Read Torn: Part Two (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) (The Torn Series Book 2) for Free Online

to a certain extent.
    Ann opens the door, and my eyes are immediately drawn down to the white lace ruffled collar of her blouse. Inwardly, I smirk. She even dresses old for her age. She seems to have sophisticated taste though. Her long hair is drawn back into the same ponytail she sported the day before, but it's covered with a small black pillbox hat—very antiquated. She's wearing a black blazer over her blouse and matching slacks. I'm beginning to think she did want to go somewhere fancy for lunch after all.
    “Well don't you look relaxed.” She takes my outfit in as well, and there's no condescension in her tone.
    “It is a Sunday.” I shrug and smile, feeling my cheeks heat up with a mix of embarrassment and disappointment in myself for being so impatient. “And I wasn't sure where you would want to go.”
    “Oh, I don't really care as long as I get out of the house.” She digs into her purse for a moment before pulling out a set of car keys and handing them over to me. “Come on in. We'll go through the garage.”
    I follow her inside, trying to think of somewhere for us to go while she locks the door behind us and then takes me to the garage to retrieve her car. When she flips on the garage light, I'm surprised to find an Aston Martin Rapide S sitting there. My mouth drops open for a fraction of a second, then I quickly recover. Aunt Alyce did say that Ann has money.
    “Nice car,” I comment before walking over to the driver's side.
    “Thank you, dear. My son bought it for me.” She slips into the passenger seat beside me.
    “What does your son do for a living?”
    “He invests in companies,” she replies nonchalantly as she buckles up.
    “It looks like he's good at it.” I adjust the seat until I'm comfortable.
    “Money has always been his passion. Do you have siblings?”
    My hand reaches up to tilt the rear-view mirror so I can see better, and my lips instantly dip into a scowl. “I have two step-brothers.”
    “Step-brothers,” she parrots back absentmindedly. “That must have made it interesting growing up.”
    “Not the good kind of interesting.” I click the button on the garage door opener, then wait for it to open. It doesn't creak like that one at my house, obviously well maintained.
    “Well, at least you're an adult now and don't have to deal with them.”
    “If only that were the truth.” I shake my head slightly.
    “Oh?” She glances over at me.
    “They're the reason I moved back.” My mood is sour at the thought of talking about my brothers, but I try to be sweet about it. This conversation was going to come up eventually, after all. The question is, how much information do I actually want to disclose.
    “I don't mean to pry.” Ann folds her hand in her lap, looking apologetic.
    “No. It's alright. I don't mind talking about it. But perhaps it's a conversation better left for the restaurant.”
     
    ***
     
    After taking about ten minutes to decide on a restaurant, we finally settle on the Galley Diner, a place well known for their corned beef hash. Discussing where to go eat at with Ann reminded me of an awkward first date. She seemed indifferent, but I have a feeling that was only to please me. It's a funny thing to think, considering that I'm the employee and she's the boss. I appreciate that she let me have an opinion though.
    We settle into a table at the Galley Diner and my eyes instantly drift down to the tacky floral table cloth. I wonder if she loves it because it has roses on it or hates it because it looks cheap. This place is far from fancy, but it has great food. At the end of the day, that's all that should matter. I'm still not sure how her taste with such things leans, though.
    “So tell me what your step-brothers have to do with you moving back here?” she asks after the waiter takes our drink order.
    Up to that point, we'd both been silent, spending our time staring at the pictures on the walls and almost anything else but each other.
    “It's a