Page 85 of Sweetest Revenge

Swallowing my fear, I dove in and took a rather large bite. Immediately, the flavors washed across my taste buds. My eyes shot to her.

“Why is this good?”

Her eyes lit up as she glowered at me.

“I’m trying really hard to let that question slide, Mr. King,” she started. “I had a nanny who studied culinary in France. She even took me there once for the summer. I spent far too much time with her, and Dad wasn’t exactly happy I was in the kitchen a lot, but if it kept me out of his and Mom’s hair, they couldn’t complain too much.”

My heart ached for her. It was far too easy to imagine her alone with a nanny, wishing her parents were around.

Is that why she worked so hard, even back when she had everything?

I pressed my lips into a thin line.

“Thank you,” I said in a low voice. “Let me return the favor.”

Her eyes widened.

“Oh no, I already have another thing in the oven. Please don’t coo?—”

She stopped talking when I brought out the box and placed it on the counter next to the plate.

“This hardly seems like a fair trade,” she murmured, her delicate hand coming to trace the edges of the box.

“On the contrary,” I said and took another bite of the delicious dish. “I think presents that come from labor are more significant than those bought with money.”

“Food isn’t a present.”

“It is to me.” My mind wandered back to when I was a kid. The times when I hadn’t had someone to cook me meals versus the times I did. It made all the difference. “No one has willingly cooked for me since my father passed.”

Her eyes shot to mine.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Open it.”

Hesitantly, she pried the box open, a small gasp escaping her lips as she took in the oval sapphire surrounded by small marquise and pear-shaped diamonds.

“This is too much.” Her eyes met mine. She didn’t want to accept it, but I saw how much it meant to her, so I grabbed the necklace from the box and moved to stand behind her.

“Nothing’s too much for you, Addi.” She didn’t know how true those words were. “All of this. The two million spent on you. The thousands spent on your outfits. The necklace. The money doesn’t matter to me.”

I gently placed it around her neck, clasping it at the back. Her hand came up to lightly touch the stone.

“What does matter to you then, Warren?”

She turned around, her unwavering gaze making me want to fall to my knees for her all over again.

You.

I couldn’t say it, but she must have seen what I meant because she was already lifting herself on her tiptoes and placing a light kiss to my mouth.

“Thank you, Warren.”

This time, when she whispered it, my heart sang.

31

ADDISON

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