How I Tamed The Billionaire Playboy

Chapter 19

BOOK 1: BAD BOY BALLER.

Daine POV

I was young and dumb at the time, but that was no excuse. Everyone is dumb and young at some time in their lives, but not everyone makes the same mistakes I did. Everything began when my brother Luke brought home a new buddy. I was an excellent senior in high school.A girl my family could be proud of . Unlike my brother, I did not go out and party. I did my homework. I worked really hard. I wanted to be a doctor one day, which meant taking challenging subjects in high school to prepare for college and beyond.

My brother was the black sheep in the family, whereas I was the white sheep. He'd vanish for days on end, partying and drinking until he couldn't anymore. He was still living at home at the age of twenty-one. He worked mostly odd jobs – his latest one at a club in Chicago. Luke told me everything, making it sound like an incredible opportunity, rather than the latest waystation on the road to nowhere he was on. But I'd listen as he told me how much fun it was to sling drinks and flirt with all the attractive ladies - and get paid to do it.

I suppose I had to be glad for him since he'd seemingly discovered his dream.

We have a family dinner once a week. It was somewhat of a family custom. We'd all gather around the table once a week to share a home-cooked dinner together. My father's business kept him away from home a lot during the week, and Luke was, well, Luke. He was hardly ever around. But he was good at never missing a family dinner. Mostly because mom would have had his hide if he had.

But I remember clearly this one specific family dinner, when Luke brought a friend from work to our weekly family gathering.

"His name is James," he informed my mother ahead of time.

“James isn't family, dear,” she said. “Only family should be at family dinner.”

Yeah, my mom was a bit uptight. Sometimes too uptight for her own good. But I have to admit that I agreed with her. At least on this one thing. I didn't want any of my brother's scumbag friends hanging out with us. Especially not on the one night we were supposed to come together as a family.

“He has no family, mom. I feel bad for the kid,” Luke complained. “Would you really turn away a guy who has no family instead of welcoming him into ours for an evening?”

As I listened from the living room, I rolled my eyes. My brother understood how to play on my mother's heartstrings. It made me feel sick.

I heard my mom sigh as I walked into the kitchen. She put the lasagne in the oven and wiped her hands on her apron. She tried a little too hard to be the picture of the perfect mom – her perfectly coiffed hair, the church dress, the pearls around her neck. She had that Donna Reed thing going on, but was exactly the type of woman I aspired to be. Except, of course, that I wanted a career. I gave her props for all she did, but being a stay-at-home mom wasn't for me. In that regard, I was more like my dad – who was a doctor too, of course.