Cassie knew that others who’d seen her parents together over the years had formed opinions on what the relationship was about. He was a married American and Ava was his Bahamian mistress. But Cassie knew their relationship was so much more than that. In her heart she believed they had been soul mates in the truest form. She had loved her parents deeply and they had loved her, a product of their love, and there hadn’t been a day they hadn’t let her feel or know it.

She had resented those times when her father would leave them to return to his family in Miami, a family she’d only found out about when she became a teenager. The truth had hurt, but then her mother and father had smoothed away the pain with the intensity of their love and had let her know that no matter what the situation was, the one thing that would never change or diminish was their love for her, as well as their love for each other. From that day forward, whether others did or not, Cassie understood and accepted her parents’ unorthodox love affair.

She stepped off the elevator and walked into her office, stopping to smile at her secretary while picking up her messages off the woman’s desk. “Good morning, Trudy.”

“Good morning, Ms. Garrison.”

Cassie liked the sound of that. She had begun using her father’s last name within a week of his death. With both of her parents deceased, there were no secrets to protect and she had no reason to continue to deny herself the use of his name.

“Any additional messages?” she asked the older woman whom she had hired a few months ago.

“Yes. Mr. Parker Garrison just called and would like you to return his call.”

Cassie forced the smile to stay on her face while thinking that no matter what Parker liked, he wouldn’t be getting things his way since she wouldn’t be returning his call. She could not forget the phone conversation they had shared nearly four months ago. He’d called within a week of the reading of John Garrison’s will and he’d kept calling. Eventually, she had taken his call.