Page 49 of Enchanting the CEO

Gabe seemed to snap out of it then. "Diane, you're my guest just as much as them. Just because you live here doesn't mean you have to help me entertain, especially not these bozos."

"But I don't mind," I said. I felt I needed to do something with my hands. But Gabe pinned me with his gaze, so instead of finding an excuse to head into the kitchen, I sat down in the empty armchair.

Jake turned to me. "So, Gabe tells me you're renting the attic apartment?"

I nodded. "Yes. Honestly, I couldn't believe my luck when this opportunity came up. Thank goodness Celia knew Gabe was moving.

"Who's Celia?" Meredith asked.

"My sister. She works for Gabe."

He hasn't told them anything about me, huh?

Why was I feeling disappointed? He didn't have to talk with his family about me.

"Oh, so you don't work for Gabe? I had my story all wrong," Meredith said.

Wait, so he did talk to them?

"No. My sister is a bartender at his bar. So, you all work at Whitley Industries, right?" I glanced around the room.

"Well, I don't," Meredith said, glancing at Cade. "I still work for the competition."

"Yeah, she's playing hard to get," Cade said playfully. "But I'm going to win her over to the dark side sooner rather than later."

“What do you do?” Jake asked.

Suddenly, all eyes were trained on me.

I thought it was lovely that they all worked together. Well, it wasn't together-together, but they were involved in the family business.

I spoke about my job as a tour guide for a bit, and then the pizza arrived. When the doorbell rang, I jumped from the armchair immediately.

"I'll get it," I said, darting to the door.

I felt Gabe come up behind me. "You can't carry ten pizzas all on your own, Diane." He tipped the delivery guy, taking the entire stack.

"I can help," I said. But clearly he didn't need it, because he was only holding them with one hand.

He put his other hand on my arm, and the contact singed me. "Diane, do you feel uncomfortable with us?"

I licked my lips. "No, just on edge."

"Listen, we can talk about this later, okay? Once we’re alone. If you enjoy spending time with me and my family, then I'm glad. But if you don't, then don't feel obligated to stay, okay? I'd love for you to get to know them, but it's up to you."

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask why he wanted me to get to know them. Just because we were roommates?

"Let's get back to the dining room," I said. "I'm starving and need some sustenance."

"Yes, I agree," Meredith called.

Crap, had she heard the whole conversation? Didn't seem likely. And I’d said that last sentence louder, after all.

Gabe walked in front of me, and I couldn't take my eyes off his ass as everyone filed in around us. The man was incredibly delicious.

As we ate at the dining table, I listened more than I talked. The dynamics were absolutely fascinating and completely hilarious. I felt Gabe's gaze on me the entire time we were eating, and even afterward, when we moved back to the couch area.

"All right. I think we've lingered here long enough," Colton said after a while, and I frowned.

---