Clair

, I made a promise on a star. Some kids made wishes; I made myself promises. I didn’t believe in the power of wishes, but had all the faith I could muster in my own self-determination.

“You’re breathtaking.” His voice has a low rasp to it that makes me shiver.

“You like the dress?” I ask.

“What dress?” he says, and I can’t help it—I grin. And then I laugh, even as a tear escapes.

“Shut up.”

“That’s not hard. You’ve got me speechless.”

“I would marry you in anything you wore,” he says. The words drop from his lips like a vow, and they cause something to shift inside of a deep, locked and heavily guarded vault of my heart.