have sounded foreign, but they didn’t.
Devin’s mouth went dry as he took over the task. It was ridiculous to feel self-conscious. This was a dream, one in which he was her husband. What’s more, they were standing in a square crowded with people, and he was only helping her take off her overcoat. Still, she did feel self-conscious and almost painfully aware of Gregory as she lowered her gaze and watched him fish first one button and then the next through the holes on the placket until he was finished.
When he slipped the coat from her shoulders, it came as a jolt to realize that she was no longer wearing the wool pants and cream turtleneck she’d had on at the shop—or rather the portion of the dream that had occurred at the shop. Instead, she was garbed in a belted, pale blue dress. The skirt was slim and ended just below her knees. On her feet, a pair of low pumps with a rounded toe had replaced the no-nonsense flats she usually favored.
The dress she remembered from the estate sale. She’d found it in the back of the bedroom closet tucked inside a garment bag. Its condition had been like new. The only hint that it had ever been worn was a tag from the cleaners that was clipped to the inside of its collar. The woman present at the sale had told Devin the dress had belonged to the late owner’s wife, as had all of the other women’s garments, accessories and jewelry Devin purchased. A wife who had been named Devin and who, for whatever reason, had left him.
While Devin didn’t recall the shoes, she must have seen them at the sale, as well. Like the other period details, she’d plucked them from her subconscious.
Gregory took the coat and draped it over his arm. His gaze swept down, lingered in appreciation. “You wore the dress.”
She wasn’t sure how to reply, so she said, “It’s so pretty.”
Which was true enough. Something this gorgeous and well made wouldn’t last a day in her shop before a customer snatched it up. Would she sell it? After this dream, that seemed highly doubtful.
“God, you’re beautiful. Even more beautiful than I remembered.”
The remark, said with such vehemence, left her flattered if a bit envious. He had memories of her, where as the only memories Devin had of him were from her dreams. Dreams such as this one. Except…
Suddenly, images of the two of them together, smiling and laughing, drifted into focus in her mind. She’d been wearing this very dress, holding a small bouquet of flowers. He’d been clad in uniform again, a white rosebud pinned to his lapel. Just as she’d known his name earlier, now she was certain this foggy memory—if that was what it could be called—was of their wedding day.
“The courthouse,” she murmured. A judge had performed the simple civil ceremony.
I now pronounce you man and wife…
“Devin? Are you all right?”
She rubbed her temple. “This is crazy.”
“The world does seem to have gone mad,” he agreed on a shaky laugh as he glanced around the square.
“Have we?”
If Gregory found her question strange, he answered it nonetheless. “Maybe. Do you care?”
“Right now? No.”
He smiled. “Neither do I.”
“It’s a dream,” she reminded herself again. A very detailed one from which she was in no hurry to wake.
“The best one I’ve ever had, because you’re here.”
Come back to me.
The words from the letter echoed in her head, joining the ones he spoke now. After her last breakup, she’d given up hope of ever meeting a man such as this. Never had she felt this way—as if she were the center of someone’s universe.
More shouting erupted. Whoops of joy ensued.
“What on earth is going on?” she asked.
“You don’t know?”
“I haven’t a clue,” she replied honestly. “I was at the shop when…all of this started.”
“The war. It’s officially over.”
Devin turned in a circle, taking in the scene. No wonder everything had seemed so familiar. She’d seen it before, or rather witnessed it secondhand via black-and-white photographs that had been published in books and magazines.
V-J Day.
Times Square was the spot where the iconic shot of a sailor kissing a nurse was taken after the victory over Japan was announced. Sure enough, she spied the young man several yards away in the square with the pretty nurse bent backward over his arm.
Devin was reliving history.
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