Revenge Love

by Kata Čuić

  I couldn’t be prouder of all he’s accomplished.

  “What do you mean this is going to be ours? It’s a dump, sure, but we don’t have the capital to buy anything in Boston.” Every time I think of my growing medical school loans, I cringe. Rent is expensive enough. I don’t want to slum it just because we can’t afford anything decent.

  A somewhat conniving smile grows on his lips until they’re the only thing I can focus on. I stretch up to kiss him. “I love you, but this place is a solid no from me.”

  He returns with a kiss of his own that’s far less chaste than mine was. “I love you, too. Use that incredibly talented, able to see anything through rose-colored lenses imagination of yours. It doesn’t look like much now, but the place has good bones. A little TLC, some insider knowledge this area is about to become the focus of a serious restoration effort, and this venture could become a major game changer.”

  “Okay.” In my mind, I conjure up an image of what he’s anticipating. With far more than a little TLC, this kitchen could be something. The entire building will need major renovations, but if money was no object, it could happen. One thing nags at the back of my brain. “Even if you could make this place shine like new, no one is ever going to eat here. My Uber driver couldn’t get away fast enough. The most focused revival effort with bottomless pockets will take time. Until the area feels much safer, how will you convince employees to take a chance on getting in at the ground level?”

  He pops his eyebrows, and his grin grows to blinding proportions. The look of joy on his face is so damn handsome. “Because the employees will have a vested interest in cleaning up their neighborhood.”

  I gaze through the windows which are so dirty, they have built-in blinds. “I don’t think anyone lives here anymore. I didn’t see a single soul for blocks. This neighborhood is all but abandoned.”

  He sighs, the sound discordant with his optimistic mood. “Just because you didn’t see them, and they don’t technically own any property, doesn’t mean they’re not here. The homeless population in this area is growing by the second. They’re too proud to stay in the wealthier sections of town, so they seek refuge here where no one will look down on them.”

  My skepticism turns to wonder. “How do you know all this?”

  “An amazing woman I know taught me being an outsider doesn’t have to be all bad. You can learn a lot from people if you really listen instead of automatically assuming anyone who doesn’t talk directly to you is worthless.” He kisses the tip of my nose, then offers me a cheesy smile. “I’m sure part of it was also being in the right place at the right time to overhear what I needed to. I did my own research to make sure everything was on the up and up. I wasn’t about to take anyone’s word for it.”

  I can’t help but laugh. As much as he’s grown, he’s still the same old Jason.

  “Most of the people squatting around here are more than capable of working. They’re just down on their luck. I want to give them a fighting chance.” His smile is so wide, it’s nearing dangerous levels. “That’s how I came up with the name. Fighting Luck.”

  That doesn’t make any sense. “Fighting Luck has a bad connotation, though. Why would anyone squander luck that might be thrown their way? It goes against the whole basis of your idea.”

  “Not really.” He faces me, then wraps both arms around my waist, pulling me closer. “Bad luck doesn’t have to be a life-ending curse. Even the best luck in the world doesn’t guarantee a happy ending. We all have to fight for what we want.”

  Pride warms my chest. Some days, I can’t believe I get to call this man mine. “If you want to give people the tools to fight for their own luck, then I will support you one hundred percent. But, I draw the line at one of those tools being learning how to actually fight. Only villains do that sort of thing.”

  His smile morphs into something decidedly dangerous. “A real villain would want to christen every inch of this space in every possible position with you.”

  Disgust erodes my joy. “Agreed. Because only a very dirty man would want to expose us to whatever diseases are likely alive and well on every surface of this place.”

  “Your mind is a fascinating place. At home, you have endless fantasies to play with in the bedroom, but here all you see is reality.”

  I’ve learned the hard way we all live in reality, no matter how much we might daydream otherwise. “Speaking of that, how are we going to fund this idea? Not that I’m not completely on board, but Jason. I’m a medical student. You’re an assistant chef. We don’t have the money for this.”

  His kiss feels less like foreplay and more like reassurance. “Until you were accepted for residency at Massachusetts General last week, I wouldn’t have dreamed of making a move on this place. Now that we know we’re going to be here for the foreseeable future, the time felt right to push forward with some bigger plans. I know your student loans scare you, but we’ve actually built a strong credit history in the past four years. All our scrimping, saving, and not overspending is paying off. The lady at the bank was actually really impressed with a couple of twenty-somethings who are so committed to investing in their long-term future.”

  “That’s what we’ve been doing?” My voice filters into the damp air with barely enough strength to withstand smothering. A part of me always waits for Jason to realize he doesn’t need me as much as he claims. He’s whole all by himself. Any woman would be lucky to have him.

  A hint of panic seeps into his eyes, but he covers it quickly. “I guess now’s as good a time as any to find out where your head’s at.” He glances around the kitchen before focusing on me. Out of nowhere, a ring suddenly appears in front of my face. Its gleaming brilliance seems so out of place in this dilapidated environment. The diamond wobbles as Jason clutches it in his big fingers. “I could have gone with the whole fancy dinner under the guise of celebrating your residency acceptance, got down on one knee, and regurgitated a speech I worked on for weeks, but that’s about as cliché as it gets. If you’re gonna agree to this, then you’re already taking the good with the ugly. It might not look like it now, but this restaurant is a bigger symbol of my commitment to us than a piece of jewelry. We’re individually on the verge of beginning our careers, starting our adult lives. Figured now was also the right time to promise I’ll be by your side, no matter how hard it gets. Long hours; blood, sweat, and tears; staying in our shitty little studio apartment for a few more years; going weeks without seeing each other; taking our exhaustion and frustration out on each other when we’re having a bad day. We’re not nearly done fighting for what we want, but I, for one, feel much better when you’re in the ring of life with me. How about you?”

  It’s about as far from a marriage proposal as I’ve ever dreamed of, but every word is honest, true, and from the heart. How much more perfect can this man be?

  I throw my arms around him, knocking him off balance as he struggles to hold me up while not dropping the ring into the grime at our feet. “There’s no one else I want to fight with, Jason. No one.”

  He masks an obvious sniffle with his typical self-deprecating laughter. “Just to be crystal clear, I’m not advocating we fight with each other.”

  I pull away to see if the tears in his voice are truly in his eyes. They are. “Are you then also promising you’ll never be annoyed with me again for the rest of your life? Even if I ramble on and on about medical facts that completely gross you out or disinterest you? Or, when I drag you out of the house to meet my coworkers for drinks when you’d rather be reading alone? Or, when I get pissy if you don’t make my coffee in the morning or provide me with a steady stream of homemade Danishes? How about when it’s my time of the month? Are you willing to put up with that for the rest of your life? Even worse, what if I have really weird cravings that go against every ounce of chef training you’ve ever received when you knock me up? Are you ready to deal with my brothers harassing you about marriage? My dad’s constant bad jokes? My mom wanting to know details of our
sex life?”

  He pastes his palm over my mouth. “The short answer to all of that is yes. Now, shut up and kiss me, then let’s get the hell out of here so we can celebrate at home.”

  I’ll never admit it to him, but I love when he gets bossy.

  This kiss tastes of promises made, promises yet to come and promises already fulfilled. The flavor of hope and happily ever after dances on my tongue. Jason’s hands find their way under my shirt and travel north until he’s cupping my breasts. That’s enough of a reality check to make me pull away. “No. No way, Villain. No sex in the,” I shudder at our surroundings, “decidedly not champagne room. Getting chlamydia or some other disease now will put a damper on those baby fantasies.”

  He agrees by pulling his hands away and pressing a closed-mouth kiss to my lips. “We’ll discuss where babies fit into our ten-year plan when we get home, Dr. Sunshine. For now, put this ring on and promise you won’t leave me when I get a dad bod, because that is bound to happen when I don’t have time to hit the gym. Or, when my mom constantly hounds you about being a good wife, or when my sister not-so-subtly threatens you, or when my brother makes a pass at you at Thanksgiving dinners.”

  It’s my turn to silence his misgivings. Only I do it with another kiss. “Promise me you’ll never quit delivering multiple orgasms, and it’s a deal.”

  He shakes his head in mock disappointment, but he can’t hide the way his pupils swallow the brown of his irises in arousal. “I should have known you’re only in it for the sex.”

  “Totally.”

  Another kiss to my nose precedes him dragging me through the doorway. “Then, I also promise to fulfill every dirty fantasy you’ve ever had.”

  I hope he’s not lying.

  Moving the Chains Series

  First and Goal

  Second Down

  Third and Long

  Fourth and Inches

  As always, this book is the combined efforts of so many people beyond the author. Special thanks to Erica for the gorgeous cover, Alison for taking on a new client so readily for proofreading, and Stacey for always rolling with my ever-changing schedule for formatting. This book would not be the same without you.

  To my publicist, Heather, thank you for agreeing to take me on and whip me into a somewhat professional author rather than a hermit who simply writes things for fun. I promise to crawl out from under my rock a bit more. I’m so grateful to have you to guide me.

  To my beta readers, Catherine, Jennifer, Jennifer, Lorren, Mary, Tara, and Toni, thank you so much for spending several nights combing this rather lengthy manuscript for errors. You’re my own personal cheerleading squad, and there’s absolutely no way this book would have ever seen the light of day if not for your kind words and more than a little pushing when I need it.

  To my all-star bloggers, you’re the reason I’m still schlepping away at my laptop day after day. Thank you for believing in me, for reading my words, and for the tireless work you do to promote all authors. We truly could not do this without you.

  To my readers. Well, here we are. The start of a new chapter. I realize this book is different from what you’re used to, but I hope these characters live inside your heads as well as those we’ve left behind. I hope to never make you wait this long between books again!

  To my family who sticks by me through thick and thin, clean or dirty house, gourmet meal or frozen pizza. I love you. You’ll always be my greatest story.

  Kata Čuić is the author of the Moving the Chains series. She lives in the suburbs of Pittsburgh with her swoon-worthy husband and three children. When she’s not in the writing cave, she’s either cheering on her hometown sports teams, pretending to be a chef in her tiny kitchen, or gardening.

  Oh, come on. Seriously. That’s so boring! You’re still reading this? Why?? Come find her at the following places and get to know how really wild and crazy she is. (Spoiler alert: not so much. Okay, maybe a little. Sometimes. In moderation.)

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  Look What You Made Me Do—Taylor Swift

  You’re Going Down—Sick Puppies

  Cut You Down—Johnny Cash

  Afraid—The Neighbourhood

  Praying—Kesha

  What About Us—P!nk

  Lights Out—Royal Blood

  Something Just Like This—The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

  Lover Dearest—Marianas Trench

  Walk On Water—Thirty Seconds to Mars

  Mercy—Shawn Mendes

  Lights Down Low—MAX

  Seeing Blind—Niall Horan & Maren Morris

  Rhythm of Your Heart—Marianas Trench

  Way Down We Go—Kaleo

  Unconsolable—X Ambassadors

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