Page 1 of How to Get Even

IN THE BEGINNING…

CHICAGO, O’HARE AIRPORT, 21 DECEMBER

Bella ignored the phone that vibrated in her hand. Twice.

‘Are you sure?’ asked the flight attendant, blinking between her and the little old lady.

Bella looked at the large window showing a runway quickly becoming buried beneath mounds of snow from the sudden blizzard that had taken everyone by surprise.

Not that anyone should really be surprised by snow. In Chicago. Four days from Christmas.

‘Ma’am? This is the last flight out of here,’ she repeated, as if wanting to make absolutely sure Bella knew what she was doing. ‘It could be hours before another one can leave.’

Bella heard the warning and looked into the green watery eyes of Delia, the elderly woman who was desperate to get home to hold her grandchild for the first time.

And what did Bella have waiting for her in Upstate New York?

A loving family, a huge tree with fairy lights topped with the angel her sister had made in third grade, presents, a delicious meal; all the things that almost any sane person would kill to have for Christmas.

Anyone but her.

‘Absolutely. Please give Delia my seat and arrange for me to be on the next available flight,’ Bella replied determinedly.

The flight attendant shook her head, but did as she was asked, while Bella fired off a text to her sister.

I’m fine, honestly!

Please. Stop. Asking.Me. Bella silently begged.

I’ll let you know when I have flight details. Love to Mom and Dad! Xx

‘Oh, thank you,’ cried Delia, trembling with happiness. ‘I just couldn’t bear it if I’d missed her first Christmas.’

‘Just promise to give that beautiful little girl a kiss from me,’ Bella said with a genuine smile.

‘I will! I truly will,’ Delia exclaimed as the new boarding pass was printed.

The flight attendant shot Bella an unimpressed look as Delia grappled with her three bags, as if it were Bella’s fault that the older woman was flouting hand baggage rules.

‘Bless you, sweet child,’ Delia said, nearly losing her book as she reached for the boarding pass. ‘Oh here. Take this,’ she said, thrusting the paperback at Bella. ‘You probably need this more than I do,’ she said with a saucy smile, disappearing down the gangway before the flight attendant pulled a rope across the exit.

Bella stared at the book in her hands, a lurid pink flyer peeking out from between the pages catching her eye.

Just Desserts, Opposite Gate 7

Pictures of cocktails and cakes in a pretty cartoon design called to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had cake. Certainly not since before the…

What did you call a wedding that didn’t happen? An un-wedding? A non-wedding? Either way, before ‘it’, she’d been following a calorie-controlled diet to fit into the perfect wedding dress. The kind that all little girls – and a few boys too – dreamed of. The kind that her father had paid an almost eye-watering amount for.

Guilt and shame welled in her empty stomach, and suddenly, all Bella wanted was sugar. An obscene, high octane, chest exploding, fall-off-the-wagon amount of sugar. With the airport full of stranded passengers, she probably wouldn’t get a seat. But maybe, just maybe, one good turn deserved another, she thought as she pulled the flyer from the page.

And then she choked on a gasp as she caught sight of the paragraph the flyer had been hiding.

Fuck me, Daddy. Please? I’ve been such abadgirl.

Bella slammed the book shut, looking around her to make sure that no one had seen what she had. Her cheeks flamed, hot and bright, and she used the book to fan them.

Delia!

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