Page 86 of Taming the CEO

"Regularly. Though I’ve been too caught up lately to stop by. I even went behind the counter a few times when he needed help because one of his bartenders got sick. We all pitched in."

"Wow. I can't even imagine what it’s like to have family rallying around you," she murmured.

"It's what we do," I said. "Especially since all of us started getting along. Before, there was always this unease. We only met at special events like Gran's birthday. And there was a lot of tension with Jake and Colton. Jake was the one who... discovered us, the other family. Being the oldest, I think he and Colton grappled with it more than the rest of us, if that's even possible."

"What do they think about the fact that your dad wanted to come back and have a business here?"

"They don't all know. Only Gabe, Leo, and Nick do."

I heard a thumping sound, and then her hands were on my shoulders. "Huh, so you're even protecting those brothers you've been at odds with for years. Well, well, I was wrong."

"About what?" I said, turning around and handing her the drink.

"You’re not just a decent guy. You're a great guy.”

“Thank you for the upgrade."

She grinned. "I'm so giddy tonight. I can't help it."

"I’m more than happy to take all the credit."

She pushed my shoulders playfully. "You surely deserve it. Also, I have to say that telling you about the sale made it final for me. Although it’ll take a while to draw up the papers. I'm so scared about the future, but I'm also excited about the next chapter."

She hopped back onto the bar counter. I could watch her the whole night—hell, the whole weekend—just wandering around my house, naked. She was meant for this place. For me.

She took a sip of the Moscow mule, dropping her head back. "This is exquisite."

"Do you have any idea about what you want to do?”

"Well, way back when, I wanted to teach and travel the world. So that's definitely an option," she said.

Her words caught me unexpectedly off guard.

Hell no. She wants to leave? But I just found her.

My reaction shocked me to the bone.

I took in a deep breath, grabbing the glass from her and taking a swig too.

"Hey, I didn't say I wanted to share it," she teased.

I set the glass on the counter before kissing her hard and deep. I didn't want to waste any time dissecting my reaction; I wanted to devour this woman for as long as she was mine.

Chapter Twenty

Maddox

The next morning, I woke up at seven o'clock. Cami was sleeping next to me, all curled up. Her knees almost reached her chin. I was tempted to place a kiss on her neck but then thought better of it. I didn't want to wake her up.

I silently walked out of the bedroom and headed downstairs to my home gym. Nick always made fun of me and Gabe for having one in the house. "Why the hell do you work out at home if your brother owns a chain of gyms?”

I did go to his regularly. Not only because I liked the place, but also because it gave me a chance to catch up with him.

But I liked having a fully equipped gym at home too. Sometimes I was short on time, and I didn't want to waste any of it on the road. And sometimes I came home fuming, and a sprint on the treadmill followed by a rigorous weight regimen was just what I needed to let off steam.

I started on the treadmill. It was positioned so I could look through the floor-to-ceiling windows into the backyard, but I rarely actually admired the view.

I put on some music and started sprinting. Usually, I thought about pressing work matters, but right now my mind was still on Cami. Last night had been absolutely spectacular.

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