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“Well, you’d have to meet her first, wouldn’t you?”
“Felicity said the same thing. I haven’t thought it through. I definitely wouldn’t want her staying with me in London. That would be awkward.” I rubbed my temples. “I don’t need the added stress of this. Work’s been busy.”
A couple of years back, I earned my MBA and took over the management of several of Leo’s properties.Yes, continuing to ride those coattails.My cousin couldn’t handle all of his businesses himself and needed someone trustworthy to count on, but I refused to accept handouts, and I didn’t take the job until I’d finished my schooling and gotten the experience I’d need for the position. Since then, I’d taken over several more of the responsibilities at Covington Properties. Not to toot my own horn, but profits had skyrocketed since I’d come on board. Leo certainly couldn’t complain about that.
Lavinia frowned. “There’s more to life than work, you know.”
“I’ve been slowly getting my life back over the past five years. Work has been a major part of that.”
“Taking strange women to your apartment in London and then kicking them out is hardly getting your life back,” she cracked.
“I’ll have you know, I kindly ask them to leave, not kick them out.”
“Same thing.”
“Anyway, I don’talwayskick them out.” I tossed back half of my gin before slamming the glass down. “There was that one rhinoceros…”
“What?”
“Never mind.” I chuckled.
“What’s the real issue here, Sigmund? Why are you so troubled by this, if Britney’s parents offered to take care of the child?”
I had to ponder that. “The real issue is Britney.” I looked into my glass. “I wonder if it’s what shetrulywould’ve wanted, despite what she told her mother in her final days. She might not have been of sound mind when she was on multiple medications.” I swallowed. “I can’t ask her, and that kills me.”
Lavinia touched my arm. “Do you think you’ll ever be able to let her go?”
“I’m not trying to let her go.” I shook my head. “I don’twantto let her go.”
“That was probably the wrong terminology,” she corrected. “I meant, do you think you’ll ever be able to letsomeone elsein?”
“That’s not something I want, either.”
“I suppose you can’t mend a broken heart.” Lavinia sighed. “Maybe there’s only meant to be one—one great love.”
I stared into the distance. “It’s hard to imagine that I hadn’t even known her a year. It felt like a lot longer.”
“I didn’t realize that.” She tilted her head. “Remind me how you two met?”
My eyes widened. “How is it possible that you don’t know? I thought I told you everything.”
“You might’ve, dear, but I’m going a bit senile, so tell me again.”
I took a deep breath to gear up for the emotion of the story. I’d keep it short so as not to go off the rails tonight. “Britney was traveling to the UK for medical treatments. But I didn’t know that at first—she certainly didn’t look sick. She and I met at an airport in the US. I was heading back home from a trip to the States. We bickered about something, and I think I fell in love with her smart mouth almost instantly. I teased her about being short, and she called me an obnoxious giraffe. We had immediate chemistry like I’d never felt in my life. We ended up sitting next to each other on the plane, but she insisted that we needed to separate once we landed. I couldn’t accept that, never seeing her again. She wasn’t ever able to get rid of me, much to her dismay.”
“What happened after the flight?”
“I followed her to her hotel room—where her parents were waiting. That’s when I found out the truth. Phil and Kate were already in town to accompany her to her treatments. They were in the UK because that’s where the doctor conducting the clinical trial was located.”
“And you stayed…”
“Spent every single day of the next six months with her—lots of hard days, but lots of beautiful ones in between. Fell in love, got married…” I paused, feeling an ache in my chest. “And then she died.” I downed the last of the gin, which burned the back of my throat. “Six months. That’s all we had.” I sucked in a shaky breath. “Changed my life forever.”
Lavinia reached for my arm. “It’s so tragic, but so beautiful, Sigmund.”
“Those months were the greatest gift of my life. I don’t need to fall in love again, Lavinia.”
“Perhaps you don’t. But youdoneed to have this child. A piece of you and her.Thatwill be your greatest gift.”
