Boom - Sabrina Stark Page 0,17

details, but long on drama, along with a few sexual innuendos that I was choosing to ignore.

Tomorrow, she'd be arriving here in Bayside to begin filming at the house on Lakeview – which meant that I had only one day to square things away with Arden.

Arden might be a pain in the ass, but she was smart. Once the film crew arrived, it wouldn’t take her long to put two and two together and realize that the house had been safe all along.

I frowned as I recalled last night's scene in the hallway. The situation had gotten way out of hand.

Her fault.

And mine.

She'd been crazy. And I'd been an asshole. But now, come to find out, I'd been missing a big piece of the puzzle – the piece I'd just gotten from my brother.

Turns out, my latest acquisition – the house on Lakeview Drive – had been in Arden's family for generations. And the latest family member to own it – some guy named Jason Smithers – hadn't been so eager to give it up.

That name – Jason – rang a familiar bell, and I wasn't happy to hear it. My frown deepened as I recalled all of those text messages on Arden's cell phone.

Jason – he was no boyfriend. And no hookup either.

Apparently, the guy was Arden's cousin – a low-level administrator at the nearby community college. He'd owned the house for three years now. And in spite of his early reluctance to sell, he'd come around soon enough, thanks to some creative pressure applied where it counted.

I'd learned all of this just today, courtesy of Mason, who handled the business side of things.

I considered his question. "What's the problem?"

Shit. Where to begin?

I said, "So you knew that her family owned it?"

"Sure, I knew," he said. "Why do you think I bought the place?"

I gave him a look. "I bought it, not you."

"Yeah. And I did the deal." He gave me a tight smile. "So you're welcome."

I'd already thanked him once, and I wasn't about to do it again. He'd wanted to handle it. And me? I'd wanted it handled while I kept the construction side of things running on schedule.

He did his thing. And I did mine. Until now, it hadn't been a problem.

But this? It was a problem – one I hadn't seen coming.

A few weeks ago, I'd spotted the house while scouting a different property on a neighboring street. That property had been a dud.

But the house on Lakeview had it all – good bones, a killer location, and plenty of room for improvement. It would be great for the show, and even better for the city. And the neighbors? Hell, they'd be sending us thank-you cards by the time it was done.

The place was a mess, inside and out. As bad as it was, it was a miracle it hadn't been condemned.

As far as purchasing it, the deal had been in the works for weeks. During this time, no one – including my prick of a brother – had said a single word about Arden Weathers.

I gave Mason another hard look. "Why didn't you tell me who owned it?"

"Because it wasn't worth mentioning."

It was a lie, and we both knew it. Mason held a grudge for longer than anyone I knew, me included. And that was saying something.

Sure, Arden and I had a history. And that history was on the explosive side. But Mason should've known better.

My discussion with him ended the way it always did, with stoic silence on his part and a good deal of profanity on mine. By the time I stalked out his office, neither one of us was happy.

But hey, what else was new?

And now I was running late. I'd meant to check in with Arden at noon. But noon had come and gone hours ago. The day had been a shit-show already and showed no sign of improving – not after last night.

In my mind's eye, I could still see her – gazing up at me with those big, tearful eyes. She'd been on her knees, and not in a good way.

It had surprised the piss out of me.

I hadn't expected her to do it.

After all, it was just a house, even if she did have a habit of poking her nose where it didn't belong.

Last night, I'd been plenty ticked-off – and with good reason, too. She'd busted into my house, and then insulted the hell out of me.

She'd called me vile.

Arrogant, too.

I felt my jaw clench. What