Page 2 of Heartless

My eyes—and his—were an odd shade of mustard yellow, circled by a dark brown ring.Demon eyes, some jerks had called it when I was younger.But I hadn’t cared.In fact, my eyes were my only exceptional features.

Washethe reason why Mom moved us to California when I was five?

The sun breached through the clouds while I stared at him.Maybe it was because I was suddenly a little less alone in this world, but I planted my wet face against his perfect shirt and fisted the lapels of his perfectly cut jacket.And I cried.

He gently patted my back.“There, there, little dear.I found you.All will be well.”

Chapter One—The new Cinderella

Sienna

Gabby hopped onto my bed, and her whole body bounced in a flurry of prettiness.

“Shit, Nana.You’ve told me on the phone, but holy shit.Look at this place.You’re like Cinderella!My dad knows yours well, so that makes us like sisters.”

I neared the foot of the bed.“I thought being best friends made us sisters.”

“New filthy rich daddy, new house, you even looked different.”She perused me with an approving nod.“I think you’ve lost weight too.”

The DNA test had confirmed I was Nigel’s child.My mother had been a fling during a business trip in the UK twenty-three years ago.He’d been married at the time—he still was, but to his third wife—and Mom hadn’t told him about the pregnancy.As luck would have it, he’d been on his way to Sacramento when he’d spotted Mom’s name in the obits section of a local newspaper.

The last few weeks had been a whirlwind.I’d finally finished my degree in Comparative Literature, and Mr.Cranston had offered me a permanent position as his assistant.But mostly, I’d missed my best friend.

She’d returned from Sydney two days ago, and I’d been so happy to have my friend back that I’d pushed the hurt and betrayal I’d felt at her desertion to the back of my mind and invited her over for lunch at my new place.

But Gabby had double booked her Saturday, so I had lunch by myself.

After a tour of the condo Nigel had rented for me and paid for a year in advance, the first thing she’d done had been to check my new wardrobe.Now, two hours after she’d parked her sports car in my driveway, she was lying on her side, propped up on her bent elbow at the bottom end of my new bed.

Nigel told me he was trying to make up for lost time.And boy had he ever.The condo was the latest in the long list of his extremely generous gestures.One I’d accepted because after sifting through Mom’s things, the weight of her absence had been suffocating.He’d also hired a personal shopper who’d helped me pick a brand-new wardrobe.But I’d declined the new car.Mine was old but well taken care of.I’d also refused the thousands of dollars stipend he’d offered.He’d insisted, but I’d stood my ground.

Gabby sprang off the bed and strutted to the en suite.“You have make-up now, and the bathroom’s bigger than your old living room.”

That was an exaggeration, but I understood what she meant.The luxuriously furnished two-bedroom house with a dropping backyard and a huge deck was spacious.The late afternoon sunrays were bathing the bedroom, which had a long terrace wide enough for a wicker two-seater sofa and an iron cast forged table.

When she leaped back onto the middle of the yellow comforter, she did it with her shoes on.