“Goodnight,” he said with a coy smile, his eyes again capturing the glistening glimmer of the moon.
I simply stared up at him for a moment, still dazzled, then shook my head and let out a wistful sigh. “’Night.”
That was it, just two words between two people who had just shared the world’s most incredible night, a night that I knew I would think back on often, for as long as I lived. I also knew that every time it played over in my head and played out in my dreams, I would wonder if any moment of it was real.
I wanted there to be more. I desperately wanted a sequel. I wanted to give him my phone number and ask for his, to grab his arm and scribble all my contact information on him in permanent marker. I wanted to force him to remember me, to somehow force him to come back. Still, I couldn’t force myself to do that. I didn’t want to ruin what we had, whatever it was, so I had to accept that after all that, I would never even know his name.
Little did I know that the night wasn’t finished with us just yet.
A moment later, he was standing in front of me again, holding up a necklace, a single ru
by hanging on a golden chain.
“I can’t leave without giving you this.”
My jaw dropped as I stared at it. “Wow! It’s gorgeous.”
He turned the jewelry over in his fingers for a moment before glancing back to me. His lips twitched up in a fleeting smile. “To remember me...to remember your very first night in London.”
I lifted my hair silently, and he slipped the chain around my neck and fastened the clasp with the lightest sweep of his hands. My entire body ached for more. My skin was electrified and dancing. The fact that I would never see him again was a fate too terrible for words.
“Do you always carry expensive jewelry in your pocket?” I asked.
“It was a gift. For a friend who was graduating, the reason I was at the pub.”
“You should give it to her.”
“I think it was too much. Her boyfriend wouldn’t like it. I’ll get her something else, something less flashy, but this necklace, I want to give it to you.”
“Thank you. It’s beautiful. Far too expensive...”
“Please take it.”
“I could never say no to you,” I whispered.
Which is why you are my first one night stand.
“I’ve got to run,” he said.
“Wait...” I began as he turned back to the street. “We can’t just—”
A sudden kiss cut my words short, relaxing my body and weakening my knees as his hand wrapped firmly around my lower back.
A second later, he was gone. The man of my dreams had vanished, and I knew the only place I would ever see him again would be in those dreams.
Chapter 6
“Welcome to London.”
I blinked at the receptionist and froze, my pen hovering over the registration sheet. Her teeth were bared in a fierce smile, and her bouncy curls had been sprayed the point of being visibly crunchy. Still, her words were the same as his, exactly the same.
Get used to it. You’re going to hear that a million more times before the day is done.
“Thanks,” I said slowly, well aware that my pause was awkward for us both. I hastily scribbled my name before looking back up with a polite smile. “That’s very sweet.”
She beamed at me again, then rose from her seat to take a look at what I’d written. “Della?” Her eyes flickered once to me for confirmation.
I nodded and smiled.