Page 51 of Forever a Thief

“What happened, chérie?”

“I was working at a restaurant back in Ohio, trying to learn the ins and outs of the business, when the owner started flirting with me. I naively believed he was genuinely interested and fell for his bullshit. He blinded me with his charm, so you can understand why I was wary of you at first.”

“I don’t rely on my charm to seduce women,” he murmurs. “More so on my unabashed wit and dazzling personality.”

My lips twitch. “Anyway… We began sleeping together and, after a few months of falling deeper and deeper into what I thought was a solid relationship with a nice future ahead of us… I found out he was married.” The last word slips past my lips on a whisper. I still feel so awful about it. Betrayed and misled of course, but also horrible for what it meant for his wife. But there’s zero judgment on Rhys’s face. Just concern over my dismay. “I had no idea. He didn’t wear a ring, never mentioned her, and he asked me out! I stupidly assumed he was single.”

“None of the other employees warned you about him?”

I shake my head. “No one knew about us. Since he was the boss, we had to keep it quiet. With hindsight, it all seems so sordid. I was so stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, Savvy. You just fell for the wrong person. It happens, and there’s no sense berating yourself over it.” He lightly caresses my shoulder. “How did you find out the bastard was married?”

“One night, a gorgeous woman showed up at the restaurant. Chad sat with her and they ate dinner together. I asked one of the servers who she was, and she said his wife. I truly had no idea, and I still feel sick about it.”

“Asshole,” he hisses.

“When I confronted him later, he accused me of using him and blamed me for everything. I was so shocked by how cold he became. Then he told me to stay away from him and his wife, and he fired me.”

Rhys utters a violent curse in French, tightening his hold on me. “I’m so sorry he did that to you. But he’s the one who was married, not you. You can’t shoulder all the blame when you had no idea.”

“I know. I just…” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Marriage is a sacred vow. I hate thinking I’m some kind of homewrecker.”

“A vow you never took,” he firmly reminds me. “Even if she divorced him—which she should—you wouldn’t be to blame. That rests squarely on his shoulders.”

I can see his logic. And it was never my intention to hurt anyone or to destroy their relationship.

“Let it go,” he whispers against my hair.

I really want to, and, letting Rhys’s strength surround me, I do exactly that. I release the guilt, extricate myself from the regret suffocating me. And after four long years, a weight immediately and miraculously lifts off my shoulders.

“Thank you for understanding,” I say, voice low. “And for helping me to understand.”

“You’re welcome, chérie.”

For a moment, neither of us says anything. We just hold each other, a comforting energy flowing between us. Then he starts speaking. I have no idea what he’s saying because it’s in French, but the words flow freely. Flowery, elegant and so very lovely. Somehow, I know he’s telling me his story.

I’ve never heard him speak his native language other than a curse here or there. Or when he calls me some pretty term of endearment. Even though he must be saying hard words, sharing difficult things, I get lost in the fluid prose. There’s a lulling quality to his speech, and I discover I love listening to him speak French. It’s almost poetic.

After a couple of minutes, he stops and I glance up. “See, that wasn’t so hard was it?” I ask, and he laughs, his chest rumbling against me.

Tracing his fingers up and down my arm, he turns his face into my hair and places a kiss there. Then he settles back. “I grew up in a small village in the South of France. My dad left and my mom raised me. We didn’t have much and she always worked so hard. I spent my days planning elaborate ways to make enough money so I could buy her all the things she deserved. But that never happened. She collapsed from a heart attack while cleaning at the inn where she worked. I was only twelve.”

“I’m so sorry, Rhys. Losing your parents…” My voice catches. “It’s so hard.”

His fingers lace through mine, and he lays our hands on his chest. “I’m sorry for your loss, too, Savvy. I wish I could say it gets easier.”

“But it doesn’t.”

“No, not really.” He squeezes my hand. “Since I never knew my father, my mom was my everything. My entire world. Then one day she was just…gone, and I became an orphan.”

My heart breaks for the little boy who lost his world at only twelve.

“Earlier that same day, I had snuck off to the museum to see a renowned sapphire.”

Propping myself up better so I can see his expression, I make a guess. “The Heart of Azure?”

“The one and only. I was mesmerized by the way it sparkled under the lights. Sapphires were my mom’s birthstone, and I remember thinking how pretty she’d look in the necklace. And how one day I was going to make enough money that she could quit her thankless job, and I’d spoil her rotten. Just like she deserved.