Cruel Love (Privilege 6)

Kill Reed and all these deaths wou

ld be avenged. Kill Reed, and there would finally, finally be justice.

As she popped open the door of her silver Porsche, Ariana felt much calmer and completely resolved. She would go back to her dorm, finish packing for Jasper’s, and spend the rest of the afternoon until her flight working on the Reed problem. The worst was over. It was time to focus. Ariana Osgood had a job to do.

UNCLE JAZZ

“Uncle Jazz! Uncle Jazz! Look what I made for you!”

Jasper’s adorable, towheaded nephew, Ben, came tearing into the banquet-size dining room in the Montgomerys’ stately southern mansion, proudly carrying a mishmash of Play-Doh. Around the table, the adults still lingered over coffee and pie. Ariana sat next to Jasper on one side of the festively decorated table, with his older sister Jacqueline to her left. Across the way, Ben’s parents sat, watching their progeny proudly. Jasper’s oldest sister, Jessica, was massively pregnant once again, and her husband, Sherman, hadn’t let go of her hand for more than thirty seconds all night. At the head and foot of the table were Jasper’s parents: Mr. Montgomery pushed back from his plate to make more room for his ample belly; Mrs. Montgomery perched at the edge of her chair as she sipped her coffee. Ben had long since vacated the dining room, unable to sit still, and had been occupying himself with his Play-Doh in the parlor for the last half hour.

“Wow!” Jasper crowed, pulling Ben into his lap. “That is the scariest looking monster I’ve ever seen!”

Ariana smiled. Jasper was so cute with Ben, it made her heart hurt.

Ben’s face, however, fell like a stone. “It’s not a monster,” he said, fiddling with one of the buttons on Jasper’s Ralph Lauren shirt. “It’s you!”

Jasper hesitated a second as Jessica covered up a laugh, but he recovered quickly.

“And as we all know, I’m the scariest monster south of the Mason-Dixon line!” he said, opening his eyes wide and letting out a growl.

Ben half screamed, half giggled, and wriggled off Jasper’s lap, sprinting back for the parlor. Jasper gave chase, leaving Ariana alone at the table with his family. She sighed contentedly and added some sugar to her coffee. Outside the huge bay window, a grassy hill descended toward a lily pad–spotted pond, its water gleaming in the waning November sunlight. There were several Adirondack chairs set up around a huge stone fire pit, where Jasper had promised the family would repose later that night to roast marshmallows and tell stories. Ariana couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to end a perfect day.

“Well, Jessie, if the one in your belly’s half as much of a hoot as that one, things are about to get a heck of a lot livelier around here,” Mr. Montgomery said, lifting his bushy eyebrows.

Jessica blew out her cheeks and ran her hand over her bump. “Well, she doesn’t stop kicking me, so I think we’re in for it.”

Everyone laughed lightly. Ariana felt Mrs. Montgomery’s eyes on her cheek and looked down at her untouched pecan pie.

“You’ve been rather quiet since dinner was cleared, Ana,” Jasper’s mother said. “Is everything all right?”

“Oh, yes. Of course. Thanks,” Ariana said, coloring slightly. She felt the warm glow of the taper candles on her face. “It’s just … it’s been a long time since I’ve had a real family Thanksgiving.”

Ariana watched as the members of Jasper’s family exchanged wary looks. She knew instantly that they had discussed Briana Leigh’s history and that, quite possibly, Jasper had warned them against saying anything that might make her uncomfortable or sad.

Just like Jasper.

“What did you and your folks used to do for Thanksgiving?” Jessica asked.

Her mother shot her a warning look, but Ariana suddenly realized she wouldn’t mind reminiscing about her parents a bit. Usually she refused to let herself even think about them, but something about today had put her in a nostalgic mood, and she felt safe among Jasper’s family.

“I didn’t have a huge extended family, but my mother always invited over all the neighbors,” Ariana said. “Anyone who didn’t have a place to go was welcome at our house.”

“That sounds nice,” Jacqueline said. “Like what Thanksgiving’s really supposed to be about.”

“It was nice,” Ariana said with a soft smile. “The only thing I didn’t like was that my mother didn’t cook that night. She always hired in. I understand why—she wanted to be able to spend time

with us instead of in the kitchen—but she was an amazing cook. She used to make this rosemary garlic chicken with mashed potatoes and southern biscuits from scratch. That was always my favorite meal growing up.”

“Now you’re making me hungry again,” Sherman joked, patting his flat stomach with his free hand.

Everyone laughed and Ariana blushed. “Sorry. I’m rambling.”

“Not at all, Ana,” Mrs. Montgomery said with a kind smile, her coiffed blond hair so full of product, it sat motionless as she nodded at Ariana. “And I want you to know that as much as I’m sure you miss your family, we’re all very happy to have you here.”

“Jazz calls me to brag about you, like, every day at school,” Jacqueline informed her with a smile. “He’s annoying the heck out of my roommate.”

Ariana’s chest inflated with happiness. Until recently, she had no idea Jasper’s sisters even knew she existed. It meant a lot that he spoke to them about her so often.