Page 28 of Jack of Hearts
“I saw you at my birthday party,” Angelina said. “Is that where you met my daughter?”
“Yes, ma’am. I came by to ask her to have dinner with me tomorrow night. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs.Parker.”
He flashed that killer smile, and Madison thought both her mother and Lauren were going to hyperventilate.
“Oh, call me Angelina, please. What do you do, Alex?”
“Mother!”
Alex winked at her. “It’s a fair question.” He met her mother’s gaze. “I own a bar with my brothers.”
The frown on her mother’s face didn’t bode well, but at least he hadn’t mentioned that it was a biker bar.
“What time should I pick you up tomorrow?” Alex asked.
“I’m still not sure—”
“She’ll be done here by six,” Lauren said.
Madison glared at her friend, getting a not-so-innocent shrug back.
“I’ll be counting the minutes.” Alex leaned toward her, mischief in his eyes. “Have a nicenight, Madison.”
Heat warmed her cheeks. She knew exactly what he meant, and yeah, she’d be fantasizing about him. Because she didn’t want to be an open book, too easily read, she said, “I plan to. Dinner with my mom, followed by a hot bath, then a few chapters of the book I’m reading, and then eight hours of dreamless sleep.”
Did he just snort? And she’d really like to wipe that smirk off Lauren’s face. As for her mom, Angelina glanced between her and Alex, concern clearly showing.
“Mrs.Parker ... Angelina, Lauren, it’s been my pleasure to meet two such charming ladies,” Alex said. He subtly moved so that he was facing only her mother. “Your daughter is a treasure, which I’m sure you already know.” He stepped back. “Good night, ladies.”
“Wow,” Lauren said after he walked away.
“A bar owner?” Her mother frowned. “He seems nice, but I’d hoped for better for you, Madison.”
“It’s not like I’m sending out wedding announcements,” Madison snapped. She took a deep breath, and then gave her mother a hug. “I’m sorry. He is really nice, and we’re just dating, okay?”
“I’ll take him if you don’t want him,” Lauren said.
He’s mine.“Let’s get closed up.” The sooner she got dinner with her mother over with, the sooner she’d get to fantasizing about Alex.
CHAPTER NINE
“I told him the money-laundering deal was off if he gave me any trouble about seeing Madison,” Alex said, answering Nate’s question. “That shut him up real fast.” It was early, and the bikers were just starting to trickle in.
They were in the office—Nate stretched out on the couch, Court sitting behind the desk, and Alex slouched in a leather recliner, one leg dangling over the arm—watching the monitor as they discussed Alex’s love life. He didn’t much like it. There weren’t two men on the planet nosier than his brothers. They still weren’t happy with him, and he tried not to let it bother him.
“You ever wonder if our mother’s still alive?” Where the hell had that come from?
“Sometimes,” Court said.
“Never,” Nate said at the same time.
At the bitterness in Nate’s voice, Alex eyed his older brother. From the time their mother had walked away, anytime he or Court mentioned her, Nate would shut down the conversation. Why was that? Alex had never questioned it before, but something in Nate’s tone made him wonder if his brother was keeping secrets.
“You know something we don’t, big brother?”
Nate swung his feet to the floor. “I don’t know shit, okay? She left us. End of story.”
Nate had never lied to them about anything before, but Alex knew deep in his bones that he was lying now. His oldest brother’s face was a slab of granite with no emotion carved into the stone. Nate knew something. That was for damn sure. Did he know why their mother had left or where she’d gone? Alex had a sinking feeling that whatever secret Nate was hiding was a big one.
