Page 143 of Broken Daddy

“You’re not used to people doing nice things for you, huh, baby?”

“Oh no, that’s not true. People do nice things for me all the time. Mac always gives me extra shifts if I need them and he drives me home if it’s too late for the bus. He even offered to let me live with him when Rohan went to jail. Sandy always makes me food if I’m hungry, even if I’ve already eaten or it’s at the start of my shift. If I’m tired, Silla will take over some of my section for me and when we have time off together, we’ll often go out for an ice cream or she’ll come to pottery with me. When I was younger and couldn’t afford pottery lessons, Michelle used to let me clean her studio in lieu of payment. She’s helped out so much with this exhibition.”

“I want to kill everyone who was ever mean to you. Seriously. I want a list of names.”

She smiled up at him.

He was cute when he got riled up.

Oops, there she went thinking he was cute again. He’d probably be insulted if she told him that.

A list of names. He was hilarious.

“Why does that make you smile?” he demanded.

“It would take you five years to get through the list,” she joked.

But he didn’t laugh.

Nope. His gaze narrowed and thunder filled his face. “Then it takes me five years. List. Now.”

Was he serious?

“Are you serious?” she asked.

He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “Shit. No. Of course I’m not serious.”

Oh right.

That’s what she’d thought.

“You don’t have to give me the list right now. Take a few weeks. You need to recover. You shouldn’t be thinking about anything else but that.”

She waited for him to tell her that he was joking. But he didn’t. In fact, he looked very intense.

“You’re not . . . you can’t do that.”

“Sure I can. I’ll work my way through every one of those assholes until they regret the day they were born.”

“And I thought I had a thirst for revenge,” she muttered.

A look of interest filled his face. “You have a thirst for revenge, baby?”

Heck. Why did she say that? Now she was going to have to explain herself.

“Well, yes, you know that. Salt in the coffee, remember?” she said quickly.

“Hmm. Is that the only revenge you’ve ever partaken in?” he practically purred.

It was like he knew. But he couldn’t know, could he?

Nope. That was impossible. There was no way.

“Yes, I think so,” she lied. She didn’t let herself get worked up that often. Sometimes an old classmate came into the café or bar, but they usually didn’t recognize her. And she didn’t really blame anyone for laughing at her when she was younger.

“Hmm.” He didn’t look like he believed her.

There’s no way he knows. If he did, you’d be in a world of trouble.