Timebound(88)

He raised an appreciative eyebrow and smiled as he took me by the shoulders, then turned me around to begin pulling the laces together. He didn’t cinch it as tightly as Katherine had, but I thought it was tight enough that the dress would fit. When he was done with the laces, he lifted my hair and pushed it over one shoulder, pressing his lips against the nape of my neck and adding several more very gentle kisses down my back until he reached the lace edge of the camisole. His breath was warm against my skin and I locked my knees to keep from melting into a gooey puddle on the floor.

“Promise me,” Trey said, very softly, as he turned me around to face him, “that one day, I will have the pleasure of unlacing this contraption. I can see why you’re not too happy with it, but there is something to be said for opening a gift very slowly.”

I smiled up at him with a hopeful look. “You could just unlace it now?”

“No can do, pretty girl,” he said, shaking his head. He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me onto his lap. “You have a job to finish. First, you’re going to stay away from tall, dark strangers at the fair, especially ones who time travel.” I blushed a bit at the veiled reference to Kiernan, but nodded. “I’d also prefer that you stay away from the guy who ran that World’s Fair Hotel.”

“No worries there,” I said. “I’m going to have enough on my hands trying to prevent one murder, without taking on a serial killer. If I have to stay overnight, I’ll follow Katherine’s lead and catch a cab to the Palmer House.”

“Okay—next, you’re going to save Katherine and come right back here. And finally, you’re going to find me. That shouldn’t be too hard, even if I’m not at Briar Hill.”

I held back the tears that were burning my eyes. “It won’t matter, Trey. You won’t know me.”

“Correct,” he said, and then flashed me a big grin.

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because I know somethin’ you don’ know.”

“And what is that?” My lips twitched, both at the Princess Bride reference and at the fact that I’d walked straight into his joke. “I already know you’re not left-handed.”

“It comes to this,” he continued, the smile fading but never quite leaving his eyes. “I’ve been thinking pretty hard about the weeks since we met and I’m almost certain that I fell in love with you the moment you opened your eyes, right there on the floor in trig class. So does it really matter? You do what you have to do in 1893—I’m not even going to think about the possibility of you failing, because you won’t fail—and then you find me.”

“And exactly what am I supposed to say when I find you, Trey Coleman?”

He laughed. “Don’t say anything. Or say, ‘Wrong class,’ like you did the first time. It won’t make a bit of difference what you say. Smile at me, flip me onto my back with one of your wicked ninja moves, and then kiss me—even if I forget every single thing about you, I’m a guy, Kate. Believe me, I’m not going to push you away.”

“Maybe not… but you’ll think I’m crazy.”

He shrugged and kissed my nose. “Thought you were crazy that first day, too, but I’m still here, right?”

I couldn’t argue with that, and even if I’d had a viable argument, I couldn’t bear the thought of taking the little glimmer of hope from his eyes.

The spare CHRONOS medallion was shining, bright and blue, on the nightstand. I tucked it into the lined, hidden pocket near the bottom of my petticoat, and then Trey helped me into the dark green dress and the annoying boots. We even managed to get my hair into an orderly, if not ornate, chignon and I arranged the bonnet on top.

It looked a bit ridiculous to me.

Trey, of course, said that I looked perfect—although something in his eyes told me he was still envisioning me in the white corset and petticoats that he knew were underneath. He fastened the bracelet that Katherine had given me around my wrist. The charm matched the dress perfectly—the ivory lace and green silk echoing the hues of the pearls and jade that formed the hourglass.

Connor was sitting in the kitchen when we came downstairs. He had been looking more and more uneasy about the entire jump as the day progressed. Judging from his expression when we walked in, I suspected that he had a full list of last-minute concerns to tick off. He glanced at the outfit and nodded once, however, which seemed to mean that I passed inspection, and then he turned toward Trey.

“Do you mind if Kate and I talk… privately? For just a moment? I hate to ask, but…”