Summary
Eight years ago, I gave Grayson Price a piece of my heart.
To him, I was the strange girl whose mom had just abandoned her.
To me, he was a savior, an anchor, someone who stood beside me on that beach.
The next time I saw him, I was twenty, and he was thirty-six.
He didn’t remember me. And when he flirted…I didn’t tell him.
By the time he found out, it was too late.
We tried to deny our desire, but our attraction was too enticing.
Eight years ago, I gave Grayson Price a piece of my heart.
Too bad he’s my dad’s best friend.
Excerpt
“What do you mean I have to go to Malaga?” I hiss through the phone. It’s eight a.m. on a Friday morning after a long week. The last thing on my mind is travel, let alone traveling to Spain.
“Jeez, Gray. You act as though I’m telling you you’re going to prison. It’s Malaga, for crying out loud. A beautiful city on the Iberian coast,” Addison, my sister, retorts. Easy for her to say. She hasn’t worked in weeks.
Speaking of . . .
“Aren’t you back to work yet?” I say through the phone.
“Nope,” she responds.
A deep breath escapes my lungs, and I pivot my chair to look toward the city. The view from Price Enterprise is perfect. Standing tall on Park and 50th, my office faces downtown. It’s a beautiful morning, and I have been looking forward to some much-needed solitude for days. Having to leave on such short notice and head to meetings my sister should be attending is not how I want to spend my weekend.
Don’t get me wrong. I love my sister, but she needs to come back already.
“You know, because of work, I didn’t get to take a real honeymoon last fall,” she says, cutting into my inner rant. I turn back to my desk and pull up the calendar on the computer.
“And you’ve been gone for longer than most on your ‘second’ honeymoon. Isn’t it customary to only take two weeks off work?”
“Well, I’m taking more.” She laughs through the phone line.
“Addy.”
“Don’t Addy me. I got married, and I’m taking time to be with my husband. Don’t pretend this is a huge inconvenience. Don’t pretend you even care. You’re just trying to drive me crazy.”
With that, I finally smile. It’s true. I don’t really care if she’s away from the office. I just miss her. After our father passed away, the three of us stepped in to run things. And I enjoy giving her a hard time. Always have. Always will.
“That’s what older brothers are for.”
I can hear her inhale through the line, and then she speaks. “What’s this really about?”
“I miss you,” I admit on a sigh. “And I don’t know how much more of Jaxson I can take. You’re the buffer between us.”
“Was that so hard to say?” She chuckles. Obviously, she’s enjoying my moment of weakness.
“Yes. But now that I have, I do miss you, and things don’t run the same without you here.” I don’t like to show my emotions, but when it comes to her, she’s the only exception.
“Now aren’t you glad you get to go to Spain?”
Not really.“Why would I be glad to be going to Spain?”
“One, it’s a beautiful country. Two—”
I cut her off. “Addison, you’re the one who travels, not me.”
“Well, unfortunately, sometimes things have to change. Adapt or die, Gray. With me out of the office, I need you to step in and handle both our positions,” she says sternly. Like I need to be scolded by my younger sister on my responsibilities. “Or do you want me to send Jax? I’m pretty sure he’ll do . . . okay as my replacement.”
“Fine.” My kid brother is great, but he is not the one to close any deals. “When are your meetings?”
“Tomorrow,” she says as if that doesn’t completely fuck up my schedule.
“You owe me.”
“Always. Thanks. Love you.” She sends me invisible air-kisses before hanging up.
Review
(audiobook) I guess sometimes, it’s a miss. I wasn’t swept away by the story nor the characters.
I love age gap romances. There’s something illicitly exciting about them. But there must be a connection between the characters, a reason why the age difference doesn’t count. I couldn’t find it here. River and Gray couldn’t be more different, plus they both know they shouldn’t start a relationship–on top of being older, Gray is River’s dad’s friend, talk about awkward. Yet they succumb. When I feel there’s nothing more between them than an unhealthy childhood crush and lust.
As for the characters and despite the title, there wasn’t much enticing about them. I understand River’s abandonment issues, but she acted so bratty I couldn’t empathize. She also was too aggressive in her seduction of Gray, bordering on harassment. Grayson’s hang ups were too farfetched. Refusing relationship because he’s afraid of dying young, really? And that made him unbearably grumpy. His only redeeming trait was the way he interacted with his siblings.
Okay, and his romantic gestures. There were a few really heartfelt moments, including before they enter a relationship. The problem was the hot and cold, because the next moment, he refused to even see River and reversed to his grumpy self.
Since it was most of the book, it stalled a lot and was way too long for a simple story. And the two dramas–make it three with the little thing with River’s stepmother–came almost out of nowhere and felt unnecessary. Too bad, because had they been introduced earlier and not just vaguely suggested, they would have been interesting plot points.
The narrators could barely save this book. They were perfectly cast, especially the male narrator who was great with Gray’s older grumpy character. But even they couldn’t keep me completely invested.
Quickie
- Series: Price dynasty #1 (can be read as a standalone)
- Hashtags: #billionaire romance #forbidden romance #father’s best friend #age gap
- Triggers: illness, parental neglect, past death
- Main couple: River Reed & Grayson Price
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 4/5
- + there were some really romantic moments here
- – it felt like both characters were only defined by their hangups
Stalker mode
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