Page 131 of Revenge Is a Dish Best Served… Wearing Heels?

"I'm so glad you figured out who I was," she said. "I was terrible at the revenge game. My heart really was never in it."

I kissed her on the head, inhaling the sweet scent of her, peaches maybe. "I wasn't going to stop until I found you. I'm not sorry to admit that I kept notes on every little detail you said, about your family, where you lived, and eventually, it all pointed to the great Miss Astrid Stratton, and I can't fucking believe I didn't put it together sooner."

"Yeah, what kind of stalker are you?"

She was so damn cute. "Any kind you want me to be. And can I just tell you something?"

"Of course. Anything."

"I'm so fucking excited for our future." I began to pepper her face with kisses, punctuating each word with my lips and mouth. "You. This baby. Our future. Together. A new life. A new job. A new—"

She pulled back to stare at me. "Wait just a second. The whole reason we came back here was so I could hear more about you quitting your job. What happened?"

"What happened?" I repeated, thinking about what to tell her. "Well, what happened was I just got sick of it. I'm not sure how much you know about the project I'd been working on—the Southside Flatsrevitalization."

At those last few words, her shoulders and arms stiffened beside me, and something suddenly clicked in my head. I turned us, shifting my body so I was on top of her, holding my weight off her with my arms.

"Astrid Stratton, did you by chance have anything to do with sabotaging the Southside Flats project?"

She wouldn't meet my eyes, her gaze roaming the room as she clamped her lips together. Was she trying not to laugh? Or was she actually worried about my reaction?

I moved my head in an attempt to get her to look at me, and she finally did.

"Well?" I asked, making sure my tone was light so she knew I wasn't mad.

"Maybe?" she answered, the definition of sheepish. But then her face changed to something more determined, and I fucking loved it. "You know what? Yes, I did. Because it's wrong what you were doing, and it was all part of the revenge thing. But revenge for a good cause."

"God, I fucking love you."

I let some of my weight drop on her, our bodies touching from head to toe, making my dick twitch.

Again? Could I really go a third time?

A look I couldn't decipher crossed her face.

"Am I too much?" I asked. "Can you breathe?"

"Not too much. No. But I had a question, and I can't remember what it was now that you're... you're..."

I couldn't resist her any longer, and my mouth landed on hers in a slow, deep kiss that was apparently all my cock needed. So yes, a third time was a definite possibility.

"Oh, I know," she said, breathless. "Let me ask before I forget. What are you going to do now? You know, job-wise?"

"I haven't exactly figured it out yet—it's still in the works—but whatever it is, it's going to be the exact opposite of what I was doing before."

Her smile lit up her face, lighting me up inside, because that look? It was something I'd rarely seen in life. She was clearly proud of me. And to have the most important person in my life be proud of me?

The feeling was indescribable.

Right when I went for another kiss, my phone made a noise.

"Ignore it," I said, nibbling on her ear.

And we did as I practically made love to her neck, loving that part of her, how sweet she tasted, how she moaned and stretched to give me better access.

But then my phone started up again. And again. Whoever this was, he was a persistent bastard.

"What if it's Archie?" Astrid pulled away. "In the middle of some kind of emergency?"