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Chapters (52)
  1. Born Out of Wedlock
  2. Dedication
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Prologue
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-One
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Chapter Forty-Five
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Acknowledgements
  52. Other Titles by Author

As a child, there had been numerous times when Joanna had been reprimanded by her father for doing the wrong thing or acting not as he had expected, but that’s part of parenting. To teach, to guide, to nurture, and to correct, but as Joanna stood there, she decided she wasn’t the child. She was the parent.

“No, I have plenty more,” Joanna said. Mindless she was only partially dressed, Joanna walked toward Addison. “First, this is my room, and if you care to enter it, you will knock first. Second, I never agreed to be your bloody prisoner, so I don’t need anyone’s permission to leave this house. And third, you made it crystal clear I wasn’t allowed at dinner unless I was properly dressed, and since I don’t have access to the Internet to get anything online, the only way to buy clothes is to go out into the big bad paparazzi-filled world and buy some!”

Infringing on Addison’s space, Joanna said, “Now, if you don’t mind, dinner in this house is served promptly at half six, and I don’t want to be late.” Placing her hand on Addison’s chest, Joanna gave the woman a small shove, forcing her to take a step backward.

A second later, Addison had the door slammed in her face.

***

Addison had become an expert in not acknowledging Joanna’s existence, but seeing a woman partially dressed has a way of changing one’s mind. When Addison heard the doors to the dining room slide open, she couldn’t stop herself from looking in Joanna’s direction and when she did...the temperature in the room seemed to increase.

To go with the billowing-sleeved silk blouse, Joanna had decided on a peasant style skirt. In the color of caramel, the faux suede fabric ended just below her knees, and to complement the ensemble, she had chosen a braided belt and a pair of dark brown slouch boots. The result was trendy and sexy, and Addison swallowed the saliva building in her mouth.

Joanna went over and took her place at the table, paying no attention to the woman who had never paid any to her. She had no idea that up until she disappeared behind the Gorgon candelabra, she had become Addison’s sole focus.