Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Scandals 3)

“I love you too.” He pressed his lips to my neck. “Do we really have to spend the night before our wedding in separate beds?”

“Yes.” I turned towards him, and our lips came together for a kiss. “We have the rest of our lives to share the same bed—one night isn’t going to kill us.”

“Fine.” Damien looked down and exhaled sharply. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I would have loved to spend the evening in Damien’s arms, but I thought that spending it apart would make our wedding night even better. It would also make things a little less stressful, since I wanted to go over the plans for our big day a few times before I went to bed—I didn’t believe there would be any issues, but it would have been hard to sleep unless I allowed myself to be preoccupied for a couple of hours.

I knew I wanted to be Damien’s wife long before he got down on one knee, but once the ring was on my finger, I decided that I didn’t want a lengthy engagement. I was ready to be his bride, and having the wedding at the end o

f the school years was perfect—we would be able to have a very nice honeymoon before my classes started back up again.

“Are you ready to go?” Jenny walked into the living room with my overnight bag. “The car is waiting.”

“Yes.” I nodded at her. “Your brother was just trying to convince me to stay home tonight.”

“No way.” She shook her head back and forth. “You’re not missing your own bachelorette party.”

“I told you that I didn’t want a bachelorette party…” I tilted my head inquisitively. “What did you do?”

“It’s just a few friends—and several bottles of wine.” She motioned to me. “It’s very low-key, I promise.”

“Did you invite anyone other than me that’s old enough to actually drink that wine.” I narrowed my eyes at Jenny.

“Taylor’s coming.” She nodded. “And your mother—I hope that’s okay.”

“You actually invited her?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

“Weddings have a way of bringing people together.” She shrugged. “We both love you—we’ve got that in common, I guess.”

“Thank you.” I walked up and squeezed her hand.

My relationship with my mother would never be what it once was, but I couldn’t cut her out of my life entirely. It was several months before we spoke again after our conversation at Sinn Manor. She moved back to our old house and decided that she wasn’t going to date anyone for a while—she wanted to learn to stand on her own two feet first. I thought that was a step in the right direction, and she did seem to be committed to it. She was even spending more time with her parents, which was different, considering that the only time she normally saw my grandparents was when she needed something.

We had been able to talk about normal things instead of who she was dating or which wealthy man in Carson Cove might be single. She had a new job, was trying out a couple of hobbies, and truthfully—I had never seen her happier. I hoped it would last and the new leaf would be completely turned over before she got involved with someone else.

“Are you sure it’s not going to be awkward tomorrow?” I looked over at Jenny once we were in the car. “My mom—your mom… They seemed to be okay at the rehearsal dinner, but I’m still worried. Maybe I should redo the seating arrangement and sit my grandparents on either side of her just to be safe.”

“Nah, that shouldn’t be necessary. Damien and I talked with our mom. I don’t think there will be any issues.” Jenny shook her head back and forth. “She doesn’t blame your mother for what happened—if anything, I believe she blames herself now—for staying with our father after she saw glimpses of who he really was.”

“Speaking of him, did you end up going to watch his sentencing?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.

“No. I really thought about it, but I decided that I didn’t even want to give him the satisfaction of thinking anyone cared.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t like I needed to hear them sentence him to life in prison—we knew that was the only alternative after he chose to plead guilty.”

“I would have preferred life with no possibility of parole.” I sighed. “I know Damien was hoping for that…”

“It’ll be fifteen years before he’s even eligible, and I don’t know that anyone will think he deserves to see the light of day after everything he’s done.” Jenny looked out the window.

“I hope you’re right.” I nodded.

The Sinn family was recovering from Edgar’s cruelty the best that they could. Damien’s mother stayed at Juniper Health for a couple of months after she found out what her ex-husband had done, but her doctors did think that having visitors would help with her recovery. I still saw the pain in her eyes from time-to-time, but she was moving on with her life. She even helped with the wedding plans when we were still trying to figure out our venue and color scheme. The most important thing was that she was doing her best to take care of her daughter, and I felt like Jenny needed the support.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much the ordeal we went through had impacted Jenny. She put on a brave face and acted like it was just another day in Carson Cove, but there was no way that she walked away unscathed. All I could do was offer her my support if she needed it, and I knew Damien would always be there for her. She was planning to leave Carson Cove after she graduated from high school, and I couldn’t exactly blame her for wanting to attend college as far away from the memories as she could get.

I was on that same path myself before I met Damien…

“I thought we were spending the night at the Pembroke Hotel?” I looked over at Jenny when the car drove past the turn that would take us there.

“I’ve got somewhere better than that.” She winked at me. “We just finished the renovations on my grandfather’s villa.”