Thea was buzzing with excitement when the city of Paris came into view, thousands of feet below.
Their plane was already beginning its descent.
She could hardly wait, but the feeling was tangled up with something closer to fear.
Her unease only grew after they landed.
Dashiell noticed it immediately.
He had no idea what was troubling his wife, and he wanted badly to ask, but he already knew he wouldn’t get a straight answer.
To calm her, he took her hand.
She turned to him and offered a faint smile.
“Why are you so on edge? Don’t tell me you’re afraid of heights, Saphira?” It was a foolish question, and he knew it.
Saphira had traveled abroad more times than he could count, so being afraid of flying made no sense.
“I… I really am afraid of heights!” The answer caught him off guard, and it only confirmed, once again, that the woman beside him was not the real Saphira.
“Oh.” That single word carried far more weight than she realized.
Still, he held himself back from pressing further.
If she caught even a hint of his suspicion, she might bolt.
“Don’t…
don’t get the wrong idea,” she said, realizing how careless her answer had sounded, “I’m just a little nervous because I haven’t traveled overseas in a while,” she lied.
She shouldn’t have answered that way.
Saphira would never claim to be afraid of heights.
She could only hope Dashiell hadn’t caught on because of her clumsy response.
“I understand. But you don’t need to worry, Saphira. I’m right here, and I’ll be with you the whole time, so there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“I know,” Thea smiled sweetly again, quietly relieved that he didn’t seem to suspect a thing.
Dashiell wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smoothed her hair with a gentle hand.
She looked up at him, sensing how much softer he’d become lately.
She knew that was a good thing for their relationship.
No, she caught herself.
Not their relationship.
His relationship with Saphira.
Thea smiled bitterly.
That was a risk she had to accept.
She never should have let herself sink so deep into the role she was playing, and she certainly never should have fallen for her best friend’s husband.
***
None of this had been part of the plan.
She knew exactly how it would end, and how much it would hurt.
She should have pulled back before things went any further.
But would Saphira really come back soon?
She needed to talk to Saphira about this.
The moment the plane’s wheels touched the runway, her heart twisted with uncertainty.
Still, she couldn’t hide what she was feeling.
She felt, more than ever, that she didn’t belong here.
“Give that to me.” Dashiell took her bag and laced his fingers through hers.
“Watch your step, don’t trip.” He said it because Thea had seemed distracted and low on energy the whole flight.
Didn’t the woman realize that acting this way only made him more suspicious?
She should have been thrilled, practically glowing, the way Saphira always was on trips like this.
Instead, her mood was worlds apart from the woman she was supposed to be.
“I can carry it myself, Dashiell,” Thea reached for her bag, but he wouldn’t hand it back.
“Just watch your footing.” He pulled her along by the hand, guiding her down from the plane.
“Slow down, Dashiell!” He was walking so fast she could barely keep up.
He slowed his pace, realizing only then how much shorter her strides were than his.
He filed that detail away.
He had a feeling he’d need it again someday.
A car was already waiting for them.
Thea paused on the stairway, taking in the view before she had to step down.
This might be the first and only time she ever set foot in this city.
“What are you doing? Why aren’t you coming down?” Dashiell turned back when he noticed she’d stopped moving.
“It’s nothing.” How foolish, she thought.
What was she even doing, thinking so far ahead?
No one could know what the future held.
Dashiell walked back to her, and without a word, swept her up into his arms.
Thea gasped and grabbed onto his shoulders for balance.
“What are you doing, put me down right now!” She was mortified, certain the flight attendants were watching.
“I don’t know what’s going on in your head, but I think you need this.”
“No, Dashiell. Don’t carry me like this!”
“Why not? Don’t you like it?”
“Th-that’s not it!” Thea glanced around and realized, to her horror, that she’d become the center of attention for every ground crew member in sight.
“I’m embarrassed, everyone’s looking at us!” She buried her face against his neck.
“Ignore them, Saphira. We’re married. This isn’t exactly new territory for us.”
Thea said nothing.
She didn’t dare lift her face, too embarrassed to meet anyone’s eyes, and she couldn’t quiet the storm building inside her chest.
What woman could stay unaffected, being held like this by a man?
She wasn’t about to blame herself for falling for her best friend’s husband.
If anyone deserved blame, it was Dashiell, for treating her this way.
He carried her all the way to the car.
Thea kept her face hidden the entire time, cheeks burning, and only let out a breath of relief once the car door finally closed behind them. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Her heart was still racing, her face flushed.
She tried to steady herself, but underneath it all was a happiness she couldn’t quite put into words.
She smiled to herself, quietly, but the smile faded the moment Dashiell climbed in beside her.
“Wh-where are we going?” Thea tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to mask her nerves.
“To the hotel. Tomorrow I won’t be able to stay with you, though, I have to meet with a client. Enjoy your day, go wherever you like. Buy whatever you want. Once I’m done with work, I’ll come find you.”
**Claim**
“Don’t worry about me, Dashiell. Your work matters more. I can take care of myself.” It was, she realized, the perfect opening to slip away and see Saphira.
“All right, if that’s what you want. I won’t push you. Just don’t wander too far, I don’t want you getting lost.”
“That won’t happen.” Thea leaned into his arm.
Even though Dashiell wouldn’t have much time to spend with her, she decided to savor whatever moments they did share.
They arrived at the luxury hotel where they’d be staying.
It sat right in the heart of the city, and from their room, Thea could see the Eiffel Tower along with several other beautiful buildings.
She stood in front of the wide window overlooking the tower, taking it all in, clearly enchanted by the view.
Dashiell arranged for the hotel staff to bring their luggage up to the room, and asked them to send up some food as well, knowing Thea had barely eaten during the flight.
Thea was still lost in the view when Dashiell came up behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.
“Do you like it here, Saphira?” The name he didn’t want to say was starting to feel too familiar on his tongue, but he told himself he’d stop using it the moment he learned his wife’s real name.
“Of course I love it. Thank you for bringing me here.” Thea turned her face back toward him so she could press a kiss to his cheek in return.
“If there’s anywhere you want to go, just tell me. I’ll take you there. Think of it as the honeymoon we never got to take.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Just tell me, where do you want to go?”
“Me?” She trailed off, Saphira’s name suddenly rising in her mind.
No, she was being greedy again, wanting far too much of something that was never supposed to be hers.
A honeymoon together, that belonged to Saphira.
Not to her.
She needed to remember her place.
“Why? Do you doubt me?” Dashiell looked puzzled by her sudden silence.
“That’s not it, Dashiell. After this trip I’ll be swamped with things to handle, so I won’t have much freedom. What if I take care of everything first? Maybe in four or five months I’ll actually have the time to spend with you properly.” Time that, of course, belonged to Saphira, not to her.
“All right, if that’s what you’d rather do. I won’t force it. It’s probably better if we don’t rush anyway, so the time we do get to spend feels more meaningful. But I want you to start thinking about it now.”
“I will.”
“Good.”
Thea settled comfortably against his chest.
The gentle stroke of his hand and the softness of his kisses made her heart swell.
She didn’t want this closeness to end, but a knock at the door, hotel staff arriving with the food Dashiell had ordered, broke the moment.
Dashiell got up to answer the door, and Thea seized the chance to send Saphira a quick message, letting her know she’d arrived in Paris.
She included the address of the hotel where she and Dashiell were staying.