Page 25 of What Happened Last Night

“Okay then. Now that I’ve answered your question, I have something for you.” I reached for my messenger bag.

“You do?”

Fuck, why was I so nervous about this? I was suddenly sure I’d done the wrong thing. She’d hate it or be baffled by it. Worse, we’d miscommunicate, and then it would get awkward. But there was no turning back now.

I withdrew the square of cloth folded in white tissue paper and placed it on the desk. I’d agonized over that, too—wrapping paper or no? Fancy gift bag? Card? I’d settled on the tissue paper the store had wrapped it in, though I had no idea whether that was right, either. I’d been sleepless over this shit.

Luna looked at the tissue paper sitting in front of her. “What’s this?”

“A gift. I saw it while I was traveling, and I thought—Well, just open it.”

Luna paused, and then she made a gentle tear in the paper and laid it open. “Oh, my gosh,” she said as she ran her fingers over the blue-gray cashmere fabric. “Oh, my lord.” She expertly flipped the label. “This is vintage.” When I nodded, she unfolded the fabric, standing up to let it unroll.

“It’s a shawl,” I explained, unable to hold words in any longer. “It goes over the shoulders, and you can see there’s a clasp on the front.”

She held the shawl out in front of her. “Will.” Her voice was hushed. “This is beautiful.”

“Put it on and let’s see,” I said.

She paused, her chest rising and falling with breath. She seemed on the precipice of saying something or doing something, but I couldn’t tell what. Then she swallowed, slid her hands under the shawl, and arranged it on her shoulders.

It looked just as good on her as I’d known it would. Perfect. It fell over her shoulders and over her arms, the color that of a stormy sea. It made her eyes look luminous. The style was classic and unusual. The clasp shone silver in the light.

I swallowed. “You look like a mysterious lady from a medieval story. Like you might cast a spell.”

She dropped her gaze to the shawl and ran a reverent finger along it. “Will.”

When she said my name like that, a shiver ran up my spine. Yes, she was definitely casting a spell.

“I can’t accept this,” she said, though she made no move to take off the shawl.

The thought of her giving it back to me made my gut clench. “You’ve already accepted it.” I tried to sound firm yet casual, like this was no big deal. Like I didn’t want to tell her how beautiful she looked, how badly I wanted to get closer to her, to put my hands over hers.

“It’s too much.”

“It isn’t. Honestly. I bought it at a consignment store for less than a hundred dollars. I just saw it and thought—I thought you’d like it. That’s all. I know it’s too warm out to wear it yet, but fall is coming soon.”

Luna swallowed, her gaze still lowered under her dark lashes. “You were right,” she said in that soft voice. “I do like it.”

I watched her take the shawl off and refold it, reverently rewrapping the tissue paper. No other words could make it past my throat. I appreciate you. I’m sorry you had to deal with my ex-girlfriend. I think you’re beautiful and amazing. No, no, and no. Instead, when she sat down again, I asked, “How was your weekend?”

“Not bad.” She shrugged, recovered from whatever mood had overtaken her when she saw the shawl. “I visited my family in Bend on Saturday. Yesterday I went to an estate sale.”

I clasped my hands behind my neck, trying to let go of the last of the tension I’d been carrying. “An estate sale?”

She nodded. “It’s a hobby of mine. My excuse is that I go to look for good deals on clothes and jewelry, but in truth, I don’t buy very much. The truth is that I can spend hours looking at random things that belonged to strangers.”

I thought this over. “Strangers who are now dead,” I specified.

“Correct,” Luna said. “Useless things, expensive things, ugly things, I love it all. I don’t even want to own it, just look at it. My cousin Katie—who’s my best friend—used to come with me, but eventually I bored her so completely that she refuses to go.”

“Looking at strange people’s junk?” I said. “I’d do that. Next time you want someone to go with you, call me.”

We both paused, our gazes locked, and something arced through the air between us. I could taste it. I held my breath.

I’d missed her while I was away. A lot.

I wanted to kiss her.

---