Jilted: Promise Harbor, Book 1 (31 page)

They’d gone to high school together. They’d graduated in the same class and had known each other. The Harbor wasn’t big enough to not know everyone in your graduating class. They’d even flirted.
 

He and Jason Simpson had sat behind her and Devon in chemistry senior year. He’d cut in on her date at the Homecoming dance and at Prom. Every weekend from January until May he’d asked her to a party on the weekend. She’d always said no.
 

But he’d never asked her out on a real date. Which was fine. She would have said no to that too. He was a bad boy, a rebel. She was a good girl who followed all the rules. He dated casually, if at all, and was just out for a good time. She dated nice boys, one at a time, and never did more than French kiss.
 

It was so cliché—the good girl fascinated by the bad boy—it was pathetic.

Then they’d gone away to college and hadn’t seen each other again.

Until that party their senior year of college.
 

She’d been in love with him since then. She was now twenty-eight. That party had been just before she turned twenty-two.
 

Pathetic.

She tipped the beer bottle up, but found it was empty. How had that happened?

Suddenly the music died, there were shouts, then she could have sworn she heard, “Move. Police!” followed by a loud crash.
 

“Oh my god!” Bernie gasped. “Jackson Knight just hit Hayley Stone.”

Oh, that was just perfect. Allie felt her head throb. The best man in her wedding tomorrow had just hit a police officer. That was fantastic.

“What do you mean he
hit
her?” Crystal demanded.

“He was swinging at someone else but she stepped in. And she
cuffed
him,” Bernice said with delight.
 

Crystal went up on tiptoe, trying to peer over the crowd. “Man, I’d love to have Jackson Knight in handcuffs and at my mercy for an hour.”

“People are gonna be
so pissed.
” Bernie’s eyes were practically sparkling with the juicy news. “Jackson Knight is like a god.”

“But he hit a cop,” Crystal said. “She has to take him in.”

Allie straightened. Hey, wait a minute…

“Take him in where?” she asked.

Crystal rolled her eyes. “Jail. Duh. You can’t hit a cop.”

“
Jail
?” Allie repeated. “The best man at my wedding tomorrow is going to
jail
?”
 

Hey. Maybe that
was
fantastic. They couldn’t get married without a best man, could they?
 

“I’m sure he’ll just have to pay a fine or something,” Crystal reassured her. “It was an accident. And it’s
Jackson Knight.”

Allie sighed. Yeah, yeah, Jackson Knight. The hot hometown hero. She was sure Crystal was right and Jackson would be out in plenty of time for the wedding.

So, that wasn’t going to help her.

The music came back up and the bridesmaids squealed and started shaking their stuff, the mini-drama with Jackson and Hayley forgotten.

And Allie went right back to wishing for more liquor and thinking about Gavin. Not necessarily in that order.

“You know, maybe you should call him or something,” Crystal said over the music.

Allie turned from looking for a waitress to face her friend. “What?”

“Maybe you should call him. Just, you know, check in. Get your mind focused.”

“You think I should call Gavin?” Why did that sound like a great idea?
 

Crystal frowned. “Of course not. You should call
Josh
.”

“Oh.” She definitely shouldn’t feel disappointed about that idea. Josh was the man she was going to be calling for the rest of her life.

Gavin hadn’t even called her after her mom died.

She should
not
want to talk to him now.

And now that she was getting married? She definitely hadn’t heard from him. Did he know? Did he care? Obviously not. Obviously he’d moved on.

But if
he
were getting married—she felt a sharp stab in her chest at that thought—she’d call him. She had no idea what she’d say, but she would call. Maybe say something like “congratulations” or “I wish you the best” or “Is she anything like me?” or “Do you ever think of me?” or “Don’t do it!”

Allie covered her face with her hands. She would
not
call and say any of that stuff if he were getting married. If he were getting married, it would mean that he was over her. Obviously.

But…what if it didn’t? Her getting married didn’t mean she was over him. It just meant that a really great guy wanted to make a life with her, a life that would benefit them both and make their families really happy, and she couldn’t think of a good reason not to do it.
 

Josh would help her. Now that her mom was gone—another stabbing pain caught Allie in the chest, and she had to stop and breathe through it for a moment—her dad and brothers needed her more than ever. Almost too much. Someone had to help her with that and Josh was the perfect one. He knew her family, knew their secrets, knew how to help. And he was
here.
Gavin sure as hell wasn’t.

Yeah. That’s why Josh was the best.

And
everyone
should know that.

Allie pulled her phone from her pocket and thumbed through her contacts. Gavin was the first G. She pressed his name and
Call
and waited for it to ring. She didn’t even know if this was still his number.
 

It went to voicemail. But it was definitely his voicemail.

His deep, familiar voice swept over her and she felt like crying again.
 

Then the beep sounded and she got mad again. It was the middle of the night and she was calling him. Shouldn’t he at least be
curious
? If he’d called her she would most definitely be curious. She’d pick up for sure.
If he was screening her calls she was going to be pissed. Not that she would know. But still…

“Gavin,” she said. “This is Allie. I want you to know that you should be here. That’s what I need. You to be here. And I just thought you should know that. And you should know…all the other stuff too.” She felt like she was trying to see through fog. Nothing was clear. She wanted him to know…something. Something about…someone. Who? Crystal? No, he didn’t know Crystal. Maybe it was about her. Yeah, probably. “I want you to know that…” She frowned, wracking her alcohol-soaked brain. The next song started and Whitney Houston’s voice floated over her. Oh, she loved this song. It was old. She remembered it from high school. It was a classic love song, though. She started to sway, the phone still against her ear. She pulled the phone away and stared at it. Gavin. She’d called Gavin.

The man she wished was here, the guy who she wanted to be at the end of the aisle tomorrow.

Her eyes welled with tears. He wouldn’t be and she couldn’t call him again after she married Josh. This was her last chance to tell him what she really felt.
 

She started to sing along. “And I…will always love you…”

It was amazing how much she sounded like Whitney, Allie marveled. Really amazing.

Jilted

Kelly Jamieson

The wedding’s off but the honeymoon is on…

Promise Harbor Wedding, Book 1

Devon can do this. She can show up at her ex-boyfriend Josh’s wedding, even though he’s marrying her ex-best-friend. She can show everyone she’s happy with her fabulous life in Boston, her great career, her amazing shoes — and she can show everyone she’s over him.

Truth is, her life isn’t so fabulous. She’s just been downsized out of her job, her Jimmy Choos won’t pay her mortgage, and…she’s still heartbroken that Josh chose family over her. The real reason she’s enduring this wedding is that her next stop is nearby Greenbush Island, her last hope of finding a new job.

Josh knows marrying long-time friend Allie will make everyone happy after the rough time their families have been through, and since the woman he really wanted to marry chose her career and big city life over him
—
why not?

But the perfect wedding turns into a perfect disaster when Allie leaves him at the altar for another man. He never saw that coming! But hey, Devon’s there, offering to help him look for Allie on Greenbush Island, where he’d planned their honeymoon. Only, all they find there are their old feelings for each other and a temptation to risk their hearts one more time…

Warning: This book contains a firefighter hot enough to ignite flames, a woman who doesn’t want to get burned again, a honeymoon suite but no honeymoon, and sex not on the beach (sorry).

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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B

Cincinnati OH 45249

Jilted

Copyright © 2013 by Kelly Jamieson

ISBN: 978-1-61921-428-6

Edited by Lindsey Faber

Cover by Angela Waters

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: March 2013

www.samhainpublishing.com