Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

Chapter One

Melanie

“You have to let me see that ring!” I ran over to my friend, Taylor, as she was walking down the hallway at Carson Cove University.

“This old thing?” She grinned and held it up.

“It’s gorgeous! My god! That picture on Facebook didn’t do it justice at all!” I stared at the ring, and my mouth fell open in shock.

“You totally have to come to the wedding! I need your address so I can send you an invitation.” She pulled out her phone.

“Oh…” I tensed up. “I’m actually going to be moving soon, so maybe you could give it to me at school?”

“Sure, no problem.” She smiled and put her phone back in her purse. “We’re going to get married right after graduation.”

“That’s a short engagement.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Are you sure you’re ready to get married?”

“If you had told me when I started this school year that I would be planning a wedding at the end of it, I would have thought you were crazy.” She exhaled sharply. “But after everything we went through to get to this point—and a baby scare—yeah, I’m definitely ready. Don’t get me wrong; we want to have kids and even talked about trying after the wedding. We just want to wait so we can enjoy our honeymoon.”

“I’m so happy for you.” I smiled and leaned in for a quick hug.

“Maybe we can get together for drinks one day this week?” Taylor tilted her head inquisitively.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I nodded quickly. “How about Wednesday? I have the night off from work.”

“Perfect.” She nodded. “Okay, I need to get to class.”

“Yeah, me too.” I waved goodbye and started walking in the opposite direction.

I was definitely happy for Taylor, but I wasn’t envious of everything she went through before she got an engagement ring on her finger. She was marrying her best friend’s father, which was complicated enough, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. I was still trying to wrap my head around the scandal that surrounded their relationship. They found a way to get through it. That was all that truly mattered.

Deep down, I wished I had someone that looked at me the way Bryant looked at Taylor, but the last thing I needed was a man in my life. I was about to graduate from college, and I still didn’t have a job lined up—if I didn’t find something soon, I wasn’t going to be able to stay in Carson Cove after I walked across the stage.

I thought I would hate this place when I first moved here, but I really like living in Carson Cove.

I walked to my next class and checked my email before my professor got started with his lecture. I was waiting to hear from several companies in Carson Cove—basically, every company that was hiring. I wasn’t looking for anything special. I just wanted to get my foot in the door and have an opportunity to prove that I deserved to be there. Unfortunately, none of the companies I sent my resume to had responded, and every day that passed without hearing something from them made me question if I ever would.

“Alright class, let’s get started.” Professor Thompson stood up from his desk.

At least I have something else to occupy my thoughts for the next hour…

* * *

A few days later

“There you are.” Taylor walked up to the table and put her purse down. “This place is really crowded for a Wednesday…”

“Yeah, I seem to always pick the worst place for us to get a drink.” I shook my head back and forth. “Do you want to go somewhere else? We might have to wait a while for our drinks.”

“Nah, it’s no big deal.” Taylor waved off my concern and sat down. “I’m actually hungry—I’m going to get something to eat.”

“That will probably take longer than our drinks…” I chuckled under my breath. “I guess I’ll get something too.”

“Oh, before we do—I have something for you.” She reached into her purse. “Hot off the press, you get the very first invitation to my wedding.”

“Aw, thank you.” I took it and smiled.

“It’s actually one of the samples they gave us, but it’s exactly the same as the official ones I’ll have next week.” She winced. “I hope you don’t mind—I just didn’t want to forget once things got busy.”

“No, it’s perfect.” I looked down at the invitation. “Do I need to RSVP—or…”

“Don’t worry about that.” She shook her head back and forth. “I know you’ll be there. You can bring a date too—if you want.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” I rolled my eyes and put the invitation down next to me on the table.

“I thought you were dating someone…” Taylor narrowed her eyes. “Grant? Paul?”

“Luke…” I shrugged. “We went on a couple of dates, but it didn’t work out. You know how it is with college guys—they want to be one of your many mistakes before you graduate.”

“Dating is definitely hard…” She nodded in agreement. “How are things going with the job search?”

“About the same as my dating life.” I sighed and reached for my phone—the fact that my email was full of nothing but spam confirmed that my situation hadn’t changed.

“You should apply to Alcott Inc. again.” Taylor leaned back in her chair. “You applied at a bad time. They’re hiring now…”

“They were supposed to be hiring the last time I applied, and I never heard anything.” I shrugged. “Their website says they’re looking for people with experience, and I don’t have that—unless you count waitressing.”

“I could always talk to Bryant. Benson Enterprises might have an opening…” She raised her eyebrow inquisitively.

“I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I want to work for an investment company.” I was about to tell her why when our waiter walked up to take our order.

We both ordered margaritas and an appetizer—margaritas seemed to be our go-to drink when we got a chance to hang out. The conversation shifted back to the subject of Taylor’s upcoming nuptials. They had decided to have a small, private ceremony with family, and friend’s in attendance. Bryant was rather well known in Carson Cove, and neither of them wanted a high-profile wedding. They weren’t even planning to have bridesmaids or groomsmen by their sides when they tied the knot. It was discussed, but th

ey ultimately decided that they would rather let the people they cared about enjoy the wedding instead of being part of it. I thought that was rather commendable—if I was marrying a guy as rich as Bryant Benson, I would have been tempted to go overboard.

“We’re going to have a party at Bryant’s house next week to celebrate our engagement. You’re invited, of course.” Taylor reached for her margarita as soon as the waiter put it down on the table.

“Me?” I blinked in surprise. “I’m—not family.”

“Bryant’s inviting people from work and some of his clients—it’s a way to appease those that won’t get an invitation to the wedding.” She shrugged. “You’re my friend. I want you there.”

“Okay.” I nodded and reached for my drink. “I’m sure my schedule will be clear.”

It always is…

“Who knows? Maybe you’ll get to network a little bit.” She sipped her margarita. “There will be a lot of people at the party that you want to work for.”

“Submitting resumes certainly doesn’t seem to be working,” I sighed and took a sip of my drink.