If nothing else, making this deal with Ivy ensured we had an ally against the Zoya, and it gave Isach a way out of his coven, so the deal hadn’t been for nothing. That gave me a lot of comfort.
“Whitney is seconds away from barging in here and dragging us back into the living room,” Trent said with a chuckle. “They’re getting ready to play Uno.”
Groaning, I buried my face deeper against Trent’s chest, as if that would somehow protect me from Whitney. That girl took games very seriously, and she never played by the rules. She preferred to put her own unique twist on them.
“Okay,” I said with a deep breath, pushing away from Trent. “Let’s go.”
Before I could stand, Trent had his hands on either side of my neck, and his lips crashed down on mine. My eyes fluttered closed, and I leaned into his kiss.
His thumb grazed the bite mark, and desire ignited in my belly. It took every ounce of self-control I possessed not to push him down onto the bed and take him up on his previous offer to practice making a baby.
He broke the kiss much too soon and licked his bottom lip. “I love you,” he said, resting his forehead against mine.
“I love you, too,” I whispered. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”
Trent eased back and gave me that gorgeous dimple-showing smile, and my heart once again melted. How on earth had I gotten so lucky to have him love me?
“You sure you don’t want to move up the wedding date?” he asked. He stood and held his hand out to me.
“Whitney would kill us.” I laughed and took his hand.
She, Ellie, and Abby had spent so much time helping me plan the wedding, and I was grateful for everything they’d done. As badly as I wanted to marry Trent, I couldn’t just toss away all their hard work because I was suddenly too impatient to wait for the date we’d set.
Trent pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. I rested my hands on his biceps and stared up into his breathtakingly handsome face.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his finger trailing along my jaw.
“I know.”
He nodded. “Ready to go defend our reigning Uno champion title?”
I laughed again. “Let’s do it.”
CHAPTER TEN:
Anxious
I HADN’T BEEN ABLE TO STOP thinking about my and Trent’s conversation on Sunday. All of his concerns were valid, and we needed to talk about them, but I hadn’t been able to really focus on that. Ever since he told me he wanted to wait until we were married, all I’d been able to do was fantasize about conceiving during our honeymoon. How perfectly romantic would that be?
Of course, that was providing we decided to go through with having a baby. There was a very real possibility that we’d decide not to become parents, but I wasn’t focusing on that right now, either. It was easier to live in my little fantasy world for a while longer. I’d deal with reality later.
“Miss Madison,” Mr. Gordon snapped.
I jerked upright in my chair and blinked. Crap. I’d zoned out during class again. That had been happening too much lately, but in my defense, I had a lot of stuff going on, and school didn’t seem all that important in light of everything else.
Behind me, Jax snickered. I wanted to turn around and smack him, but that would only get me into more trouble.
“Miss Madison, if you can’t keep up with the discussion, maybe you should see about taking a different class. One that’s a little more your speed.” Mr. Gordon stood near my desk, arms crossed.
I seriously hated this class. What had I ever done to him to make him dislike me so much? I cleared my throat and met his gaze. With only a few months left of school, I was not going to let this guy ruin my chances of graduating.
“I can keep up just fine, Mr. Gordon.” I smiled sweetly. “But I’m bored, so maybe you should see about teaching something a little more interesting.”
Gasps and muffed laughter filtered through the room.
Mr. Gordon’s face turned bright red, and his eyes bulged. “Principal’s office. Now.” He pointed toward the door. “And take your things because you will not be returning to my class today.”
I gathered my stuff from the top of the desk and scooped my backpack from the floor. Then I walked out of the room, keeping my gaze straight ahead so I wouldn’t have to see Whitney’s shocked and disapproving frown, and made my way toward Principal Donavan’s office.
When I walked in, his secretary, Miss Jameson, nodded toward the row of chairs lined up against the far wall. This was the first time I’d been sent to the principal’s office. Ever. I had no idea how any of this worked, but I took a seat in one of the empty chairs, rested my head against the wall, and closed my eyes.
If Mr. Gordon refused to let me back into his stupid class, I’d fail, and if I failed, I couldn’t graduate. Aunt Beth, Uncle Dean, and my father would take turns killing me if that happened.
“Miss Madison?” Principal Donavan stood near Miss Jameson’s desk. He had a folder tucked under one arm, probably my file. “Follow me.”
He turned on his heel, and I scrambled to follow. He led me into his office, which looked exactly like any other boring old office—desk, chair, bookshelves, filing cabinets, inspirational posters.
He took a seat behind his desk, then motioned at the empty chairs across from him. I flopped down into one and set my backpack on the floor near my feet.
“So.” He flipped open my file. “You
