Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) Read Free Page A

option.”
    What’s that supposed to mean?
    He turned and went into the house, shutting the door behind him. A few seconds later, I followed, immediately running up to my room and texting Rainy before hopping in the shower and washing my clown face off.
    *
    Ivy at the Shore was just as busy as it usually was on the weekend, but as soon as the hostess saw Rainy and me, she led us to the bar. The spot had been one of our favorite mid-day mimosa stops since both Rainy and I turned twenty-one a year before. Not that we hadn’t drank all the time before that. It had just been more difficult to do at all hours. There were lots of clubs, of course, that looked the other way — and even catered to us once they found out who we were — but restaurants at brunch could be a different matter.
    On a typical weekend, we liked to come in and nurse hangovers while keeping an eye out for A-List celebrities and then acting like we could care less when Kim Kardashian or Brad Pitt settled down a table away from us and ordered an organic omelet.
    This visit, of course, had an entirely different reason and mood behind it.
    The hot, dark haired bartender smiled and nodded at us as we settled into two seats in the middle of the cozy bar. A minute later, our usual cocktails were in front of us. I took the first slow sip, letting the orange juice and champagne seep into my veins.
    Rainy studied me from the corner of her eye. With her hair piled up in a big bun on the top of her head and a wraparound dress draped across her lithe limbs, she looked like she belonged in a magazine. All of our friends said it was only a matter of time before just that happened. She’d been trying to break out from the shadow of her dad for years, going to film auditions and modeling calls nonstop. Granted, she wasn’t exactly the best actress — that much I could tell — but we all knew you didn’t need to be talented to make it in Hollywood.
    “So,” she said, swishing around the contents of her glass.
    I glanced surreptitiously around us. The seat next to her was unoccupied and sitting on my side were two older men in suits. Even though no one we knew was around, I lowered my voice nonetheless. “It’s not a rumor.”
    Her eyes went wide. “Oh my God.”
    I gritted my teeth. “Yeah. Tell me about it.”
    She stared at me, looking fearful, which totally sucked because I was kind of counting on her to help pull me through the catastrophe. If my best mate was losing her shit, how could I be expected to keep it together?
    “What’s going to happen?”
    I lowered my voice even more. “My dad’s going to New York to try and fix it all.”
    She furrowed her brows. “Like, sell the company?”
    “I don’t know,” I groaned. “I don’t know. All I know is that he wants me to go to North Carolina.”
    “ North Carolina?” she shrieked, making Mr. Hot Bartender glance up from the sink to look at us.
    “Keep it down. I don’t exactly want the entire city to know.”
    “I don’t get it. Why there?”
    I nervously tugged at a strand of my hair. Despite the urgency of meeting up with Rainy, I’d made sure not to leave the house without washing and blow drying. I’d been growing my hair out for a few years, and it had just gotten down to my elbows. No matter what was going on, taking the time to look my best was a priority. After all, you never knew what might happen or who you could run into.
    “Grace,” Rainy said. “Why North Carolina?”
    I sighed. “Because my Uncle Joe lives there.”
    “But what will you do there?”
    I shrugged, suddenly not wanting to talk about it anymore. The further we got into the conversation, the more twisted my stomach became.
    “Are you going back to school?” Rainy pressed.
    “Nope.”
    She grinned. “Are you raising cattle?”
    I pursed my lips. “I think you’re getting North Carolina confused with Texas.”
    She shrugged nonchalantly, like it didn’t matter either way. And it didn’t. She was staying in