But that was the least of my worries.

I met April outside by her car in the parking lot at five-thirty. She looked tired and pale but not unhappy, and something lit up inside me when I saw her again. I stopped in front of her.

“So, um, we should talk. Want to grab a bite to eat or something?”

She rolled her eyes but smiled. “That sounds suspiciously like a date, Mr. Fawkes.”

“No, nuh-uh. If you keep calling me Mr. Fawkes, then it’s a business dinner, Ms. Weiss. And I think that after this morning, you can’t deny we have a lot of business to discuss.”

She nodded. “Do you mind if I drop my car at home before we go eat? It’s okay if I ride in the back seat of your car. That’s still business-like and me knowing my place.”

I blew out a breath. “Knock it off, Weiss. I’ll follow you home.”

She lived less than four miles from the complex in an upscale condo in Irvine. After she parked her car and got out, I rolled down my window when she indicated she wanted to say something.

“I need to run up to my place for a minute. Want to come? Strictly businesslike, of course.” She smirked.

“Whatever. But this better not take long. I’m hungry because I skipped lunch. My intern ditched me to go eat with her daddy.”

“Park over there in visitors’ parking,” she pointed with her middle finger. I laughed and followed her directions.

She waited for me on the curb, her arms folded across her chest, looking down, deep in thought. Inside her head again.

“What’s up?”

She shrugged, avoiding my eyes. “Just thinkin’.”

“Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of that today, too.”

She flicked a worried gaze at me. “I suppose this talk we’re having has to do with my dad showing up out of the blue?”

“Let’s save it for dinner.”

She rolled her eyes. “Always good to have a new excuse for indigestion.”

She turned to climb up the steps to the second floor. I followed her up. “I’m just going to change really quick and get out of these pantyhose. I promise I won’t be more than five minutes.”

I leaned against the wall next to the door as she fumbled with the key in the lock. With all the distractions today, I hadn’t even had a chance to get a close look at her. She looked as gorgeous as ever, that glossy dark hair, those blue eyes, that elegant, upturned little nose, that graceful white neck.

I enjoyed your daughter. I grimaced with the memory of almost blowing it with her dad while amending that dirty little statement in my head. I enjoyed her on the living room floor, on the dining table, up against a car and several times in a hotel room bed.

She opened the door, stepped inside and I followed close behind. Then I crashed right into her as she halted in her steps and gasped.

Chapter 23

April

I stood frozen in shock and then suddenly found myself propelled forward by the force of a six-foot, two-hundred-pound man colliding into me from behind. Strong hands steadied me while a soft voice murmured an apology I barely heard. Because sitting on my living room couch were my mother and her new husband—the asshole formerly known as my ex.

What the hell was this, invasion of the obnoxious parents day? No, that wasn’t fair to my dad. He wasn’t malicious in his neglect. My mother, on the other hand? Pure evil she-demon from hell. My face immediately flamed and I stiffened.

“What’s wrong?” I heard Jordan ask quietly behind me.

“Hey, April-Flower!” My mother popped off the sofa, her arms in the air, her pert body posing like a dancer performing a routine. Even in her mid-forties, my mother was still a beautiful woman. And she knew it. She also used it to her advantage with every breath that she took. I swallowed bile in the back of my throat and tossed my purse and keys on the counter.

“What are you doing here?” I said without preamble, vaguely aware that I’d greeted my dad this morning with those exact same words.

Mom approached me, but her eyes were on the man standing behind me. Typical. She flashed Jordan a wide smile, then continued to speak to me in her fake, sing-songy voice. “I wanted to see my daughter. Isn’t that enough?”

She swished her long blond hair over her shoulder flirtatiously. The bile threatened to come up again.

“Excuse me,” I muttered and turned to walk through the kitchen into the hallway. Sid was standing in our bedroom, chewing on her thumbnail and staring at her phone.

“You couldn’t have texted me that they were here?” I asked between clenched teeth.