Heiress Recon. Carla Cassidy

little time alone with her dad this evening to tell him of the life-altering decision she’d made, but as she looked at the clock on the nightstand she realized she’d probably have to wait until the next day for the heart-to-heart chat.

      She smoothed a hand down the front of the designer dress she’d bought the day before and thrown into her suitcase at the last minute. The little black number was sinfully short and fit her slender curves as if it had been designed specifically for her. The label would impress Heather, and Brianna’s father would predictably ask what animal had eaten the lower half of her skirt.

      Knowing that it was getting close to mealtime, she left her bedroom and went downstairs to search for Heather. She found the attractive redhead seated in the formal living room sipping a glass of wine.

      “There you are,” she said as Brianna entered the room. “Your father is upstairs changing for dinner, and I’m expecting Troy to show up any moment. Nice dress.”

      “Thanks. Troy?” Brianna walked over to the bar and poured herself a glass of the wine that Heather had opened.

      “Troy Sinclair, Grace and Lyle’s son,” Heather replied.

      Brianna sank down on the love seat opposite Heather. “Troy Sinclair. I haven’t seen him since I was a kid.” She hadn’t seen him in years, but she remembered him. At ten years old she’d had a huge crush on the boy with the blond hair and the gunmetal-gray eyes. “He’s working for Dad now?”

      Heather shrugged her bone-thin shoulders. “I guess so. You know I don’t pay any attention to your father’s wheeling and dealing. Now, tell me all about what’s going on in your life.”

      Her mother had died when Brianna was ten, and her father had married Heather eight years ago. Brianna had just turned twenty-one; Heather had been thirty.

      It had been Heather who had encouraged Brianna to head to California and enjoy her youth, beauty and financial freedom while she could. Heather loved the gossip magazines, and in a bid to please the woman who was now her father’s wife, a young and naive Brianna had left Kansas City with the goal of becoming one of the women her stepmother seemed to admire.

      It had only been in the last couple of years that Brianna had recognized that her stepmother might have had an ulterior motive for urging Brianna out of the nest and halfway across the country. With Brianna gone, Heather could have her husband’s attention all to herself.

      The two had only been talking a few minutes when Brandon swept into the room. “There she is!” He held out his arms to Brianna, who instantly jumped up to greet him.

      Hugging her father had always been as comforting as hugging her favorite teddy bear, and this time was no different. He wrapped her up and gave her a smacking kiss on the forehead, then released her.

      “Did the seamstress forget to add the skirt to that blouse?” he asked gruffly.

      She smiled and touched his cheek with her fingers. “I’ve missed you, Dad.”

      “I’ve missed you, too. Are you doing all right?” His sharp blue eyes gazed at her intently. “Curt doing okay?”

      She nodded. “I spoke to him right before I got on the plane. They’re going to release him in the next day or two.” She fought a shiver as she thought of the attack in the club.

      Brandon frowned and said, “I can’t believe they didn’t catch the person responsible.”

      “It all happened so fast. When I spoke to the police yesterday they said they couldn’t get a credible witness statement. According to the people they interviewed in the club, the man who attacked me was a tall blonde, a short bald man and a burly dark-haired man.”

      “She’s safe and she’s here now,” Heather said. “Let’s just put that unpleasantness behind us.” Before she could say anything else the doorbell rang.

      “Ah, good. That will be Troy,” Brandon said. As he left to greet the houseguest, Brianna sat up straighter in her chair. It would be interesting to see what kind of man the boy had grown into.

      Hot. That was the first word that popped into her head as Troy Sinclair entered the room at her father’s side. His buzz-cut blond hair emphasized lean, elegant features. His broad shoulders, slim hips and long legs were a perfect display form for the dark-blue suit he wore.

      Living in Hollywood, Brianna was accustomed to seeing handsome men, but Troy Sinclair radiated an energy that warmed her and sent butterflies dancing in the pit of her stomach. Her reaction to him shocked her. It had been a very long time since any man had made her particularly pleased to be a female.

      “Troy, it’s nice to see you again,” she said. The warmth that had momentarily swept through her vanished as she met his gaze. His eyes were as cold as a gray winter sky.

      His head bobbed in a curt nod and he smiled, but there wasn’t any warmth behind it. “Nice to see you, too,” he said, then turned away from her as Brandon offered him a before-dinner drink. Okay, so the man was hot to look at and apparently very reserved. She sat back down on the love seat.

      “We need to make a toast,” Brandon said and took Brianna’s glass from her. “I’ll fill this up for you. Troy, have a seat there next to my little girl.”

      He smelled wonderful, Brianna thought as Troy sat close enough to her that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. A combination of clean male and a spicy cologne. “I understand you’re working for my father. What exactly is it that you do?” she asked.

      “I’m an independent contractor,” he replied.

      “Troy is helping me with a little issue that has come up with the mall development,” Brandon explained as he handed Brianna her glass. “And now a toast,” he exclaimed as he lifted his own goblet. “To Brianna’s visit home and the hope that she knows just how much her old man loves her.”

      Brianna’s heart swelled as she smiled at her father, then took a sip of the drink he’d prepared. Robert, the cook, appeared in the doorway. “Dinner is served,” he announced.

      Within minutes they were all seated in the dining room. The conversation was light and pleasant, but Brianna felt a simmering tension in the air.

      She found herself studying Troy, who sat across the table. He was definitely eye candy and unfailingly polite, but she sensed a faint disapproval wafting from him each time he glanced her way.

      “Brianna, honey, we need to have a serious talk,” Brandon said as they finished up the meal.

      Brianna shot a quick glance at Troy, then looked back at her father. “Okay,” she said slowly. “A serious talk about what?”

      “Troy isn’t just our dinner guest this evening. He’s here to do a very important job for me,” Brandon said. “I’ve hired him to take you someplace safe for a couple of days.”

      “I am someplace safe. I’m home,” she exclaimed, wondering what in the heck was going on. “Dad, if this is about what happened at the club the other night—”

      “It is, and it’s not,” Brandon interrupted her. “You know I’m starting work to build on the property next to Precious Pets—” she nodded and he continued “—and a lot of the neighbors aren’t happy about it. There have been some threats, and I’m worried for your safety.”

      “And you think the attack the other night in the club might be about this?” It was difficult to believe that somebody who opposed a business deal in Kansas City would fly all the way to California to hurt her. But, it was equally difficult for her to believe that somebody had hated her enough to try to stab her.

      “I think it’s possible,” Brandon replied. “I find it terribly coincidental that I get threats and suddenly somebody tries to stab you.” He leaned forward in his chair. “Just do me a favor. Go with Troy for a couple of days, give me some peace of mind.”

      “A couple of days?”

      Brandon