Page 135 of Taming the CEO

She whistled. "Huh. We're not getting the usual gift card this year, are we?"

"Thanks to Cami, no," I said.

I made to put my hand on her lower back, but somehow it slipped to her ass, so I instinctively fondled her. Cami snapped her head in my direction, and I could already see a blush forming.

As we went inside the house, I heard Nick's and Leo's voices as well as my grandparents'. Ben was giggling, which meant Penny and Spencer were here too.

"The house already smells so nice," Cami said.

"The beef is in the oven. And we've also got a lot of snacks to last us until lunch," Meredith explained.

We left our coats in the entryway closet and went inside with all the gifts. There was a small tree in one corner of the room. There were already several other bags there. I tried to remember the previous Christmases. Am I the only one who ever bought gift cards? Honestly, I couldn't even remember. Somehow, details like that never registered until Cami became such a huge part of my life.

As we set the bags down, Cami peered in the other ones.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Just trying to spy what gifts everyone else got," she said.

Fuck, this woman was adorable, and I couldn't believe she was mine. I grabbed her waist from behind, kissing her cheek. "I fucking love you so much."

She sucked in her breath, turning around and murmuring against my mouth, "I love you too."

"Oh, you lovebirds," Leo said, coming up to us. "How's commuting between Essex and Boston treating you?"

"We're managing fine," Cami said. She was still in the process of renovating the space where she was opening her business. “For now, I’m flexible. But once I open the store, I’ll need to be in Essex every morning. I’m not looking forward to the mornings that I’ll wake up alone in my place.”

"That won't be a problem once we move in—" I began, then groaned.

Her mouth curled up in a smile. "Way to spring that on a girl."

"Crap. I was going to do this in a better setting."

"What’s better than Christmas Day? It's like a gift opened itself," she said.

I looked at Leo, who simply laughed. "You know my brother. He always holds himself to high standards."

"You don't seem shocked," I told him.

"I knew you were a goner from the moment you asked Aiden to draw up plans to preserve the forest."

"Is that so?" Cami asked, and she leaned into me even more than before. Her body was soft against mine. "Maybe it was just a negotiation tactic."

Leo snorted. "That's a hard no. My brother doesn't really negotiate. He just bulldozes his victims."

Both Cami and I started laughing.

"Anyway, I’d tell you that 'I'm your man and will help you find a house,' but clearly I've been failing you for the past few years.”

“You failed at finding a place in Boston. Maybe you'll have better luck looking for one in Essex."

This time his eyes bulged.

Cami straightened up and faced me. "Wait, what? You actually want to move to Essex?"

"Why not? It makes sense."

"Fuck my life, I never thought you’d end up liking a small town," Leo said. "Though I actually have some properties in mind that you might like.”

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