“A week ago,” she answered. “He called me from this really chichi new designer’s studio and asked me for your size. Looks like I got it right,” she said, appraising the dress with obvious envy. She touched the scar on my arm and disappeared into her room, coming back with a cobweb-thin shrug. “That hides it,” she said, nodding with approval. “Holy cow, this thing is gorgeous.” She ran her fingers down the silk as we gazed at my reflection in the mirror.

“Wow, with you looking like that, I can’t believe you’re the same girl who was doing a perfectly convincing Uma Thurman–Kill Bill imitation not even two weeks ago,” she said. I hugged her as we left the room.

Vincent was waiting for me in the entranceway. The fire in his eyes when he saw me revealed exactly how I looked to him.

“Oh, darling, aren’t you stunning!” exclaimed Mamie, beaming as she handed me a long black hooded coat. “You’ll need this to keep warm. It’s always been too big for me but should fit you perfectly,” she murmured.

“You’re beautiful, just like your mom was,” whispered Papy emotionally, kissing my cheeks and telling us to have a good time. Georgia waved us off, and closing the door, we walked down the staircase.

Once we stepped outside into the nippy air, I was happy for Mamie’s coat, which was so well insulated that I was able to leave it open, showing off the dress. Halfway down the block, Vincent stopped, turned toward me, and whispered, “Kate, I feel so”—he paused, seeming lost for words—“so honored to be with you. So lucky. Thank you.”

“What?” I replied incredulously. He leaned in to kiss me, and I lifted my mouth to meet his.

As our lips met, my body molded itself to his. I felt his heartbeat next to my own, and a luscious heat rose inside me as I responded to his kiss. Vincent held my face gently as his lips pressed more insistently against my own. The warmth inside me transformed into a flow of lava.

Finally breaking our connection, he gathered me into his arms. “More. Later,” he promised. “When we’re not standing in the middle of a city street.” He looked at me as if I were his own personal miracle and, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, pulled me tight as we walked toward the river.

Once there, we headed down the long flight of stairs to the quay. I laughed when I spotted a familiar figure standing a few yards away. “What are you doing here, Ambrose, in the middle of my birthday date?”

“Just part of the plan, Katie-Lou. Just part of the plan,” he said as he bent down to kiss my cheeks. “Let’s see you, now.” He stepped back and gave a low whistle as I let the coat fall halfway down my arms to show off the dress.

“Vin, you are one lucky man,” he said, giving Vincent a playful but painful-looking punch on the shoulder. Vincent rubbed the spot, laughing, and said, “Thanks. Just what I need, bodily injury while I’m trying to impress my girlfriend.”

“Oh, you’re going to be impressed.” Ambrose smiled. “You’d better be!” He motioned to the water with one hand. “Look at what I’ve been babysitting for you for the last hour and a half.”

A small rowboat, painted bright red, rocked gently in the waves of the river.

“What is this?” I gasped.

Vincent just smiled and said, “Normally I would say, ‘Ladies first,’ but in this case . . .” He climbed down the steep stone steps in the side of the quay and leaped nimbly into the boat. Ambrose helped me down halfway, and then Vincent grasped my hand and I stepped carefully into the rocking craft.

Ambrose gave us a salute before walking away. “Text me when you need me, man,” he called behind him, as he made his way up the steps to street level.

Vincent unlatched the oars and rowed west, toward the glimmering lights of the Musée d’Orsay. “Take a blanket,” he said, gesturing to a pile of throws and furry coverlets spread across the bottom of the boat. He had thought of everything.

“How—how did you get this boat? Is this even legal?” I stammered.

Vincent nodded. “As legal as any of Jean-Baptiste’s dealings. But to answer your question, yes, the boat is registered with the city of Paris. We won’t be getting pulled over by any river cops.” He laughed under his breath and then said, “So when do you want your presents?”

“Are you kidding, Vincent? I don’t need any more presents. This is the most incredible present anyone’s ever given me. A boat ride on the Seine? In an amazing silk ball gown? I’ve got to be dreaming!” I watched the lights shimmering in the Tuileries Gardens as we made our way past a monumental Greek-columned edifice looming over the left bank. Enormous statues of gods and goddesses flanked the building. I felt like tonight, with Vincent by my side, I belonged right up there in their midst.

“Open your presents,” he urged with a sexy smile. “They’re under the blankets.” He took his heavy coat off and continued rowing. I fished under the covers and retrieved two packages wrapped in silver paper.

“Open the big one first,” Vincent replied smoothly. He wasn’t even winded by the rowing.

Gingerly I opened it and saw, nestled within layers of tissue, a tiny handbag made of an Asian-patterned silk matching my own dress, attached on each side to a long, waist-length chain. The clasp was made of two metal flowers enameled in red and silver, matching those on the fabric. “Oh my God, Vincent, it’s gorgeous,” I breathed, running my fingers over it.

“Open it,” he said. The sparkle in his eye told me he was enjoying this as much as I was. Maybe more.

I carefully pushed the two flowers apart to pop the bag open and pulled out a small pile of tickets. Holding them up to the light cast by the streetlamps at the river’s edge, I saw the Opéra Garnier’s logo.

I looked at Vincent questioningly, and he said, “You told me you liked dance. They’re season tickets to the Opéra Garnier, where all the ballets and contemporary dance events are held. I reserved a private box that’s ours for the season. That’s what the dress is for, but since the first ballet is still a couple of weeks away, I didn’t want you to have to wait to wear it.”

I didn’t know what to say. My eyes filled with tears.

Vincent stopped rowing. “What, Kate? Are you upset? You said you wanted to go on some normal human dates, so I thought this was a good idea.”

Finally finding my tongue, I said, “There’s nothing normal about season tickets and a private box at the Opéra Garnier. Or ordering a custom-made dress for me to wear to it. No, Vincent,” I shook my head. “‘Normal’ would not be the word.”

His features softened as he realized that I wasn’t upset—just overwhelmed. “So what would the word be? Abnormal?”

“Exceptional. Extraordinary. The polar opposite of normal.”

“Well, darling Kate, as I once explained to you, I am asking you to trade a normal life for something extraordinary. So I want to make it up to you in an extraordinary way.”

“You’re doing a good job,” I breathed.

“You’ve got another one left,” he said, nodding at the remaining box.

I opened the paper and drew out a hinged jewelry box—the size that would fit a bracelet or necklace. I glanced up at him, alarmed. “Vincent, it’s way too early for something like this,” I said uncomfortably.

“I would hope I know you a bit by now,” he said, obviously enjoying my discomfort. “You think I’d scare you off by giving you jewelry so soon? Trust me, it’s not what you think.”

I opened the box slowly. Inside was a card. In tiny, ancient-looking script was written: For Kate Beaumont Mercier, fencing lessons given by my own person, Gaspard Louis-Marie Tabard. Number of lessons specified by V. Delacroix: as many as you can handle.

“Oh, Vincent!” I cried, lunging forward to hug him, almost capsizing the boat in the process. “This is perfect.” I sat back down and shook my head at him in amazement, as he laughed and righted the boat. “You’re perfect,” I sighed, and he gave me one of his dreamy smiles that just about knocked me over the edge of the boat into the water.

“That gift is more a thank-you for saving me from floating around as a disembodied ghost for the rest of eternity,” he explained.

“But you’re the one who did all the work,” I protested.

“We couldn’t have done it together if you hadn’t had such a strong will. Now you’ll have the skills to go with it. I’m hoping you won’t ever have to use them in a real-life situation, but since you’ve agreed to share at least a little part of my life”—he flashed me a cautious smile—“I would feel better if you were equipped to handle anything that might come your way.”

The tears I had been holding back began to course down my cheeks. “Kate! You’re not supposed to cry,” he said, locking the oars into their rings. He slipped forward off his bench to sit on the floor of the boat in front of me.

We floated under the Alexandre III Bridge, the most beautiful bridge in Paris, with stone garlands draped across its arch and bronze-and-glass lamps gleaming across the top. But I could barely see its opulent beauty as it engulfed and then released us from its shelter on the other side. Because the boy sitting in front of me was all I could focus on. I closed my eyes for fear of being swept away by my emotions.

He wanted to be with me. Enough to change his life for me. Enough to launch upon an unknown, uncharted future. For me.

I love him. I had been keeping those three words stuffed deep inside me, for my own protection. But I was done with self-preservation and my heart was open. I had feared that love would make me vulnerable. Instead I felt empowered.

“Kate, are you okay?” He brushed the tears off my face.

Carefully pulling the dress up to my knees, I eased myself down to sit in front of him. He took my ankles in his hands and wrapped my legs around his h*ps until I was sitting snugly between his legs, our faces inches away from each other.

As he took me in his arms, I lay my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I let the knowledge that I loved him mount until it suffused me with a heat that set the entire surface of my skin aflame.

Our boat bobbed around a corner of the quay, and I opened my eyes to see the Eiffel Tower, just downriver from us, decked in a million tiny lights and sparkling like a Christmas tree. Its reflection on the surface of the water glimmered like a universe of tiny crystals. “Oh, Vincent, look!” I exclaimed.

He smiled and nodded, not needing to turn since he saw the reflection in my eyes. “Your last present,” he said. “That’s what we came to see. Happy birthday, Kate. Mon ange.” And in a whisper so light I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined it, he breathed, “My love.”

Though I was sitting in a boat on the Seine, floating in the middle of a million points of light, holding the first boy I had ever loved, I couldn’t help but think about our chances.

Luck, normalcy, fate . . . none of those seemed to be on our side. Our very being together went against all the odds. All I knew was that something good had begun. A flame had been lit. And the whole universe was watching to see if it would be blown out.

All I could do was hold my breath. And wait.