Chistmas Ever After Read Online Free PDF Page B

humiliated and ostracized. It’s why she was comfortable with numbers and spreadsheets. They were a constant. Numbers never lie. They give you back exactly what you put out and you can always count on 2 + 2 equaling 4.
    She turned her light blue Mazda onto Shepherd Lane and stopped.   It was a quiet, narrow street, embroidered by tall bare trees and inky shadows. It was also where the Hartmans lived. She nudged the car forward and ventured a look down the road, where only one home was visible, and it was lit up for Christmas. It was a massive Tudor-style home, with a brick wall separating its broad snow-covered lawn from the street. White lights were strung on every eave and bush and along the top of the wall. The perimeter hedges and bare oaks and pines were wrapped in colored lights. Blue floodlights illuminated a manger scene and a 50s-style plastic Santa, complete with sleigh and reindeer.
    Across the street from the house was an empty lot filled with cars, obviously being used as the parking lot for guests.
    Jennifer shook her head and drove toward the house. She turned into the circular drive and stopped the car near the front door of the Hartman home. A high school kid dressed in a bright yellow parka, with stiff hair and active eyes, handed Jennifer a ticket as she climbed out, feeling the sharp chill of the wind. He slid behind the wheel, closed the door and shot away from the driveway across the road to the parking lot.
    She turned toward the house, hearing lively music coming from inside, recognizing the song as Jingle Bell Rock . Mustering courage, she approached the front door, noticing the large Christmas wreath with a bright red bow above the knocker. She found a doorbell and pressed it.
    A moment later, the door opened and a silver-haired man dressed in a tuxedo, with a red silk scarf artfully arranged and blooming from his jacket pocket, welcomed her with a pleasant smile. The smells of pine and turkey filled her nose.
    She presented him with her invitation and he led her into the roomy foyer framed in white lights, garlands and holly. He took her coat, passing it to a young beauty dressed in red velvet, and then escorted Jennifer to the party.
    They entered a spacious and grandly decorated two-level room, where Christmas seemed to leap out at her from every corner. The four-piece band burst into song, Rocking around the Christmas Tree , and the room sprang to life with dancing and clapping.
    People were gathered in groups, conversing, laughing, drinking or standing near the band, rocking to the music. Waiters and waitresses, dressed in black and white with red bow ties, carefully meandered through the crowds, offering drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
    The women wore magnificently stylish dresses of green, red, black and gold, with bows, gold jewelry and artful hairdos. The men wore white shirts with Christmas ties, red and green cashmere sweaters or dark suits and open-collared red or green shirts. Jennifer swallowed away nerves as she looked around.
    Poinsettias were everywhere, surrounding the band and on the mantel, windowsills and side tables. A towering spruce, decorated with red ornaments and white lights, stood 10 feet from the glowing masonry fireplace, where five-foot Nutcrackers stood at attention on either side. Children hopped and played, dazzled by the spectacle and cheerful energy.
    Jennifer noticed baskets of presents, lavishly wrapped, placed around the room and near the red and green skirted table, where food was being arranged for the buffet. The table itself was embellished with a swag of greenery, Victorian-style ornaments, pinecones and candy canes.
    The atmosphere was charged with celebration, expectation and possibility, but Jennifer found it all overwhelming. She was thankful that no one had noticed her. She tucked her head, spun around and walked briskly to the front door. The coat check girl looked confused when Jennifer dropped a dollar in the tip jar and asked for her coat. The