Page 111 of Revenge Is a Dish Best Served… Wearing Heels?

"Tell me what you're thinking. Please," he added.

I didn't know what I was thinking actually, so I just blurted out my next thought. "So what exactly are you saying?" I asked. "You... you want to date me or something? Isn't it a little late for that?"

"No, it's not too late for anything, and for the record, I'd like to do a lot more than date you. But yes, we can start there. As you and me now, no masks, no secrets, no past hanging over us."

"But hello? I'm pregnant.Pregnant. I can't exactly date right now."

He had the gall to laugh. "Who says you can't date? Especially the baby daddy."

Oh, God. Tristan Hawthorne was my baby daddy? How. Just how.

Well, of course I knew the biology of how—actually, I still questioned that and needed to go home and do a massive amount of research—but how on earth had I landed here of all places?

"You know what?" He interrupted my spiral. "I think you need some time to process things. You've, uh, you've been through a lot, and you probably need space, time, to figure it all out."

That was so it. He'd nailed it.

"So," he continued, not waiting for my answer, "I'll give you that. If you want it."

"I do."

He nodded, his lips in a firm line, like there was something more he wanted to say. "But..."

And there it was. "But?"

"But I'm not going to give up on you, on us." He leaned in closer, his hand still on mine, gently increasing the pressure of his fingers. "Even with you masked, not knowing who you were, what we've shared has meant everything to me."

Oh.

"And I'm going to prove to you," he went on, "that I'm a better man, that I'm not the self-absorbed teenager I used to be. I'm going to prove it to you, baby, that I can be the man you need, be the father this baby needs, that we can have a life together that will exceed your wildest dreams."

That hit me right in the feels. Which were definitely elevated at the moment, everything out of his mouth extra poignant and meaningful, my whole world on the verge of collapse or enlightenment, I couldn't be sure.

There was a knock on the door, and the doctor entered, introducing herself, happy smiles for both of us, completely unaware that, well, we weren't actually a happy couple happily waiting for hopefully happy news.

I didn't have it in me, though, to correct her. I mean, what exactly could I say?

Oh, excuse me, Dr. Patel, this man right here is my old bully—or so I thought? or so I still think?—and I accidentally hooked up with him at a masked ball and had the best sex of my life, and then when I was trying to get revenge on him, well, I might have fallen for him, and he just showed up here out of the blue and discovered my pregnancy.

Wait a freaking minute.

Again, there were obvious questions I had for this man, but damn it, he was so incredibly distracting, that I forgot to ask them.

Because how the hell did he know I was here?How?

Besides the staff, there were exactly two people in the entire universe who'd known about this appointment.

My sisters.

And with a sinking feeling, I realized there was a traitor amongst us, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce who that might be.

Thirty

Astrid

Thank goodness everything appeared to be fine so far with the baby, and with me, Dr. Patel smiling and reassuring me that all was well. She must have sensed the tension in the room, mistaking it for nervous parents-to-be vibes, which I supposed it was?

But it was also a whole lot more. A ton more. A crazy amount more.