Page 60 of Enchanting the CEO

"What are you doing this weekend that you don't want to tell me? Please don't say you’re conspiring with Grandmother."

Maddox held his hands up. "Hell, no. That's where your mind went? What did we ever do to deserve that?"

"My apologies. You're right," I said.

Still, Maddox looked a bit uneasy as he glanced at our brothers.

"Mom is coming into the city," Leo explained.

"Oh, right. Well, have fun."

"Yeah. She hasn’t been here in a while," Nick added.

His voice was tentative, which was so unlike him.

Maddox shrugged. "We’re showing her around this weekend."

"Cool."

What, was I twelve years old? Then again, I never knew how to react when they brought up their mom. I'd never met her. Somehow it felt like I’d betray my own mother by doing so, which couldn't be further from the truth. Both women had been lied to. Their mom wasn't a homewrecker. Neither knew of the other until the end, and yet every time they brought her up, things became awkward.

I managed to seal ten boxes before Nick said, "Dude, go home. The rest of the crew is here."

I looked up to see Jake, Colton, and Cade striding toward us.

"You go. We've got this," Jake exclaimed.

"You guys are all workaholics, even more than me," I declared. "How come you're even here?"

Cade shook his head. "Don't put me in the same category as these two." He pointed one thumb at Jake and the other at Colton.

"Sorry, my bad."

"Colton and I are making huge progress," Jake said. "And besides, this is an emergency."

"You look like shit," Colton said.

"That's exactly how I feel," I replied. I felt guilty that they came here after their workday to help me out, but I was also immensely grateful.

We worked side by side for a while before taking a break. That’s when I realized Leo, Maddox, and Nick had their heads together. I recognized the tight expression on Maddox's face and had an inkling that I knew what they were talking about. I made my excuses and joined them.

"You all really need to work on your poker faces because they’re a dead giveaway that something's wrong."

Leo narrowed his eyes, looking at the others too. "Fuck, he's right. Stop with the sour faces."

"I meant you too!" I clarified.

He scoffed. "I don't look nearly as bad as these two bozos."

"Is this about Dad?"

All three of them went rigid.

Leo scratched his chin and nodded. "My contacts tell me he's looking for a huge property."

"What for?"

"Rumor has it," Maddox said, "that he wants to build a hotel."

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