“So Jaden,” Regina called out from across the table. “Where did you get your
hair color done?” she asked. “I’ve been dying to get that color for years.”
Jaden cleared her throat before answering. “Genetics Salon and Spa,” she said,
and everyone around the table immediately chuckled, myself included.
Smartass.
Regina looked confused. “Darren, is that downtown?” she asked me.
I scoffed, trying my best to curb my laughter. “Jaden is a natural redhead,
Regina.”
“Oh … well she could have just said that,” she replied quietly and went back to
picking at her salad.
“Where’re my brothers at!” came a loud, obnoxious voice off in the distance. I
didn’t even need to turn around to know Dominic had finally arrived.
“Here, Dom,” Dan yelled, waving at him.
I could hear Dom making his way over to our table, and for some reason, I felt
myself cringe. He was going to fuck this up somehow; I just knew it.
“What’s going on, family?” he said enthusiastically. I looked up at him to find a
tall young woman with long, dark brown hair and full pink lips clinging to his arm.
She looked as though she were a piece of candy stuck to his sleeve.
“Dominic, nice of you to finally show up,” I admonished him.
He gave me that signature look he always does when he blows off my scolding.
“What? I had business to take care of,” he said, taking a seat while the brunette
sat down next to him. I knew exactly what he meant by “business.”
Looking over his date, I recognized her immediately. She’d been one of the
slaves in the bi-weekly auctions from the beginning of the year. She didn’t sell due
to her height, so we sent her to Dom in Vegas. Obviously, he found a purpose for
her after all. She took one look at me, and the fear of recognition instantly lit up.
Luckily for her, she’d only ever have to see me once, but once was enough for most
of them.
“Holy shit, is this her?” Dom asked, pointing at Jaden.
I nodded. “Jaden, this is my youngest brother, Dominic. Dominic, this is Jaden.”
Jaden gave Dominic a small nod, and he just smiled.
“Damn, you picked a good one, brother. Boris wasn’t lying!”
Speaking of Boris…
I recently discovered his family had pulled him off life support a few weeks ago.
Edmund had apparently appeared at the funeral wearing a black hand prosthetic.
The thought had me grinning inside.
With Dominic happily steering the conversation to his latest venture to Tijuana,
my eyes fell to Jaden, noticing how often she avoided making eye contact with
anyone, including myself. She was quiet until she was spoken to, and it was rare. I
wasn’t that surprised she wasn’t met with more conversation considering they
were more afraid of my reaction to their questions than Jaden’s response. But the
one person who didn’t sense the warning was the one person I wanted Jaden to
have the least amount of interaction with – Regina. I was afraid at one point Jaden
was going to leap across the table and strangle Regina herself. I might have actually
allowed the entertainment. I’d never seen Jaden so annoyed in my life.
It made me wonder why I thought to bring her to this in the first place. While
others saw her as the pretty jewel on my arm, I saw her as the tiger with the chain
leash. But the whole point of this was to test her. She did well in Alaska, and now, I
wanted to see how she handled the family. For the most part, she did well masking
her emotions during the dinner conversations, but I caught every slip she made
when her glares would sneak through the cracks of her concrete resolve. I had to
give her props for catching herself quickly before anyone else noticed. The only
thing she wasn’t able to hide was her subtle interest in the girl sitting one chair
over. I didn’t like it.
When mention of my unborn niece came around, I noticed Jaden shrink into
herself, her face becoming pale. Her knee began to bounce, the clear indication she
was nervous and uncomfortable. Jaden knew that just as Dan had expected children
from Katherine, I expected the same thing from her. I knew she didn’t have much
experience with children to go on, but she would someday find her motherly
instinct and make it work. And yet, through all her obvious insecurities, she still
managed to find her voice.
“What made you choose the name, Ella?” she asked. I tensed slightly at her
question, knowing the sensitivity of the answer.
Katherine gave Jaden a sad smile before looking to Dan, silently asking for
permission to answer. He gave her the tiniest of nods.
“It was my little sister’s middle name,” she replied.
Jaden’s eyebrows furrowed slightly as the weight of Katherine’s words reigned
in.
“Was?”
“Well, I think it’s time for dessert, huh? Aren’t you two supposed to cut a cake
or something?” Matt chimed in to divert the conversation. I found myself thankful.
“Yes, I believe you’re right. Come on, Katherine,” Dan said, taking
