Page 96 of Never Been Worse

“I needed this,” I confess nervously. “I think I needed this time to myself and to see this plan through.”

He sighs, breath moving across my skin before moving up to look at me. “I know.” His hand moves through my hair, pushing it back in a way I missed so damned much. “But it sure would have been easier if you just let me take over and destroy him,” he grumbles, and I smile wide.

“Stop pouting. You’re here now,” I say, my hand moving up his chest and around his neck. “Let’s take advantage of it while we can.”

And we sure do.

Three Days Until Project Ruin Jeremy Vaughn

“Look what Leo sent me,” Wes says, handing me his phone as he lays in the small bed in the cottage next to me.

He’s been sneaking in every night since the other night, and I’m unendingly grateful, not just because Imissedspending time with my husband but because I desperately needed sleep. It seemed my body had gotten much too used to his warm one beside me.

My brow furrows as I grab the device, a video queued up in his text exchange. I tap the screen and see a familiar restaurant, the one Wes and I went to near Jeremy’s work. Except the woman he’s kissing at the table is definitivelynotClarissa.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” a voice shouts, everyone in the restaurant stilling, including Jeremy and the woman. Whoever is recording is close to where they’re sitting, and you can see the color drain out of Jeremy’s face. When the camera pans to the right, I see why: Clarissa is marching in, face red with anger. “You told me you were in New York today!”

“Clarissa, baby,” Jeremy says, standing and leaving the woman at his side looking incredibly confused. She looks kind of familiar, maybe a reality star or a popular influencer.

“Don’t youbabyme! I’vebeenher, remember? The other woman? I know how this works, howyouwork!”

I expect that to send a wash of hurt through me, knowing she’s implying how her relationship with Jeremy went, but it doesn’t.

Not anymore.

“It’s not what it looks like?—”

Clarissa reaches down, grabbing a glass of red wine and tossing it into Jeremy’s face, the deep color staining his shirt instantly. “Explain that to my dad when hefiresyour ass. You thought you could fuck withme?You’re playing out of your fucking league, Jeremy. You’redone.” And then she turns on her heel and marches out of the restaurant. I have to give it to her: the dramatics are top-tier.

When the video ends, I look up at Wes with a smile before he explains.

“The PI found he had a side piece, and a contact of Leo’s spilled the beans to Clarissa. They also let her know where and when to catch him in the act.”

My eyes go wide with another reminder of the breadth of Leo’s reach. “You’re kidding.”

Wes smiles and shakes his head. “Nope. Details are being kept under wraps until Saturday to the best of Leo’s ability. I thought you’d like that touch. What you have planned will wrap things up for him, but knowing he won’t even have her to fall back on is truly poetic.”

I stare at him with a smile, grabbing his phone and setting it to the side before climbing into his lap. I put a hand to either side of his face and press my lips to his.

“God, I love you.”

“You’re the mastermind, Harper. I’m just helping your vision come to life.”

THIRTY-SIX

HARPER

The day of Project Ruin Jeremy Vaughn

I wake on my own the morning of the big day, the sun just barely creeping up in the sky. My body jolts with realization, turning to look at the body still wrapped around mine in the small bed of the cottage.

“Wes, honey,” I say, pushing at his shoulder. “It’s morning. You missed your alarm.”

His eyes open, squinting at me before he shakes his head, shifting into my neck and pressing his lips there. “No, I didn’t.”

“Yes, you did. It’s almost seven.”

“Nope,” he grumbles, his unshaved jaw scratching at my skin and sending a shiver down my spine. “I didn’t set it.”

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