“One day, I kissed the young woman just as Rhys walked in.” His gut clenched, and his chest spasmed. “It was wrong. Everything about it. When he left, and I realized what I’d done…that she was faithful, and I’d been wrong about everything, I went after him. I sought to assure him of the young woman’s loyalties and explain that only I was to blame, but he’d not hear me out. Rightfully so, of course,” he added. “I broke two hearts that day.”

Nay, three.

In betraying his best friend in the world and losing Rhys’ friendship, Anthony had broken his own heart.

When he finished, silence hung in the air, punctuated only by the chirping of birds and the occasional ripple of water as a lone pink pelican dipped its beak under the surface to retrieve its morning fare.

To give his fingers a purpose, he grabbed up a handful of rocks from the side of the blanket and absently tossed each stone at the river, skipping them along the smooth, serene surface of the waters.

“How…sad,” she whispered.

He gave a tight nod.

Unable to meet her eyes, he continued tossing stones, counting the hops of each rock. “Yes, it was…the worst thing a fellow could have done—to the young woman and his best friend.” At last, he made himself look at her. He braced for her to look upon him with the derision he deserved and was thereby unprepared for the gentleness in her eyes.

“It was for the best,” she said softly.

He tensed. “For the best? How?” Only, he didn’t allow her a chance to answer. “Never say you’re defending my actions?” They were completely indefensible.

“Was the young woman a willing participant in the embrace?”

Heat climbed his neck. “Yes, but…but… that is not the point.”

“Isn’t it some of the point?” she insisted. “Rhys may have suffered mightily and resented you, but ultimately, what happened that day was for the better.”

He laughed, the sound bitter and brittle to his own ears. “This I must hear.”

“Well, Rhys married my best friend, Alice, and he is completely and hopelessly in love with her. Head over feet in love, in fact. With her and their four children.”

A wistfulness filled his chest. “He has four children?” he murmured.

He’d made it a point to mention any news or writings about the Brookfield family, and his mother and, when he’d been living, his father, had known to not bring up Rhys’ name.

Lettie nodded. “Two boys and two girls, and my sister-in-law is expecting once more, so very nearly five.”

Envy slid through him.

“Either way, love at first sight is not a real thing,” Lettie was saying, and reaching over, she plucked the remaining three stones from his palm and proceeded to perfectly skip each one.