Mine Tomorrow (8 page)

“Then I have to go with
The Wizard of Oz
, because it should have won the Oscar for Best Picture. In any other year, it would have.”

“Perhaps,” she allowed.

The waitress arrived carrying a tray laden with their orders. The smell was heavenly and Devin’s stomach rumbled, reminding her how hungry she was.

“Where were we?” Gregory asked once they were alone again.

“It was your turn.”

“Right. Favorite food?”

Devin liked Thai food and anything else she could order and have delivered, but she decided to go with, “Chocolate.”

“That’s not food.”

Grinning, she replied, “Why not? Dark chocolate is purported to have all sorts of health benefits.”

“Says who?”

She couldn’t very well mention the medical study she’d read about online just the week before. “I say.”

“And what health benefits might these be?” he asked, cutting off a bite of his hot turkey sandwich.

“I could blow your mind with talk of antioxidants and flavonols—”

He stopped and glanced up. “Anti-what and flav-who?”

She chuckled. “Never mind. I’m just saying that anything that tastes that good has to be good for you, right? I’d eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I thought I could get away with it.”

His gaze skimmed down. “I think you could get away with it.”

Deciding to keep the moment light, she asked, “Are you flirting with me, Mr. Prescott?”

“I call ’em like I see ’em, Mrs. Prescott.”

Mrs. Prescott.
Was it only the way he said it that caused a tingle to shoot up her spine? She shook off the thought.

“Wh-what’s your favorite food?”

“Anything hot and homemade,” he replied.

“That’s unfortunate, since we both know I’m not the best cook.”

He was back to teasing. “And here I thought you were perfect.”

“Far from it, I’m afraid.”

“Not from where I’m sitting.”

Although he smiled, his tone was serious. Her heart knocked out a few extra beats and Devin found herself wishing she could freeze the moment and stay with him forever.

Chapter Ten

“Tell me about your family,” Devin said.

They had polished off the hot turkey sandwiches and were now working on their pie.

“What is it you want to know?” Gregory asked.

“Anything…everything. It’s a first date, remember? Assume I know nothing.”

“There’s not a lot to tell. I’m an only child. My father was a lawyer who spent more time building his career than paying attention to his wife and child, so my mother packed a suitcase when I was six and we went to live with her parents. He died of a massive heart attack a month later.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He accepted her sympathy with a nod before going on. “My mother was devastated. When she moved out, she’d wanted to get his attention, make him see reason. Instead…”

“That must have been a very difficult time.”

“I don’t remember much about it except that she was sad for a long time. Then one day she woke up and told me life was too short to live in the past. She said she was taking a trip, and that I was going to stay with my grandparents. She claimed she wouldn’t be away long.”

“She never came back,” Devin murmured.

It was impossible not to draw parallels between his mother’s abandonment and, later, his wife’s.

“She wrote occasionally and called on my birthdays, but no, she didn’t come back. When I was fifteen, my grandparents got a telegram from her. She was ill, dying. We traveled to California. That’s where she’d been living. But we arrived too late.”

“I’m so sorry.” She covered his hand with hers.

His father had broken his mother’s heart, and then his mother had done the very same thing to Gregory.

“It was a long time ago.”

But he missed her.

“What about your grandparents?”

“They died within six months of each other when I was in college.”

“Any other family?”

He shook his head. “They were all I had.”

The last thing she wanted was to make him sad, so she told him, “We can talk about something else, if you’d like.”

“All right. Let’s talk about you. The same rules apply.” He smiled then. “Tell me everything.”

“What if you’ve already heard it?”

“Doesn’t matter,” he said with a shake of his head. “I want to hear it again. You can’t bore me, Devin.”

His words had her smiling. “Let’s see. Well, as you know, I have a younger sister.”

“Emily. Yes. You mentioned her earlier when we were in Times Square.” If he found it odd that she hadn’t mentioned her before, he didn’t say so. Rather, he noted, “It sounds as if the two of you are very close.”

“We are. Our parents died when she was barely a teenager. I was in college at the time, so I became her legal guardian.”

His brows quirked up. “You raised her.”

She shrugged. “I guess so, although Em was pretty self-sufficient by that point. It’s not like I had to change diapers or anything.”

“Still, that couldn’t have been easy. You had to step into the role of parent.”

“I’m just grateful we got to stay together. I don’t know what I would have done if she’d been sent to live with strangers,” Devin admitted. That had been her worst fear at the time. “We had no other immediate family willing to step into the void and take on a teenager.”

“And you still finished your education.”

It was more statement than question, but she answered anyway.

“I graduated with a business degree. Em’s in college now.”

“Two smart women. I’d say your parents would be very proud of you both.”

“I think so, too.” She smiled.

“I can’t wait to meet her.”

Devin managed to keep her smile from faltering as a thought occurred to her. If this wasn’t a dream, if somehow she really had been transported back in time to 1945, what would happen to Emily in present-day New York?

Her sister needed her. They were all each other had. She couldn’t leave her, desert her. Could Devin ever be truly happy here without her sister?

Chapter Eleven

After they returned to the apartment, they made love once more. As evening fell, they took their time, exploring each other’s body with as much reverence as passion. Devin was determined to remember everything about Gregory. Just in case.

“Going out for food was a good idea,” he murmured from next to her on the mattress.

Cuddled up against his side with one of her legs tossed possessively over his hard-muscled thighs, she merely grunted in agreement, too tired to speak coherently.

What a day it had been. She was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. But when her eyes closed, she forced them back open. She couldn’t fall asleep. If she did she…she might never…she might never see him again.

But no matter how hard she tried, her eyelids kept drifting shut. They were simply too heavy to heed her command. In the final moment before sleep claimed her, she heard Gregory whisper, “I love you.”

* * *

Devin shot awake, jackknifing to a sitting position on the mattress. The room was pitch black and as such too dark to make out the décor. Was she in her efficiency? Had she woken up to the present day with nothing more than memories of a phenomenal dream to share with her sister?

She was alone. That much she knew for certain after running her hand over the spot next to her where Gregory had been laying. The bed was empty, the sheet cool to her touch. Tears pricked her eyes. A dream, it had
all
been a dream. The man, their marriage, their sweet, sweet lovemaking.

On a sob, she fell back against her pillow and covered her face with her hands. More sobs followed, but Devin didn’t try to muffle them. Instead, she allowed them to seep out from her broken heart and echo in the room.

Vaguely, she was aware of the sound of running feet. From a neighbor’s apartment probably. God, she hoped no one would call the police on her. The last thing she needed was for New York’s finest to show up at her door, asking if everything was all right.

Nothing was, nor would it ever be again.

“Gregory!” Even though she knew it was futile, she hollered his name.

She sucked in a breath when she heard him shout back, “Devin!”

At first, she thought it was wishful thinking, her mind playing tricks on her. But then she felt the mattress sag under his weight, and a pair of strong hands gripped her shoulders.

“Devin! My God! What is it? What’s wrong?”

She opened her eyes, blinked as he switched on the lamp.

“I’m still here,” she whispered as she glanced around in amazement.

She wasn’t in her tiny apartment. She was in the one she shared with Gregory. Her husband. In 1945.

“Of course you’re still here. Where else would you be?” he asked.

The time had come, she knew, to explain everything.

“I have something to tell you,” she began slowly.

“Let me get you a glass of water first.”

He was gone less than a minute, hardly enough time for her to plan out what she was going to say. When she’d finally fallen asleep the evening before, she really had believed that would be the end of it. A dream was, after all, the only plausible explanation. Now, it was time for the implausible. She could only imagine how he was going to react.

He returned with the water, which she drank gratefully. Her mouth was dry, her throat hoarse from screaming his name.

“Better?” he asked. Reaching over, he stroked the hair back from her face.

She nodded. His obvious concern made her throat ache more. After he’d heard what she was about to say, would his concern shift from her physical to her mental well-being?

“What I have to tell you, well, it’s not going to seem possible,” she began.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you may think I’m crazy.” She forced a laugh.

Meanwhile, he frowned. “Does…does it have anything to do with the watch?”

Devin glanced to where it was on the bureau. The word “timepiece” took on a new meaning.

“In a way, I suppose it does. It was in the pocket of the overcoat. I’m not sure how it got there. I don’t remember the watch from the sale. But when I tried on the coat at the shop, I put my hands in the pockets and my right hand brushed against it. I pulled it out to see what it was and…and…here I am.”

He was still frowning. “In our apartment, you mean?”

Devin swallowed. “In 1945.”

He touched her forehead with the back of his hand, no doubt checking for a fever. Great. It was just as she’d feared. He thought she was delusional.

“I don’t blame you for thinking I’m crazy. I spent the past day convinced that this was all a dream. That was the only explanation that made any sense to me.”

“A dream?” His eyes narrowed.

“Yes. I’ve had them since college. Dreams of you, although I didn’t know your name until today, well, yesterday. I would see you in a crowd and even though I would try my damnedest to reach you, I never could get to you before I woke up. But this time…this time I did reach you, only it’s not a dream.…
You’re
not a dream.” She touched his face. His skin was warm and prickled with stubble along the line of his jaw. With no small amount of wonder she added, “You’re real, Gregory.”

He put his hand over hers and squeezed it gently before drawing it away from his face. The patience in his voice when he spoke broke Devin’s heart.

“I think I should call a doctor. The past several hours have been, well, very stressful. And the heat hasn’t helped. You fainted earlier.”

“I know it sounds too incredible to be true, but you have to believe me. Please say you believe me.”

“Devin—“

She interrupted him and rushed ahead, desperate to make him accept the seemingly impossible. “I don’t understand how it happened myself. I have some memories of our life together, and more and more of them are starting to come back. I remember how we met and our first date. I remember our wedding day, and how you carried me over the threshold afterward. I remember seeing you off at the train station. After that, I don’t recall much.”

She rubbed her temple in frustration.

“You had amnesia?” He looked almost hopeful, probably because that would explain her erratic behavior, both now and while he was overseas.

She almost wished she could tell him that was the issue. No doubt it would be more palatable than the truth. But she had to be honest.

“No. I don’t have amnesia, but I think I was…I know I was…” She swallowed. “Reincarnated.”

His eyes widened and he spoke slowly. “As in you lived in another lifetime.”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I lived in another lifetime. I lived here. With you.” When he just continued staring at her, Devin rushed ahead. “There were signs all along, even before the dreams. I mean, I’ve always loved the 1940s. So much so that I opened a vintage clothing store that sells garments mainly from that…this era. I thought it was just the clothes and maybe the decorum of the times that drew me. But it was you. You drew me, Gregory.”

Skepticism. His expression was rife with it as well as concern, frustration, sadness. All because he thought she’d lost her mind. Desperate to convince him, she pressed on.

“My business is in the same building as Sal’s repair shop. I was drawn to the place when I was looking for a location.”

“Devin, honey, there was no other shop there.”

“Now, yes. I know. I’m not hallucinating,” she hastened to assure him. But even she knew how crazy she sounded when she added, “In my time, it’s Yesterday’s Closet. The shop I own.”

“You own a business.”

“Yes, and Emily works there with me.”

“Your sister, whom I’ve never met. I…I didn’t see her there today.”

“Of course, you didn’t. It’s Sal’s Timepiece Repair here and Emily is, well, she’s in 2014.”

From the way he was eyeing her, Devin could tell she wasn’t clearing up anything.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” she whispered, utterly disheartened. “I promise I’m not crazy.”

He kissed her cheek. “Of course, you’re not crazy. You’re just…confused.”

“That’s just a polite way of calling me crazy,” she told him on a laugh that was also part sob. Her eyes began to sting with tears. “What can I say to convince you?”