Secret Indiscretions (Carson Cove Scandals 2)

“Okay, seriously…” Melanie squirmed out of my arms. “I have to fix my hair and do my makeup.”

“Fine…” I sat down on the edge of the bed and grunted.

I know part of this is nervousness over what could happen at the wedding, but damn—it’s hard to be near Melanie without wanting her.

* * *

The wedding was beautiful, and Melanie cried when Taylor said her vows to Bryant. The ceremony was outside, so once they were pronounced man and wife, everyone headed inside Benson Estate for the reception. Mary was standing at the bar with her date when we walked in—I expected to have some sort of an emotional moment when I saw the woman I once pledged my life to, with another man, but I didn’t. She was the mother of my children—she would always have a special place in my heart, but the passion and love we once shared had died long before we signed the divorce papers. I was happy to see a smile on her face and hoped the man holding her hand loved her like I did once. She deserved that—but I wasn’t the one who could give it to her—not anymore.

“Should we go talk to them?” Melanie squeezed my hand.

“Nah, not yet.” I shook my head back and forth. “I want to check in with Leo.”

“At least nothing happened during the wedding…” Melanie let out a quiet sigh of relief.

Leo didn’t have any news to share. His guys had been watching the painting since the wedding began, and nobody had tried to get close to it. I wondered if Bryant had been wrong—if chaos hanging high wasn’t the Picasso in his foyer, I had no idea what else the clue could have been referencing. The wedding was over. Taylor and Bryant were married. If they were going to create chaos, then they had missed their opportunity.

“Nothing?” Melanie handed me a drink when I walked back into the main part of Benson Estate, where the reception was being held.

“No,” I sighed and shook my head. “Maybe it’s over—maybe they gave up.”

“I suppose that’s possible.” Melanie nodded. “I was actually looking forward to telling the woman who thought they were going to take my man away from me that they didn’t have a chance in hell…”

“Oh?” I chuckled at the thought of Melanie viciously berating someone. “I’m your man now?”

“You haven’t figured that out yet?” She took a step closer and bit down on her bottom lip.

We didn’t get a chance to continue the conversation because I looked over Melanie’s shoulder and saw Mary walking towards us hand-in-hand with her date. Seeing her with someone else might not have stirred up any emotions, but I still had a slight hint of worry about the conversation we were going to have. I needed it to go off without a hitch so that she wouldn’t have any concerns about sending the girls to visit me in Carson Cove. She needed to see that I had adjusted to life after our divorce and wasn’t wallowing in the misery she left me in the day she moved out of Alcott Manor. The medical emergency certainly didn’t do much to inspire confidence, and she didn’t even know I was in the hospital because I got stabbed by some maniac at the Pembroke Hotel—the lie was bad enough as it was.

“Jon, you made it.” Mary walked up to us and smiled. “I was afraid you would miss the wedding.”

“No, I’m fully recovered.” I forced a smile. “It was nothing really—I just need to cut back on the cheeseburgers.”

That fits the narrative…

“I’ve told you that for years.” She nodded. “Jon, I’d like you to meet Lance Wentworth—Lance, this is my ex-husband, Jon.”

“A pleasure.” Lance extended his hand.

“Likewise.” I shook his hand—he tried to squeeze but quickly let go when he realized I had a better grip than him. “Wentworth, huh? Are you related to Edmund Wentworth?”

“Ah, you know my uncle.” He nodded quickly. “Yes, I’ve got family in Carson Cove.”

“Your uncle is a good man.” I gave him a respectful nod and then put my arm around the woman beside me. “This lovely young lady is Melanie Monroe. We met the night of the engagement party and have been inseparable ever since.”

Mary and I introduced the new people in our lives, said a few nice things about each other, and the conversation was as brief as I expected. It went off without a hitch and ended peacefully. I considered it a successful encounter. Taylor and Bryant made their grand entrance to the reception area as husband and wife, which caused everyone to clap and cheer. We congratulated them, said hello to a few people that we knew, including their families, and then sat down at our table. It was almost time for the food to be brought out when I saw Leo at the door—the expression on his face and the way he was motioning to me suggested that something had happened.

“I’ll be right back.” I squeezed Melanie’s hand and started to stand.

“I want to come with you…” She started to stand as well.

“Let me see what is going on first.” I shook my head back and forth. “Besides, it looks like Victoria is headed this way.”

“Okay…” She nodded and reluctantly let go of my hand.

I said hello to Victoria as I walked past her, but it was clear that she was on her way to see my date instead of me. Leo motioned towards me with a little more urgency when a couple of mutual friends wanted to pull me into their conversation and introduce me to their plus ones. I did my best to excuse myself after a quick introduction and maintain some politeness in the process. Once I got close to the door, I saw that Leo had a pink envelope in his hand—it was unmistakable—it was just like all of the others I had gotten.

“Did you catch them?” I walked up to him and stared at the envelope.