“Should we . . . I don’t know . . . exchange numbers or something?” I ask, happiness moving through my spine at the thought of being able to text him.
He looks up to the sky for a moment. “Do you believe in fate?”
I follow his gaze and see the stars greeting us one by one, twinkling brighter the longer I focus on them. “I believe there’s a magic to the world if we believe in it. Is that enough for you?”
“Hmm,” he muses. “I have a feeling that you’ll always be enough. But I think tonight was proof that there’s some sort of magic at work. Maybe it’s the only magic I’ll ever need. I’ll never forget this night, Ivy,” Jace says with all sincerity, the weight of the truth between us.
I’m terrified to dim the light surrounding us. “Jace, I really do have to go back to New York after New Year’s.”
He hums. “I figured as much. But there’s something between us. I know you feel it too. I’m confident we can make it work.”
“How are you so sure?”
“Because seeing you for the first time shifted something inside me. I’ve never met a woman, talked with her for hours, and wanted to kiss her like I’ve kissed you tonight.”
My hands reach to grip the front of his coat, needing to be closer to him while I can. He lets out an appreciative sound.
“I think that nothing could ever feel the same again without you.”
His words illuminate me. This moment seems too good to be true but also inevitable. Perhaps if we just keep showing up, our love story will be written for us.
“So what you’re saying is,” I begin, “you’re confident we’ll find our way back to each other tomorrow night?”
He peeks down at me, eyes sparkling and alight with affection.“Yes, I think so. It’s beyond technology or the elements. I think we can trust it.”
The idea is risky but romantic.
“Well, even so . . .” I trail off as I reach into my dance bag, unzipping the secret compartment that’s been sewn inside. I pull out a piece of ribbon that was once on a pair of my first pointe shoes. It’s been my lucky charm, a sentimental nod to dreams and grit and fighting my way through fear to be on the stage. I’m hoping it will do the same for my love story. It’s not much to anyone else, but it means something to me, and I’m counting on it bringing us back together. “For you,” I say as he reaches out for it, not even asking for an explanation. “To remember this night by. And it represents a promise, because it’s my lucky charm, which means you have to give it back to me.”
“Oh, Starlight,” he says, his voice rich with what sounds like hope. “There’s nothing on Earth that could keep me from finding a way back to you.”
My smile could light every Christmas decoration in the whole town.
“Can I walk you back?” he asks me sweetly.
“Not necessary. I’m going to stay at my best friend’s house tonight.”
Since I’d planned to arrive at her house earlier in the evening, I let Grey know that I’d be delayed. She texted no less than five times in the past hour to tell me I’d better not go to sleep before sharing my news. Truthfully, I’m not sure how I’m going to sleep at all tonight after meeting Jace, anyway.
He raises a brow and exhales, giving a resolute nod. “Before you go . . . may I hold you once more?” Jace asks, the confidence in his tone steadying my heart.
The fact that he asks my permission at all settles deep in my bones. Already, Jace seems to understand something fundamental about the way I show affection. At my nod, he pulls me close, his strong arms going around me and making me feel like I’m in the safest space I could ever be. If hugs could heal, this would be the one to do it. And even though we’re going our separate ways for now, I want to remember him just like this: whimsical, deep, funny, hopeful, strong, confident, and vulnerable.
“To tomorrow,” he says quietly, leaning down and kissing my cheek, the warmth of his lips a contrast to the cold all around.
“To tomorrow,” I repeat, my eyes stinging with happiness as we finally say good night.
Chapter Three
Jace
The winter moon illuminates the winding road in front of me. I’m driving home in my Jeep, and despite the snap in the frigid air, I’m tempted to roll the windows down just to keep the crisp air in my lungs. Everything in me wants to turn my car around and find Ivy again, just to set eyes on her one more time. But I know I need to be patient. Admittedly, patience isn’t one of my strengths.
For years, I’ve been waiting to meet a woman who would unlock a feeling in me like the feeling my impromptu date unlocked in me tonight. I know I’ve finally found her. Ivy. From the moment I heard her voice, her name wrapped around my soul, intertwining with my lungs. Seeing her for the first time made me feel like a kid on Christmas morning, finding gifts under the tree that I hadn’t even known to ask for. I didn’t know it was possible to dream someone like her into reality, and yet, she exists.
My drive home takes another ten minutes, the rural parts of New Hampshire pulling me farther from the quaint town of Birch Borough. When I told Ivy I was looking around to see what all the hype was about, that was true. Turns out, the town holds as much charm as I’ve heard. And I’m struck that the only thing disappointing about tonight is the fact that it must end.
When I’m still a few minutes away, I pull up my favorites on my phone, hitting the button for M&M, and smile. I know my sister will be waiting for an update. Of all our siblings, we’re the closest. When we were younger, she’d follow me around, and something in me could never turn her away. I was never too cool for her. If anything, she was undermining her own popularity by hanging out with me. After all, I was the brother who looked like he should be on the football team but who would rather go to the symphony.
