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She could see the wheels turning in her mom’s head and she didn’t like it. “Mom, if you’d rather stay here, I can...” She wasn’t sure how she was going to finish that sentence. If she insisted on staying, she knew there would be hell to pay.
“What the hell,” her mom said. “Lead the way, Mr. Boyfriend.”
Her mom picked up the bottle of vodka in one hand and a suitcase in the other. She began making her way to the door.
Bradley swiped the bottle out of her hand. “This is staying here.”
Zelda shot him daggers with her eyes, but then turned on the charm when looking at Daniel. “I’m sure you have something better than cheap vodka at your house, right?”
“I do,” Daniel confirmed.
Her mom was out the door, not waiting to see if they would follow.
Daniel reached for Ali’s hand again.
“I’m sorry—”
He cut her off. “We’ll talk at home.”
While Daniel locked up her apartment, Bradley bumped her elbow. Ali turned to see what he wanted and found him holding her phone.
“I thought you might want this back.”
She took it and smiled. “Thanks.”
He grinned back at her. “You’re welcome.”
Daniel opened the passenger’s door for her while Bradley and her mom got in the back. He paused for a moment, and she realized there was a stack of papers on the seat. She wouldn’t have thought anything of them, but she saw the name on the top of one of the pages. Grant Edward Jacobson.
Ali wanted to ask him about it, but not with her mother within earshot. This evening was already bad enough. She didn’t need to add to it.
He gathered the papers and slipped them back into a manila envelope, placed them under her seat, then helped her into the vehicle.
The drive home was intense. Not because of the topic of conversation, but because there wasn’t any. None of them said a word as Daniel drove them out of the city toward his house. It wasn’t until they pulled up to the gated driveway that she heard a peep out of her mom.
“You live here?”
“I do,” Daniel said and typed in the code.
The gate opened and they proceeded down the long, winding driveway. She couldn’t see her mom’s expression when they pulled up to the house, but she could imagine it. His house was impressive, including the four-car garage he drove his SUV into. It was bigger than some houses.
They walked into the house and she saw her mom’s eyes light up, dread pooled in the pit of her stomach. Her mom had a horrible track record when it came to men, and not only the men she dated. For some reason, she thought she knew what men wanted when she didn’t have a clue.
“Ali, why don’t you show your mom to your old bedroom. She can sleep there.”
“Her old room?” Zelda asked.
“Yes.” Daniel didn’t elaborate. He strolled off, leaving Ali and her mom alone.
Her mom didn’t say anything until they entered the room where Ali had stayed in the wing of the house. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d landed a rich sugar daddy?”
Ali’s heart sank. Now she not only had to deal with Bradley’s judgments, but her mother’s as well. The only difference was that Bradley saw her dating his father as a negative and her mother most certainly didn’t.
CHAPTER25
As soon asAli disappeared down the hall with her mom, Daniel returned to his vehicle to get the file. He didn’t know Zelda Foster very well, but what he did know about her didn’t impress him. The last thing he wanted to do was clue her in regarding the problems Ali was having at her job. Not, at least, until he got a better read on the situation.
Bradley was in the kitchen when he returned. He was heating up their uneaten dinner. His son moved with skill in the kitchen—something he'd taught all his kids.
