Trent’s hold on my hand tightened, and his eyes narrowed as he watched Isach.
“That’s what I thought.” Isach dropped his hand from my neck. “Transferring the bond was something completely separate from the linking spell.”
“Why would she do that?” I asked. “She made it seem like the link was a result of transferring the bond.”
“Because she’s a liar,” Trent snarled.
“Because she’s using you as insurance,” Isach said. “It’s brilliant, really.” He grinned as if were impressed with Ivy’s cunning. “She knows how much Chloe loves you, so if your life is linked to hers, Ivy’s guaranteed Chloe won’t do anything stupid to try to get out of the deal you made.”
I released Trent’s hand and rubbed my temples. “Whatever. It’s done, and we can’t take it back, so…” I sighed. “If Isach can unlink us, we don’t need Ivy. For anything.”
“No, but I do.” Isach frowned.
My shoulders slumped. I’d forgotten about that—Isach would be cast out of his coven when they realized he’d betrayed them, and if he didn’t join Ivy’s coven, his magic would fade, and he’d eventually lose his mind.
“And we’ll deal with all of that,” Whitney said. “After the wedding.” She pinned all of us with a hard stare. “Don’t make me say it again.”
Isach chuckled nervously. “Point taken.” He turned to me. “Abby said you have to call her before you go home.”
“I will.”
With a nod, Isach left, and Whitney rushed off to correct the delivery men on the chair placements. I rested my forehead on Trent’s chest and blew out a breath.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” he said.
“I know.” Resting my hands on his waist, I glanced up at him. “But I don’t want to think about any of that right now.”
A slow, seductive smile curved his lips, and then he was tugging me away from the wedding chaos.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“To time out.”
I slipped my hand from his. “Um, no,” I said. “We have one more night. Let’s not mess this up now.”
On my birthday, we’d agreed no more sex until our wedding night, and we’d kept that promise to each other. Though, it hadn’t been easy. More than once I’d been ready to say, “forget it,” and give in to our urges, but I hadn’t. And I wasn’t going to now, either. No matter how badly I wanted to.
Trent groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. “This is literally killing me,” he said.
“No it’s not.” I laughed.
Though, I knew the feeling. I’d never wanted anyone as much as I wanted him over the past few weeks, but it was going to be worth it.
“Good thing tonight’s the last night I have to go without you,” he said, wrapping his arms around me. “Because I miss you so much.”
Tonight was the last night we’d ever be without each other, because tomorrow, we’d be married and living together, and there wasn’t anything that would keep us apart ever again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE:
Cold Feet
AFTER A VERY LARGE AND VERY loud family dinner, I was in the kitchen helping clean up the mess. I was much too anxious to just sit still, and if I didn’t do something, I was going to lose my mind.
“This is going to be a beautiful wedding,” Larissa said as she filled the sink with warm, soapy water. “You and your friends did an amazing job.”
“Thanks,” I said. “But really, all the credit goes to Whitney.” I smiled at her over my shoulder. “You should seriously think about becoming a wedding planner or something.”
“I’ve actually been considering it,” she said.
“Ladies,” Sean said, carrying in a stack of dirty plates. “You really don’t need to clean up. Me and the boys can take care of this.”
“It’s fine, Sean,” I said, taking Larissa’s spot at the sink and sticking my hands into the water. “I don’t mind.”
“If you insist,” he said. He set the plates beside me on the counter. “Be sure to come talk to me before you leave tonight, okay?”
Instantly, my stomach knotted. What could he possibly want to talk to me about? Was he going to say something about how tense things had been between me and Colt? Or how Jax and Trent were still fighting because of me? He wasn’t going to say he no longer approved of me marrying Trent, was he?
I cleared my throat. “Sure,” I said, forcing a smile.
He left without another word, and I blew out a shaky breath. I hadn’t spent a ton of time with Sean, but when I did, it was always filled with some pretty heavy conversations. Just once I’d like to be able to talk to him about something normal and boring.
“Trent’s father is hot,” Larissa said, setting a handful of silverware on the counter.
“Larissa!” I said with a shocked laugh.
“What?” She shrugged. “He is. He’s young, too. I can’t believe he’s old enough to have three teenaged sons.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Aunt Beth said. She tied up the trash and set it near the back door.
Originally, Sean had pretended to be Whitney’s father, and Aunt Beth had spoken to him on the phone, so when I had to introduce her to Trent’s father, we spun yet another lie that both Whitney and Trent’s fathers were named Sean, just spelled differently. I hadn’t been able to sell the lie to Aunt Beth, but Whitney had, thankfully.
“He’s their adoptive father,” Whitney said. She stood next to me, one hand propped on the counter.
“That certainly makes a lot more sense,” Aunt Beth said with a thoughtful nod.
I gave her a grateful smile and resumed washing the dishes, which was probably my least favorite chore ever, but it kept my mind off everything else, and it was monotonous enough that I didn’t dwell on the nerves raging inside of me.
Abby practically bounced into the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. “Everything’s all set,” she said.
“Perfect,” Whitney said.
“All set for what?” I asked, glancing between them.
“Your bachelorette party,” Abby said.
My jaw dropped. “I didn’t realize I was
