Prince by Blood and Bone: A Fantasy Romance of the Black Court (Tales of the Black Court) (40 page)

“I…”

“I need you! You’ve planned everything. Jason and I are depending on you to run the wedding for us.”

Yes they were. Her best friend and her ex-fiance had somehow manipulated her into giving them all the reservations and plans for the perfect Christmas wedding. The wedding she’d planned for herself and Jason. The wedding it had taken her two years to set up, with the best church, reception hall, and caterer. The wedding where she was supposed to be the bride and Jason was supposed to be the groom.

She’d done her best to keep it all inside, but it burned.

Samantha kept talking, as if Jen were listening. “Where are you, anyway? I called your mother and she said you were driving to Timbuktu.”

She was escaping. That’s what she was doing. For the first time in her life she was standing up for herself. Okay, she was running away. But what she wasn’t doing was hosting any parties. Or overseeing a wedding that should have been hers, but instead belonged to two cheaters.

Tears welled up and she pressed her eyelids down in an attempt to keep the moisture stuffed inside, where it belonged.

“Jen? Are you there? Your mother’s worried about you.”

“She thinks anything outside of Boston is the end of the world,” Jen choked out.

“Are you crying?”

“No.”

“It sounds like you’re crying. I thought you were okay with this. You told me you were going to dump Jason anyway. You told me that he and I were perfect for each other.”

“You are,” she said.

And they were. Two backstabbing social snobs who wanted nothing more than to make money and spend it. They were perfect for each other.

“Jen?”

“Listen, I’m fine. But I’m not going to be there. Susan is taking care of everything.”

Thank God for Susan’s understanding. She’d helped Jen make the plan, and pushed her to execute it.

“You’re breaking up,” she lied to Sam, faking the crackling noises like they did on TV. “I don’t think there’ll be any reception where I’ll be. Have a great time, and congratulations.”

She hung up before Sam could get out another word. The rush of tears broke loose, pouring down her face.

She didn’t even know why she was crying. Jason hadn’t loved her and she hadn’t loved Jason. She wasn’t even sure why Samantha was her best friend, except they’d always been that way. Sam was the girl at school her mom had approved of, rich and socially acceptable. Like everything else in Jen’s boring, follow-the-rules life. Until she’d found Jason and Sam in bed together, she’d just gone with the flow. Done what was expected of her. Gone to school. Got a respectable degree. Got engaged to the son of a family friend. And it had worked. She’d had a fiancé, a wedding, a plan.

Now, here she was, barely six months out of college with nothing. No wedding. No future. No plan. Her tiny job at the tiny historical museum, the job that was the perfect job for a rich man’s wife, would never support her in Boston. All her friends were Sam and Jason’s friends. Her whole life was now Sam and Jason’s life. She was lost, spun out on the side of a country road, seeing things. And even the GPS knew she was a loser.

Well, she’d prove the technology wrong. She’d prove everyone wrong. Jen wiped her tears and searched her directory for Mrs. Castlebury’s number. She’d call for directions. Her finger hovered over the little green icon.

Her mother’s voice rang in her head, telling her she should just admit it: all women were better off with a strong, rich man to take care of them and she wasn’t any different. She couldn’t even drive a few hours away from the city by herself.

Lifting her chin she tossed the phone into the passenger seat and started the car back up.

She didn’t need any stupid directions. She could do this. Her mother, her ex-fiance, Sam. Everyone back in Boston thought she was nothing on her own. And if she gave up now she might as well turn around and admit they were right.

“You have passed your destination. You may be lost.”

“Oh, shut up!” Jen jabbed at the GPS, and shut the thing off. “I may be lost, but I’m not giving up.”

This was her only chance to survive Christmas this year. She refused to turn tail and run back to Boston—where her life was a mess and everyone knew it. She’d stay here on her own and do what she wanted to do. And while she was at it, she would prove to everyone that she didn’t need a man to survive.

Maybe she’d even prove it to herself.

Discover GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST, due to be released July 2014

on Jessica’s website
http://jessicaaspen.com

or whichever fine retailer you purchased this book.