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As if he hadn’t just introduced them back at the airport. “Why do you ask?”
She sighed.
Alarm coursed through him. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. I promise. I would have recognized her even if you didn’t mention her background. Or at least, I recognize her because of her mother.”
“You knew her mother?”
“No, not personally. When the standoff happened, her face was everywhere because of her father.”
He hated it when his mother spoke in riddles. He had always been someone who wanted all the facts and no subterfuge. That made him pause as he slowed down for a red light. Is that why he was so intrigued by Autumn? He wanted to know the whole truth about what was happening with her.
“What about her grandfather?”
“Her grandfather was Arlen Bradford.”
He blinked and glanced at his mother. “The Arlen Bradford of Bradford Industries?”
She nodded. “A lot of fuss was made about her mother. They were comparing her to Patty Hearst.”
“Except she wasn’t kidnapped like Hearst,” his father said from the backseat.
“Agreed and Hearst definitely didn’t have a baby with the leader of that cult. Anyway, she looks a lot like her mother. Not as thin, that’s for sure, but she is the spitting image of her mother.”
Someone laid on their horn behind him, and he realized the light had turned green.
“So, you think she looks like her mother, and that’s how you recognized her?”
“Don’t sound so suspicious. And yes. If you looked up Autumn’s mother, you would see it. Anyways, she’s a gorgeous woman.”
“Yes, she is.”
“Hmm, so you agree. Good.”
Inwardly, he sighed. He now understood what Rami had been talking about and knew he would eat his words if his friend ever found out.
eight
Autumn was running late again.It was nothing new for her. Many people thought she was early to work because she was a workaholic. That wasn’t the reason. Well, that wasn’t the entire reason she showed up early. Shewasa workaholic. She had her regular caseload, and then she had her investigation into Joseph’s shenanigans.
Yes, it was an unserious word for some very serious behavior. Still, it helped Autumn deal with the horror of the monster who “raised” her.
Anyway, she couldn’t be late tonight. She’d had a few things to wrap up at work on her last case. Saturday was a great day to do paperwork. She paused in applying her blush.
What the hell, Bradford?
Yep, she needed to get out more. She had always had a work ethic, but never like this. And since she wasn’t sure how much more time she had, she should be grabbing onto life with both hands. Instead, she had been getting deeper into what Joseph had been up to since he “died” and losing all perspective.
So, tonight, she would try. She would set her thoughts about Joseph aside and celebrate two people who truly deserved their happily ever after.
Stepping back from the mirror, Autumn took in her dress. As she had told Nikki, she did own dresses. This one was another of her favorites. The white halter dress looked simple. The gauzy material floated around her and reached her ankles. But it cut deep between her breasts, making it impossible to wear a bra. The back was completely open.
After putting on a pair of simple diamond studs Ian had given her for Christmas last year, she found her sandals. This would be held in Merri’s backyard, so there was no reason to wear heels.
The last bit was to pull her hair into a chignon to keep it off her neck. It was humid tonight, and the trade winds weren’t expected to return for a few days. As she stepped out onto her landing, her phone buzzed.
Ian: You are running late, right?
