that M.A.C.'s day-care center can't function without Addy.'
Rusty didn't acknowledge his niece's parting comment. Turning all his attention on Brett Windsor, he resisted Dina's attempts to put her arm around him. 'What the hell are you still doing here? Go on up to your room, Windsor. I need to talk to Addy and Nick. Alone.'
Addy bit her tongue to keep from chastising her father for his rudeness. A worldly wise man, a self-made millionaire, D.B. McConnell could be charming if the occasion called for it, but otherwise he didn't bother with the formalities of courtesy. Good manners were something that, even in her declining years of mental illness, Madeline Delacourt McConnell had instilled in her daughter, and Addy abhorred the lack of them in anyone, even in her own dearly loved father.
She reached out, placing her hand on Brett's arm. 'I'll see you in the morning at breakfast.'
His smile only enhanced his already handsome face. His dark blue eyes changed from brooding to pleasant. Addy returned his smile, thinking how attractive Brett Windsor was, with his sandy blond hair, his tall, muscular body, his quick wit and attentive manner. Too bad his interest in her was only monetary. As much as she liked Brett, there was no doubt in her mind that his sole interest in her was her daddy's money. Of course, he had no idea that she knew what was behind his phony smiles and attentive manner.
'Why don't you escort your stepmother upstairs?' Rusty said. 'This hasn't been the best of nights for her.'
'But, Rusty, darling, I should be here with you,' Dina protested. 'A wife should always be at her husband's side, sharing the good and the bad, giving him her support and love.'
Addy wanted to say 'poppycock.' Dina protested being asked to leave because she didn't want Rusty making any decisions without her. After all, she wasn't his wife, yet, and she didn't want anything to postpone or prevent their upcoming nuptials. Without moving, Addy saw Nick in her peripheral vision. He was staring at Dina, a quirky little smile on his face. He knows her, Addy thought, and can see straight through her the way I can.
'You're exhausted,' Rusty said. 'There's nothing you can do for Addy or for me, tonight. I'm sorry our engagement party ended on such a sour note.' He pulled Dina into his arms, her small body lost in his enormous bear hug. 'I just want to go over things again with Addy and Nick.'
'All right, Rusty, whatever you want.' Reluctantly, Dina accepted Brett's arm and the two left the room.
The moment the door closed, Rusty turned to his daughter. 'Now, little girl, I want you to tell me what you didn't tell the police.'
'I don't know what you're talking about. I told the police everything.' Addy crossed her arms over her chest and plopped down into the cream brocade Queen Anne chair by the fireplace.
'Don't play the innocent with me. I know damn well what happened tonight! Somebody tried to kidnap you.' Rusty hovered over Addy, glowering at her, daring her to deny the truth.
She'd been afraid this would happen. Her father was too smart, but it had been worth a try, to protect him from worry and to protect herself from his reaction. 'The man was trying to rob me, Daddy.'
With an exasperated grunt, Rusty turned to Nick. 'Do you think he was trying to rob her?'
'No, sir.' Nick glanced at Addy, who glared up at him, a slight tremor moving her head, as if she wanted to give him a negative warning but realized her father was watching her. 'The man was either a rapist or a kidnapper. My guess is that your daughter can tell us which.'
How was she going to fight both of these men? Addy wondered. Obviously. Nick was on her father's side. She glanced back and forth from the big dark Hispanic to the big fair Scot, both men of equal height and similar physiques, although Rusty's body had broadened and softened slightly with age.
She realized Nick and Rusty were staring at her. 'All right. He was trying to kidnap me, but he didn't. I'm fine. Nick foiled his rather clumsy attempt.'
'Why the hell didn't you tell the police?' Rusty bent over, placing his meaty hands on the armrests of Addy's chair. Lowering his head, he narrowed his green eyes and frowned. 'You didn't want me to know. Is that it, little girl?'
Shoving on her father's burly chest, she pushed him away, then stood up. 'Daddy…'
Rusty turned from her, walking across the room to the long windows that faced the veranda of his white- columned mansion. 'I'll call the police in the morning and tell them. We'll have to take the proper precautions.'
'Daddy … don't.' No, she couldn't bear it. Never again. She was free and she intended to stay free. 'If you want to hire someone to follow me around, keep watch on my house, that's fine. Even put on some extra guards at work, that's okay, too. But—I will not move back here and I will not be kept under lock and key.'
'We'll discuss this in the morning after we've all had some rest.' Rusty nodded toward Nick. 'Alton's brought Nick's things over from his hotel and Mrs. Hargett has put him in the room beside you.'
'What?' Addy exclaimed, her gaze riveted to Nick's smiling face. Just what was going on here? She felt as if these two had telepathically decided what was best for her.
'I'd prefer him in the room with you, but I didn't think you'd ever agree to that.' Rusty's grin was pure masculine superiority.
'Why on earth would you put Nick—Mr. Romero next to me? I'm sure you've already called in an army of guards to surround this place.'
'We'll have more than enough security by tomorrow,' Rusty said. 'But regardless of that, Nick's the kind of man I want close to you if there's any trouble.'
'How do you know what kind of man Mr. Romero is?' Addy asked.
'Are you forgetting he saved you from a kidnapper tonight, little girl?'
'For heaven's sake, stop calling me that! I'm thirty-five years old.'
Completely ignoring Addy's demand, Rusty surveyed Nick from head to toe. 'I ran a check on Nick. Just a preliminary check, when Dina said she'd invited her brother-in-law to come for the party and to stay a few days. Did the same thing with Brett Windsor. No big deal.'
'But why, Daddy? That's an invasion of privacy.'
'Brett Windsor has shown an interest in you. I wanted to see just how much money he did or didn't have. I wouldn't want you to have to go through the same kind of mess you did with Gerald.'
'Give me some credit, Daddy. You didn't have to run a check on Brett. I've known all along that it's your money he wants and not me.'
'So we're both smarter than we used to be, but it's better to be safe than sorry.'
'Some of us are smarter,' Addy mumbled under her breath.
'Insulting Dina in front of her brother-in-law?' Rusty laughed.
'I'm going to bed,' Addy said, heading for the door. 'And in the morning, I'm going home.'
'Nick, you go on with her, see her tucked in all safe and sound.' Rusty commanded, but a trace of chuckling humor softened his words.
Addy stopped dead in her tracks. Without turning to face either man, she said, 'What did you find out about Mr. Romero that makes you think he's so trustworthy?'
'He fought in Nam. Spent ten years in the SEALs. Went in when he was eighteen. He was a DEA agent for nearly a dozen years.' Rusty paused, as if waiting for his daughter to comment. When she didn't, he continued. 'He came from nothing and made something of himself, just like I did. I think Nick and I are a lot alike. Besides, he's one of Sam Dundee's best friends, and Dundee said that, despite Nick's bad leg, he's one of the toughest, meanest sonofabitches he's ever known. The kind of man you'd want on your side in a fight.'
Addy knew she'd made a mistake in asking. Obviously, Nick Romero possessed all the requirements her father considered important in a man. Close friendship with Sam Dundee, whose private security agency her father had used on more than one occasion, was a definite plus in his favor. What more could Rusty McConnell ask for? 'With such glowing credentials, I think you should just adopt him—then Dina would have someone around to amuse her when you're too busy.'
Rusty's big body shook with laughter. 'Dina has Brett for that. Besides, I was thinking I wouldn't mind having a man like Nick for a son-in-law.'
Nick's gut twisted. His heartbeat accelerated. What the hell kind of game was McConnell playing? When he saw the stricken look on Addy's face, he wondered if she hated the idea of marriage or just the idea of being married to him. 'Don't worry, Addy, I'm not the marrying kind.' He gave Rusty a hard stare. 'Maybe you'd better just adopt me.'
