Page 86 of Loving the CEO

I narrowed my eyes. "Did you somehow get wind of my Amazon wish list?" I asked them.

"How did you know what to buy?" Meredith asked, looking at Penny and Natalie.

"From the links Leo sent," Natalie replied.

My heart somersaulted.

Meredith groaned. "But Leo specifically said we should buy itemssimilarto those so it wasn’t too obvious."

I was truly melting. I couldn't believe he'd done that. The reason those items were still on my wish list was because I didn't want to break the bank all at once.

Had he picked up on that? Probably. I hadn’t kept my financial worries a secret. Moving was definitely not cheap.

"You bought her the exact machine from the link," Natalie pointed out.

Meredith sighed, running her hand through her hair. "True, but only because it’s the best one.”

"Thanks so much, girls. I'm not even sure what to say." Oh my God, I was getting teary-eyed.No way.I looked at the counter for a few seconds, inspecting my fingers while widening my eyes, hoping the tears would somehow get reabsorbed before looking up at them. "I love all the gifts. I just wasn't expecting them."

Meredith winked. "That's the point of it."

"All right. So, drinks!"

"I'm going through a mojito phase,” Meredith said.

“I’ll have one too,” Natalie added.

Before long, all the girls decided we were going to drink the same thing.

Even though I wasn't big on making cocktails, a mojito was super easy to make. Thank God I had enough ice.

"This tastes good," I said after my first sip, sitting cross-legged on the floor since all the chairs were taken.

"So,” Cami said, “how come you decided to move out of Leo's house?"

I ran a hand through my hair, taking another sip. "It was time, you know? It was an interim solution anyway. I wasn't even sure that I wanted to stay in Boston. But after I went to New Orleans to break thelease on the house, I realized that starting over in a new city was exactly what I needed."

"One of these days, we can help you get revenge on your ex," Zoey added. "Just say the word and we'll make it happen. If I tell Colton we need someone to scare the shit out of the guy, he'll find someone to do the job."

I started to laugh, as did the rest of the girls. But I wasn't entirely sure Zoey was joking. Colton did seem like a take-charge kind of guy. But then again, all the Whitleys were.

"So," Penny said, "since it's just between us girls here, tell us. Do you want us to set you up with some guys to go on blind dates?"

I nearly spit out my drink.

Zoey nudged her. "Penny, you can't be that direct. I told you, we need to be stealthier."

"Sorry, I don't know a stealthy way to say that," Penny replied.

"It's not necessary." I shook my head, and the room spun a bit.

Huh. I shouldn't have drunk the first few sips so fast.

"So, you’re not looking to date yet?" Natalie asked with interest.

"I'm just doing things in my own time."

I wished Leo and I had spoken about what to tell the family. I felt bad outright lying. Maybe I could just maneuver my way out of this conversation.

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