Secret Kisses (The Sterling Brothers #3)

Chapter 1

GRIFFIN

“Uncle Griffin, your house is awesome,” my nephew, Jeremy, said.

“Glad you think so.”

He’d asked for another tour of my place after I’d already given one to the family. I was happy to spend the extra time with him as we walked together down the main hall.

“You can visit me anytime you want, even for a sleepover,” I said.

I used to live in a bachelor condo before, which wasn’t really suitable for sleepovers. It was basically one huge room with no privacy. Now, I had a luxury villa in the Wooded Area neighborhood within Point Loma.

Jeremy and my brother Duncan, along with his fiancée, Riley, lived closer to downtown. My brother was damn lucky. He’d done a great job as a single dad, but there was no denying that both he and Jeremy were happier now that Riley was part of their life.

We went downstairs to the living room, where the rest of my family was.

The view through the floor-to-ceiling windows was amazing.

There were many pine and fir trees surrounding the property, shielding my house from my neighbors.

Everyone was milling around, conversing among themselves, while Mom inspected the fireplace.

It was never warm enough to actually need a fire in San Diego, but I liked the optics of it.

Dad came over to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Son, you’ve got a nice house. Congrats.”

“Thanks,” I said. Hearing that from him made me proud.

Mom, who was now looking at some photos above the fireplace, smiled at me. “I’m so happy you’ve still got this picture. I don’t think I have a copy.”

“I can make you one,” I offered.

It was of all of us as kids before they divorced. We’d been on a trip with the tent. Most of us still had a camping bug, except Duncan. He hated it. Whenever Jeremy wanted to go, our youngest brothers Knox and Finn usually took him.

“Griffin, I’m jealous of this place,” Hannah said. She was my brother Chase’s fiancée and one of my favorite people in the world.

“You’re welcome here anytime,” I assured her. They lived nearby, so it was convenient for them to visit.

Glancing behind her, I noticed Chase and Wyatt helping themselves to my bar.

“How come you asked us to come over today instead of tomorrow?” Wyatt asked loudly as he poured himself a scotch. We’d originally planned my housewarming for tomorrow, but business calls.

“Because I’ve got a meeting later tonight for a potential business deal tomorrow, and I didn’t want to have to cancel on you if need be.

I’ll throw another housewarming party some other time, though.

” Since I’d moved the get-together to today, Knox, Finn, and Riley couldn’t join us, so I would definitely have another one soon.

“A business deal?” Duncan asked.

That got everyone’s attention. My brothers and I had set up Sterling Investments years ago.

It was one of the biggest companies offering financial advice in the country, and it had made us very rich.

But now only Chase and Duncan were running it full-time, while the rest of us worked on an as-needed basis.

We had a weekly strategy meeting but didn’t deal with the day-to-day operations.

We’d each set up our own individual companies to run instead.

Wyatt raised a brow at me. “Is it with that Carson guy?” I’d mentioned it to him a while ago.

I nodded, focusing on the rest of the family. “Yes. Jude Carson owns a huge dating website, and I want to invest in it.”

“That’s interesting. What gave you the idea?” Chase asked.

“It’s a booming market. People nowadays all seem to prefer meeting people online.” That wasn’t my thing, although I had signed up on Jude’s website because I didn’t want to invest in something I had no knowledge about.

“It’s definitely a growing market,” Duncan said.

I liked sharing business ideas with my brothers. They were among the smartest people I knew.

“They want to expand, and they’re looking for investors. I have money.” I shrugged. I also thought it might be fun too.

“Darling, you look concerned,” Mom said. How did she pick up on that?

“The guy wasn’t excited when I first set up the meeting,” I admitted.

“Then maybe it’s not the right move, son,” Dad said.

“We’ll see.”

I didn’t want to shut Dad down, but I wasn’t the type who shied away when something was challenging.

I was looking forward to meeting Jude Carson and finding out what made him tick.

I liked working with people. It was one of the reasons why I essentially broke off from Sterling Investments.

I needed more client contact, and my work at the company had been mostly strategic.

“I’m curious how this will turn out,” Mom said. “By the way, and not to change the subject, but I’ve started offering cooking classes at the store, too, in addition to the yoga and pottery classes. If you know anyone who’s interested, I’m offering a discount on the first class.”

“I’ll spread the word,” I promised, and there was a murmur of agreement around the room. We all tried to support our parents as best as we could. Chase took the cake, though.

A year ago, he bought back the store they’d owned when we were kids. Our parents sold it after their divorce because they couldn’t make the mortgage payments. They’d used the profit they made from the sale after paying what they owed to the bank to start over.

“So will I,” Hannah said. “I’ll share it with the guests who stay at the inn.”

“Thank you,” Mom replied, smiling at her.

“You can count on me, Grandma. I’ll tell people at school.” Jeremy nodded solemnly, looking like a carbon copy of Duncan.

Mom was over the moon. At first, I’d been skeptical about her and Dad being so close together for so many hours a day, considering they couldn’t see eye to eye for years after the divorce.

However, after Jeremy was born, they mellowed out a bit, and then to everyone’s surprise, they were getting along fine.

Hell, they were even semi-dating, although I didn’t know all the details and didn’t want to know them.

Besides, they were each following their passion.

Mom offered pottery, yoga, and now cooking classes, and Dad had a shop selling fishing equipment.

“All right, everyone. Let’s order some dinner. I tried a nearby pizza restaurant earlier this week, and it was great,” I said, looking straight at Jeremy.

He jumped up and down. “Yes! You’re the best, Uncle Griffin.”

Duncan chuckled. Yeah, I knew it was Jeremy’s favorite. That’s why I suggested it in the first place. Then again, it was usually a crowd pleaser. The rest of the family instantly agreed to the idea as well.

“While we wait, how about I make some cocktails for everyone?” I suggested.

“Yes!” Jeremy exclaimed. “Can I help you?”

“Sure, buddy. Why not?”

The combined kitchen and bar area was a huge space—perfect for entertaining. We all gathered around the counter.

“Hit me up with what you want, everyone. Search for the recipe online, too, so I can check if I have the ingredients.”

“I’ll go easy on you,” Duncan said. “I want a mojito.”

“That’s real easy,” I agreed, taking out the chopping board so I could cut up the lime.

Jeremy came next to me, looking up expectantly.

“Jeremy, you can crush the ice.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

I liked having the family here in my home. Buying this house was one of my best ideas. It was far larger than what I needed, but it accommodated us all nicely without being overly uncomfortable.

While I took out a pack of sugar, my mind drifted to the meeting I had tomorrow. It was a good sign that he’d agreed to see me on a Saturday. It meant there was real interest on his end. As a rule, I usually took time off on weekends, but I’d made an exception this time.

“Uncle Griffin, you’re doing it wrong,” Jeremy said. Well, fuck. I’d been about to make my brother’s mojito with lemon instead of lime. “Are you thinking about work? Dad always says that thinking about the office in the kitchen is a bad idea.”

Duncan smiled proudly.

“Guilty as charged,” I replied.

Jeremy pointed at me. “That’s no good.”

“You’re right. I promise to focus 100 percent on making drinks.”

Jeremy grinned instantly. “Yes, yes, yes.” The little guy liked to learn new things—and he’d probably make a great bartender when he grew up.

“All right, lesson learned,” I said as I turned to take everyone else’s orders.

Duncan was the only one who went easy on me. All the other cocktails required far more concentration. But that was fine. Tonight was for my family. Business could wait until tomorrow.