My brows lift. “Who?”
“The constellations.” He pauses. “Orion only comes out in the winter; Scorpius can only be seen in the summer. They never appear at the same time, because they’re constantly in different hemispheres. Two opposites, forever chasing each other across the cosmos.”
My tears drip faster against the skin of his chest.
His mouth drops to my ear, rasping deeply.
“Don’t worry, Felicity. For you, I’d move the stars.”
* * *
Despite my determinationnot to fall asleep and waste even a minute of our time together, at some point I must drift off because I wake to Ryder’s lips on mine, kissing me awake. My eyes slide open to look at him and I feel the smile fall off my lips.
“You’re dressed,” I whisper, scanning him up and down. He’s fully clothed, sitting beside me on the bed stroking his fingers through my hair. His bruises are worse in the light of day, but at least some of the swelling has gone down.
“I have to go.”
“Already?”
“My plane leaves in less than two hours,” he says, voice aching with regret. “If I don’t go now, I’ll miss it. If I don’t go now…”
He’ll never go.
“I can’t believe I fell asleep!” I bolt upright, scrambling for my clothes. I yank my sleep shirt over my head and try to locate a pair of jeans. “Give me two minutes to get dressed. I’ll come with you to the airport, we can say goodbye at security—”
“Felicity.” His hands lock on my shoulders, stilling me. “Stop, sweetheart.”
I try to be brave, but it’s useless. I can feel the tears gathering in my eyes even before they lift to meet his. “You don’t want me to come?”
“If you do, I’ll never get on the damn plane.”
“But—”
He doesn’t wait for me to get the words out. His mouth comes down on mine and he lets the kiss speak for him. His lips say all the things we never got the chance to, all the things we might’ve shared if we’d only had better timing or better circumstances. I taste goodbye on his tongue, bittersweet. I try to memorize his smell — smoke and spice. The way his beard feels when it scrapes my skin. How his eyes look in the faint morning light, mismatched and mesmerizing. I lose hold of my composure as he pulls back. When the tears begin to roll out, he cups my cheeks and kisses them away.
“I wish…” he murmurs, eyes scanning my face.
…I could stay.
…You would come.
…We had more time.
“I know. Me too.” I brush my mouth against his one last time. “Now, go. Get out of here, before you miss your plane.”
He takes a step away from me, hesitating a beat before his hands fall to his sides. I try to pull myself together as we walk to the door. I don’t want the last image he has of me to be a sad one — red-faced and tear-stained. The smile on my lips is wobbly, but it’s there.
I open the door and we step out onto the landing. The pale morning sunshine streams down all around us. I crane my neck up so our eyes meet.
“You’re going to kick some serious ass out there in LA, Ryder Woods.”
“Thanks, Felicity—” His brows pull together. “You know, I don’t even know your last name.”
Acting on autopilot, I start to give him the fake one I’ve been using, but I can’t bring myself to lie to him.
“It’s Wilde,” I tell him, offering my hand like we’re two strangers meeting for the first time.
“Felicity Wilde?” His palm engulfs mine as a smirk plays at his lips. “Are you serious?”