Page 170 of One Bad Idea

The way it sounded, the only thing Jake cared about was his car. If so, I was glad Jaden torched it. I was just sorry that he hadn't done it years ago – thefirsttime Jake had shown up looking for it.

I murmured, "I can't believe I'm just hearing this story."

"Why?" Cassidy asked. "I mean, it's not like you and Jaden are friendly. And even with Jax, it was like pulling teeth to get the full story out of him."

"But what about the rest?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, they're obviously living here in Florida. Are you saying they just never went home?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she said. "And if it weren't for Darla taking them in, who knows what might've happened."

At the mere mention of that dreaded name, I stiffened. Still, I was curious. "So she's not related to them at all?"

Cassidy shook her head. "No. But she happened to see them hunkered down in that car. The way it sounds, she invited them for dinner, and then just sort of adopted them."

"Really?"

The story made me feel funny in more ways than one, but it certainly explained a few things. Now, it was easy to see why both brothers were so down on relationships –andwhy they cut Darla so much slack.

My thoughts zeroed in on Jaden. In my mind's eye, I could almost see him, just a kid, begging for his mom to come home. He must've loved her, whether she deserved it or not.

And she'd totally abandoned him.

No wonder he'd turned out so jaded.

Suddenly, I hated all of them – the mother, the dad, and even the stupid brother who cared more for an old car than for his little brothers.

God, what a tool.

And now, the guy's wife was calling Jaden at the office? I could only imagine why. Probably, it was to give him grief about the car or to ask for restitution.

Talk about nerve.

Silently, I vowed that the next time she called, I'd tell her what she could do with that husband of hers.

But the strangest thing was, shedidn'tcall – not that week, nor the week after.

Soon, a whole month had passed, and she slipped almost entirely from my mind.

And why? It was because things with Jaden were keeping me blissfully busy.

Almost every day, I was learning something new about the guy I'd fallen for. But it wasn't until the day I found something in his laundry room that I knew beyond all doubt that he cared for me just as much as I cared for him.

Chapter 64

Both Jax and Cassidy were out of town, which meant that Jaden and I had the run of the beachfront mansion. It was a Sunday night, and the weekend had been pure bliss, with plenty of sex, laughs, and sandwiches, too – just because, hey it's sort of how we met.

Now, I was borrowing his washing machine to catch up on some laundry before the workweek ahead. I was in his laundry room folding my towels when I happened to look up and see something sitting on a nearby shelf, atop some gloves and scarfs.

It was a ski mask – a very familiar ski mask.

The last time I'd seen it, I'd been tossing it to Morgan as she sat nearly naked behind Jaden's desk. I'd never asked him about it, mostly because I'd been so eager to put all of that behind us.

But now, with the mask in sight, I was dying of curiosity.

When I returned to the kitchen where Jaden was making us a couple of club sandwiches, I set aside my laundry basket and held up the mask. With an embarrassed laugh, I said, "I see you got it back."