Page 125 of Loving the CEO

Leo and I had discussed extensively how things would work when I eventually opened the B&B. I wouldn’t sleep here at night but rather commute early in the morning so I could prepare for the day. I would make sure to have an employee on the premises overnight, though.

"I've hunted this one for a while," Leo said.

"Meaning?"

He grinned at me. "I knew the owners wanted to sell. They're friends of friends of friends, and I bided my time."

I immediately opened the door. The inside was just as quaint as the outside.

"No major renovations needed," he said as we walked through the ground floor. The floors were squeaky, but I didn't mind.

The kitchen area was separate from the huge living room, and upstairs there were two bedrooms on one level and three on the very last one. Five bedrooms was more than enough.

"I found something—a spot you might like," he said.

The turret I'd seen from the outside was actually on the corridor. He took my hand, leading me to the window, and said, "You know what this would be great for?"

"What?" I asked.

"Another telescope."

I grinned. "I’ll bring it here—"

"No, just another one."

Oh, this sexy man. He kept spoiling me all the time.

He turned to the window and pointed at the sky. "Venus should be visible right there later on, right?"

"Hey, you’re starting to learn things from me."

He grinned. "Of course, babe. I'm slow in some regards, but I always catch up."

He kissed the side of my head, wrapping his arms around my shoulders from behind. Resting the tip of his nose in my hair, he inhaled deeply. I felt so safe and loved in his arms.

"Mom is going to be ecstatic about this."

Leo laughed softly. "I can't believe she warmed up to me."

"I think she feared that you’d be a ladies’ man forever and..."

She'd been to Boston a few times, and when she saw how Leo spoiled me, she mellowed. She also understood that I was building my life here and respected that I wanted to run my business on my own.

Mom was shocked when Walter's parents officially disowned him. Debbie had called me two months ago with the news, bursting about how they'd gone to great lengths to make it official. Took them long enough. I wasn't even the least bit sorry for that idiot. He deserved it.

I sighed, looking around. "I love this place. It's got such a great energy. I can see myself working here all day long."

"Babe, tell me you're not planning on doing everything by yourself."

"I will neither confirm nor deny that. We'll see how things go."

He growled in my ear. "We've talked about this."

"No, we haven’t. You simply said I need a team from the beginning, and I didn't reply at all."

Leo laughed, letting go of my shoulders and walking in front of me. "What a dirty negotiation tactic."

"I know," I said proudly, pointing at him. "I learned from the master. What's the price?" That would be the deal-breaker. But I was pleasantly surprised when he told me. "That’s within my budget. I calculated everything quite a few times."

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