Page 5 of Settling the Score (The Karma Club #4)

Genuine frustration tinged her voice, because she’d tried so many avenues to get to Harvey and every time reached a dead end.

She’d applied for an internship at his company, figuring she’d work out how to make that happen when and if she was accepted – only she hadn’t been.

She’d applied for a housekeeping role in his building, figuring that would at least get her access to him in shared spaces, like the gym, except she hadn’t even got an interview.

And her online snooping had drawn a blank: with little wonder.

He was a tech genius; of course he could cover his tracks.

She needed to be able to make the bastard pay for what he’d done to Paige.

Publishing sex videos of her online – that she hadn’t even known he’d filmed – had almost ruined her life, and Sienna was determined to make him sorry.

She pushed aside those thoughts for now, returning her attention to the discussion at hand. ‘And you all fell in love with your targets.’

‘I didn’t,’ Astrid was quick to supply.

‘No, you just fell in love with his brother.’

‘And this time, it’s different,’ Bella said.

Sienna arched a brow. ‘How, exactly?’

‘Well, for one thing, it’s the first time we’ve done this all together.’

‘Yeah.’ Paige jumped onto the bandwagon. ‘We were all sent out on our own to wage war. No artillery or support. Just us. And we… lost our way a bit.’

‘Or found it,’ Sienna pointed out archly.

‘Or found it.’ Astrid’s smile glowed as she added her agreement. Bella’s eyes were a particularly delightful shade of silver. Paige’s cheeks flushed pink.

Sienna bit back a smile. ‘And I’m thrilled for you guys. Like, deliriously, over the moon delighted. But there’s no way I’m heading for a happy ending with Aiden. That ship sailed when he smashed my heart into a gazillion pieces.’

‘We know,’ they said in unison, and it was only the smallest flicker of Astrid’s lips that made her wonder if they actually believed her.

Because they hadn’t seen her then. Aiden had been the knight in shining armour she hadn’t even known she needed, and she’d placed all her teenage trust in him.

All of it. He’d thrown it back in her face like it meant nothing when she needed him to be by her side.

Only a wound like that could explain why, more than ten years later, she was still seething with rage.

‘But you’ve got us,’ Astrid continued. ‘We’ll help you.’

Sienna bit into her lower lip. It tasted like honeycomb courtesy of some scrub they’d used on it.

‘Yeah,’ Paige nodded encouragingly. ‘We’ll make him wish he’d never, ever let you go. Cross my heart and?—’

‘No, no,’ Bella interrupted with a giggle, lifting her drink in the air. ‘On red velvet cakes…’

‘And Just Desserts,’ Astrid finished with a wicked glint in her eyes, as she brought her drink towards Bella’s for a cheers.

Part of Sienna wanted to disavow any part of this plan and spend the next week or so determinedly ignoring Aiden except for when she absolutely had to make some kind of attempt at small talk for the sake of good manners.

But the girls were so invested in their plan, and the way they were looking at Sienna actually made her feel like maybe she could do this, after all.

Of the four of them, maybe she’d be the one who would actually get to avenge her ex? It wasn’t exactly prank central, but given the way Aiden had treated her like a big fat zero, perhaps dishing out the same in reverse would finally ease the pain she’d carried around for so long?

‘Well, now.’ Sienna reached for her bright pink cocktail after several beats, lifting it towards the others.

‘That does sound pretty damned good, I’m not going to lie.

’ Almost eleven years seemed to condense into a whirlwind of memories, like a carnival ride after too much food, so fast and bright they almost nauseated her.

Memories of the first time she and Aiden had met, or held hands, the day he’d made her laugh when she’d felt like her world was crashing down all around her, the way he’d started to walk her home after school, always looking out for her, making her feel safe, making her feel loved.

Their first kiss. Their first time. The day he’d told her he was leaving, big, strong hands jammed into his jean pockets, just before she’d need him most of all.

You’ve got another year of school left, Sienna.

And I’ve gotta get out of here. How much she’d cried that night.

And the next night. And the next. He’d left, anyway.

A week later, she’d found out about the baby.

Memories of her trying to call him. His ignoring her calls.

Two months later, when she’d lost the baby and felt like she could barely keep going, but Aiden hadn’t been there for her.

He’d been the toast of the college hockey scene already – she’d been stupid enough to google him, and God, hadn’t that felt like a kick in the guts?

Even worse was when he actually asked her to stop calling.

When he’d texted to tell her he just wanted a clean break, that she needed to understand: they were over .

He’d moved on, and so should she. That had stung.

The idea of him being with other girls hadn’t even occurred to her until then, but of course he’d moved on. Why shouldn’t he?

She blinked quickly, ignoring the familiar stabbing in the region of her heart. His betrayal had hurt like a bitch.

The girls were right. If she could get a little payback, all of her own, maybe she’d finally be able to put Aiden properly in her rear-view mirror, where he deserved to be. It wasn’t like she could actually hurt him, but she could maybe dent his oversized ego, just a fraction.

‘Astrid? Are you sure you’re okay with this? I mean, it’s your wedding. And this is Blake’s brother…’

‘You know how I feel about Aiden,’ Astrid said, lifting one slender shoulder. Of course she was one of those women who carried her entire pregnancy like a perfectly neat basketball, right at her front. ‘But he hurt you, and you deserve to make him see what a mistake he made back then.’

Sienna nodded slowly. ‘And Blake?’

‘What about Blake?’

‘He’s down with this?’

Astrid glanced at Paige and Bella, a hint of pink in her cheeks. ‘He doesn’t want Aiden to get seriously hurt,’ she said. ‘But a little bit of harmless fun is fine.’

‘Harmless fun,’ Sienna repeated.

‘It’s really not that big of a deal,’ Bella encouraged, leaning forward and putting a hand on Sienna’s knee. ‘You’re just going to go to a wedding, frock up, dazzle his socks off, and move on. I don’t see anything wrong with that.’

The other two shook their heads in agreement.

Sienna sucked in a deep breath, realising they were right. This was just about levelling the playing field a bit. Who didn’t want to knock their ex’s socks off when they had the chance? ‘Okay.’ She leaned forward a little, gesturing towards the bags. ‘Show me what you’ve got.’