Page 26 of One Weekend in London

“I’m so sorry,” she whispers, wrapping a warm hand around my wrist. “I may not have met her, but I know without a doubt your mama sure was special. Beautiful and kind-hearted. Patient and caring too. She had to be all those things plus more to raise someone as amazing as I’m discovering you to be.”

Bloody hell.

Her words hit me right in the chest, an undisputable bullseye, nearly knocking me off my feet. I try to speak, but my tongue’s frozen, stuck to the roof of my mouth.

“Whenever you’re ready, I’d like it very much if you told me all about her.”

Throat tightening, I dip my chin.

“Now before I get all worked up and start crying, messing up my mascara, and making me resemble a not-so-cute trash panda…” She laughs and releases my wrist, then splays her hand on my chest. “You said you’d move heaven and earth to give me whatever my heart desires; therefore, I’ve got a question.”

Quirking a brow, she playfully looks me up and down before continuing, the heaviness of the last few seconds no more. “What if I wait until the day’s over and night falls, bringing with it a blanket of twinkling stars, then ask for the moon?”

I don’t speak as I remove her hand from my chest, then spin her around and walk her to the front of the capsule just in time for it to start rising. Wrapping my arms around her from behind, I nuzzle her shoulder as she gasps, taking in the city’s growing view.

“Easy answer. I’d find a way to lasso it and drag it down to Earth, where I’d hang it ’round your pretty little neck.”

She leans back into me, her body softening against mine. “Rhys…”

“I’m right here.” I tighten my hold and place a kiss on her cheek, where my lips linger, taking in and memorizing the taste of her sweetness. “And if you’ll allow it, I always will be.”

Silence fills the capsule.

Minutes pass before Sadie finally speaks.

“My mamaw always dreamed of seeing London, you know.” I don’t miss the wistful expression that crosses her gorgeous face, reflecting in the capsule’s glass, the perfect mirror. “When I was little, we used to pore over travel books and magazines together, planning all the things we’d do.”

I hug her tighter, needing her to know I have her. That she’s safe—mentally and physically—when in my arms. “Tell me about her.”

She nods and wipes a tear away.

“Like Papaw, she was my rock.” Speaking quietly, her voice shakes with reverence. “As a kid, I was wild, never able to sit still or stop talking, much less follow directions. But she never minded. She’d even let my mini-tornado self help in the kitchen before supper, despite me making a mess every last time.”

She smiles at the memory, her eyes distant, as if she’s reliving those precious moments. “On warm summer nights, we’d sit out on the porch swing, sipping sweet tea and watching the fireflies dance in the yard. I’d listen long after the sun had set as she told me stories about growing up in Tennessee. About the adventures she’d had and the dreams she still hoped to f-fulfil.”

Her voice catches; my hold stays steady.

“She always believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. One day, when I came home from school crying because some mean girl had made fun of me for whatever reason, she’d pulled me into her arms and whispered, ‘You’re a diamond, Sadie Lou. Don’t you ever let anyone make you feel like less than the treasure you are.’”

Her mamaw was correct.

Everything I’ve uncovered and seen first-hand proves Sadie is nothing less than utter brilliant perfection. An angel amongst sinners, my God-given star amid the lonely night.

I can’t let her slip away.

With her scheduled to fly back to the States come Monday morning, I only have what remains of the weekend to convince her of what my soul knew the moment we met. I’m her destiny and she’s mine. Two bloody days. That’s all I have to turn a single weekend into a lifetime.

But I won’t fail; I can’t.

Not when she’s my entire future.

My gut twists seeing her pretty eyes shimmer with tears in the reflection of the glass. “Sweetheart, you don’t have to—”

“When she passed, a part of me died with her,” she continues, as if not hearing me, her words driving an invisible knife straight through my ribs. “I felt so lost, so alone. And then, when I found out about Maxwell and V-Vanessa...”

For a second time, her voice breaks, catching in her throat as I silently vow to make them pay for every ounce of pain they’ve caused her, if she so wishes.

One bloody way or another.

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