This Time

By Trish Edmisten

Seven years ago, he broke her heart. This time, the tables are turned!

Chelsea Schumacher always knew this day would come. Sooner or later, she would have to face Justin Jacobs, the guy who broke her heart when she was just seventeen years old. With his brother about to marry her best friend, that day is finally here. It’s been seven years since she last saw Justin, but time has done nothing to dull the pain of his rejection. If anything, the ache has grown worse. Determined not to let him have any power over her, and more determined not to ruin her best friend’s wedding, Chelsea makes her own vow. Things will be different this time. Or will they?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trish Edmisten
• Release date: May 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311938114

Trish Edmisten

Author of YA and contemporary romance.

Book preview

This Time

Trish Edmisten

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2014 by Trish Edmisten

All Rights Reserved.

This book is gratefully dedicated to all of the readers who fell in love with Justin and asked for more of him, especially to Olga and Lori, who helped me bring this to story to life. Without you, this story wouldn’t be possible.

Chapter One

Being a bridesmaid sucked. Being a fat bridesmaid was worse than having a root canal. Being the only fat bridesmaid in the wedding party was worse than having that root canal with no Novocain.

It was a prospect Chelsea Schumacher had been dreading since she had gotten the call from her best friend, Danni Singer, asking her to please, please be a bridesmaid at her wedding. Chelsea’s first instinct had been to say no. In the end, her conscience forced her to say yes and she had been psyching herself up for the big day ever since. Who knew the big day was going to turn out to be the big week?

As much as she loved her best friend, Chelsea could think of better ways to spend one of the two weeks of vacation time her job afforded her each year. Saying no wasn’t an option though. Chelsea and Danni had been best friends since junior high school, and despite going separate ways after high school, they had stayed in contact.

Still, staying in contact wasn’t the same thing as staying close. Sure they had traded email and text messages, most of which consisted of Danni suggesting Chelsea needed to get with the twenty-first century and embrace the social media communication wave, specifically Face Book.

Chelsea wasn’t the least bit interested in Face Book. The only two people she cared about in high school were the only two people she was still in contact with despite her lack of a Face Book account. Besides, there was no way she was putting pictures of herself all over the internet so those jerks from high school could have even more ammunition to make fun of her.

Much to Chelsea’s chagrin, the years hadn’t been kind to her. Rather than being one of those ugly duckling becomes a swan success stories, she had gained even more weight since graduating. Her ass was so big it practically needed its own time zone, and her breasts weren’t much better. They were big, which was what always drew the eyes of the opposite sex, but they were too big. Besides giving her back aches, she couldn’t find a decent bra without having to pay through the nose for it. Just once she would have liked to be able to buy her lingerie at Victoria’s Secret instead of Lane Bryant.

Between her and Danni and Marcy, Danni was the only one who had managed to salvage their time in high school and carve out some decent memories by landing a hot boyfriend, a boyfriend she would be marrying a week from today.

The fact that Danni was marrying Darren Jacobs didn’t surprise Chelsea in the least. From the moment they met, those two were so obviously meant for each other that it was more than a little sickening. Danni and Darren had been inseparable since senior year so getting married after so many years together wasn’t the least bit shocking.

The only thing that did shock her was the realization that seven years had passed since they had graduated high school; seven long years in which she had plenty of time to dwell on the embarrassing memories of Darren’s older brother. Chelsea swallowed back the bile as she recalled the last time she’d spoken to Justin Jacobs. His words and the depth of his velvety smooth voice still haunted her.

‘I’m sorry, Chelsea. You’re a sweet girl, but I don’t think it’s a good idea.’

Sweet, ugh! Chelsea heaved a sigh. Talk about the kiss of death!

There she is! Chelsea, over here!

Danni’s excited squeal pulled Chelsea from her bad memories. She laughed at the sight of her best friend flapping her arms as though trying to take flight. Marcy stood beside Danni and though she wasn’t flailing her arms like a lunatic, she wore an ear to ear grin. Chelsea’s laughter turned to a bitter snort as she took in the two women. Both looked great; much better than she did.

Danni had always been beautiful with her auburn hair and soft blue eyes. The excitement over the fact that she was about to marry the man of her dreams had those blue eyes sparkling just as it gave her skin a radiant glow.

Even though she wasn’t about to be married, Marcy was just as beautiful. Her layered hair cut gave her blonde hair even more volume and brought out her gray eyes. Either that or the lack of glasses made her eyes more noticeable. For as long as they had known each other, Marcy had worn glasses because she was afraid of touching her eyeballs. Thanks to Lasik surgery, Marcy had been able to ditch the glasses. Chelsea still shook her head over that one. The girl who’d been afraid to touch her own eyeball found the guts to let someone shoot lasers into her eyes.

As if being beautiful wasn’t bad enough, both women were still skinny. Throughout the course of their friendship, Chelsea had always been the designated fat friend, a role she was being forced to slip back into for the next week.

Chelsea plastered a smile on her face. I can do this.

Danni launched herself at Chelsea. Hugging her friend was the only way for Chelsea to keep from falling on her ass.

I’m so glad you could come, Danni said as she relinquished her hold on Chelsea’s neck. Do you have any baggage besides your carry on?

Yeah, I’ve got one, Chelsea said.

Great. Danni smiled as she linked arms with Chelsea. We’ll just get that and then we can grab some lunch before we head back to the house.

Sounds good.

So, how have you been?

Chelsea laughed. You just talked to me last night. You know the answer to that.

Okay, fine, how was your flight?

It was all right.

Danni frowned. Only all right?

It would’ve been better if the guy next to me had showered before he got on the plane, Chelsea admitted. Honestly, I don’t know what was worse, his foul stench or the fact that his eyes never left my boobs the whole time.

You do have a great rack, Marcy said.

Ah, Marce, I think that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me, Chelsea said, and they all laughed.

Considering it was Danni who paid for the plane ticket, Chelsea hated to complain but the flight could have been better. Still, a forty-five minute flight with some guy leering at her breasts was better than a six hour drive in her aging Accord.

Chelsea let out a sigh when she spotted her bag on the carousel. Even though it had never happened to her the few times she had flown, she had a fear of having her bags lost.

Is that the only one? Danni asked when Chelsea snatched up her suitcase.

Just this and my carry on. Chelsea patted the large tote bag slung over her shoulder. We’re all set.

Danni beamed at her. Let’s get going then. We’ve got tons of fun ahead of us, starting with lunch today.

‘Tons of fun’; Chelsea cringed at the words.

Why did she have this feeling she was going to regret agreeing to be one of Danni’s bridesmaids?

Sweat dripped from every one of Justin Jacobs’ pores as he finished the last of his reps, but he didn’t mind sweating. Good thing too since he didn’t have much choice. Looking good at the age of thirty-two wasn’t nearly as easy as it had been when he was in his twenties. It wasn’t easy, but he wasn’t about to let himself get soft.

Justin would have been lying to himself if he said working out and staying in shape was all about staying healthy. It was a nice perk, but the truth was he couldn’t afford to let himself go, at least not until he found a woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. That wasn’t to say he would quit working out after he got married. If anything, he would probably work out more just to make sure he kept himself looking good for his wife.

His wife! Justin shook his head at the foreign sound of the words.

By now, everyone pretty much figured he was never going to get married. The fact that his little brother was getting married a week from today added even more weight to that opinion.

It wasn’t that Justin didn’t want to get married. What nobody knew, and what might surprise them, was that he wanted very much to be married and have a family. It wasn’t love of the bachelor life or fear of commitment that kept him single all these years. He just hadn’t found the right woman yet, the woman he felt emotionally connected to. Sure, he’d been friends with some of the women he dated, but not best friends.

If it wasn’t for the fact that he had seen it first hand with his brother and Danni, he wouldn’t have believed it was possible for a man and woman to have that kind of connection. Danni was beautiful and sweet, but she could also be as fiery as her hair, and she was deeply in love with his brother. While everyone else turned on Darren after the car accident that took his arm, Danni fell head over heels for him. Without her love, Justin was convinced his brother would have fallen into serious depression.

Mopping the sweat from his brow, Justin took a long chug from his bottle of water before wandering into the bathroom for a much needed shower. One of the nice things about living alone in a three bedroom house was the fact that he had been able to convert one of the extra bedrooms to a home gym. Getting all the equipment he needed to keep in shape cost a pretty penny, but in the long run it would save him money on gym membership dues.

Justin set his water bottle on the counter and turned on the shower. After peeling his sweat drenched clothes from his body, he tossed them aside and stepped into the shower. The warm water felt so good on his tired muscles that he lingered there even after washing up.

Almost as if it had a mind of its own, his hand drifted toward his dick. It took just ninety seconds for him to reach a climax, which might have been sixty or even thirty seconds if he hadn’t just worked out. Justin heaved a sigh as he leaned his head against the shower wall. How much longer would it have to be like this for him?

As much as he loved his little brother, he hated the fact that it was Darren getting married next weekend instead of him. Why couldn’t he find a woman to love him the way Danni loved Darren? Why couldn’t he find someone to laugh with and cry with and take care of? Was that too much to ask?

Even as the questions came to him, Justin knew they all had the same answer. Finding the right woman would have been easy except for one thing. It meant facing some things he’d spent years running from.

A sense of nostalgia overwhelmed Chelsea when Danni pulled in front of her house. As kids, they had spent countless days and nights hanging out at this house. Chelsea had always envied Danni’s house. It never seemed fair that three people had so much room while the home she lived in was too small and too crowded.

Where’s your mom? Chelsea asked. Wait, let me guess. She’s at work.

As a lawyer for one of the best practices in town, Danni’s mom spent her childhood working long hours away from home, which worked out just fine for Danni and her friends. Since Danni’s older brother, Nick, was around about as much as their mother, the girls had free run of the big house.

Danni laughed. Actually, she’s out with Darren’s mom. They’re doing some last minute stuff for tomorrow’s bridal shower.

Speaking of the bridal shower, I’m not sure my gift is, shall we say, appropriate, Chelsea said and gave her a wicked smile.

God, Chels, please tell me you didn’t get me something that requires batteries.

Would you believe it if I said I got a vibrator attachment for Darren’s fake arm? Chelsea joked, and Danni’s cheeks pinked.

Do they really make stuff like that? Marcy asked.

Guess you’ll find out tomorrow. Chelsea widened her smile. So, what’s on the agenda?

We’ve got our dress fitting at three this afternoon and then tomorrow’s the bridal shower, Danni said.

That covers the weekend, but what about the rest of the week? Chelsea asked.

Just taking care of the last minute details, Danni said. And then Friday is the rehearsal at five thirty and dinner at six thirty at Darren’s parents’ house and the wedding is on Saturday which means we have to be up early to be at the salon.

Chelsea turned to Marcy. Why didn’t I hear any mention of a bachelorette party in there?

Don’t look at me, Marcy said. I tried to put one together, but little miss virgin was too embarrassed by the idea of penis shaped party favors.

I am not a virgin, Danni huffed as her face turned crimson.

Excuse me, I mean little miss I’ve-only-seen-one-penis-in-my-whole-life couldn’t bear the thought of being exposed to the kind of debauchery her best friends would have planned, Marcy corrected.

And you just caved to her prudish wishes? Chelsea scoffed. Honestly, Danni, you’re getting married in one week. You’re never going to see, touch or taste another man’s cock ever again. You should seize the chance while you can.

Sounds to me like you’re more interested in seizing your own chance to get some, Danni retorted.

Why not? I’m not the one marrying the only guy I’ve ever slept with.

It’s not as bad as you make it sound.

I never said it was. I’m just saying you’ve got one more week of freedom. Why not have a little fun?

Danni glanced at her watch. So, we’ll need to leave in about an hour if we’re going to make the dress fitting on time.

Chelsea laughed. Just because you’re changing the subject doesn’t mean it’s closed. Listen, if you don’t mind, I could use a shower before I go trying on some fancy dress.

No problem, Danni said. Meet us in the front room when you’re ready.

While Danni and Marcy padded down the stairs, Chelsea opened her suitcase and grabbed her favorite jeans and a clean T-shirt along with some fresh undergarments.

Even though she avoided looking at herself in the bathroom mirror when she stripped down, it didn’t do any good. She wasn’t blind. She could still see the rolls of fat as she stood in the shower. Worse, she could feel the fat oozing in her hands as she ran the soapy washcloth over her generous curves.

The thought of how she would be spending her afternoon made her want to beat her head against the wall. Those skinny bitches were going to look great in their dresses while she’d be lucky to fit hers.

Chelsea sighed again. Might as well get this over with.

Justin was just pulling on his shoes when his doorbell rang. He glanced at the clock and then chuckled. Darren was five minutes early. No surprise there. Darren was one of those guys who thought he was late if he was less than five minutes early.

Justin grinned at his brother as he pulled the door open. You’re only five minutes early. You’re losing your touch.

Fuck you. You ready to go or you need more time to get pretty?

Doesn’t get much prettier than this.

The two men made their way to the living room. They exited through the garage where the love of Justin’s life was waiting for them; his cherry red, pristine Camaro. It had taken years of saving for Justin to buy that car. While his frat buddies were pissing away their money on booze and chicks and the occasional bag of weed, Justin was socking his money away to buy his baby. If only he could find a woman he loved as much as he loved that car.

You okay? Darren asked.

Justin frowned. What makes you think I’m not okay?

I don’t know, Darren said with half a shrug. You just seem kind of down.

There was a flicker of panic in Darren’s eyes when Justin gunned the engine and backed the car out of the garage. Not that Justin blamed him. At seventeen years old, his brother had been in a huge car accident that took his left arm and almost took his life. Ever since then, he had problems being in cars.

Justin could still recall the first time his brother had a panic attack in his car. The ride had already been a tense one with Darren jumping and gasping every time they got near another car and even a few times when he thought the other cars were too close. Justin was two seconds from telling his brother to shut the fuck up and stop being such a damn distraction when Darren started sobbing and begging him to pull over. In a panic, Justin cut across two lanes of traffic and almost got them hit. By the time he had gotten the car stopped, Darren was hyperventilating.

Watching his little brother suffer and not being able to do anything to help him had been the worst feeling in the world. It took about fifteen minutes for Darren to calm down enough to let Justin drive him the rest of the way home. Justin’s heart had broken even more when they got home and Darren fled the car and ran into the house without looking back at him. To this day, he could still feel his brother’s shame.

Over the last seven years, Darren had improved enough that he could get through a car ride without having a panic attack. The only thing he couldn’t handle was heavy traffic. If there were too many cars on the road, Darren had been known to recline the seat so that he couldn’t see what was going on around him.

Justin was glad the traffic wasn’t bad today. On days of lighter traffic, Darren let him get away with driving a little faster, which he appreciated. It was almost criminal to have a four hundred horsepower engine and drive like a little old lady.

Besides, we wouldn’t want to be late for the tux fitting.

Justin shook his head. He really needed to snap out of this and be happy for his little brother.

So? Darren prompted.

So what?

Tell me what’s bothering you.

I guess I’m jealous of you.

Say what?

You’re about to marry the woman of your dreams, and it just makes me feel…

Feel what?

We shouldn’t be talking about me. This is your moment, and I’m not going to ruin it by crying about how lonely I am.

You’re lonely? Darren repeated.

Justin laughed. Damn, how’d you do that?

You did it.

That’s because I’m used to telling you everything, but you don’t have anything to worry about. I probably just need to get laid.

Sounds to me like you need to find your soul mate.

Little brother, right now I’d settle for a girlfriend.

Maybe you’ll find one at the wedding. Darren slid a grin in his direction. Some hot single girl will be sad because she’s not the one getting married, and when she’s shit faced drunk you can make your move.

Justin laughed again. Drunk and desperate, just the way I like ’em.

Hey, it’s better than nothing.

Like you’d know anything about that. Justin managed to keep the thought to himself.

Listen, I know I said I’d help with putting together the wedding favors, but I need to go into the office for a little while on Monday.

What for?

I want to see if Amelia’s made any headway with the insurance company for the Myers kid. Justin tightened his hands on the steering wheel. Those bastards at Fidelity Health are the worst.

I remember.

Yeah, me too, which is why I wish someone would sue their asses and put them out of business.

Besides his brother’s relationship with Danni, one of the good things that came out of his accident was the business the brothers started not long after Darren graduated college. Justin had been toying with the idea long before that. Having graduated college with a Bachelor’s Degree in business administration, he hated pissing away his days working at Tahoe’s restaurant even if he was one of the managers. What he really wanted was to put his degree to better use and start his own business.

It was his brother’s accident, and their family’s subsequent struggle to get his brother a decent prosthetic arm, that gave Justin the idea to start a prosthetics company. It had taken several years to make that dream a reality, but now they were one of the leading prosthetics companies. Jacobs Brothers Prosthetics had the best of everything, the best prosthetists, the best financial counselors and the best reputation on the west coast and maybe even the whole damned United States. To say they made a comfortable living would have been a gross understatement, but that wasn’t what motivated either of them.

Let me know what you find out from Amelia. If she’s hit a wall, I’ll take care of it.

Justin smiled. ‘Take care of it’ was Darren’s nice way of saying he would tear someone a new asshole if they didn’t quit screwing around with the life and self-esteem of a ten year old kid and give him the prosthetic legs he needed.

Over the last few years, his normally shy brother had developed a reputation for being ruthless when it came to dealing with stonewalling insurance companies. Their reps didn’t even have to hear his voice before they started shaking. The mention of his name was enough to make them nervous.

And just so you know, this isn’t going to get you out of helping with the wedding favors, Darren said.

You’re kidding? Justin laughed.

Nope, if I have to do this shit, so do you.

Excuse me, but I’m not the one getting married here.

Not yet, but when you do get married, I will be there when your future wife insists on throwing a favor making party.

Let’s hope that day comes sooner than later.

Chelsea wanted to scream at her best friend as she stared at herself in the unforgiving mirror in the bridal shop. As far as bridesmaid’s dresses went, it wasn’t the worst thing she had ever seen. In fact, the tea length burgundy dress looked great on that skinny assed, narrow waisted Marcy. Then again, a gunny sack would look great on that twig.

Chelsea looked down at herself again. Come to think of it, a gunny sack might not look so bad on me either.

A gunny sack would have been better than this thing. While her thunder thighs and huge calves were covered, her breasts were spilling over the front which wasn’t nearly as bad as the back fat oozing over the zipper. Almost as bad as the back fat was the bat wings for arms that she couldn’t hide in that strapless number.

What’s wrong? Danni asked.

Nothing, Chelsea lied.

Then why do you look like you just sucked a sour lemon? Marcy asked.

Don’t you think it’s a bit revealing for me? Chelsea tried to be delicate.

Well, your girls do look like they’re straining to get free, Danni conceded and then hurried to add, but you only have to wear it for a few hours. It won’t be that bad.

Danni’s right, a few hours won’t be that bad, Marcy said.

Chelsea fought the urge to glare at her skinny best friends. Instead, she forced herself to smile at them. You’re right. What are a few hours for my best friend’s wedding?

That’s the spirit, Danni said. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. You look totally great.

Chelsea mashed her lips together to keep her smart ass comeback to herself. Besides the fact that she really didn’t want to ruin her best friend’s wedding, she knew better than to open that can of worms. If she did make the mistake of letting on how unhappy she was and how much she loathed her body, she would never hear the end of the sympathy from her well meaning yet skinny friends.

By the time they made it back from what Chelsea secretly dubbed the Bridesmaid Dress Disaster, Danni’s mom was home. Charmain Singer looked great, not that Chelsea expected any less from her.

Charmain may have been in her early fifties, but she didn’t look a day over thirty. As she looked at Danni’s mom, she realized how much more Danni was looking like her these days. Both had the same auburn hair and blue eyes, not to mention an identical facial structure.

Chelsea, it’s so good to see you, Charmain cried.

When Charmain pulled her into a hug, Chelsea was overcome with the urge to cry. It had been too long since she felt the