Chapter 1

Is this the same regal gathering that you skipped by claiming that you had another headache?" Sara mocked at me. "Yes— well, it would appear that he's still a bachelor and the CEO of his own investment banking business." My step-sister Annet wants to get a date with him, her true age mustn't be mentioned under any circumstances. "Why is it that I should not be surprised by it? "Sarah chortled, a sly sparkle appearing in her dark eyes as she spoke.

" You're a bad girl!" Anna cracked a grin. Sara heaved a shriek as she said," I only wish you would be mischievous once in a while."

“It's about time you got out there and started enjoying yourself again," I told you. Anna blazoned," Well, I'm going to the party on Saturday," as she made her way across the room to the center counter and seized the order book from Sara's hand." And it's about time that you went to have some lunch. Gemma should be back any second now, and Gerald will not be much longer.' Gemma was a trainee, and Gerald was a good gardener; nonetheless, he spent the majority of his time working as their delivery motorist.

"Alright, I am leaving. But, Anna, I'm being serious. It has been two years since Allen passed away, and despite how much you loved him, it's time for you to start dating again — or at least entertain the possibility — rather than shutting down every seductive man who so much smiles at you. Have you not been informed? Complete chastity isn't only saddening but also dangerous to one's physical health. She had made one huge mistake, which she had pledged never to repeat, but she didn't dare to tell her closest friend the truth.

To Anna's eternal humiliation, she hadn't remained fully celibate in the previous two years. rather of speaking, Anna hurled a wet sponger in her direction." Let's go out to lunch!' She moaned as she flipped through the order book without actually reading it and watched Sara, who was laughing and ducking out the door as she left. She had already found and married her lifelong companion, but unfortunately, they were no longer together.

Her mother and Aunt Martha originated from Asia and they have settled in America. After her mother’s death, Anna decided to spend the majority of her spare time with her aunt, which is when everything began to go wrong. Her American father had married his secretary just six months after her mother died and bought a magnificent townhouse for the two of them. He'd sold the family home, which had a sizable garden. But Anna had a passion for gardening, and her aunt had given her authorization to do anything she wanted in her garden. Her Aunt Martha Garcia and her job as a botanist during her time as a professor at Stanford University had interested Anna; but Anna found that her Aunt Martha's youthful research assistant, Allen Gonzales, had fascinated her much more.

She'd gone fully head over heels for him, and he would become her closest confidant and best friend in the process. After some time, when she was eighteen years old and had left the academy, she realized that she didn't have the intellectual capacity to follow in her aunt's academic steps. She still, retains a cultural flare with plants, and she had enrolled in landscape design at a nearby college. It was at this time that she met Sara.

Anna and Allen's relationship had developed into a profound and enduring love, and it was with Allen's support that Anna and Sara started their store together. Anna's life had been wonderful up to the point that she tied the knot with Allen Gonzales, a prince charming when she was twenty- three years old. After that, things had only gotten better. Tragically, they had been married for only a brief four years when he died in an accident while skiing, an activity that both he and Anna had liked. She wasn't with him during the accident. She had stayed in Los Angeles to finish a major job to embellish the ancient outdoor events place for a charity banquet that evening, so she had missed out on the occasion to be with him on the day that he passed away, and she continued to feel horrible about it.

She could now face the world with as much contentment as she'd ever be able to feel owing to Sara's unvarying support over the last two years. Although thinking about Allen now still caused her heart to feel constricted with grief, she had at least gotten over grieving at the idea of him and was now suitable to move on with her life. Anna looked up as she heard a customer go through the door and noticed that the wind chimes on the door were ringing. She forced the recollections from the forefront of her mind and forced herself to smile." How can I help you?'

David Miller cast a peep down at the beautiful blondie who was adhering to his elbow the moment the maid had led him and Bryan into the drawing room of the magnificent Georgian estate on Beverly Hills that was the Williams residence. David and Bryan were guests at the Williams home. He wished her a happy birthday and gave her a present the night before a Prada bag. The gift was not anything exorbitantly particular." And my grandfather, I suppose you know," David said. She cut him off in the middle of his sentence." Oh, absolutely, I'm apprehensive of it. How awful.' she smiled in Bryan's general way before continuing.

" I was so sorry to hear that you had injured your ankle," Annet said. But I can not deny how happy it made me that David came to supper in your place.' also, lifting her gaze over to David, she gushed," It was fate that we met again." Is not that the truth, my sweetheart?" And as she prepared for his kiss, she leaned her head back. David whispered," Probably," as he looked down at his friend with a grin. Annet was a clever woman who knew the score; he'd encountered her kind a thousand times, and it was no trouble for him to lower his head and encounter his lips smoothly against her scarlet mouth. Annet was a sophisticated lady who understood the game.

Despite the fact that it did surprise him, Bryan thought she was pretty, although he could not imagine that his grandfather would be interested in a model who was six feet tall and rake-thin like her. Anna was the first person to hear the commotion as she down the stairway. She gave the flower arrangement that was sitting on the hallway table a critical examination before grudgingly turning her attention to the thing that was making the noise. Since Allen's death, she had only occasionally gone to events with a huge number of guests, but she couldn't skip this one.

She stepped into the packed drawing room, uncurled her shoulders, and peered about until her eyes landed on the birthday girl." Happy birthday!" she said in a loud voice. Annet's attention was drawn overhead to a man who was facing Anna's other direction. Her face, which was fully made up, was elevated to his in preparation for a kiss, which he dutifully gave her. Indeed when viewed from behind, he made quite an impression due to his height( far over six feet), wide shoulders, and jet-black hair. — and he was the ideal complement to Annet's model height and smooth golden hair.

Anna found herself thinking to herself," They make a striking couple," before allowing her sight to wander away, only to find herself immediately fixated on an senior guy who was standing alone and watching the couple embrace. He was hunched over, supporting his weight with a cane with a silvered tip, and he wore a look of complete confusion on his worn face, which she recognized right down. Anna went snappily in his direction after noticing that he appeared to feel just as out of place as she did. She beamed a grin at the man who had saved her from the board meeting Mr. Miller.

She extended her hand to him, and he reluctantly took it, saying that it was" pleasurable to see you once more." He said," It's my honor," and also, in an old- fashioned display of etiquette, he bowed slightly." Would you mind if you call me Bryan?" Anna chuckled as she said," Bryan it is, you old charmer." David recognized the sweet female voice at the exact same moment that he felt Bryan pulling hard on the sleeve of his jacket. Bryan was trying to get his attention. He moved his head sluggishly and saw the lady while she was holding his grandfather's hand. He tensed up, and every muscle in his body strained in response to the shock and fury he felt. She had been appearing in his dreams for the previous year, and indeed though he detested her for her lack of morality, his body still longed for her.