Page 201 of One Bad Idea
I especially didn't know what to do when I heard another voice join hers. "Oh, my God," I said. "It's your brother."
I pulled back to give Jaden a look. "Be honest. Does he know about us?"
Jaden grinned. "I might've mentioned it."
"When?"
"I dunno. Maybe a month ago."
Now, I was staring. "A whole month? And you never told me?"
"Hell no," he said. "You were crazy enough as it was."
I knew what he meant. Ihadbeen pretty crazy in my determination to keep our relationship a secret. Still, I gave him a playful push and then stifled a gasp when something on the edge of the bed slid off and thudded to the floor.
A shoe?
I didn't know, and it hardly mattered now, because the voices in the living room had gone suddenly silent.
I whispered, "Do you think they heard?" Before he could even think to reply, I said, "Oh, crap. The door."
"What door?"
I pointed. "My bedroom door. I didn’t lock it."
As I made a move to get up, Jaden said, "Stay. I'll get it." True to his word, he climbed off the bed and headed straight toward the bedroom door.
He'd gotten barely halfway when after a single knock, the door flew open, and Cassidy stood in the now-open doorway.
She gasped.
I gasped.
Whether Jaden gasped or not, I had no idea. If he did, the sound was completely drowned out by Cassidy's frantic apology, followed almost instantly by the sound of her slamming the door shut so hard that the walls literally shook.
Soon, that wasn't theonlything shaking. Embarrassed or not, I was shaking with laughter, especially when Jaden turned and gave me a look that said it all."You're in big trouble."
Iwasin trouble, because I was about to marry the most impossible person I'd ever met, who, as it turned out, was absolutely perfect.
For me, anyway.
Epilogue
We were married in Hawaii the very next month. Aside from it being one of my favorite places in the whole world, it apparently wassupposedto have been the site of Jaden's proposal – or so he told me the day after we'd gotten officially engaged.
Yes,that'swhy he'd invited me to Hawaii, to pop the question in a place that I'd always loved. It was sweet and wonderful, and yet, I felt awful for ruining it, until he reminded me that I could always make it up to him on the honeymoon, if I were so inclined.
Oh yeah. I was inclined, alright, as Jaden learned for himself.
In the end, I decided that the proposal was perfect just the way it was, especially after Cassidy gave me happy news of her own regarding a certain somebody whose last name was also Bishop.
During the month between the proposal and our wedding, we finally had the chance to get our families together – hisandmine.
Mine was the easy one. Oh sure, they were scattered across the country, but at least we all got along. And, with Jaden insisting on paying the way, getting everyone together was easier than ever before.
When it came to Jaden's family, that was a little more complicated, evenafterI explained everything that Luna had told me during that fateful visit over coffee. But in the end, the brothers worked it all out, and I was delighted to see all of them not only attending our wedding, but also catching up after all those years apart.
As far as Darla, I finally learned why she decided to like me after all. It wasn't because of anything Jaden told her, but rather because in a strange twist of fate, my telling off Luna had earned me a special place in Darla's heart – a place reserved exclusively for people who stick up for anyone who Darla happens to love.
