To Trust a Thief
Page 22
Min embraced him for a moment longer and then pulled back and clasped his face in her hands, her fingers reaching to entwine in his hair.
“You’ve been gone for weeks! I had no idea what might have happened to you. Do you have any idea what that did to me?” She gave him a little shove, perilously close to losing her self-control. “Don’t ever do that to me again!”
Bryant gathered Min close, tilting her face up, his fingers gently stroking her cheek. He chuckled. “Well I can’t promise anything, but I will try.”
Bryant’s lips descended and Min spent the next several minutes floating in a happy haze of intoxicating sensation. All too soon, he pulled away.
“Don’t you want to know where I’ve been?” he asked, his voice smug and satisfied at the reaction he was able to wring out of her.
“Yes!” Min exclaimed, tugging him toward one of the benches that lined the gallery. She sat down, pulling him to sit beside her. “What on earth have you been doing for the last six weeks?”
“Well, selling a well-known piece of jewelry isn’t the easiest task, you know. Even broken into pieces, I had to be careful. I had to go through half a dozen of my contacts, and it took time to find the right buyers willing to pay the right price.”
“And?” Min asked, suddenly finding it hard to breathe through the excitement bursting inside her.
“See for yourself.” He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a long leather wallet. She opened it and, with shaking fingers, revealed a thick stack of bank notes. Tens of thousands of pounds.
“Bryant,” Min breathed.
“Shall we go surprise your aunt?”
Min laid the wallet on the bench and reached for him. “Not just yet,” she said, pulling his face down for a very thorough kiss.
“Marry me,” he whispered against her lips.
Min smiled and kissed him again. “No.”
His delicious mouth turned down in a frown though his eyes laughed into hers. “You cut me to the quick, madam.”
“Ah, then perhaps you shouldn’t ask questions to which you already know the answer.”
“Perhaps this is one instance where I wasn’t sure of the outcome.”
“Well, don’t be too hard on yourself,” Min teased. “It happens to the best of us.”
Bryant smiled at her but the amusement in his eyes was tempered with…something else. Sorrow? Uncertainty? Min swallowed against the sudden rush of overwhelming emotion that threatened to choke her. She loved him. More than anything. But…
“Why won’t you marry me, Min?”
“I don’t wish to hurt you, Bryant. I just… I don’t know that I ever want to marry.”
“So it’s not just me? I mean, I’m not the reason…”
“No! Bryant, I love you.”
Bryant looked into her eyes and released a long breath. “How did such an irritatingly wonderful creature like you worm your way into my heart?”
“I’m not sure if you just complimented me or insulted me.”
He laughed, and raked both hands through his hair until parts of it stood on end like a hedgehog. He dropped his hands, letting them dangle. She waited for him to unload whatever was on his mind.
He drew his thumb along her bottom lip, smiling a little sadly. “It’s been a long time…”
He broke off his thought and turned his attention back to the floor. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet, hesitant. “It’s all right, Min. I understand. I know I haven’t lived the most pristine life. I’ve stolen, lied, cheated, and occasionally inflicted harm. I did try never to hurt an innocent person, but there were times…” He stopped and rubbed his hands over his face. “Min, I just… I’m not…”
“I know exactly who and what you are, Bryant. Oh, I don’t know all the particulars, and frankly I don’t think I want to. But”—she took his disfigured hand in her own—“I know enough.”
Min could feel the tension in Bryant’s hand as he stared at her. She placed a hand on his chest, the butterflies in her stomach cavorting in a mad dance. “I understand all I need to, Bryant.”
His heart pounded beneath her fingers and Min held her breath, waiting for his response.
Bryant gathered her closer and kissed her brow. “Then why won’t you marry me?” he asked again.
Min hesitated, not wanting to voice the doubts in her head. “If being a good wife means guarding your hearth and home and bearing your children and losing myself to whatever is expected of me, I don’t know that I…that I can do that. I don’t know how to be a wife. And there are so many things I still want to do.”
Bryant kissed her, pulling away much too soon. “Is that all?”
“What do you mean, is that all?”
“My dear Minuette, if you would be happier traveling the world than ‘guarding my hearth and home’ then I would be very happy to escort you to the ends of the earth. I will follow you wherever you wish to go, support whatever you wish to do.”
“And what about you, Bryant? Surely you won’t be happy living life at your wife’s whims. Don’t you have plans, desires?”
“My only desire, Miss Sinclair, is to spend my life with the woman I love. I am more than willing to do so on her terms.”
“Bryant, I—”
“No. Don’t say it. Don’t overthink this, Min. Do you love me?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“Then that is all that matters. The rest will take care of itself. There are no constraints or rules we have to follow. Society be damned.”
Min smiled slowly, the love she felt for the man in her arms nearly overwhelming in its intensity. “You may regret those words, Mr. Westley.”
“Doubtful, Miss Sinclair.” He kissed her again and leaned his forehead against hers.
“You’re sure?” Min asked, still not quite believing she could really have everything she ever wanted. Including this amazing man.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life.”
Min took a deep breath. “Then yes. I will marry you.”
Bryant grabbed her about the waist and spun her around, his happiness filling Min with exhilarating delight. He put her down and kissed her until her head swam. When he finally released her lips, he gathered her to his chest, cradling her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.
“I know I will never deserve you, Minuette. But I swear on all that is holy that I will spend my life trying. It seems, for better or worse, you have me. But you may live to regret it, you know,” he teased.
Min brushed the hair from his face. She rested her hands on his cheeks and drew him down for a lingering kiss. “I will never regret choosing you, Bryant. I will love you through this life and into the next. No matter what happens, I’m afraid you will never be rid of me.”
He took her hand, pressing his lips to her inner wrist. “Then I will live and die a happy man, my love.”
Acknowledgments
My heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this book possible and supported me along the way.
To Tom, for everything you do to help me out when I’m deep in a story. To Connor and Ryanna, for your love and patience when Mommy is in writing mode, and for making me smile no matter how bad my day has been. You are my everything.
To my awesome editor, Erin Molta, you’ve truly helped make a dream come true, and you made that dream better than I could have ever hoped. And to Pat Brigandi Renee Rosen, Danielle Barclay, Elana Johnson, Jessica Cantor, and the rest of the amazing Entangled team, I am beyond thrilled to be a part of such an incredible company.
To Lisa Amowitz, for really getting me and loving me anyway. To Christine Fonseca, Bethany Wiggins, and my amazing Operation Awesome girls—Amparo Ortiz, Lindsay Scott, Kelly Andrews, Angie Townsend, Kristal Shaff, and Katrina Lantz—for your support, friendship, and encouragement. Thank you a million times over.
To Bonny Anderson—for your support, critiques, and friendship—and for creating a stunningly beautiful To Trust a Thief necklace. S
eeing Min’s locket come to life was beyond amazing. It is something I will always treasure.
To Jeannie Reusch—you took me under your wing, showed me the ropes, and were the first to kindly give To Trust a Thief the shredding it deserved. You helped set my feet on the path, and I’ll always be grateful.
And most of all, to my sweet family and friends—my parents, Mike and Laurie Marquis; my sister and number one fan, Jeanette; my brothers and sisters-in-law, Ryan, Gail, Shaun, Michelle, and Brandon; my amazing step kids, Kyelie and Matt; and to Mindy, Tammi, Joey, Leslie, and Emily—thank you all for your love, support, and encouragement.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Chapter Thirty-six
Chapter Thirty-seven
Chapter Thirty-eight
Chapter Thirty-nine
Chapter Forty
Acknowledgments