He shot back a reply, 'I'm with my daughter. Just handle it yourself.'
The response was quick. 'Not an option. Look in the trunk. You've got 24 hours.'
Alexander cursed quietly and shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"Dad!"
He turned to see Emma waving excitedly from inside the store, holding up a dress for him to check out.
Later, he told himself. I'll deal with it later.
He forced a smile and gave her a thumbs-up.
*****
Emma was scrolling through her phone, her earlier excitement fading a bit. "Dad, can we eat at La Virelli?"
Alexander almost tripped. "What?"
"La Virelli," Emma said again, looking up at him with hopeful eyes. "It's this super nice restaurant run by one of the Virelli brothers. Everyone at school's been talking about it. Please? It would make today perfect."
La Virelli.
Of course, she would pick the one restaurant in the city that was practically off-limits
