GRIND

What do I tell her? That he was a poor lover? That he never cared about me? How he was completely pragmatic and always had a routine with every single thing in life? I know how my life would've always been… boring, unfulfilled, and always second fiddle to Olivia in Josh's eyes. Plus there's the fact that his sisters are purely evil, rude, rotten debutantes with snakes for hair.

I explained to Sage how there'd been a big fight between Josh and I when he wouldn't stand up to his mother after some of the shitty things we both heard her say about me. "You're right, Sage. I feel like I've aged ten years just by being around that toxic family. Screw the Banks."

Sage nodded and patted my leg, giving me a sympathetic smile. "I'm just sorry you're going through all of this at once. I know it still has to be hard on you."

I'd broken off the engagement right before the new year, knowing I couldn't go through another year of not standing up for myself and what I wanted in life. I thought about how I was supposed to be getting married this summer and volunteering at the Junior League so I could get my hours in and make it 'official.'

It wasn't like Josh was actually going to allow me to 'work' at a law firm, anyway. He always used to tell me how 'cute' it was that I'd gone to law school, and how 'a woman's job is to be on the arm of her man, or on the board of a non-profit.' All he thought I was good for was popping out his kids and reinforcing these same beliefs with them.

Even though I had made it pretty clear why I was leaving, Josh had called out to me down the steps of the Banks’ ridiculously large mansion, begging for me to see reason. He was under the misguided assumption that it was the stress of the bar exam and the holidays with his high strung, hard to please family that caused me to walk out the door and avoid his phone calls. The fact that he was so thick and couldn't see around his own arrogance was enough for me to call it quits right there.

I chewed on my lip, wishing I didn't just bring all that back up to the surface of my mind, and playing it off, reached for the nearly empty bottle, eliciting a chuckle from Sage.

"Oh, I'm glad you're both here! Who's ready for some delicious food?" Mom boomed across the room as she fixed one of her earrings. Behind her, a tall and handsome older man walked in, waving at us.

"Hey there." Sage greeted him with a wave back.

The man ran his hand through his salt and pepper hair, fixing an award-winning smile on his face. "My oldest son will be over in just a bit," he said to Mom and Sage. He turned his attention to me and nodded. "Hi Aly, I'm Randy."

I sat up as he held his hand out, and I slowly shook it, trying to piece together who he might be. At least he seemed nice.

"I should help your mom out in the kitchen real fast," he added, before nodding to me again and walking toward the large industrial kitchen in the back.

I quickly turned to my sister. "Who was that?"

Sage giggled. "That's Mom's new restaurateur boyfriend. And oh my gosh, he's freaking rich, too! Way richer than Josh's family, I'm sure of it!"

Anyone who was richer than the Banks was probably too rich. "Are you sure about that?"

"Totally."

From somewhere inside the kitchen, Mom yelled out, "Randy's son Jackson is the best chef at Randy's flagship restaurant, you know, the one by the Watson vineyard? Well, he's trying out a new catering menu and we’re the lucky tasters tonight! Randy's other son will be by in a bit to join us, too."

"I had no idea Mom was dating someone new," I admitted, standing up and smoothing down the red blouse I'd worn over. "But at least there's good food in it for us."

Chapter 4

LIAM

* * *

Jackson came strolling down the walk, clapping me hard on the shoulder. "Glad to see you finally wrenched yourself away from the spa to hang out with us plebeians," he said, grinning. "I hope you're hungry."

"When am I not hungry?" I replied, my stomach picking that opportune moment to let loose a loud rumbling. "What's for dinner?"

I followed him back inside the warm and glowing house, feeling instantly energized by all the inviting colors and décor that encompassed the open foyer. It was nothing like the minimalist look I had going on back at my place, but I still liked it.

My brother ignored me, instead taking a chance and slipping past our father, who was standing incredibly close to and smiling over at a pretty, older woman with her brown hair swept up off her shoulders.

Her warm hazel eyes crinkled in the corners as she stepped forward to greet me. “Hello, you must be Randy’s youngest. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I shook her hand and politely smiled back. “Yes ma’am, I’m Liam. Kay, right?” I asked, pointing back to her. My father had toyed with a few very young women, some barely out of college, so to see him with a beautiful woman closer to his age left me both impressed and very curious.

Her smile was easy-going. “That’s me! Welcome to my home, please feel free to have a seat at the table. I think your brother is almost finished putting together our dinner for the evening.”

The long, rustic dining room table and its matching benches looked as though they had been carved right out of a tree, and as I walked over to it, tracing my fingers along the excellent handiwork, a familiar voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

"I'll grab the salad bowls, you take these," the female voice said from behind me. "Wait, Sage. Take the napkins, too."

A pretty younger woman who was more my father’s type walked around me and started working on the place settings at the table, pushing her long brown hair away from her face once she was finished. She also had the same hazel eyes as Kay, and when she saw me looking at her curiously, wondering where I could have recognized her from, she raised an eyebrow at me and looked over my shoulder at someone else.

"I'm Liam," I said to her, sticking my hand out.

This really had her eyes going wide. A soft gasp behind me made me instantly turn around, and as soon as I saw Aly Waterhouse's beautiful hazel eyes, I easily put it all together. "Oh, hello," I stumbled, shock running wild through my veins.

Aly pursed her lips at me, struggling for something to say, when Kay stepped in. "Aly, this is Randy's son, Liam. Liam, this is my oldest daughter, Aly. And that's Sage," she explained, nodding her head in the younger girl's direction.

Somehow managing to pull everything together in a split second, I cracked a wide smile, not able to believe my luck. "It's nice to ah, meet you, Aly. And Sage."

Aly's face flushed a deep pink, reminding me of how warm her face was only hours ago when I had my face between her thighs…

"You too," she squeaked, twisting a bracelet around her wrist.

My eyes never left her and her sweetly blushing face as we all finally sat down at the table, the smell of roast lamb wafting over us.

Aly was clearly trying to play it cool, which I found endearing and cute considering the things she’d let me do to her voluptuous body earlier. When everyone started digging into Jackson's latest trial by fire meal, roast lamb rib chops in a Bordelaise sauce, I sneaked a glance at Aly and was pleased to see I wasn't the only one having trouble keeping my eyes on my own plate.

"Delicious, Jackson, as usual. What did you say this sauce was made of?" Dad asked, swallowing his food.

My brother leaned back in his chair, wearing his smug satisfaction without a hint of humility. "It's made from Bordeaux. Kay happened to have a perfect bottle of Margaux on hand, plus some fresh black peppercorns…" His voice droned on, and I effectively tuned him out. Growing up in a family that only spoke in gourmet food terms made it easy for me to nod along as if I was paying attention, even while I was still catching glimpses of Aly, who kept having to clear her throat.

"Fascinating. I daresay that there's not a bit of that which I truly understood, but whatever you did, it's fantastic, son," Dad replied as he looked over at Kay with a smile. "I may own the place, but you must pardon my ignorance when it comes to the art of cooking itself. I’m a damn good businessman, but Bordelaise sauce,

healing massages, sports injuries? I leave those up to the professionals. Jackson, here, went to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Graduated top of his class, too. You've never tasted a tiramisu until you've tasted his. I better watch out because he could open up a restaurant that would put The Cheesecake Factory to shame. Good riddance with those quick-buck franchises! My son here puts his all into his food."

I had to keep from rolling my eyes, the way Jackson was practically preening like a peacock. When I looked back over to Aly, she was having some kind of silent conversation with her younger sister.

Ever one to keep the conversation going, my father turned his attention to Aly. "Your mother told me you took a trip to my spa today. How did you find it?"

It was almost comical the way her eyes went wide as she froze her arm in mid-air, a lump of potatoes sitting carefully on the edge of her fork. "Oh, yes, um. It was very... relaxing."

I raised an eyebrow at her as if to dare her. "We aim to please, Ms. Waterhouse," I chimed in, looking between her and Dad, who was, of course, blissfully unaware.

"Yes, that's good to know. You went in for a massage, correct? I've had several done myself. It's amazing how refreshed you feel once you walk out of there. Especially if you happen to take a dip in one of the hot tubs, or even the sauna when you need a good sweat."

I chuckled into my wine glass, unable to hold it in.