The gardens outside the ballroom were filled with thousands of twinkling white lights. Standing on the wide veranda, I looked out over the grounds and decided it resembled a fairyland.

There was just enough chill in the air that I was glad of the light wrap my mother had insisted I wear. The breeze made my curls stir and tickle the back of my neck. I shivered.

Michael put his arm around me.

“Chilly?” he inquired, drawing me closer.

I shook my head. “Maybe just a bit. But it’s lovely.” I smiled up at him. “All of it—just perfect.”

“It wouldn’t be if you weren’t here.” He tipped my chin up again with the tip of his finger and brushed my lips softly with his.

“Where else would I be?” I teased, snuggling closer so that the buttons of his sports coat bit into the bare skin of my shoulder. “Homecoming is the biggest event of the fall, right?”

He shrugged. “It’s only a big deal for me because you’re here. I’m so glad I could show you everything. Feels like I’ve been waiting years to share it all with you.”

“I’ve had so much fun.” It was the truth; being here, away from King and Marica, made it so much easier to be with Michael. I could pretend that my other life was nothing more than a dream; this was reality.

Abruptly I felt a change in the air, and I began picking up an odd kind of... static. I frowned and shook my head slightly, trying to clear my inner ear.

“Michael? Oh, I thought that was you!” The young woman who approached us was an absolutely breathtaking vision. Her blonde hair was nearly white, piled atop her head in a calculated mess. The deep blue gown she wore set off her eyes, which were almost indigo. The smile that stretched her perfect lips didn’t quite reach those eyes, even though she never glanced away from Michael.

“Hey, Cathryn,” he greeted her. “How’re you doing?” He turned me neatly, keeping his arm firmly about my shoulders. “This is Tasmyn Vaughn.”

“Of course it is.” Cathryn extended her hand. “How nice to meet you. I think Michael might have mentioned you once or twice.” She slanted a quick look sideways at him and then laughed. “I’m only teasing. He talks about you all the time.”

“Cathryn—sorry, Cathryn Whitmore--is the TA for my advanced botany class,” Michael explained as I shook her hand. “She’s a senior here.”

“Where do you go to school, Tasmyn?” Cathryn asked. Only the hint of a challenge in her voice revealed that she already knew the answer.

“I’m still in high school, back in King,” I answered with as much dignity as I could muster. “I’m a senior.”

“Oh, yes, that’s right.” I couldn’t decide which unnerved me more: her smooth beauty or the fact that I couldn’t hear her at all—only that odd crackling noise. I tried to focus a little more, as Marica had been teaching me, but the white noise only grew louder.

Cathryn tilted her head, and I registered a slight flare of surprise in those amazing eyes. Her gaze slid off to the side for a moment, as though she were listening to something. A chill ran down my neck. I was certain that I had worn that expression myself more than once as I had tuned into the thoughts around me.

Michael was looking from Cathryn to me, a small frown playing around his eyes.

“It was good to see you, Cathryn. Tas is a little chilly, so we’re going to head back in and grab something to eat. See you later.” He deftly steered me around her, and we were nearly to the glass doors before I realized that she had neither replied nor moved.

“What was that all about?” Michael demanded once we were back at our small round table.

“What do you mean?” I wanted to know what he had picked up before I said anything.

“She looked at you like—I don’t know, there was just a really odd moment back there. It was almost like you two were talking—but not out loud.”

I sighed heavily. “Not me. I couldn’t even hear anything from her. What’s her story?”

Michael shrugged. “I told you pretty much all I know about her. She’s a senior, botany major, comes from somewhere up north, I think. We’ve talked a few times waiting for class to start. Nothing big. You really couldn’t hear her?”

“No. It always makes me a little uneasy when I don’t get anything from someone.”

“Is it like a black hole? Just a void?” he asked, teasing me a little.

“Sometimes, but not with her. It was like some kind of interference. Really weird.” I shook my head.

Michael took my hand and brought it to his lips. “Forget about it. You never have to see her again. By the time you get up here next year, she’ll have graduated and gone.”

I smiled into his eyes, sinking into the depth of his love. I could feel his longing, and it echoed my own.

With a quick mischievous wink my only warning, Michael scooped me out of the chair and into his lap. “I don’t want to let you out of my arms for even a minute,” he murmured against my lips before kissing me senseless. All thoughts of the mysterious Cathryn were gone, and I was wholly consumed in him.

When we came up for air, I let my head loll against his shoulder, reveling in the intimacy of body and mind. I could hear his every thought, every small sweet murmuring.

“Is this what it’ll be like when I’m up here with you?” I whispered.

He chuckled and tightened his hold on me. “Of course. All the time.”

I laughed, too. “I’ll flunk out then. Hard to do homework or go to class when I don’t want to be even an inch away from you.”

Michael lowered his head and rested his forehead against mine. His smile faded as his eyes bored into me.

“I love you, Tasmyn. Being away from you—it’s like missing a part of my body. I’m only whole when we’re together.”

As always, he robbed me of breath. My heart pounded, and I couldn’t tear my gaze from his.

Instead I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled his lips back to mine.