“Buckle up for landing.”

He lifted his head when his pilot’s command came across the speaker. And then as if he couldn’t resist, he lowered his head and kissed her again. This time it was Cassie who pulled back and whispered against his moist lips. “I think I need to go back to my own seat.”

“Yes, you do,” he agreed, tracing his tongue around her mouth before finally releasing her from his lap.

She eased back to her seat and quickly buckled in. She lifted her head. Their gazes met. She smiled. So did he.

The thought that suddenly ran though her mind was that they hadn’t missed making love one single time since that first experience and they hadn’t gone a day without sharing a kiss, either. Those would be memories that would have to sustain her. Memories she would forever cherish.

“Cassie?”

She glanced over at him. “Yes?”

“Welcome to Miami.”

“Do you mind if I make a quick stop by my office to check on things?” Brandon asked Cassie as he drove his car down Ocean Drive. Her attention was on the happenings outside the car’s window. During this time of the day, it wasn’t unusual to spot models, vintage cars, Harleys and people on Rollerblades mixing in with the many tourists that visited South Beach.

She turned to him, smiling. The sun coming through the window seemed to place golden highlights in her hair. “No, not at all. I’m sure you want to check to make sure nothing was damaged during the storm, although from the looks of things, all this city got was plenty of rain.”

“Which seem to have grown more people,” Brandon said, chuckling. “This area gets more popular every day. Daytime is bad enough but wait until darkness falls and all the nightclubs open. South Beach becomes one big party land.”

“Umm, sounds like fun.”

He chuckled. “It is, and Adam’s nightclub is right there in the thick of things. It’s doing very well. Before you return to the Bahamas, I plan to make sure I take you out on the town one night, and Adam’s club is just one of the many places we’ll visit.”

Cassie slanted a smile over at him. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those party animals.”

He laughed. “Not anymore, but I used to be. Adam and I have a history of spending many a nights out partying and having a good time. We were intent on experiencing as much of the wilder side of life as we could. But after Dad’s death I had to buckle down and get serious when everything fell on my shoulders. I will always appreciate your father for having faith in my abilities and retaining our firm after Dad died. John didn’t have to do that, but by doing so, he gave me a chance to prove my worth.”

Cassie nodded as her smile deepened. “So you settled down, but is Adam still the party animal?”

“Not to the degree he used to be,” he said. “He’s become a very serious businessman. You’re going to like him.”

“You would say that because he’s your best friend,” she said.

“Yes, but I think you’re going to like all the Garrison siblings.”

She gave him a doubtful look. “Even Parker?”

“Yes, even Parker. Once you get to know him you’ll see he’s really a nice guy, and like I told you before, his marriage to Anna has changed him in a lot of ways. He loves her very much. I would be the first to admit that I never thought I’d see the day he would settle down. After all, he was one of the city’s most eligible bachelors, a status he liked having.”

Cassie considered his words and wondered if there would ever be a woman in Brandon’s life that he would fall in love with and want to marry and spend the rest of his life with.

“We’re almost there, just another block. And you’ll be able to see the Garrison Grand once I turn the corner. It’s on one corner of Bricknell and my office is on the other.”

No sooner had he said the words than she saw what had been her father’s first hotel. A sense of pride flowed through Cassie. It was a beautiful high-rise, a stately structure.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, getting to study it in more detail when they came to a stop at a traffic light right in front of the grand-looking building. The Garrison Grand was a perfect name for it.

“Stephen’s in charge of running it now and he’s doing an excellent job. He has exemplary business skills, but he’s going to have his hands full when the Hotel Victoria open its doors.”

Cassie glanced at Brandon. “The Hotel Victoria?”

“Yes, it’s a hotel that’s presently under construction and is being built by Jordan Jefferies. It will be a competing hotel that will be slightly smaller in size but will rival the Garrison Grand in luxury and prestige and attract the same type of clientele. Jeffries is a shrewd businessman who can be rather ruthless at times. He’s a person who’s determined to succeed by any means necessary.”

“Sounds a lot like Parker.”

Brandon chuckled. “Yes, which is probably why the two can’t get along. There’s a sort of family rivalry going on between the Garrisons and the Jeffrieses and has been for a while. However, a couple of months ago, Brittany defied the feud and recently became engaged to Emilio, Jordan’s brother.”

“I can imagine Parker not being too happy about that,” Cassie said.

“No, and neither is Jordan. But Brittany and Emilio seem very much in love and intend to live their lives the way they want without family interference.”

“Good for them.”

Brandon glanced over at her as he pulled the car to a stop in a spot in a parking garage. A name plate indicated the spot was designated for his vehicle only. “You sound like a rebel.”

She unsnapped her seat belt, stretched over and placed a kiss on his lips. “I am. My mom told me how her family was against her dating my dad since he was a married man. She defied them and dated him anyway.”

“What about you? Would you date a married man?”

She shook her head. “No, I’m more possessive than my mom ever was. I couldn’t stand the thought of sharing. That’s why I feel somewhat sympathetic to Bonita Garrison. I can only imagine how she must have felt finding out her husband had had a long-term affair with another woman. But then another part of me, the part that knew my father so well and knew what a loving and loyal man he was, feels there was a reason he sought love and happiness elsewhere.”

Brandon shrugged. “Perhaps.”

Cassie really didn’t expect him to say any more than that. Even if he knew anything about her father and his wife’s relationship, he wouldn’t say. No matter what she and Brandon had shared, he was very loyal when it came to the Garrison family.

A few moments later they entered the lobby of the Washington Building. “My father purchased the land for this building over forty years ago from your father. At the time a young John Garrison, who was in his early twenties, was on his way to becoming a multimillionaire. He was single and one of the most eligible bachelors in Miami. My father was his attorney even then.”

Cassie nodded as she glanced around before they stepped on the elevator. “Nice building.”

“Thanks. My firm’s office is on the twentieth floor,” he said, pressing a button after the elevator door closed shut. “I lease out the extra office space to other businesses.”

When the elevator came to a stop on the twentieth floor they began walking down a carpeted hall. Brandon’s law firm’s glass doors had his named written in bold gold script. The receptionist area was both massive and impressive, and a young lady who sat at the front desk smiled and greeted them when they entered.

Passing that area they rounded a corner that contained several spacious offices, where she noticed people working at their desks. Some looked up when she and Brandon passed their doors and others, who were busy working or talking on the phone, did not. Cassie figured since it was Friday, most were probably trying to bring their work week to an end at a reasonable time so their weekend could begin.

She admired the layout of the offices. She knew that every office was made up of three fundamental elements-architecture, furniture and technology-and it appeared that Brandon’s firm emphasized all three. The interior provided a comfortable work environment where anyone would want to spend their working hours. The painted walls, carpeted floors in some areas and marble tile floors in others, modern furniture and state-of-the-art equipment all provided an upscale image of what she’d thought Brandon’s place of business would be like and she hadn’t been wrong.

“I should have warned you about my secretary, Rachel Suarez,” he said in a low voice. “She’s been here for ages, started out as my dad’s first secretary, and she thinks she owns the place. But I have to admit she does a fantastic job of running things. I have ten associates working for me and she keeps everyone in line, including my other thirty or so employees.”

Cassie glanced over at him, not realizing his firm was so massive. “You have a rather large company.”

“Yes, and they are good people and hard workers, every one of them.”

“The layout is nice and no one is cramped for space,” she openly observed.

Brandon’s secretary’s desk appeared to be in the center of things. The sixty-something-year-old woman’s face broke into a bright smile when she saw her boss. “Brandon, I wasn’t expecting you back until sometime next week.”

He smiled. “I’m still officially on vacation. I just dropped by to see how everything faired during the storm.”

The woman waved off his words with her hands. “It wasn’t so bad. I’m just glad it didn’t get worse. I understand the islands got more rain that we did.”

She then glanced over at Cassie and gave her a huge smile. “Hello.”

Cassie smiled back. “Hello to you.”

Brandon began introductions. “Rachel, this is-”

“I know who she is,” the woman said, offering Cassie her hand. “You look a lot like your daddy.”