Tally wandered around in a daze, eventually finding herself at the beach. She shucked off her shoes and dangled them between her index and middle fingers as she paddled in the water’s edge, ignoring the biting cold of the Mediterranean Sea. Her knees trembled, and she stepped out of the water and sank to the ground. Her dad had been forty-four when he’d lost his battle. Kinga was thirty-one. It was so unfair, so wrong on multiple levels.

And so terribly sad that it took a tragedy to bring people back together.

She glanced at her watch and realised a couple of hours had passed since she’d left Cash with Kinga. After slowly getting to her feet, she set off towards the hotel. When she opened the door to their suite, Cash wasn’t there, but her mobile phone showed that he had tried to call her twenty minutes earlier. The voicemail message asked her to head back to Kinga’s room.

Tally knocked quietly on Kinga’s door. Cash opened it, his face bruised with exhaustion and sadness, and when she held out her arms, he fell into them.

“Where’s Kinga?” she said when they broke apart.

Cash jerked his head in the direction of the bedroom. “Asleep.”

“What are we going to do, Cash? This is awful. Just awful.”

“Whatever I imagined she wanted, I never expected this.”

“Where’s William?”

“On his way. Apparently, she insisted on speaking to us alone. He’ll be here in the next couple of hours.”

Tally pressed her palms to her face. “Poor Kinga.”

“They’re getting married. That’s why she came to see me. She’s desperate for us both to be there.”

A tear slid down Tally’s face. “Marriage without a future. Oh, Cash, what can we do? What do you do in a situation like this?”

Cash folded an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. “You love them, I guess,” he said simply. “Do whatever it is they need. This can’t be easy for you either. Must bring back memories of your dad.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to push aside terrible visions of her dad towards the end, a keen and alert mind atop a ravaged body that insisted on keeping him alive long past when it should have given up. She remembered the intense pain of those final days, when even heavy doses of morphine didn’t give him any respite.

“Yeah, it does bring back memories,” she said. “Look, Cash, this is going to get rough. If you don’t have it in you to commit to what’s necessary, you owe it to her to tell her now before she begins to rely on you.”

He shook his head. “I’m going nowhere.”

Tally kissed his cheek and leaned against his shoulder. “Neither am I.”

“Let’s leave her to sleep.”

He was quiet on the walk back to their room, and Tally didn’t feel much like talking either. Her back was killing her, and as soon as she shrugged off her jacket and tossed her bag, she dug her fingers into the tight muscles and stretched.

“Why didn’t you tell me your back was hurting?”

“Because we’d be talking about nothing else. It’s always sore. I blame you.”

Cash chuckled. “You do that, sweetness. Stay there. I’ll run you a bath.”

As Cash headed off to the bathroom, Tally stared out of the window. She clasped a hand over her mouth, gulping down breaths of fear for what Kinga was about to face. Cancer—a fight she would ultimately lose, no matter how much money was thrown at her or how much love was bestowed.

Only one good thing had come out of that day. Cash had finally learned his lesson—one he should have learned long before now, especially with his history. Life was far too short to hold stupid grudges about things that ultimately didn’t matter. Yes, Kinga had tried to break them up, but that had happened a lifetime ago.

Tally didn’t hear Cash come up behind her, and she jumped when he wrapped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder and spread his palms wide across her stomach. “You okay, babe?”

“Not really,” she said, turning in his arms.

His hand cupped the back of her neck, and he brushed his lips over hers. “Your bath’s ready.”

She knitted their fingers together. “I’m so scared, Cash. I need you.”

Cash nodded in understanding. “I need you too, baby. Now more than ever.”

* * *

William shook Cash’s hand, and the two men briefly clapped each other on the back. They’d never been close, but tragedy often brought people together.

“Thanks for changing your plans. I know it’s important to get your career back on track.” William turned to Tally and hugged her warmly.

Cash shook his head. “There’s nothing more important I need to do right now other than be here for her. For you.”

“And I believe we have a wedding to plan,” Tally said, desperately trying to sound bright in the most awful of circumstances.

William grinned. “Yes, and quick, before she changes her mind.”

“As if.” Kinga appeared from the bedroom. She was dressed for dinner yet looked so very tired, dark circles framing eyes that brightened considerably as they met William’s loving gaze.

He strode quickly across the suite, his arms gentle as he held her close. He kissed her temple and tucked a lock of hair, which had escaped her chignon, behind her ear. “How’d you sleep, angel?”

The heavy emotion in his voice brought tears to Tally’s eyes. She stole a look at Cash. The despair on his face mirrored her own feelings.

“Good,” she said. “I’m ready to eat if you three are.”

“We can order in if you’re too tired,” Tally said.

“Nonsense,” Kinga said. “Anyway, Cash is paying, so I’m going to order the most expensive thing on the menu.”

Cash laughed. “Big Mac and large fries it is, then.”

“Cheapskate.” Kinga dug him in the ribs, and he faux groaned.

He slung his arm around her shoulders. “As if I could take a snob like you to McDonalds.”

Tally hung back, watching Cash tease Kinga. Her heart ached for him, for Kinga, for them all. She dashed her tears away with the back of her hand before Kinga could see how upset she was. Kinga needed her to be strong, not some weak emotional wreck.

“I know it’s hard.” William brushed a comforting hand down her arm.

“How long has she got?”

He shrugged. “A few months at best. She’s refused treatment. Says she doesn’t want to spend her last few months with her head down the toilet, and the thought of losing her hair when there’s no real hope… well, you know Kinga and her crowning glory.”

“Yeah.”

“Do me a favour, Tally.”

“Anything.”

“Help me give her the best wedding day possible.”