Ian could tell Jada was trying to make light of the situation, but he saw the tension in tiny lines at the corners of her mouth.
The woman on the television gassed on about how wrecked Sasha must be. Ian’s gaze flickered between the TV and Jada.
“I told you, Agatha,” Sasha said, a finger still in her mouth. “This whole deal is going to help my image, not hurt it. Look, they’re interviewing people on the street.”
“I think Piper must not like you, Jada,” Marina said.
Jada went “Mmph.”
“Piper doesn’t give two hoots about our Mrs. Buckley one way or the other,” Agatha said. “She knows you have to tell the people a thrilling story, and that means you’ve got to have a good guy and a bad guy. That’s just how it is. Nothing personal.”
From the look on Jada’s face, Ian knew she was taking it personally nonetheless.
The television showed a girl who couldn’t have been more than twelve standing on a busy sidewalk. She spoke rapidly into a microphone. “I cried when I heard that Sasha tried to kill herself because her boyfriend cheated on her. It was like on that show, you know, ‘Gogo Girlz Town,’ where Cherabina was going to take all those pills because her man went out with that slutty girl, and it was all wrong because it was. And I cried too, cause.”
A tween girl wearing too much eye makeup was next. “I feel terrible for Sasha. She’s so pretty, and that other one looked so yuck on TV with her hair going everywhere and those disgusting clothes. No way. I love Sasha! Yay Sasha! We love you!”
Jada’s face grew more strained with each passing second.
Ian reached down, pried the remote control from her clenched fist and turned off the TV. “That’s enough. It’s disgusting muckraking of the worst kind. Everybody clear out and give Jada her room back.”
Elly disappeared practically before Ian finished talking, the tray of breakfast dishes rattling loudly in her arms. Agatha and Sasha took their time departing.
“Figures,” Agatha said as she slowly slid off the bed. “It finally gets to the good stuff about my client and he turns off the show.”
Ian shook his head. “There are so many televisions in this house that I can’t count them all. If you must, watch that nonsense on one of those.”
“Come on, Agatha,” Sasha said, tucking baggies of what looked like snacks under her arms. “We’ll watch it downstairs in the theatre room. Maybe they’ll mention your name. You know how you love that.”
“I would not love that. I’m all about you. It’s all I care about.” She stopped at the foot of the bed and stared at her cell. “Hold on a sec, I think I found Mr. Talleyrand’s email address.”
Ian scowled at Sasha, who took the hint and grabbed her mother’s wrist, towing her from the room.
He marched over and closed the door behind them then turned back to Jada who looked tiny sitting alone on the big bed. “I’m sorry about that. If you want, I’ll throw them out.”
“Oh, no, they’re okay,” Jada said. “Well, Sasha is, anyway.” Her small, brave smile tugged at Ian’s heart.
She looked adorable in her oversized, fluffy robe, and sexy, too, with her dark hair shining, pulled back into a simple, sleek ponytail. Her lower legs were bare and shapely, stretching out in delicious coffee-colored contrast to the white robe and bedspread.
It wasn’t lost on Ian that one tug of the tie around Jada’s waist would be all it would take to reveal what she wore underneath that robe. He hoped she wore nothing under there. Nothing at all. Not a stitch. Nada. Jada. Damn.
Feelings stirred in places that, frankly, shouldn’t be getting stirred up in the current situation. But then, it had been those feelings which had kept him from returning to the city that morning, hadn’t it? He couldn’t part from the lovely Jada.
“How did you sleep?” he asked. “Has Elly been taking good care of you?”
“I slept fine and Elly’s wonderful,” Jada answered. “But I’m kind of embarrassed about last night. I said some things that—”
He held up a hand. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. If it makes you feel any better, I thought you were wonderful.”
“Oh,” she said, glancing away. “That’s kind of you, considering everything.”
Ian frowned. She took too much on herself, when it should be on him. “It’s for me to apologize to you. I should have explained everything before those two made it to the dining room. My only excuse is that I was too busy feeling sorry for myself to think about what you were feeling. I’m truly sorry for that, and it won’t happen again.”
She looked up at him through long, curling lashes. “That’s okay. I can’t blame you for it. Anyone would be sorry to have to deal with an angry Agatha.”
“That isn’t why I was sorry for myself, or, not much of it.” Ian stiffened his spine for his confession. “I was disappointed they were here because I wanted to keep you all to myself. I didn’t want to share.”
Jada smiled at him and warmth built in his chest.
She opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a voice chiming out from the bed covers.
“Ahem. Sorry, you two,” Marina said via the cell’s speakers. “I’m still here.”
Jada snatched up the phone. “Why didn’t you say something?”
“I am saying something.”
“I’ll call you back later.”
“Okay, but—”
Jada ended the call and shoved the cell into her pocket. “Gosh, that wasn’t awkward, was it?”
Ian found himself scuffing a heel on the floor then forced himself to quit the schoolboy reaction. “I ... er ... can’t believe I forgot she was on the phone.”
Jada began to laugh, the appealing sound alleviating the awkward tension. “Leave it to Marina to let us go on like that before speaking up.”
He relaxed and couldn’t help but grin at her pleasure. “She must be a playful person.”
“That’s one way to put it, I guess. ‘Nosy’ would be more accurate.” Her smile dimmed. “I’m kind of worried about her though. The press has been after her, trying to interview her about you and me, so she’s hiding in a fleabag motel outside Springers Glen.”
“Do you think she’s in danger?”
“No, I just feel bad. It’s kind of my fault she can’t go home. But I can’t control what happens, obviously. So I’ll have to accept it, right?”
Now there was a notion Ian couldn’t begin to fathom. Accepting that he couldn’t control everything? Ridiculous. He wasn’t about to say that to Jada, though, and ruin the mood. “None of this is your fault. You didn’t cause it. My bet is that we’ll know by the end of business to
morrow exactly who or what caused this situation, and then you can put the blame where it belongs.”
“Maybe you’re right.” She scrunched up her forehead in thought. “I don’t believe that Agatha is the one who did it, by the way, not today. I was watching her earlier and realized that she’d be crowing right now if she had pulled something like this off. She’s so full of herself, she couldn’t stand not to take credit for how it’s boosting Sasha’s image.”
“Good point. Back to the drawing board, huh?”
“Nope. I’ve got a new suspect. Sasha.”
Ian cocked a brow. “I can’t see Sasha doing it.”
“Think about it. She was completely unfazed by the whole thing. Didn’t care a bit how it made her look, nothing. She was way too unconcerned. And she acted too casually when she explained to Agatha how the marriage license fiasco could be turned into a publicity boon. Almost like it was a practiced speech.”
“True, but—”
“Wait, I’m not done. I still haven’t told you her motive.”
“Which is?”
“She wants out of the closet, permanently. She came up with this whole racket as a way to convince Agatha to let her be out and proud. Remember how she sold it? She said they could claim that your betrayal turned her permanently off of men and made her a lesbian. Agatha saw dollar signs as soon as Sasha gave her the right angle to sell Sasha’s sexuality. It’s pretty clever if you think about it.”
“I guess so, except I can’t see Sasha going to so much trouble. She’s kind of flighty to plan something so complicated. And I’m pretty sure she was joking. No one believes you can turn gay out of the blue anymore, do they?”
Jada frowned, cute, tiny vertical furrows forming between her brows. “Hmm. That’s a consideration. Also, there’s the whole issue of how my name got into it. Same problem with Agatha. There’s no way to explain my getting dragged into this.”
“They may have picked the town randomly and then got your name off internet yellow pages as a resident.”
“Maybe. How weird would that be? I mean, almost like we were destined to meet or something. Not that I think we have a destiny or anything ... anyway ... Sasha tops my suspect list now.”