once they landed, he begged for her number. But she told him if he knew what was good for him, they should part ways.”
That actually made me feel bad for Sig. “Oh my goodness. Why? He must have been devastated.”
“Totally gutted.”
“I assume this is not the end of the story, though.”
Leo shook his head. “He kept following her around the airport. She couldn’t get rid of him. And even though she said she wanted him to leave her alone, he could see in her eyes that she didn’t. He suspected there was something more going on, something she just didn’t want to tell him.”
“Like maybe she was married?”
Leo glared at me.
“I swear that wasn’t a dig at you.” I laughed.
“Actually, that did cross his mind,” Leo explained with a smile. “Anyway, out on the platform where she waited for her ride, he told her she wasn’t going to lose him unless she gave him a good reason why. She just kept telling him he’d be better off not knowing, that they would both be better off just remembering the hours they’d had together and going their separate ways.” He stared off. “But Sigmund couldn’t let her go.”
“What did he do…get in her cab?”
“That’s exactly what he did. She told him he’d be sorry. But the more she said things like that, the more intent he was on sticking with her.” Leo chuckled, but then his expression turned serious. “When they got to her hotel, in the lobby there were two older people waiting for her.”
I leaned in. “Who were they?”
“Her parents. They’d flown in from the States and had arrived in England before her.”
I was confused. “Why didn’t they travel together?”
“She apparently had some business to take care of at home first. So they met each other in London.”
I cocked my head. “So…they were vacationing?”
“I wish.” Leo blew out a breath. “Britney was forced to tell Sigmund everything then and there—that she wasn’t in England on vacation at all. She had traveled here to seek an experimental treatment…for her cancer.”
My heart sank. “Oh no.”
“Sigmund was gobsmacked. He’d had no clue she was sick.”
I felt like I was going to cry. Leo looked like he might do the same.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“With her parents standing there, watching it all, she angrily asked him if he was happy now—couldn’t he understand why she’d preferred to leave well enough alone. He told her that actually, yeah, he was happy. That he’d never been happier in his life, and the fact that she was sick didn’t change how he felt.”
Oh my heart.
“She begged him to ditch her, but he wouldn’t. Before her treatments started, they holed themselves up in a hotel room together and made the most of that time. Then, he spent every hour of every day with her during her treatments at a hospital in London. Her parents were really taken with him and grateful that he gave their daughter joy during such a difficult time.”
Dread crept over me as Leo took a deep breath.
“One night,” he continued, “Sigmund came straight to my house from the hospital. He looked exhausted, and he told me he finally understood. When I asked what he was talking about, he said, ‘I understand how you felt about Felicity—why you refused to give her up. When you’re in love with someone, you just can’t.’” Leo smiled. “It was like my cousin had finally grown up. But it was a damn shame that he had to endure such pain along with it.”
I braced myself. “What happened to her, Leo?”
“The treatments didn’t work. She died six months after arriving in England, and my cousin hasn’t been the same since. He likely never will be.”
I couldn’t stop the tears from falling now. Leo gave me a minute to compose myself.
“How am I supposed to look at Sig today?” I asked.
“I know. I was hesitant to tell you the story, but you asked.”
“Was she his first real girlfriend?”
“She was his wife, actually. He married her a month before she died.”
That cut like a knife. “I’m devastated for him.”
Leo looked out toward the hills. “In a strange way, as devastating as it was for him to lose her, I think she saved his life. He says he’d experience the suffering many times over again, as long as he got to know her. He even used to shave his head to match hers.”
