Chapter 1

Grayson

DAY 1

I’m going to get so fucking hammered tonight.

I crank up the music and let it pound through the apartment until it looks like the ashtrays are going to jump off the tables. The giant windows overlooking Seattle might just smash from the impact of the bass, shards flying everywhere. Blaow!

I light a cigarette and wink at my cousin, Eddie, who’s sprawled out on one of the ergonomic couches, throwing champagne down his throat.

Rowan, one of my old mates from school, hurries out of the bedroom, tucking his pastel blue shirt into his chinos. “Hey!” He makes an aggressive twist on the knob and the music dims. “You’re a madman, Gray. The neighbors have already reported us once. You’ll get me kicked out after this kind of stunt.”

I grin at Eddie. “Rowan’s losing his nerve.”

Eddie pushes his floppy copper curls out of his face and smiles back devilishly. My partner-in-crime. When people hear of English aristocrats, they expect tea and scones and manners. We laugh and raise hell in their faces.

“We’re not in your big English country mansion, Grayson Fairfax the Second,” Rowan says. He puts an exaggerated version of my accent on.

One thought of that place sends imaginary chains creeping around my body. Ready to squeeze tight. Trap me.

“Get a life, Rowan,” I spit, then crank up the volume again. Too bad for them if they don’t like it. And too bad for the fuddy-duddy neighbors.

Rowan shoots me a warning look. I pick up a bottle, and soon rum wends a warm stream through me. I look back at him, my eyes flinging more fire than his ever could.

Rowan shrugs and shakes his head, laughs. “You haven’t changed a bit since school, have you?” He pads back past me in his socks, then swings back. “What d’ya think, Gray? Should I wear Ferragamos or my Armanis?”

Bastard. He knows Eddie’s funding this jaunt back to America – a good time for old time’s sake. Eddie had to open his big mouth and tell everyone I’m broke, waiting on my father’s inheritance. Now Rowan’s trying to put me in my place with it.

I stride over to the window, nonchalant. “Doesn’t matter. Hot girls don’t care about shoes. They zone in on the alpha of the pack.” Everyone knows that’s me.

“Ooh, speaking of hot girls…”

I turn to see Tim, another old mate, walking in. He pulls his shirt on over his skinny frame. Stockbrokers might be rich, but they certainly don’t have that real rugged manliness about them. It’s me the girls will be swarming around at the club tonight. Guaranteed.

Tim grins. “Have you seen what Isabella Price looks like now? She popped up on my suggested Facebook friends.”

“Why the hell would I care?” I flop down on the couch and crush my cigarette in the ashtray. The thought of her makes me light up another one. She sends stress jolting through my body.

“Nah, seriously, look.” Tim fishes his iPhone from his pocket and taps away, then strides over to the bookshelf and pulls out a thick hardback. “Compare.” He places the school yearbook on the glass coffee table and puts his phone next to it.

Everyone crowds around behind me. Even Eddie bothers pulling himself up from his tipsy sprawl to check it out.

I look at the Facebook picture first. Long dark hair, poker straight, like a shining black curtain. She’s in a loose-flowing summer dress and has a pretty smile. Looks like she’s in a park, from all the trees behind her. “As boring as always. Taking a summer stroll in a park, probably with a whole load of books and far too many opinions.”

“Don’t you think she’s hot, though?” Tim says.

Rowan laughs. “He’s still holding a grudge, that’s all. She was the only chick who wasn’t all over him in school.”

“Her loss,” I say, then look at her yearbook picture. That’s how I remember her. A wild shock of dark curly hair falling past her shoulders. Her chin up high like she thinks she’s of a higher standard. Blue eyes piercing through the page like ice-lasers. I could never melt her. The other girls were like pools of warm water. She was an iceberg. Yet she’d laugh and joke and play around with others. Just not me.

I sink back into the couch and laugh. “Wonder what she’s doing with her sad little life right now. Probably a librarian.”

“No way,” Rowan says. “She was the smartest girl in school.”

“No,” I stress. “There’s a difference between hard work and intelligence. Even the dumbest can get good grades if they spend every minute of their lives studying. But what kind of life is that? Intelligence doesn’t equal grades. Even Einstein did badly—”

Rowan laughs and pours himself a large gin. “You’d better hope that’s true, for your sake. What did you get again? Three Fs and a D?”

“I got laid, that’s what,” I say. “And I got to have fun away from my arsehole father. To enjoy life.” I lean forward and pour myself a whiskey. I want a gin, really, but copying Rowan just wouldn’t be right. I bring it to my lips, tip my head back, down it in one gulp, then grin. “And I’m still enjoying life. I’m a master at that. No one can test me in that arena.” I imagine us cruising to the club with the top down on the shiny black BMW Eddie rented for our trip. Everyone will turn to stare.

My phone buzzes to life in my pocket. I get it out quickly and look at the screen. Yes. James Fink, my dad’s solicitor and family friend, on a video call. I can’t wait for the guys to hear this. The fortune I’m going to inherit? Just over a billion. Pounds, that is. Finally, my father’s done something good for me. Allow me to have endless fun for the rest of my life. I can picture the Caribbean villas, the yachts, the round-the-world cruises, the private planes, the long lines of beautiful celebrity women in bikinis clamoring to spend time with me. I’m set for life.

“Yeah, Mr. Fink!” I say, then maneuver the phone around so he can see Eddie and Rowan and Tim. “I’m having a drink with my old school buddies and Eddie. So, we can all hear the good news and drink to it.”

Mr. Fink purses his lips in a tight smile. He’s one of those guys who looks pulled tight by stress. Like he’s a rubber band ready to snap any minute. His voice is always tense. His brow is always furrowed. Even his skin looks dry and tight. He has these rimless glasses that show stressed eyes behind them, and his gray hair sticks up, too, as unrelaxed as the rest of him.

“We’ve finished estimating the total of your father’s estate, as well as his personal income,” he says. “So, now we can begin to look at the transfer process. You are the sole heir.”

Sole heir. There’s never been a sweeter phrase in the English language.

“Sounds good to me,” I say, feeling breezy. “So, what do you need from me? Birth certificate? Copy of my passport? Bank details?”

Mr. Fink rearranges papers on his desk. “I think we should have this conversation in private.”

“Nah, nah, it’s totally fine.”

“Privacy would be more appropriate.”

“Keep talking,” I say.

That stressed look tightens him even more, but he goes on. “I’m going to read this out to you. ‘I, Grayson Fairfax, Duke of Albany, declare that the transfer of my personal financial assets, gains from private investments not related to my estate, will only be made to my son, Grayson Fairfax II, under the following conditions—that he has found himself a suitable woman and announced an engagement with her. She should be respectable in character, but it matters not whether she has money or aristocratic title. Grayson II has to prove himself a settled and responsible heir who will not squander my money.’”

It’s a punch to the gut.

My father still hates me, even from beyond the grave. Engaged? I’d rather cut my own hand off.

“‘This engagement must happen within a period of thirty days from Grayson II being informed of the arrangement, and the chosen fiancée must pass the scrutiny of my solicitor and personal friend, Mr. James Fink.’”

Thirty days?

Rowan sniggers behind me, and I have an overwhelming urge to punch him in the face. Instead, I look at James Fink at his enormous desk in his English country house.

“This is a prank, right?” I say.

“Absolutely not,” he replies. “It is rather unusual, but… given the circumstances, you can understand why he took this course of action.”

“What circumstances?” I grate out.

He remains cool. “A duke having a charming yet irresponsible, fun-loving, and immature sole heir to his entire legacy.”

“You’re all way too serious.”

“This title is serious,” Mr. Fink says. “And it is a serious amount of money. While your father could not stop you from becoming an heir and inheriting his estate, he can stop you from inheriting his money.”

Yeah, yeah. “But I don’t have to do all that. I’m the sole heir. So I’ll automatically get it all anyway. And with the estate comes money.”

“No,” Mr. Fink says. “Your father’s estates and agricultural lands haven’t turned a profit in three years. The estate itself is destitute without your father’s personal assets. And, it says here if you do not complete the task, all your father’s personal assets, not related to the title and estate with pass to Edward Fairfax.”

Eddie’s mouth drops open. Fury leaps up inside me in hot flames. I’ll be Duke of Albany, of a useless, broke estate, while Eddie waltz away with the money.

“What?”

Yet more proof that my father despises me. That he could even get a parting shot in from his burning place in hell. I knew he’d always preferred Eddie. Just because Eddie sucked up to him and hid all his rebellion. The coward.

“Eddie’s just as fucked up as me. He might hide it, well, but it’s there.”

Mr. Fink nods. “Whether or not that’s the case, this is the arrangement your father has made, and we all have no choice but to honor his wishes.”

My mind is racing so much I can barely hold on to a single thought. “So, I have to find a respectable girl and get engaged within thirty days?”

“Yes. Otherwise, Edward Fairfax will inherit the money.”

Eddie shrugs. “I don’t want your dad’s money.”

“You have good money anyway.” I search his eyes to check if he’s being genuine. He looks it. He makes a lot trading foreign exchange. He’s not desperate for money.

“The thirty days begin now,” Mr. Fink says. “Contact me if you have any questions. Of course, you’ll have to bring her here to meet me, and I’d advise you to do so long before the thirty days are up. That way, we can be sure she is suitable.”

Fury clenches my stomach. “This is ridiculous.”

Mr. Fink purses his lips again. “You are free to agree with the conditions, or disagree and give up your claim to the inheritance. It’s in your control.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” I end the call and sit for a moment, in shock.

Everyone’s silent.

Tim’s the first to break the silence. “Go get Isabella Price,” he says, laughing. “She’s got respectable written all over her.”

“I’d rather die before I shacked up with that goodie-two-shoes.” I pour myself another whiskey and light a cigarette. “Engaged. What a load of shit.”

Rowan slaps Eddie on the back. “Congrats on the inheritance, bro. We’ll come to England to celebrate.”

I’m too far gone into my own zone to jump up and shoot something smart back. His comment barely even registers. What the hell am I going to do?

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” I say, springing to my feet. “Time to have a good damn time.”