Page 16 of Sweet Revenge
Witha furrowed brow,Sadiesat at the kitchen table. “Allright,I’mconfused.Howdid you screw up?”Hergaze shifted to something by the doorway to the hall. “Oh,Jayne, go helpDaddyfor a few minutes—AllieandIneed to talk about something.”
“Okay,Mom.”
Hercousin was right—Alliewas so distracted she hadn’t even heardSadie’sdaughter return.Theywaited until the door to the garage opened and closed again, and thenSadieleaned forward. “Tellme what happened.”
Allie’sgaze darted everywhere but toward her cousin.Sheshould’ve kept her mouth shut, to begin with, but the other woman had always been her confidante.Infact, she was the only one aware ofAllie’scrush onWestback then.Andhis betrayal. “I...um...Ikind of slept with him.”
“What!”Afterthe initial yell, her cousin quickly lowered her voice. “Areyou crazy?Youhadsexwith the guy who treated you like shit your sophomore year of high school?”
“Itwasn’t the whole year,” she retorted, trying to salvage some of her dignity. “Justnear the end of it.”
“Oh, like that makes a big difference after what he did.”Sadiepaused, frowning and shaking her head. “Okay, let me get this straight.Yousaid he didn’t recognize you, so does that mean he doesn’t remember you, or at least your name?Didyou tell him your name?”
“Um...Isort of introduced myself asAllieMcKenna.”WhenSadieopened her mouth to ask another question,Allieheld up a hand to stop her.Insteadof playing a game of twenty questions, she spent the next few minutes explaining what happened the other night. “Iwas only going to tease him and then walk away—get my own bit of revenge, even if he didn’t know about it.Butafter a few drinks, things got a little out of hand, and we...well,Ialready said that part.”Shebit her lip briefly. “Butthat’s not all.”
“There’smore?”Sadierolled her eyes. “Ofcourse, there’s more.Whatelse?”
“Ihad dinner with him last night and kind of slept with him again.”
Hercousin’s mouth opened and closed a few times before she stood and stalked over to the pantry.Despiteit only being a little before noon, she grabbed a bottle of vodka that’d been left over from one ofAuntEmily’sparties.Findingtwo shot glasses at the top of one of the donation boxes on the counter, she didn’t bother to rinse them out before setting them on the table and filling them. “IknewIshould’ve picked up someBloodyMarymix on the way over.”
Liftingup one of the glasses,Sadiegestured forAllieto do the same.
Oh, what the hell...
Afterclinking them together, both women quickly downed the shots and gasped as the strong alcohol hit their throats.
Sadiesounded like a frog when she spoke again. “Okay, tell me what this is all about.”Shecleared her throat before continuing. “You’venever really been into one- or two-night stands or a cocktease or a revenge fuck kinda girl, so what gives?Andwhy do you sound like you’re regretting it all?”
Alliesighed. “BecauseIam?”
“You’reasking me?Howthe hell shouldIknow?”
“Allright, all right.Idoregret it.Buthe’s different now.Imean, he’s like he was before he tried to humiliate me—nice, sweet, and funny—but he’s so much more than that now.”Sheflailed her hands as she spoke, as if that would help explain why she’d done something so dumb. “Youshould see how he treats his staff and customers—like they’re all a part of one big family.Aclose family—like ours.Ifhe were anyone butWestLockhart,I’dbe interested in seeing where this goes between us.He’sexactly the type of guyI’vealways wanted to date, but whatever chanceImight have had with him is all based on a lie—severallies.HowcanIthink of moving back here when there will always be a chance of running into him again and him finding out whoIreally am?”
Sadiepoured them each another shot of vodka, and those went down a lot smoother than the first. “Okay, first of all, donotlet whatever this is influence whether you move back here or not.Iwould love to have you living near me again, so take that out of the decision equation.Ifyou do come back, then you’ll have to tell him the truth before he finds out because,Allie, he will eventually find out.Yeah,Holden’sgotten bigger since you left, but it’s still a small town.You’llrun into him again sooner or later.”
“You’renot helping.”Allieglared at her. “Andit won’t matterwhenhe finds out, he’ll still hate me.”
Therewas a long pause, with only the ticking ofAuntEmily’sBettyBoopclock on the wall filling the silence.Finally, her cousin said, “You’refalling for him, aren’t you?”
Stretchingher arms across the table, she gently banged her head against them in frustration. “Yeah,IthinkIam.”
“Thenyou’ve got to find a way to tell him the truth and soon.Otherwise, you’ll both end up getting hurt.”
Unfortunately, it was probably too late for that.
ChapterEleven
Alittle over two weeks later,Alliestill hadn’t found the courage to tellWestwho she really was.Withevery day that passed, it would only hurt him that much more.
You’rea coward—admit it.
They’dgone out on several dates and spent a few other evenings at his place, eating in, watching movies, talking, and, of course, having sex.SheandMoehad taken a liking to each other, and the cat greeted her every time with meows and figure eights around her legs.Heoften sat in her lap, too, which surprised his owner.
Westhad never questioned whyAlliedidn’t invite him to her aunt’s house, but that was probably due to how much she talked about all the filled boxes and loose items scattered about the house and garage.Overthe past few weeks, she sorted everything for donations, today's yard sale, and what she wanted to keep.
Allienever thought she could be described as insatiable regarding sex untilWestcame back into her life.Butshe couldn’t get enough of him and hated that they only had one more week together before she returned toDenver.Afterthat, she’d probably never see him again, but he would remain in her mind and heart forever.