Avery’s birthday party was just starting, after Jameson Hawthorne had brought her back from the hot air balloon ride, and then surprised Avery with a party party here at Hawthorne House. It was only people closest to Avery— her sister libby, her best friend Max, and Jameson, Xander, Nash Hawthorne. And where was Grayson, the second oldest Hawthorne brother? Off at Harvard, or so everyone thought.

A shadowy figure near the woods. He stepped into the light and all eyes flew towards him. There he was— Grayson Davenport Hawthorne, clad in a black suit, those silvery eyes closed. Grayson Hawthorne was a force of nature. What money couldn’t buy him, those eyes probably did. Clever as the devil and twice as handsome. Smart, silent, intelligent.