Page 78 of One Bad Idea
Now, I was seriously confused. "So, you're their mom? Really?"
"I might as well be," she said. "And just so you know, they were doing perfectly fine before you and your hussy friend showed up."
I felt my gaze narrow. "Cassidy'snota hussy."
"Yeah? Well, my daughter's not a terrible person. So now you know howIfeel."
"But that's totally different," I said. "Cassidy hasn't done anything to you."
"Wanna bet?" Darla gave snort of disgust. "She got my daughter fired."
"That's not true," I protested.Or at least, I was pretty sure it wasn't true.
"Sure it is," Darla said. "If it weren't for your friend, Morgan would still be here. Andyouwouldn't be in her seat."
Cripes, again with the seat?
This time, I didn't bother pointing out that I was actually standing.
As Darla launched into another series of complaints, I recalled what Jaden had told me on the phone, that if anyone gave me trouble, I should let him know. But I hated the idea of letting him fight my battles.
As it was, he'd already fought my battle with Bryce.
And with Stuart.
Plus, there was the little matter of him being in Miami with, holy hell, hissister?
As Darla went on, I desperately tried to assemble the pieces of their family puzzle. Thanks to Cassidy, I knew that Jaden's brother had actually dated Morgan for a while.
So they couldn't berealsiblings.
What did that mean?
Were they step-siblings?
If so, where did the Miami trip fit into all of this?Was it romantic? Or some sort of family getaway?
The questions were still swirling in my head when Darla said, "You're not gonna land him, you know."
"Who?"
"You know who," she said. "I see the way you look at him."
Okay, this was beyond ridiculous."If you're talking about Jaden," I said, "there's nothing to see. And besides, you've only seen us in the same roomonetime for like five whole minutes."
"Yeah, and I heard howthatwent."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, after I left, you tried to jump him."
Obviously, she was referring to the scene at his house, where I'd taken a flying leap in his direction. But it wasn't the way she made it sound.
And besides, that was mostly for show anyway.
When I made no reply, she gave me a smug smile. "I see you've got no answer tothat."
"What do you want me to say?" I threw up my hands. "It was just a misunderstanding, that's all. And honestly, it's not like I was throwing myself at him."
