Love After War by Cheris Hodges Read Free Book Online Page B

wanted money.” Richmond slurred his words so badly that Adrian wondered if he’d given him too much alcohol.
    â€œYou’re married, right? Shouldn’t you be trying to work things out with your wife?”
    Richmond shrugged. “What difference does that make? She doesn’t want anything but my name and my money. Sort of like what my dad wanted from my mother.” He reached for his glass and Adrian moved it out of his way.
    So, his mother knew about the affair and Elliot was too weak to accept his responsibilities. Richmond seemed to be just like his sorry excuse of a father, looking for someplace else to stick his pole. Rich married men seemed to love having something on the side. Adrian wondered if his mother had been mistaken about the love she thought Elliot had had for her. Maybe, like Richmond, he had a horrible marriage and used Pamela as an escape. He hated thinking about his mother as anyone’s option; she was much more than that.
    Looking at Richmond, he decided that it was time to get him back to the hotel before the photographers left and wouldn’t be able to catch him stumbling to the car, making a further ass of himself. Adrian pulled out his cell phone and called a different car service to take Richmond back to his hotel; then he waved for the bartender to pour Richmond a cup of black coffee.
    When the driver called from outside and Richmond had sipped half of his coffee, Adrian motioned for a security guard to escort his brother outside and he headed for his office. In the stillness of the dim office, his mind switched back to Dana and Ian Kelly. Had she gotten caught up in his celebrity image and that freaking motorcycle? Were they serious? Was she another one of Kelly’s groupies? Wait a minute—Dana wasn’t a groupie. If anything, that guy was head over heels in love with his woman. Adrian dropped down in the chair behind the desk and pulled his cell phone out again. He started to text Dana. But what would he say? He couldn’t tell her the truth, couldn’t type what he really wanted to say: I still love you. Adrian tossed the phone across the room.
    â€œThis is insane.” Then an idea popped into his head. Dana was probably staying at a hotel near the movie studio, and if the studio was picking up the tab for it, then it was probably the same place where Dana was staying. It was off to Culver City. And he silently prayed she would be returning to her hotel room alone and not spending the night with Ian. Crossing the room and grabbing his smartphone, which now had a cracked screen, Adrian tried not to think about Ian’s lips pressed against Dana’s and he definitely wasn’t trying to think about Ian making love to his woman.
    He rushed down the back stairs and headed to the Culver Hotel, hoping that he was heading in the right direction.

Chapter 5
    Ian’s handling of the motorcycle was smooth, cautious, and not at all how Dana would’ve zipped down the highway. Then again, he was probably being courteous because she was riding with him.
    They decided to skip Roscoe’s and go to a nondescript diner instead. Ian wanted to avoid the paparazzi and Dana agreed. As they pulled into the diner’s lot, Dana realized she was going to purchase another motorcycle and she would ride in New York.
    â€œThat was an amazing ride,” Dana said as she pulled her helmet off.
    â€œI could tell you enjoyed the ride. You were really comfortable back there,” he said.
    â€œYeah,” she said, then stretched her arms above her head. “I can’t wait to get me another motorcycle. I might dump the Triumph for a Harley.”
    â€œSounds like a plan. Glad I could assist in that decision.” Ian placed his hand on the small of her back as he opened the door of the diner. It was nearly empty and Dana felt a twinge of nervousness, which was funny. She had no problem hopping on the back of his motorcycle, but now she was