“As if I could ever deny you,” Giles mumbled as he bent over Fred. He pressed his lips against hers and slowly deepened the kiss. He knew if he continued to kiss her, they would end up in bed again so he pulled back. He carefully stroked her face before removing himself from the bed. Giles glanced around for her clothes, thinking she may not want to eat in the nude.
“I suppose you could wear this,” he said, picking up the shirt he’d worn the day before. “Not that I don’t like looking at you like that but I figured you’d want to be clothed while eating.” Giles carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled before going over to the dresser. He brought the tray over and carefully sat in on the bed before sitting on the bed himself.
Giles’ mind went back to the phone conversation he’d just had. He had always been taught to protect those around him but there was something different about Fred. What he had planned was something he’d never done. Even in his Ripper days he had a conscience but he knew he couldn’t allow his conscience to cloud his judgment this time. Siedel would never hurt Fred again.
Picking up a sandwich, he glanced at Fred. “I do believe I’m falling in love with you, Fred,” he said before taking a bite of sandwich.
Fred closed her eyes as they kissed, enjoying being able to do this with someone like Rupert. When they parted, she looked up at him, feeling her cheeks redden a little bit when she realized she was still naked while he was dressed.
"Thank you," she said, taking the shirt from him and slipping it on. As she did, she pressed her nose to the collar. It smelled of him and felt really nice. She then buttoned it up - it was huge on her, but she didn't care.
When he sat down next to her with the tray, she looked at the soup and sandwiches. She was most definitely hungry now, and what he had made looked very good.
"I don't think I've ever had dinner in the bed before," she said with a laugh as she carefully picked up one of the mugs of soup and took a sip. She was about to take another sip when he said he was falling in love with her. Her eyes widened as she looked over at him.
"You...you are?" she asked softly, placing the mug back on the tray before she dropped it. She had known that he had feeling for her - they wouldn't have been here like this otherwise, but she hadn't realized that he was already developing the same feelings she was. "I...I told Wesley when we were visiting his grave earlier...I'm falling in love with you too."
Giles began to wish he could just disappear. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. What he’d said was true but he didn’t want to scare Fred off. He thought perhaps if was too much too soon. Looking up, he listened to her words and felt his body relaxed. “Thank goodness,” he said, picking at his sandwich. “I was afraid I’d have to run away and change my name or something dreadful like that.”
Leaning forward, he kissed her again. His body seemed to wake up and urged him to do more than kissing but he also knew they needed to eat. “Eat,” he said, pulling back and motioning at the food. “We need to keep our strength up for tomorrow when we go to Bath. There’s a lot of activity we could do there.” Giles blushed and shook his head. “That didn’t come out right. Although, the way we’ve been today, we might not even make it to Bath.”
He gave her a cheeky grin and bit into his sandwich, thinking how a weekend in bed with her would be lovely. They could always go to Bath when she moved to England. His flat would always be there. Giles felt a pang in his heart when he thought about her being gone for a couple weeks. “I’m going to miss you terribly when you go home to pack,” he quietly said.
"No...no running away," Fred told him, reaching over for one of the sandwiches and taking a bite. "Unless you take me with you. Not sure where we'd run away to, though. A deserted island, maybe? We'd probably be bored within a month."
She smiled into their kiss and then did as he said, taking another bite of her sandwich before setting it down and picking up the soup. For canned, it tasted really quite good. Not quite like the Campbell's version she was used to, but still good all the same.
She found herself blushing, however, when he mentioned that despite their plans, they might never actually make it down to Bath. She certainly hadn't expected on actually ending up in bed with him so soon after meeting him, but at the same time, she didn't regret it at all. She liked the way he kissed and touched and made love to her. It made her feel good - to be needed and loved that way, especially after everything that had happened. So spending the entire weekend in bed...it definitely had its appeal.
Especially given that she wasn't going to be seeing him for so long while she went back to the States to get her work visa. She knew a couple of weeks really wasn't that long, but she just knew it was going to seem like an eternity.
"I'm going to miss you too," she told him, resting her hand on his. "But I have things I'm going to need if I'm going to be living here, and the immigration officials were pretty adamant that I be heading back when I said I would this time. I'll be back, though. And we'll have so much time to spend together." She smiled and looked down at their hands for a moment. "I can't wait."
The soup was starting to cool down, so she took a larger drink before setting it down on the tray and shifting to face Rupert. "Besides, those two weeks should give me time to read through that handbook you gave me. I have a feeling I'll never get through it otherwise."
“You do know the Council could do all of that for you, Fred. We have connections with immigration and it’d only take a couple of days.” Giles suddenly saw the error of his thinking. Fred would need to pack her things. “You could have your parents pack your boxes for you and send them over!” He furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“That was really selfish of me. I apologize, Fred,” he quietly said. He finished his sandwich off and smiled at her. “I’m quite looking forward to spending more time with you. There’s so many things I want to show you here and I do suppose we can’t get to all of in one weekend.” He thought of Buffy and how she was always asking him to come to Italy. Perhaps when Fred got settled, both of them could go to Rome. It would make for a romantic holiday.
Giles smiled when she mentioned the handbook. “I suppose you should,” he said with a serious look. “I hear your boss is quite nasty to his employees. He sleeps with them too and falls in love with them. Nasty bugger he is.” He gave her a cheeky grin before leaning over to kiss her. She tasted like soup and it made him smile.
His hands roamed over the shirt she was wearing and he pulled back a little. “I quite like you in my clothes. They seem to look better on you,” he said before kissing her again.
Fred knew Rupert just wanted her stay and smiled at him, reaching up to touch his face. "I want to be selfish and stay too, but I really should go back. I disappeared on my parents once - I ought to go back and say a proper goodbye this time. I'm looking forward to everything you want to show me."
She found herself trying to suppress a laugh at his self-depricating comments. "Oh, he sounds absolutely horrible. I bet he cooks too and serves it to his employee in bed too after he sleeps with them. The jerk," she said, her tone teasing, as his hands moved over the shirt. "I'm almost tempted to take this shirt back with me, you know, just so I have something to keep with me until I come back. Although, I could be convinced to part with it..."
After dinner was finished and the tray and dishes returned to the kitchen, the shirt was dispensed with.
***** The rest of the weekend went quickly - too quickly for Fred, and she was sure for Rupert as well. They never did make it down to Bath, instead ending up spending most of the weekend either in bed or enjoying each other's company in other parts of Giles' flat. On Sunday, they returned to the hotel and spent the night together in the suite since Fred had to leave to go back to Texas early Monday morning.
On the way in, she noticed the look the clerk at the front desk shot them as they went by hand-in-hand and wondered briefly what that was all about but then decided not to worry about, especially when they reached the suite.
When Monday morning dawned, the front desk rang to wake them up, causing Fred to groan. She looked over at Rupert, feeling a bit sad. She knew she was only going home for a couple of weeks, but she still hated the fact that they were going to be apart from each other. She cast her eyes over at the suitcase sitting at the foot of the bed. Since she actually hadn't ended up using it much, repacking it the night before hadn't taken long. Basically, all they had to do was get dressed and head out for the airport.
Sighing, she snuggled up to Rupert, wrapping her arms around him. "We have to get ready to head to the airport, but I don't want to go."
Giles had heard the phone but didn’t open his eyes. Perhaps it was just a dream and it wasn’t Monday quite yet. He still didn’t know how he was going to say goodbye to Fred. And when he heard Fred’s voice, he carefully opened his eyes and frowned at her. “I was hoping I was dreaming and you could stay forever,” he quietly said.
He got out of the bed and started to dress. They were already running late. Part of him wanted to go slower and make her miss her flight but he remembered her words about wanting to say goodbye to her parents. Once he was dressed, he looked over at Fred. “I wanted to give you a proper breakfast before we left but seeing we’re late as it is…”
His voice trailed off and he picked up a small bag. Giles opened it and produced the shirt he’d let Fred wear on Friday. “I want you to take it with you,” he said, his voice cracking. “That way I’ll know you’re coming back.” It sounded silly but Giles continued to think of the last time he’d seen Jenny and he wanted to make sure that Fred would actually return to him.
He glanced at the clock and sighed. “We only have ninety minutes to get to the airport,” Giles said, looking at her. He felt his chest tighten and he stepped over to her. “I’m going to miss you very much, Fred. Silly, isn’t it?”
Fred had just slipped on her jeans and short-sleeved top for the flight home when Rupert called for her attention. She was about to tell them that she didn't think she could eat breakfast anyway - which pretty much was a bit a giveaway as to how much she was hating having to leave him - when he brought out the bag and pulled out the shirt. Walking over to him, she rested her hand on the shirt, cupping his through the material.
"Thank you," she said, locking eyes with him before taking the shirt. She considered it for a moment, then slipped it on, leaving it open over her top and smiled at him.
She wrapped her arms around him when he came over to her again, reaching up to smooth his hair back. "It's not silly at all 'cause I'm going to miss you too, but I'll be back as soon as everything is sorted out. First flight I can get, I promise."
Leaning in, she kissed him - a gentle one that quickly deepened, and Fred was about ready to forget the flight home with the phone rang. With a sigh, she pulled reluctantly away and answered it. After a moment, she hung up.
"That was the front desk. The Council driver is here and waiting for us downstairs."
The kiss ended too quickly and soon reality sat back in. Giles wanted to make her stay but he couldn’t be selfish. He also couldn’t speak because he knew if he did, he would start to cry and he didn’t want to do that in front of her. Instead, he nodded and picked up her suitcase. He then took her hand and led her out of the room and to the lift.
Giles didn’t say a word on the ride down and when they stepped into the lobby, he checked Fred out. The driver there and picked up Fred’s suitcase and they followed the driver out and slipped into the car. When it started to move, Giles felt his chest tighten even more. They would be at Heathrow soon and Fred would be gone.
He moved closer to her and pulled her into an embrace. Still afraid of speaking, he buried his face in her soft hair. Tears welled up in his eyes and he took a deep breath. “I love you, Fred,” he quietly whispered, his voice quivering. “And I know I’m acting like a bloody child, but I’m worried you won’t come back and I have this urge to tell the driver to turn the car around. But I can’t because I know you want to say goodbye to your parents and I mustn’t be selfish.”
Fred immediately melted into Giles' embrace, holding on to him. She felt a knot forming in her throat at his words. Had he lost someone before her? Was that he was so worried about her coming back?
Shifting, she looked at him, reaching up and wiping the tears from his eyes while she felt like she was about to cry herself. "I'm going to come back. I promise. I love you, Rupert, so I'm not going to fly off and never be heard from again." She leaned up to kiss him. "I love you."
The car pulled up in front of Heathrow, and the driver immediately got out to get her bags out from the back. Giles and Fred stayed in the car for a moment. "I have to head directly for security as soon as I check in," she said. "Do you want to come in with me while I do that? Or would it be better if..." She trailed off, unable to finish her question.
Hearing Fred’s words only made Giles cry more. He didn’t want her to leave but he knew she had to. When the car stopped, he bit his bottom lip and nodded. She promised to come back and that’s all he could ask for. “I love you so much,” he whispered.
The driver opened the door and Giles glared at him for disturbing the perfect moment. “I can’t. I have a meeting in two hours with someone important and I still need to go home and change. I would skip the meeting but this is the only time I can speak to the person… well, demon since they only come out of hiding two times a year,” he explained. He leaned over and kissed her again as the driver cleared his throat.
“You better go. Call me when you get in, doesn’t matter what time it is. Call me whenever you want to chat. I love you,” he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. The driver told them they should get Fred inside. Giles nodded and asked the driver to have a security guard escort Fred once they were inside.
Then he watched her go to the door. The driver shut the car door and Giles watched out the window. When Fred disappeared inside, Giles felt his heart break. He wanted to get out and find her but the car started to drive away. Instead he buried his face in his hands and cried.
Fred was disappointed that Rupert couldn't come into the airport with her but understood. It was probably for the best anyway since he couldn't go back to the gate with her, and they would have been standing in front of security refusing to let go of each other otherwise. So she nodded and promised she'd call hiim as soon as she got back to Texas.
"I love you too," she said once last time, kissing him before getting out of the car. She headed inside with the security guard the driver had called over, looking over her shoulder until finally, she had to watch where she was going and turned around when they went through the revolving door into the terminal. She let out a deep sigh and prayed the next few weeks did go as fast as they both hoped.
She headed over to the check-in area for Continental, where a woman about her mother's age waved her over and took her ticket and passport to process.
"Heading back home, are we?" she asked after asking Fred a load of security questions about her bags.
Fred nodded before looking over her shoulder.
"Ohhh, leaving someone special behind?"
"Wha--? How did you know?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Oh, dearie, I've seen so many people come through here with faces like yours, unhappy with having to leave behind someone they love. Plus you keep looking over your shoulder. Had to drop you off? Hoping he'll come in to see you one last time before you go?" She finished typing Fred's information into the computer and motioned for her to put her bag on the belt.
"Yeah, sort of. But he had a meeting. We'll see each other in a few weeks; it's just...hard."
"I know it is. But chin up. If you're going to see each other soon, it'll be here before you know it." She took the baggage label that the printer spit out and wrapped it around the handle of Fred's bag before sending it through to the back. She then put the claim stub with the boarding pass and handed it and her passport back over. "Here you go. Does your man love you?"
Fred nodded. "Yes."
"Then everything will be all right in the end. Have a good flight, Miss Burkle."
She smiled. "Thank you."
Taking her carry-on, she headed upstairs to security and was soon heading to the gate for her flight. A half hour later, she was heading home to Texas, but she knew she had left her heart in England.
And she would be back in two weeks to be with him again.
“I suppose you could wear this,” he said, picking up the shirt he’d worn the day before. “Not that I don’t like looking at you like that but I figured you’d want to be clothed while eating.” Giles carefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled before going over to the dresser. He brought the tray over and carefully sat in on the bed before sitting on the bed himself.
Giles’ mind went back to the phone conversation he’d just had. He had always been taught to protect those around him but there was something different about Fred. What he had planned was something he’d never done. Even in his Ripper days he had a conscience but he knew he couldn’t allow his conscience to cloud his judgment this time. Siedel would never hurt Fred again.
Picking up a sandwich, he glanced at Fred. “I do believe I’m falling in love with you, Fred,” he said before taking a bite of sandwich.
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"Thank you," she said, taking the shirt from him and slipping it on. As she did, she pressed her nose to the collar. It smelled of him and felt really nice. She then buttoned it up - it was huge on her, but she didn't care.
When he sat down next to her with the tray, she looked at the soup and sandwiches. She was most definitely hungry now, and what he had made looked very good.
"I don't think I've ever had dinner in the bed before," she said with a laugh as she carefully picked up one of the mugs of soup and took a sip. She was about to take another sip when he said he was falling in love with her. Her eyes widened as she looked over at him.
"You...you are?" she asked softly, placing the mug back on the tray before she dropped it. She had known that he had feeling for her - they wouldn't have been here like this otherwise, but she hadn't realized that he was already developing the same feelings she was. "I...I told Wesley when we were visiting his grave earlier...I'm falling in love with you too."
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Leaning forward, he kissed her again. His body seemed to wake up and urged him to do more than kissing but he also knew they needed to eat. “Eat,” he said, pulling back and motioning at the food. “We need to keep our strength up for tomorrow when we go to Bath. There’s a lot of activity we could do there.” Giles blushed and shook his head. “That didn’t come out right. Although, the way we’ve been today, we might not even make it to Bath.”
He gave her a cheeky grin and bit into his sandwich, thinking how a weekend in bed with her would be lovely. They could always go to Bath when she moved to England. His flat would always be there. Giles felt a pang in his heart when he thought about her being gone for a couple weeks. “I’m going to miss you terribly when you go home to pack,” he quietly said.
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She smiled into their kiss and then did as he said, taking another bite of her sandwich before setting it down and picking up the soup. For canned, it tasted really quite good. Not quite like the Campbell's version she was used to, but still good all the same.
She found herself blushing, however, when he mentioned that despite their plans, they might never actually make it down to Bath. She certainly hadn't expected on actually ending up in bed with him so soon after meeting him, but at the same time, she didn't regret it at all. She liked the way he kissed and touched and made love to her. It made her feel good - to be needed and loved that way, especially after everything that had happened. So spending the entire weekend in bed...it definitely had its appeal.
Especially given that she wasn't going to be seeing him for so long while she went back to the States to get her work visa. She knew a couple of weeks really wasn't that long, but she just knew it was going to seem like an eternity.
"I'm going to miss you too," she told him, resting her hand on his. "But I have things I'm going to need if I'm going to be living here, and the immigration officials were pretty adamant that I be heading back when I said I would this time. I'll be back, though. And we'll have so much time to spend together." She smiled and looked down at their hands for a moment. "I can't wait."
The soup was starting to cool down, so she took a larger drink before setting it down on the tray and shifting to face Rupert. "Besides, those two weeks should give me time to read through that handbook you gave me. I have a feeling I'll never get through it otherwise."
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“That was really selfish of me. I apologize, Fred,” he quietly said. He finished his sandwich off and smiled at her. “I’m quite looking forward to spending more time with you. There’s so many things I want to show you here and I do suppose we can’t get to all of in one weekend.” He thought of Buffy and how she was always asking him to come to Italy. Perhaps when Fred got settled, both of them could go to Rome. It would make for a romantic holiday.
Giles smiled when she mentioned the handbook. “I suppose you should,” he said with a serious look. “I hear your boss is quite nasty to his employees. He sleeps with them too and falls in love with them. Nasty bugger he is.” He gave her a cheeky grin before leaning over to kiss her. She tasted like soup and it made him smile.
His hands roamed over the shirt she was wearing and he pulled back a little. “I quite like you in my clothes. They seem to look better on you,” he said before kissing her again.
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She found herself trying to suppress a laugh at his self-depricating comments. "Oh, he sounds absolutely horrible. I bet he cooks too and serves it to his employee in bed too after he sleeps with them. The jerk," she said, her tone teasing, as his hands moved over the shirt. "I'm almost tempted to take this shirt back with me, you know, just so I have something to keep with me until I come back. Although, I could be convinced to part with it..."
After dinner was finished and the tray and dishes returned to the kitchen, the shirt was dispensed with.
*****
The rest of the weekend went quickly - too quickly for Fred, and she was sure for Rupert as well. They never did make it down to Bath, instead ending up spending most of the weekend either in bed or enjoying each other's company in other parts of Giles' flat. On Sunday, they returned to the hotel and spent the night together in the suite since Fred had to leave to go back to Texas early Monday morning.
On the way in, she noticed the look the clerk at the front desk shot them as they went by hand-in-hand and wondered briefly what that was all about but then decided not to worry about, especially when they reached the suite.
When Monday morning dawned, the front desk rang to wake them up, causing Fred to groan. She looked over at Rupert, feeling a bit sad. She knew she was only going home for a couple of weeks, but she still hated the fact that they were going to be apart from each other. She cast her eyes over at the suitcase sitting at the foot of the bed. Since she actually hadn't ended up using it much, repacking it the night before hadn't taken long. Basically, all they had to do was get dressed and head out for the airport.
Sighing, she snuggled up to Rupert, wrapping her arms around him. "We have to get ready to head to the airport, but I don't want to go."
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He got out of the bed and started to dress. They were already running late. Part of him wanted to go slower and make her miss her flight but he remembered her words about wanting to say goodbye to her parents. Once he was dressed, he looked over at Fred. “I wanted to give you a proper breakfast before we left but seeing we’re late as it is…”
His voice trailed off and he picked up a small bag. Giles opened it and produced the shirt he’d let Fred wear on Friday. “I want you to take it with you,” he said, his voice cracking. “That way I’ll know you’re coming back.” It sounded silly but Giles continued to think of the last time he’d seen Jenny and he wanted to make sure that Fred would actually return to him.
He glanced at the clock and sighed. “We only have ninety minutes to get to the airport,” Giles said, looking at her. He felt his chest tighten and he stepped over to her. “I’m going to miss you very much, Fred. Silly, isn’t it?”
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"Thank you," she said, locking eyes with him before taking the shirt. She considered it for a moment, then slipped it on, leaving it open over her top and smiled at him.
She wrapped her arms around him when he came over to her again, reaching up to smooth his hair back. "It's not silly at all 'cause I'm going to miss you too, but I'll be back as soon as everything is sorted out. First flight I can get, I promise."
Leaning in, she kissed him - a gentle one that quickly deepened, and Fred was about ready to forget the flight home with the phone rang. With a sigh, she pulled reluctantly away and answered it. After a moment, she hung up.
"That was the front desk. The Council driver is here and waiting for us downstairs."
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Giles didn’t say a word on the ride down and when they stepped into the lobby, he checked Fred out. The driver there and picked up Fred’s suitcase and they followed the driver out and slipped into the car. When it started to move, Giles felt his chest tighten even more. They would be at Heathrow soon and Fred would be gone.
He moved closer to her and pulled her into an embrace. Still afraid of speaking, he buried his face in her soft hair. Tears welled up in his eyes and he took a deep breath. “I love you, Fred,” he quietly whispered, his voice quivering. “And I know I’m acting like a bloody child, but I’m worried you won’t come back and I have this urge to tell the driver to turn the car around. But I can’t because I know you want to say goodbye to your parents and I mustn’t be selfish.”
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Shifting, she looked at him, reaching up and wiping the tears from his eyes while she felt like she was about to cry herself. "I'm going to come back. I promise. I love you, Rupert, so I'm not going to fly off and never be heard from again." She leaned up to kiss him. "I love you."
The car pulled up in front of Heathrow, and the driver immediately got out to get her bags out from the back. Giles and Fred stayed in the car for a moment. "I have to head directly for security as soon as I check in," she said. "Do you want to come in with me while I do that? Or would it be better if..." She trailed off, unable to finish her question.
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The driver opened the door and Giles glared at him for disturbing the perfect moment. “I can’t. I have a meeting in two hours with someone important and I still need to go home and change. I would skip the meeting but this is the only time I can speak to the person… well, demon since they only come out of hiding two times a year,” he explained. He leaned over and kissed her again as the driver cleared his throat.
“You better go. Call me when you get in, doesn’t matter what time it is. Call me whenever you want to chat. I love you,” he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. The driver told them they should get Fred inside. Giles nodded and asked the driver to have a security guard escort Fred once they were inside.
Then he watched her go to the door. The driver shut the car door and Giles watched out the window. When Fred disappeared inside, Giles felt his heart break. He wanted to get out and find her but the car started to drive away. Instead he buried his face in his hands and cried.
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"I love you too," she said once last time, kissing him before getting out of the car. She headed inside with the security guard the driver had called over, looking over her shoulder until finally, she had to watch where she was going and turned around when they went through the revolving door into the terminal. She let out a deep sigh and prayed the next few weeks did go as fast as they both hoped.
She headed over to the check-in area for Continental, where a woman about her mother's age waved her over and took her ticket and passport to process.
"Heading back home, are we?" she asked after asking Fred a load of security questions about her bags.
Fred nodded before looking over her shoulder.
"Ohhh, leaving someone special behind?"
"Wha--? How did you know?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
"Oh, dearie, I've seen so many people come through here with faces like yours, unhappy with having to leave behind someone they love. Plus you keep looking over your shoulder. Had to drop you off? Hoping he'll come in to see you one last time before you go?" She finished typing Fred's information into the computer and motioned for her to put her bag on the belt.
"Yeah, sort of. But he had a meeting. We'll see each other in a few weeks; it's just...hard."
"I know it is. But chin up. If you're going to see each other soon, it'll be here before you know it." She took the baggage label that the printer spit out and wrapped it around the handle of Fred's bag before sending it through to the back. She then put the claim stub with the boarding pass and handed it and her passport back over. "Here you go. Does your man love you?"
Fred nodded. "Yes."
"Then everything will be all right in the end. Have a good flight, Miss Burkle."
She smiled. "Thank you."
Taking her carry-on, she headed upstairs to security and was soon heading to the gate for her flight. A half hour later, she was heading home to Texas, but she knew she had left her heart in England.
And she would be back in two weeks to be with him again.
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