Dashiell was on the phone with his client, setting up a meeting, while Thea kept herself busy on her end, reaching out to Saphira.
Dashiell stood out on the balcony while Thea stayed inside the room.
She sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes fixed on him the entire time.
She’d have to end the call the moment he stepped back inside, so he wouldn’t catch even a hint of her conversation with Saphira.
“So what time are you coming to see me, Thea?” Saphira could hardly wait to meet her.
She wanted that card in her hands as soon as possible.
She could already picture spending it however she liked, and she was certain Dashiell would never find out.
“I don’t know, Saphira. Your husband’s still on the phone with his client, and I have no idea when he’ll be done.”
“Damn it. I thought I’d get to see you today!” Saphira’s irritation flared.
Apparently even meeting up required this much caution.
“But, Saphira. Isn’t it a bad idea for us to meet at all?” They shouldn’t have been seeing each other in the first place, yet here was Saphira, insisting on it.
Honestly, it struck Thea as strange, and it made her suspicious of what her friend actually wanted.
“I just miss you, and I want to know how you’re holding up.” A lie.
“Then why don’t you come to me instead?” Thea didn’t know the city at all, so she wasn’t sure she’d even be able to find Saphira easily.
“That’s the worst idea, Thea. What if someone sees us together and word gets back to Dashiell? That’d be like digging our own graves. Just come to the address I gave you. Follow the directions exactly, there’s no way you’ll get lost.” Saphira knew perfectly well how hopeless and out of her depth Thea was, which was exactly why she’d laid out directions simple enough for anyone to follow.
The place they’d meet wasn’t far from Thea’s hotel at all.
If she was honest, it stung a little.
She was the one who was supposed to be staying in that luxury hotel, not Thea.
No matter.
Once her business here was done, she’d take her role back soon enough, and Thea would return to being nobody again.
She’d let her good friend enjoy a taste of the rich life for a little while longer, since after this, Thea would never get the chance again.
“All right, that makes sense.”
Saphira smiled to herself, a thin, mocking curve of her lips at her friend’s expense.
It wasn’t for nothing that she kept a friend like Thea around; she was so simple to use.
“Then call me again once he’s gone. Don’t forget to let me know, and come straight to the address I gave you. I really want to hear everything about Dashiell. That’s why I want to talk to you in person,” another lie, one she told because she knew Thea would never agree to come if she admitted the truth, that she needed the card Dashiell had given her.
“Okay.” Thea ended the call.
Lucky for her, Dashiell was still occupied, and she’d finished talking to Saphira just in time.
To shake off the restlessness gnawing at her, Thea sent her mother a message, asking how her father was doing.
She was relieved to hear his surgery was coming up soon.
She hoped the money she’d sent had been enough, so she wouldn’t have to ask Dashiell to borrow more.
She also worried that whatever Saphira eventually paid her wouldn’t be enough to cover what she owed him.
The last thing she needed was to end up penniless and homeless once this whole charade was over.
Dashiell came back into the room.
He walked over to where Thea lay on her stomach, and without a word, climbed onto the bed and wrapped his arms around her.
“What are you doing?” A soft kiss landed against her cheek.
“Just looking up some nice places. Aren’t you supposed to be leaving?”
“Of course I am.” Dashiell lay back and gently pulled Thea with him, guiding her to lie on top of him.
Thea let him, comfortable now with this closeness between them.
She shifted her body until she was straddling him, resting over him.
She gazed down at the handsome face of her best friend’s husband, a smile spreading across her own.
Her hand drifted upward, tracing the line of his jaw, the face of her fake husband, her heart churning with feelings she knew she had no right to.
She knew she needed to hold them back.
She knew this feeling should never have existed at all.
“So you’re really not leaving?” Her fingers traced along his jawline.
“I am. Tell me, where are you headed today? I’ll come get you tonight and take you out for dinner.”
“Do you want to take me to dinner at the Eiffel Tower?” The question slipped out before she could stop it, no real intention behind it, and she hadn’t expected anything to come of it.
“Yeah, I used to dream about it,” Thea said, “a romantic dinner there, just like in the movies. But that’s just a dream, and I was only joking.” She started to pull away, but Dashiell tightened his hold, keeping her right where she was.
“Then let’s make that dream come true.”
“Really?” Thea’s eyes lit up.
If Dashiell was truly going to take her there, she wasn’t about to say no.
It was something she’d genuinely wished for.
“Yeah. Go buy yourself a beautiful dress today and get ready, because tonight I’m taking you there for a romantic dinner. I told you already, I’ll give you whatever you want, and you’re going to have it.”
“Oh, Dashiell.” Her eyes welled with tears, her heart wrapped in a warmth she could barely contain.
“How am I supposed to thank you? You’ve suddenly become so good to me, wanting to make this dream come true,” and then the tears fell, the happiness overflowing too much for her to hold back any longer.
She knew Dashiell believed he was doing this for Saphira.
But for as long as she got to wear that name, she was going to let herself enjoy it.
“I’m doing this because of you, and only for you.” Dashiell pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her lips.
He meant it for the wife he didn’t yet know, not Saphira, but to Thea, there was no question the words were meant for her friend.
The gentle kiss he gave her deepened, turning heated.
Dashiell flipped their positions, rolling Thea beneath him until he was the one hovering over her.
He kissed her fiercely, hungrily.
Something about being with her made it impossible for him to hold back.
His desire always burned too fast, too easily stirred by her, and he had no interest in fighting it.
His hand slid beneath her shirt, finding her skin.
It wasn’t enough, he wanted more, and the soft, sensual sounds she made only pulled him deeper, made him want her more.
His hand moved freely, tracing up and down her body.
Thea tried to hold herself together, but his touch drew soft moans from her, lost in a kiss that showed no sign of ending.
“Wa-wait,” Thea pushed against his chest, breathless, “Weren’t you supposed to be leaving?” Her body was thrumming, and some part of her knew they shouldn’t be doing this.
“I already told you, I still have plenty of time.” Dashiell kissed her again, capturing both her hands in his.
This time, Thea didn’t resist.
She let herself sink into the kiss, into his touch, drifting somewhere far beyond thought, lost entirely in the pleasure of it.