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“We were just babysitting,” Penelope said by way of explanation.
I frowned at the same time she motioned to a giant piece of equipment. It sat on a stand off the ground, to the right of the fountain, the black cylindrical base pointed toward the sky.
“You brought your telescope?”
Barry smiled, but instead of answering, he tugged me closer as Penelope and Topher took their leave. “Come on. I want to show you something.”
He led me to a small clearing behind the scope, obscured by roses, and I gasped. A quilt covered the soft earth, along with dozens of throw pillows and more than a dozen candles, their orange flames flickering in the balmy evening air. “You did all of this for me?”
“Of course.”
He tugged me down onto the soft cotton blanket beside him, and I angled myself so I could look into his eyes. “But . . . why?” After our kiss, I had an inkling he might have feelings for me, based on the chemistry we shared and the heat of his touch. But I had no idea he felt likethis.
Barry tucked a lock of hair behind my ears as he held my gaze and murmured, “Because you’re worth the effort, Ella.”
Flush with emotion, I swallowed, blinking away the tears threatening to rise and glanced up at the sky. “It’s beautiful out here.”
“A perfect night for stargazing,” he agreed. “Clear and dark. Not a cloud in the sky.”
“Can you show me Cancer?”
He pointed his finger skyward. “You need to look between the two brightest stars of Gemini, Castor and Pollux”—he motioned between two faint stars—“and Regulus, which is the brightest star in Leo. It’s there you’ll find the crab. See?” His fingers traced the zodiac symbol while I squinted at the constellation.
“It doesn’t really look like a crab.”
His responding laugh made my stomach do jumping jacks into my chest.
“It’s sort of a giant cluster of stars, I suppose. That right there”—he pointed to a particular cluster—“is called the Beehive. We’re lucky, actually, because Cancer is too hard to see most of the year with the naked eye. Early April at this time of night is perfect.”
“And what about yours?”
He turned to look down at me. “Pisces?”
I nodded.
“Well, it’s not the best time of year to see it, but with the telescope. . .” He sat up and fiddled with the dials of the scope as he guided the eyepiece, searching for a moment. “Here.” He motioned me forward, and I ducked my head to look at what he found. “Right next to the Great Square of Pegasus in the northern hemisphere sky. The heads of the fish are either to the west or southeast of the square. Do you see it?”
“Amazing,” I breathed.
“Check this out.” He peered inside the telescope once more and adjusted it, then motioned for me to look again.
A giant burst of white light filled the lens, like a handful of the most beautiful diamonds clustered in the sky. “What is it?”
“The Triangulum galaxy. See how it’s right next to the head of the western fish? It's a spiral galaxy that’s actually part of the ies that includes the Milky Way.”
“Wow.”
I pulled away once more and stared at him in awe. Barry was enamored with the stars, but after this, I might be enamored with him. I felt like I could look at him for hours and never stop discovering the intricacies, all the tiny details I never noticed before. Like how one side of his mouth creased more than the other when he smiled. Or the way the muscle in his jaw pulsed when I gazed at him like this.
“You know so much,” I murmured, too enraptured with him to say more. If Barry was a witch, then I was definitely under his spell.
“I’ve spent a lot of time studying the sky.”
“Because of your dad . . .” I said, because I wanted to know everything about him.
He nodded. “This one’s his, actually.” He motioned toward the telescope, and I reached out to touch it, imagining a young Barry searching the stars for a sign his father would come home, and my heart ached.
Reaching out, he took my hand in his. Our eyes locked, and suddenly, it hit me like Cupid with an arrow to the heart. The makeover, his tux, the dancing, the telescope, and the stars—all of it. He was sweeping me off my feet. Giving me everything I wanted, all that I had asked for—my Prince Charming. This was his grand gesture.
