The Switch Read Online Free

- ? This
is my life you’re talking about.”
    She gave him a look of pity and
exasperation. “Your life? You work part-time teaching inner-city
children how to paint flower pots. Maybe you’ve convinced yourself
you’re doing something noble or grand, but at least spare me the
bullshit. If it didn’t piss off our parents, you wouldn’t
bother.”
    Arguing was pointless. She’d made up her
mind years ago about his choices, and there was no convincing her
otherwise. Of course, it didn’t help that, once upon a time, she
was absolutely correct in her assessment of him.
    “People change, Olivia,” was all he could
offer, although he knew it wasn’t enough.
    “Then prove it. Come home and quit this
nonsense once and for all. Our parents aren’t getting any younger.
And eventually, you won’t have a choice in the matter. You’ll still
be expected to take your place someday.”
    He really wanted to raid the damned liquor
cabinet. Instead, he drew a deep breath and stepped away from the
bar.
    “Dad wrote me out of the will ten years
ago.” Not that he cared, except that it had been his ticket to
freedom once and for all.
    “He’ll put you back in if you--.”
    Grayson could only shake his head.
    Evidently realizing she was getting nowhere,
Olivia changed her approach. “Okay. Fine. But consider what’s going
to happen when those students of yours find out who your father is.
How many of them have family who’re illegals, Gray? You know
Daddy’s stance on that - it’s one of his top campaign agendas.”
    That might be a problem.
    He’d be lying to himself if he didn’t admit
to a smug twinge of pleasure that ‘Daddy’s stance’ was one that
could not take advantage of Grayson’s current line of work. More
than that, though, he actually gave a damn. They weren’t
‘illegals,’ they were human beings. He’d worked hard to gain those
kids’ trust, to bring them together to do something more than just
get by.
    But whether Olivia had intended to or not,
she’d given him fair warning. He’d hold a discussion at his next
class. Better they hear it from him and know he had nothing to hide
on that front. It might even get some of them thinking a little
more beyond the streets.
    “Olivia,” Grayson said, walking over and
placing his hands on her shoulders. “I love you. Send me an
invitation to your wedding. I would like to come.”
    She regarded him for a long moment before
turning away with a huff. “Right. Absolutely, darling brother. And
happy birthday.”
    “You too,” he replied to her back.
    She paused at the door and glanced back.
“That lamp’s not an original, by the way. You might let William
know. His mother will want to hire a different decorator.”

Four
    Thank
god for five-inch heels. They weren’t exactly active-wear, but
damn, she loved these shoes, even knowing she’d want out of them in
another hour or two. For the moment, though, Marion relished the
way they made her hips tilt and her back arch, as if underlining
what was to come later that night.
    They looked great on her, too. She’d felt
more than one pair of eyes lingering on her as she made a slow
circuit of the room’s perimeter. Not his eyes , however.
    Marion absently pinched a thin layer of her
inner cheek between her teeth and frowned. She’d barely caught a
glimpse of Grayson before he’d disappeared. Maybe she mistook the
heat in his eyes. Impossible to say what that look was, really,
from across the ballroom floor. It could just as easily have been
anger or outrage. After all, they’d hardly spoken for four
months.
    Oh, God, this was a huge mistake.
    She turned on her heel and started toward
the exit. She was an idiot - what the hell had she been thinking?
That he’d fall on his knees here in the middle of high society, for her? Of course he’d disappeared. Probably doing her a favor,
giving her a chance to avoid mass humiliation.
    “Nice riding crop, McKellan.”
    The cool, familiar voice stopped her in