Page 201 of Revenge Puck

I lower the book onto my lap.

The community room quiets and the adults in the room look thoroughly entertained. Despite the glitter-covered poster board and the fact that my ass has gone completely numb from this chair, I’m excited. What I’m about to say next is the most important part of this moment.

I look to Juliette.

She is the kindest, sexiest, sweetest woman I’ve ever known, and my heart grew ten sizes the second she came into my life.

Inhaling a nervous breath, the words I rehearsed on the drive here come pouring out of my mouth. “I know I apologized to you, Juliette, but it doesn’t feel like I’ve groveled enough.”

The kids are blessedly quiet as I steel my nerves and continue. “I wish I could go back to that night at the bar and re-meet you after your date with Preston, that douche. I wish I’dhad no ulterior motive. I wish I’d immediately set out to date you, gotten your phone number, and flirted and texted you like a normal person.”

A cue card slowly rises:HE WAS A DUMMY!

“Iwasthe biggest dummy,” I admit with a laugh.

A giant fucktwat.

“My mom calls my dad dumbass a lot,” a boy in a navy-striped shirt volunteers helpfully. “Is that the same thing?”

I laugh. “Yes.”

Juliette bites down on her lower lip, a smile threatening to burst.

She’s happy, I can see it in her eyes.

I did that.

I make her smile…

I continue. “I wish I’d taken you to dinner because I couldn’t stop thinking about you, not because I was trying to prove something to your brother. I wish I’d sat across from you in that steakhouse and told you the truth about why I was there.”

Another sign lifts:SEE? TOTAL DUMMY.

A hand flies up near the back.

“Yeah?”

“Did your mom yell at you for treating a girl like that?”

My head shakes. “No. My mom lives too far away.”

This doesn’t satisfy the kid, who purses his lips. “She should have.”

I agree.

And I’d deserve any shit my parents gave me.

Another skinny arm goes in the air. “I have a card that says ‘stupid’ on it. Should I hold that up, too?”

Garrett steps forward, hands up. “Little ladies and tiny bros, you are all getting way too carried away. Stick to the plan,” he tells the kids. “Chill.”

I sigh. “We’ve already established that I was a dummy, okay? We are not debating that. And Jules, I know you forgive me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll take for granted that I was a jackass.” I pause, glancing into all their tiny faces, and at their chaperones, somehow waiting for a card with the word JACKASS to pop into the air, and breathe a sigh of relief when it doesn’t. “I wake up every morning thankful you’re in my life. You make it better—and I’ve spent the past few weeks trying to make yours better, too.”

THE KISSES WERE REAL!

Juliette is laughing, tears of happiness shining in her beautiful blue eyes, and the sight of her smile shakes loose the knots inside my chest.

“I brought you here, with all these Ice Wolves fans as my witnesses, to spill my guts out.” Setting the book aside, I stand, ignoring the violent crack in my knees and the chair’s relieved squeak beneath my ass. “I can’t redo the beginning—but I can promise you the rest of it.”