Page 4 of Enchanting the CEO

“Well, I, for one, think it’s a good thing that you’re overseeing the construction closely. It’s going to be such a wonderful home. Big enough for a family,” Grandmother said.

Grandfather just shook his head while my brothers grinned.

I finished loading my plate with mashed potatoes and turkey breast, then regarded at my grandmother calmly. " I know you have my best interests at heart, but it isn't going to happen. Not on your terms, anyway."

"Huh," she said. "All right, then. If you want to make it happen on your own, I'm good with that.” Suddenly her smile encapsulated her entire face. “Oh, Gabe, this is such wonderful news!"

I barely bit down a groan. Crap!

I looked up in time to see Jake and Natalie exchange a glance. Cade was staring straight at me. I knew he couldn't wait to share this with Spencer. They had a bond that I sometimes envied, although all of us were close.

"Oh, just wait until Nick, Maddox, and Leo hear of this,” Cade said. “They'll be thrilled that Grandmother can now focus on them, since you're clearly taking matters into your own hands."

"Oh, please. I've been keeping my eye out for suitable companions for them all the while. Now I just have to ramp up my efforts," Grandmother said, making us all laugh.

That was life in the Whitley family. We all looked out for one another, whether we wanted it or not.

Chapter Two

Diane

If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. But right now, the corners of my lips tilted up in a smile as I knocked my elbow on my sister's bedroom door.

"I'm awake," she said.

I walked in carefully, putting a tray with breakfast on her bed.

Celia yawned. "What's this?"

"I want to spoil you a bit. What's the use of having an unwanted house guest if they don't bring you breakfast?" I said in a teasing tone, though I was half serious.

"You're my sister. You're not unwanted."

I was usually such an optimistic person, but over the past six months, my life had taken a complete nosedive.

First, my boyfriend broke my heart. Then my work started downsizing. At least I got lucky and wasn't fired, but they reduced my hours to part-time, and unfortunately, that wasn't nearly enough to pay rent. Shortly after, my landlord evicted me. He probably thought I was a huge risk, and... he was right. I'd debated taking legal recourse, but I didn't have any money for that.

Bottom line was, I had to see the positive in all this. One, I still had a job, and two, I had a roof over my head, even though I was living with my sister. Honestly, I'd missed being this close to her. Growing up, we’d always been real tight.

"You're eating with me?" she asked.

"Obviously. You think I broke my back just so you can eat all these goodies by yourself?"

"I can't believe you did this. Thank you. When did you wake up?"

"About an hour ago."

Her jaw dropped as she checked and saw it was now just six o'clock in the morning. "Why would you wake up so early?"

"I couldn't sleep well," I admitted. "The better question is why are you up? You came home late."

Celia yawned. "You know I have a weird sleep schedule."

She had a waitressing job during breakfast hours between nine o’clock and twelve o’clock. She usually slept in the afternoon before waitressing at the bar. She was a damn hard worker. I was determined not to be in her hair for too long.

I'd made an omelet with a side of bacon and toast, plus pancakes with blueberries and a dip that I mixed from honey and a dash of vanilla extract, all topped with whip cream.

"Oh my God. If you spoil me like this every morning, I'm going to get used to it."

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