“Not year-round.But, yes, there can be ice on the mountaintop and hot sun at the beach on the same day.”
“It sounds amazing,” she whispered.
He handed her a pair of dancing slippers to add to the trunk.“Itisamazing.You’ll love it.”
Except she wouldn’t.This trunk would never leave her bedchamber.
His heart sank.
He couldn’t stay, and she wouldn’t leave.They weren’t a perfect match at all.They couldn’t even make a devil’s bargain.She wouldn’t try to force him to give up his love of travel, and he would never tear her from the comfort of her home.
Their chance for a future together was as make-believe as the “holiday” they were packing for.
No matter how much he wished it were real.
Chapter 13
Gloria locked her freshly-packed trunk and hung up the key.
Making-believe with Christopher had simultaneously been a great diversion and bittersweet torture.She wished she could pack with him for every trip.That someday… one could even be real.
But the mere thought sent butterflies of panic beating inside her chest.
She yanked the blanket from atop her bed.Gloria could no longer stand to be in the same room as her unused trunk.“Come with me.”
He followed close behind as she led him into the observatory.“What are we doing?”
“Having a picnic.”She handed him the blanket and relocated the telescopes to a safe corner of the room.
Her heart sped.Their futures might be destined in opposite directions, but their paths had not yet diverged.For as long as he remained, she intended to follow their attraction wherever it might lead.She couldn’t keep him forever, but she would hold him close every moment they still had.
Starting with tonight.
When she bent to lift the wooden platform in the center, Christopher tossed the blanket aside and rushed to take the dais from her.“Where does this go?”
She motioned.“Lean it against the far wall.”
As he did so, she dragged a carpet to the center of the room below the skyward window and centered the soft blanket on top.
She gave him a lopsided smile.“I didn’t think far enough ahead to pack bread and cheese in a handkerchief…”
“Serviette,” he murmured with a little cough.“I found it very romantic.”
So had Gloria.She rummaged in a hidden corner.“But I do have this.”
She pulled out a large bottle of brandy and placed it in the middle of the blanket.
“All liquor, no food,” he said with a straight face.“I like how you picnic.”
She plopped down onto the blanket and motioned for him to join her.“This is the pudding’s brandy.There’s barely more than a swallow left for each of us, but I hope we can make do.”
“We’ll find a way,” he assured her, and settled beside her on the blanket.
She uncorked the bottle and inhaled the brandy’s sharp, sweet scent.“Shall we toast?”
“To anything you wish.”The corners of his mouth curved in amusement.“This is your picnic.”
“In that case…” She lifted the bottle up high as though it were an offering to the heavens.“To the stars!”
