Please Remember Me (3 page)

Shit.

Then there was her father. Rexx Weir expected his daughter to parade for the cameras and show skin. Nudity sold magazines. Before her mother had died, her good deeds and philanthropy splashed across the pages of Delish magazine. Would her mother buy the naughty celebutante act? Probably not.

Instead of allowing her pity party to get the best of her, she sat up and set the alarm on her phone. A shadow hovered by the window. She swung her legs over the edge of her bed. Paparazzi? They didn’t know where she was. She peeked through the curtains. The security light bathed the empty walkway in yellow light. Shrugging, she checked the locks on the door and headed back to bed.

Tomorrow she’d meet Cass, shop at the thrift store, and try to find a job. As much as she wanted to hunt Marlon down and spend the day in his arms, he deserved better. From the way Sabrina talked, there was already an affair in progress.

A rush of jealousy surged through Jaden’s veins. Tears wetted her eyes. If she didn’t know better, for the first time in her life, she just might be in love.

Well, hell.

Chapter Three

The next morning, Jaden showered, dressed, and drove in the exact opposite direction of Marlon’s apartment. By the time she reached Cass Malone’s driveway, she’d considered and disregarded three impulses to turn around and head back to California. As she pulled up onto the pad in front of the garage, she spotted Logan, or rather Logan’s legs, peeking out from under an enormous black truck.

A tremor ran through her veins. Sure, she’d made amends with the object of her puppy-love obsession, but seeing him still brought a tiny twinge of remorse and longing. From his sandy-coloured hair, to his drop-dead hazel eyes and his boyish smile, the ex-movie star could stop traffic and melt the iciest of hearts. At one time, he’d used his assets to woo just about every woman in Hollywood. Jaden grinned. His tomcat ways had stopped the moment he’d met Cass. She matched him in every way without pretension.

Standing, Logan barely reached five-feet-eight inches. But get him angry and look out. If anyone tried to harm Cass, hell hath no fury like a Malone scorned…or really pissed off. Jaden sighed. Maybe one day she’d find that one man who’d fall head over heels with her without a care.

Maybe.

Closing the car door, she strode to his position on the floor. Before she uttered a word, he rolled out from under the truck. “Hello, honey. How are you?”

A laugh bubbled in her throat. Despite her nasty tactics to gain his affections and her affiliation with Cass’s ex-husband, Dex, Logan still treated her with respect. Cass had become one of her closest friends. “I’m good. I asked Cass to go with me to shop for furniture. She said the thrift stores around here are the best.”

“Yup.” Logan wiped his dirty hands on a rag. “She got a sweet deal on the dresser in Julian’s room.”

“Why are you lying under the truck?” She peeked around him and pointed to the tailgate of the truck. “Don’t you have someone to fix it if it’s broken?”

Throwing his head back, Logan laughed. “We do have someone.” He pointed to his chest. “Me. Working with Ray on the dirt team really helped me out. I knew enough about trucks to change my wipers and the oil, but those guys are hardcore and insisted I learn how to change brakes and anything else that had to do with a vehicle. With Team Jensen, you have to know it all and be fast. Good thing I just wanted to check the rear brakes. I haven’t gotten to the lesson on rebuilding an engine block. When that goes, I’m sunk. By the way, Cass should be out in a moment.”

As if they had an unspoken link, Cass walked out of the garage door with Julian in her arms. “See, I told you. Daddy’s right out here.” The crying child brightened upon seeing his father. “He didn’t leave you.”

Logan wiped his hands on his jeans and held open his arms. “Come here, big guy.”

“He’s spoilt rotten by his father.” Cass shook her head. She pointed towards the road. ”Hey, do you know who was in the dark green car at the end of the driveway?”

“No clue.” Logan bounced Julian on his hip. “Might’ve been the mail lady. She drives a new car every day, it seems. Whoever it was is gone now.”

“Still bothers me. I’m not keen on strangers showing up out of the blue.” Cass turned away from the drive. “So how are you? I already got a phone call, Miss Jaden.”

Jaden cringed. First an unknown car and now a phone call. From whom? If her father had felt the need to involve himself yet again, she’d scream and hit the road for Siberia.

Taking Julian’s hand, Logan waved. “On that note, we’ll leave you girls alone.” He kissed Cass’s cheek. “Have fun and spend all my money, love.”

Cass kissed him on the lips and then kissed Julian on the forehead. “Don’t miss me too much, boys.” After Logan closed the garage door, Cass spoke again. “Well, now that they’re taken care of, I can deal with you. Were you supposed to meet someone other than me this morning?” She crooked a brow. “I’m telling you, he acted like I was your big sister, checking in like that. What you do is none of my business.”

Without looking at Cass, Jaden confirmed, “I saw Marlon last night.”
Saw him, kissed him, touched him…found my heart.

“Should you just meet up with him instead? He sounded tired and a little worried.”

Wrapping her arms around her body, Jaden walked towards the car. “No. He’s just keeping an eye on me. It’s nothing.” Nothing that she needed to deal with. Marlon wasn’t her problem—just a sexy roadblock who could probably love her. Not that she’d give him the chance. Right now, she needed to figure out what she wanted to do with her life.

Behind her, Cass sighed. “It didn’t sound like nothing. I got the impression he was pretty shaken up—like a man who’s found a reason to smile and can’t because she’s being obstinate. You haven’t done anything you’ll regret, have you?”

“He thinks I ran away and he probably doesn’t want to get into trouble because he didn’t bother to tell the sheriff I was in town. According to my father and the authorities back home, I’m a fugitive. It’s all over the national news.” Jaden sat on the bumper and stared at Cass. Maybe she’d understand.

“What brought you here to Ohio?”

“A month ago, I decided I wanted to do something with my life. Every other time I got the idea to be a better person, Daddy shipped me off to some third-world country to promote peace or some other worthy cause. And I always managed to screw it up. I ran away from rehab and went on a bender in Beverly Hills. The final straw was when I lied my way out of a movie role because it was nothing more than a porn flick.” She waved her hand. “When I was in rehab, I saw these women who had lives and kids and things to look forward to. When the day’s done, I have nothing to show for my time on Earth. So I kicked my bad habits.”

“You wanted a clean legacy?”

“Sort of. I’m scared my life will have been worthless. I’ll never be a great political mind, or cure hunger, but if I can make something of myself, then that’s enough. I want to be remembered for the good things I did.”

“It’s a noble thought.” Cass sat down on the black truck’s bumper. “I’m sure you could help someone and I have a couple ideas as to who, but what did you have in mind? Since you seem to want to avoid Marlon like the plague.”

The plague, the flu, and any other thing that could potentially break her heart and soul. Time to reveal the grand, if rather loose, scheme. “Remember when we went to the bead store in town? They had a little message board with all the want ads. Well, while you and Les looked at beads, I read the board. I saw some ads offering jobs I can do. I’m not perfect with kids, but I can babysit. Do you want a babysitter? I’m sure you and Logan need a night out or at least another pair of hands to help out.” She clasped her hands together. She’d plead if she needed to plead. “I’m not totally disgusted by hard work. And if nothing else, I could walk dogs—anyone’s dogs.”

Raising her brows, Cass pointed to the carpet of drab, olive grass on the other side of the driveway. “You do remember we have snow in Ohio, right?”

“Yeah, a couple inches here and there.”

“Sometimes. Other times we get walloped and Logan has to use the tractor to plough us out. Are you sure you want to put up with that? A lot of people choose Florida because they hate our snow.”

Snow? She could deal. Lots of snow? Well, she’d learn to cope. Show weakness? Never. “I’m positive I can hack it. I played the part of Claudine in Time Trek. Anything is easier than being a one armed robot—even learning to drive in snow.”

“Well good for you.” Standing, Cass applauded. “Why don’t we go back to the bead store and also try the board at the diner? I know both are full and maybe you can find something by the end of the week.”

The heaviness in her heart lightened. Jaden grinned. “Then let’s go find the next chapter in my new life.”

* * * *

Marlon snapped his phone shut. No answer from Cass except to wait and see.

Dammit.

Okay, so Jaden didn’t want to meet. Go figure. Why did she want to avoid him? Wasn’t he man enough for her? Was her big change a joke? No, that explanation didn’t sit well. She may have lied, but Jade had changed. Jaden Marie had taken her place.

He groaned and stared at the ceiling a moment before he placed both hands on the bench press and resumed his workout. His muscles ached and his mind wandered from the rep numbers. He dropped the heavy weight back into the cradle and sat up. “I’ll tear something if I don’t get my head back in the game.”

Maybe she had plans this morning and his spur-of-the-moment suggestion hadn’t fitted in with them. According to Cass, she and Jaden were heading into town. Would he look like a stalker if he bumped into her at the diner? His stomach growled. Getting food held promise—after a shower.

Forty-five minutes after his workout, Marlon headed out to his Jeep. When he opened the door, a familiar voice came from behind him. “Are you headed out this morning? I see your little friend from last night didn’t hang around.”

Clenching his fist behind the doorframe to hide his frustration, he glared at Sabrina. “You told me to choke on my male anatomy when we split.”

Flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder, she shrugged. “You’re a sweet guy that I thought I hated, but I made a mistake.”

He stared at her for a long moment. Something looked odd about her. Her thin face remained strained, like she had a secret to tell. What was it? His eyes widened. Her hair. “I see you tried a new hair colour.” It looked like the exact shade of Jaden’s. What the fuck?

Sabrina cocked her head and twisted a honey curl around her finger. “You like it? I thought of you when I bought the box this morning. ‘Unleash the real you’.”

“Uh-huh.”
Thinking of me, or trying to be someone you aren’t…
He’d bet the latter. “If you like it, then good for you.” He checked his watch. “I have to go.”

A slow smile blossomed on Sabrina’s coral lips. “Why don’t you drop by around lunch? We can share a glass of wine and catch up.” Waving, she strolled back up the sidewalk. “I’ll leave the door unlocked.”

Marlon settled in the bucket seat and yanked his keys from his pocket. Whatever had got into Sabrina’s head to make her think he wanted something from her was beyond him. So they’d dated for a year? Lots of people dated with no expectation of a deep relationship. So they’d had sex. It hadn’t been earth-shattering. Thinking about her didn’t keep him up at night. Sex with her certainly hadn’t rocked his world. He watched her saunter to her front door and shivered in disgust. There was no rush, no bone-deep desire to know every inch of her body.

So why obsess about Jaden? There were more than a hundred text messages back and forth between them and only two—no, three real kisses, but the memory of those kisses seared him. His heart had begun to beat again. His blood boiled when he held her in his arms. Did she feel the same? He snorted. Jaden had probably seen him with Sabrina, come to the wrong conclusion, and gone on her merry way. Not that he blamed her… Sabrina didn’t walk away quietly from anyone for very long.

What was it about Jaden? Before her transformation, she could stop traffic with her looks. The rail-thin body, the blonde hair shimmering around her face, the wild behaviour… But he wasn’t drawn to the glossy image. Yes, he’d liked her—what man wouldn’t? But the desire to have sex with the celebrity hottie hadn’t surged through his veins.

What had changed?

The Jade Weir persona was gorgeous…but unreachable. Two years ago at the station, when she’d let her guard down and become Jaden Marie, her inner beauty had outshone her physical appearance. When she’d showed up at his door with her curvier body and the natural look, he couldn’t help but stare. He longed to run his fingers through the honey-coloured tresses as he kissed her. And those kisses! She had tasted like cola and sin. Intoxicating. What would it feel like to have her astride him, screaming his name as he pumped into her?

Shifting in his seat, he rubbed his groin. The memory of the previous night sucked. Every time he closed his eyes, she smiled at him in a dozen different fantasy scenes. Until he told her how he felt, he’d never sleep. What if the rumours were true? That she’d come to Ohio to escape something other than her lifestyle—like a bad drug buy, or an angry dealer? Shit. Drugs made everything more complicated.

Engaging the engine, he drove into town. Cass had said something about antiquing. Would they be at the thrift store or maybe at the flea market barn by the highway? He’d bet the thrift store, but why would she need to thrift shop if she had money? Unless Jaden really had planned on making it on her own. His admiration for her grew.

The phone call from Mac came to mind. What if she was on the run? From a dealer? She wouldn’t have much ready cash. But what if she had taken money from her father? Nah, she made enough on the bad movies and that ridiculous website to fund three middle class households. Plus she admitted to a small supply of funds.

Would it be unrealistic to run her name for a record? She admitted she’d been in trouble a few times as a teen for curfew with related drug charges, as well as a drunk driving charge three years previously. It never hurt to be safe rather than sorry, even if people did change.