Page 122 of Taming the CEO

“Literally just to meet you.”

Maddox took my hand and led me to the living room, putting the cookies on the counter. "Do we foresee any other interruptions tonight?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I’d say no, but this is Essex, so who knows?”

"Then I'd better do this before anything else happens."

He went in for a kiss, and I rose up on my toes, meeting him halfway.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Maddox

"Your family is so creative," Cami said on Thanksgiving evening. We'd all gathered at our grandparents' house.

Gran had absolutely refused to have Thanksgiving catered, and their kitchen wasn't large enough for all of us, so Jake came up with another brilliant idea. Only the turkey had been cooked here, and everyone else brought a side dish. Gran seemed happy with the solution, although she was suspiciously inspecting everything that was put on the table.

It smelled insanely good. There were so many delicious smells wafting through the air that I couldn't even tell one from the other. Cami and I had baked apple pies. Well, she’d baked while I followed her strict instructions. I was no slouch when it came to cooking main courses, but baking wasn't my area of expertise. We made everything in her tiny kitchen. I had to admit, Essex was growing on me. I liked spending time with Cami, and we were more often in her tiny cabin than at my house.

"Gran, relax," Leo said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I promise no one is going to starve."

She looked up at Leo and then the room as a whole. "Oh God, no. I wasn't implying that I didn't think the food was good." She cleared her throat before adding, "I actually wanted to thank everyone for all the effort you put in."

"Hear, hear," Granddad said, coming up next to her.

"I know I'm very stubborn. I don't always make your lives easier."

"Hey, we can't be mad at you because of that. It's a gene you've passed down to us, so 'Hello, Pot, we're Kettle.' We’re not judging," Nick said.

Gran beamed. Their living room was large, but I had to admit, it was a bit cramped right now with so many people here. Except for Leo and Nick, everyone had come with their better half.

Ben had started crawling, and the dude was much faster than I would have imagined. Spencer and Penny were exhausted from chasing after him, so Cami and I had offered to take over for a bit to give them a break. It turned out we didn't have enough practice, and I swear to God, if I took my eyes off him for two seconds, he was already halfway across the room.

"Samuel, thank you for coming too," Gran said to Cami’s dad.

"Thank you for having me," he replied. He'd spoken with Granddad when we’d arrived, but now Colton had cornered him in conversation too.

"All right. Well, before we dig in," Granddad said, "I say we toast being together."

Cade popped open a bottle and started pouring champagne. Once we all had a glass in hand, Granddad continued, “To friends, family, and success.”

Gran snuck in, “And to more grandchildren.”

Everyone laughed, and then Samuel raised his glass.

"And to finalizing the sale," he added.

As we all clinked glasses, I looked straight at Cami, who smiled from ear to ear.

Fuck yes. She was happy, plain and simple. There was no sign of her regretting it or even feeling uneasy about the sale. I never would have gone through with it if that were the case. Cami had become damn important to me, and I'd never do anything that would make her unhappy.

She was currently crouched next to Ben until Spencer went over to them, taking his son in his arms.

"He's going to start fussing soon," Spencer informed us.

Natalie winked at me when Cami wasn’t looking. Yeah, she'd called it.

"Hey, what’s going on? You're having a silent conversation," Cami said, pointing between me and Natalie. "What's it about?"

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