Sweet Revenge Read Online Free PDF Page B

from missing his warmth.
    The driver halted the taxi outside her condo. She fished in her handbag for money and handed it over the back of the seat. “Keep the change.”
    Someone should get something out of tonight. Long ago, she’d trained herself to find some small bit of good in even the worst situations.
    The stone in the walkway bit into her bare feet. She unlocked the condo and stepped inside, glad to be home. Maybe she’d find some peace. She hoped he would, too. Eventually. First, she’d have to stop trying to reconcile the incredible experience he’d given her with the venom he spewed afterward. The complete sense of connectedness with the way he pushed her away, lashed out against her. She’d torture herself if she spent too much time wondering. Wishing it hadn’t happened. Maybe if she wrote him a long note of apology, he’d forgive her. Would any words be enough to comfort him? God, she couldn’t imagine how deeply he must have suffered. All because of her.
    A long zip relieved her of the dress, and she jogged upstairs for comfy clothes—yoga pants and a T-shirt.
    Back in the front room, her mom and dad smiled from the photo on the shelf. In passing, she stopped to lift it. “Wish you were here. I could use a hug.” She replaced it and continued to the kitchen. Wine would have to suffice, for now. In a big freaking glass.
    Music would help. She plugged her phone into the powerful mini-speakers and launched Pandora. Ah yes—Bonnie Raitt. Her gravelly-velvet voice always eased Zoe’s tension.
    Some candles might help relax her, too. She lit a few around the front room, plopped onto her sectional, and took a deep breath. How long would she be able to hold onto the condo? Tomorrow, she’d do some hard calculating of her finances.
    Tonight, she’d focus on letting go of stress. And on ways I could make it up to him somehow?
    The doorbell chimed. Zoe lowered the music volume; it hadn’t been so loud as to annoy the neighbors, had it?
    At a hard knock, she clucked her tongue. “I’m coming.”
    Apology at the ready to stave off any complaints, she yanked open the door. “Oh.” More to the point, oh shit.
    Ty towered over her. “I need to talk to you.”
    How very one-sided of him. “I don’t need to talk to you.” Not after tonight’s awful setup. She slammed it shut, nervous fingers fumbling the lock too loudly. The shock of seeing him gave her a chill, and she rubbed her arms.
    Another chime, and her heart leapt against her ribs, and fluttered there. “Go away.”
    “Not until you talk to me,” he said through the wood. “You owe me that much.”
    The hurt of his rejection washed over her again. “For what? No dinner?” Or his failed attempt to ambush her with guilt from the past? Not that Zoe hadn’t been a spoiled bitch then; she had. And you do owe him an apology .
    “Can we please talk?” he asked.
    Everything in her wanted to let him in. But what if he just wanted to hurt her more deeply? God, hadn’t karma made Zoe suffer enough for her stupid choices? “Whatever you have to say, mail it with my dismissal notice.”
    “I don’t want to fire you,” he insisted.
    He’d had a change of heart? Why? So he could wait for her to make one tiny mistake at the center and make a scene about doing it then? “Fine. I quit.”
    “Please don’t. Open up.” A pause. “Please,” he added more softly.
    She ignored the old Zoe who questioned his motives, the one cautioning her he only wanted revenge, and opened up. “Why did you come?”
    Ty actually looked humble. “To tell you you’re right. I’m a jerk.” He held up the restaurant bag. “A jerk bearing dinner.”
    Her stomach grumbled at the reminder. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
    “Wine might help you get your appetite back.” He held up the bottle tucked under his arm.
    Or loosen her up again? “You get points for making a good argument, but—”
    “Hold that ‘but’ until you hear me out.”
    Assessing him, she