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.
Chapter Four
Reliving it?
No. She was dreaming about it.
Devin chided herself for thinking, even momentarily, that the scene was real. If her being here was real, then everything was real. And that included Gregory Prescott. As much as she might wish to find herself married to a man such as this one, to her profound regret, she knew that was impossible. It was 1945 in her dream, but when she woke up, it would be 2014, and the only things that would remain tangible would be the period clothing that seemed to have started all of this nonsense.
Regardless, that left her with a bit of a dilemma: Now what was she supposed to do? Since her dream had never reached this point, Devin wasn’t sure what would happen next.
“Are you ready to go?”
“No!” She didn’t want to leave him.
Of course, that wasn’t what Gregory meant. His brows tugged together. “You want to stay…here…in Times Square?”
Devin had no desire to remain among the jostling crowd, so she shook her head and asked, “Where do you want to go?”
Her heart skipped a couple of beats when Gregory replied, “Home.”
It was the word she used in reference to her tiny apartment, although it had never felt quite as fitting a description as it did when he said it now. The word evoked memories not of her childhood abode, nor even of a physical place, but of a sense of belonging that she craved, although she had no idea how deeply until just then.
His intense gaze told her exactly what he had in mind once they reached their destination. Desire. Hunger. Need. The kind of possession that gave as much as it took. And why not? He was a sailor recently returned from sea, a husband returning to his wife after a long absence. Meanwhile, she was a woman who hadn’t had sex in a year. Even then, it had been unexceptional to the point of being disappointing.
It always was.
Never had Devin experienced the fireworks that her friends talked about, which had caused her to wonder if maybe something was wrong with her. One look at Gregory, however, and such concerns evaporated. If the way he kissed was any indication, she figured she was in store for a fireworks display worthy of the Fourth of July.
But as eager as she was to be alone with him, she had worried over her younger sister’s welfare for so long that it was second nature to do so now.
“I should call the shop and let Emily know…” Devin began before she remembered there was no need to touch base with her sibling in a dream.
“Emily?” he asked.
“She’s my…my sister.”
“I didn’t realize…” He rubbed a hand along his jaw. “That is to say, she and I never had the chance to meet. It was such a rushed affair.”
“Our…our wedding?”
“Our
