Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

His theory was that the drug charges scared Jackson away, and I wanted to believe that was true, but we still had a trial date, so it wasn’t over. The only good thing about an actual trial date was that they went through the discovery process—Addison would get to see the video once Jackson’s attorney was forced to submit it into evidence. That would give her time to come up with a good plan of attack once it was played for the jury.

“I kind of want another one…” Taylor drained her margarita and looked at Melanie. “How about you?”

“We took a car to the restaurant, but I still have to drive home—eventually…” she sighed.

“Or, you could stay at my place.” I shrugged.

“Oh, you two are the stay-at-my-place stage of your relationship?” Taylor grinned. “Tell me more…”

“Nope.” Melanie pursed her lips, shot me a dirty look, and shook her head quickly.

“Come on; I have a right to know.” Taylor leaned forward. “I introduced the two of you to each other—I’m invested.”

“That’s not how investments work,” Bryant chuckled under his breath.

“If you’ll excuse me. I need to use the little girls’ room.” Melanie slid her chair back and started to stand—I could tell she was struggling not to smile.

“I’ll come with you.” Taylor hopped up from her chair and followed Melanie to the bathroom.

“You know Melanie is totally going to share every single detail with her, right?” Bryant sipped his Scotch and raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah…” I sighed, but it turned into a chuckle before it was finished.

“Not to dampen the mood, but have you heard anything else from this mysterious person sending you those pink carnations?” Bryant glanced towards the restroom to make sure the girls were safely out of earshot.

“Not since the one I got after I was stabbed—well, the second one,” I growled under my breath. “Broken hearts and all that shit.”

“Everything is in place for the wedding. Leo’s going to figure it out.” Bryant sipped his Scotch. “Hopefully without making a scene…”

“Melanie wants to tell Taylor.” I shook my head back and forth. “I’m struggling not to feel the same way.”

“We just…” Bryant exhaled sharply. “We can’t. I would tell her in a heartbeat if it wasn’t connected to Alexis Devereaux.”

“I know.” I nodded. “I’m just terrified that she could be involved in this somehow, and something is going to happen at your wedding.”

“The only thing that is going to happen is us finding out who the fuck is behind it. That’s it.” Bryant narrowed his eyes. “I still believe that if it was Alexis, she would be targeting us—messing with you and bringing Melanie into it just doesn’t fit…”

“You’re right.” I took a sip of my whiskey.

“Don’t say anything else; they’re on the way back.” Bryant cast a sideways glance at the bathroom.

Whatever conversation they had seemed to have quelled Taylor’s need for gossip related to my relationship with Melanie. They ordered another round of margaritas, and a few minutes later, our food arrived. We ate while we talked about the wedding, Taylor shared a few random details, and eventually a question came up about Charley. Melanie didn’t tell Taylor that her daughter wasn’t coming, but she didn’t commit to it either. That seemed like a safe way of approaching the subject. Taylor would be so overwhelmed with everything happening on her wedding day that she wouldn’t notice if Charley was there or not.

“I might have another margarita for dessert…” Taylor stared at her glass after she finished her meal.

“You’re going to be drunk by the time we leave here,” Bryant chuckled under his breath.

“I won’t be stressed out…” Taylor leaned her head against him. “That could be good for you.”

“I’ll order you another one.” Bryant kissed her forehead and started looking around for our waitress.

We’re getting into too much information territory now…

“Two is definitely my limit.” Melanie pushed her glass away.

“Not feeling adventurous.” I narrowed my eyes—she knew what I meant, even if nobody else at the table did.

“I did tell Charley I would be late…” She bit down on her bottom lip. “Okay, I guess I’ll have one more too—but…”