Page 53 of Dangerous Secret

“Buttery?” Liam rolled his eyes. “I don’t even know what that means.”

Cooper pointed his fork at Liam. “It means when you go all Irish on a woman, she melts into a puddle at your feet.”

“Aye, sure, ’tis a grand gift, it is.”

Ria walked up with a coffeepot just as Liam spoke, and her gaze locked on him. “Sugar, I’ll leave my husband if you promise to talk like that to me.”

Liam winked at her. “Well, now, Ria, luv, ye know I can’t go breakin’ up a happy home. But I’ll be happy to bless yer ears with me Irish charm anytime ye fancy.”

“Buttery,” Cooper muttered.

Grayson chuckled as he scooped up a forkful of hash browns. After Ria snapped out of her Liam trance and refilled their coffee cups, she left to refresh another customer’s coffee. “I have things to do today, so let’s get back to business. Coop, I’m counting on you to get Pressley’s driver onboard. I want to take his place ASAP.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Also, can you pay a visit to Veronica’s real estate office sometime today? See if there’s anything to learn? Specifically, I’d like to know if anyone there knew she was seeing Pressley.”

“Can do.”

“Want to know about my date with Alisha Austin?” Liam said.

“She have anything useful to say about Pressley?”

“Nothing big, but she didn’t hesitate to badmouth him. He told her he loved her and made her all kinds of promises. By the time his divorce was final, he’d lost interest in her and moved on to his next conquest. She did find out later that he was seeing Veronica at the same time as her. She’s really pissed about that.”

“Can’t say I blame her.” Grayson pushed his empty plate aside. “Anything else?”

“Only that when she heard Veronica was missing, she immediately thought that Pressley had something to dowith that. She told me about several times he got physical with her. Nothing serious, just yelled at her or grabbed her arm when she displeased him, and once, he pushed her.”

“Basically, she confirmed what we already know.” He grabbed the bill Ria left on the table, glanced at it, then pulled a hundred-dollar bill out of his wallet. “Tell Ria we don’t need change,” he said, sliding it across the table. “I’ve got a PI to see this morning.” The man wasn’t going to enjoy his visit.

Chapter 24

Harlow slept a few more hours after Grayson left. When she did drag herself out of bed, she padded to the kitchen for a much-needed cup of coffee. As soon as he realized where she was going, Einstein spoke to her in his I’m-dying-of-hunger-here-so-feed-me-right-now voice.

“Patience, buddy.” She felt off this morning. Tired from being up half the night making love with Grayson, yes, but that wasn’t it. She kept hearing Tyler say “Mama” in her mind. It was the only word she’d heard him speak since she moved out of Anthony’s house, and her heart was breaking. “I miss him so much,” she told Einstein.

Tears burned her eyes. No, she wasn’t going to fall apart. She had work to do, and she had to get ready for Lena’s visit. She didn’t want to spoil her time with Lena by being depressed, so she needed to find her cheer.

Although she did have work she needed to accomplish today, she decided to plan the meals for when Lena was here. Meal planning and cooking was something she enjoyed. Anthony had a chef, so she’d never been allowed in the kitchen, and now, she only cooked for herself. Not much fun in that.

Since Lena and she had been friends forever, Harlow knew what she liked and didn’t like. It didn’t take longto plan a menu, and after dressing, she grabbed her purse and car keys. Her mood was improving, thankfully. As she reached to open the door, she stilled. What if Anthony was out there? She stuck her eye to the peephole. He wasn’t in the hallway. Okay, it was safe. But what if he was in the parking lot? She fished in her purse for her phone and set it ready to record.

She wouldn’t at all have been surprised to see Anthony waiting to accost her, but she was surprised when she reached the sidewalk to see his father walking toward her. She almost turned around and raced back to the safety of her apartment. Arthur had always intimidated her, and he was the last person in the world she wanted to see. But no, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of cowering. Keeping her gaze on her car, she hit Record on the phone.

When she attempted to walk past him, he stepped in front of her, forcing her to stop. There had been a time when he had as much control over her as Anthony, but that time was no more.

“I have nothing to say to you, Arthur. Good day.” She moved to her left to walk around him.

He blocked her again. “Well, I have much to say to you. Why don’t we go up to your apartment so we can talk?”

“No.” Like hell she’d invite him into her home.

“Fine, we’ll just have our chat here for the world to see.”

She laughed, which by the thinning of his lips he didn’t appreciate. “The world is not watching you and I, so get over yourself. Again, good day.” And again, he kept her from walking around him.

“It’s time for you to do your duty as a wife and mother, Harlow. You need to return home. Anthony needs you.”

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