“You do not give me orders,” Addison said, looking down her nose at her soon-to-be wife.

“Maybe not, but my father is about to come out of that lift, and he wants to meet you,” Joanna said, eyeing the woman up and down. “But for the life of me, I don’t know why.”

Meeting Joanna’s gaze squarely, Addison said, “The feeling is mutual, I assure you.”

Before the discussion could continue, the lift door opened, and with cane in hand, Robert Sheppard hobbled out. His face lit up when he saw his daughter, but the intense expression she wore caused him to look at the only person in the foyer he didn’t know, the woman who was returning Joanna’s glare with one of her own.

Joanna was not afraid of Addison Kane. She wasn’t impressed by her money, by her cars, or by her attitude…quite the opposite. She viewed the woman as a spoiled child. Accustomed to getting her way, she’d growl, snap, and bark, and if the woman had hair on her back, there was no doubt in Joanna’s mind it would be standing on end right now, but Joanna didn’t care. Joanna liked dogs.

Tickled by her own thoughts, Joanna flashed an easy grin at her father as she stepped forward. “Dad, I’d like you to meet Addison Kane. Miss—” Cutting herself off, Joanna looked at the woman she was about to marry and made up her mind formalities needed to change. With a smirk smearing its way across her face, Joanna said, “Addison, this is my father, Robert Sheppard.”

Addison’s first thought was to smack the smug look off Joanna’s face, but she had never hit a woman before, and no matter how tempting the idea she wasn’t going to start now. In order to keep her temper in check, she turned to the man leaning heavily on a cane. Addison had expected he would be frail, and he was. She had assumed a man his age would have gray hair, and he did, but what she didn’t expect was the strength in his eyes. His piercing stare met hers, and in the black-brown, she saw a silent demand for respect and decorum. He was weak, and he was old, but he was Joanna Sheppard’s father, and he was telling her she had better remember it. In spite of herself and her mood, Addison was impressed.

Holding out her hand, she said, “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sheppard.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Addison,” he said, placing his twisted right hand in hers. “At least, I hope it is.”

Addison raised an eyebrow, and with a nod, she shook Robert’s hand with a grip neither warm nor firm. Returning her focus to Joanna, she gestured toward the drawing room. “I don’t think we should keep the registrar waiting any longer. Do you?”