Page 38 of Loving the CEO

We headed straight to the restaurant. Everyone was gathered on one side of the room. A few seconds later, I realized they were at the buffet.

Gran noticed us first.

"Hello, dears," she exclaimed. “Tory girl, so good to see you again. Although, I wish it was under better circumstances."

Tory froze. I zeroed in on Nick.

"I notified the family that you were coming and... filled them in on some of the details," he explained sheepishly.

Tory just nodded at him.

"That was my fault,” I admitted. “I didn’t tell him to keep his big mouth shut.”

“How are you feeling? You can tell me everything, if you want to," Gran offered. “I’m a good listener.”

To my astonishment, Tory teared up. "I'd rather we talk about anything else."

"Fair enough." Gran turned to the family and said loudly, "You heard the girl. No intrusive questions!" Then she turned around and opened her arms. "May I give you a hug?"

"Of course!"

Gran wrapped her arms gently around Tory, but she hugged Gran back hard. Tory clearly needed it.

When Gran finally let her go, Granddad shook her hand. "It's nice to see you again, Tory.”

“You, too, Abe. I have to say, you both look wonderful."

"We're glad we're not dead," Gran said conversationally.

Tory gasped lightly and then started to laugh. Gran had done it on purpose, and I would be eternally grateful to her for lightening the situation, albeit in an unusual way.

"We have a lot of introductions to get out of the way," Maddox said, walking over with Cami.

“I already gave her the who’s who," I said.

Tory grimaced. "I completely forgot who is who. Can we do a big introduction round?"

"Sure!"

As I started to give her the rundown, I had a déjà vu moment. This happened every time my brothers first brought their better halves to meet the family. Everyone would introduce themselves one by one.

She's not your girlfriend, Leo. She's your friend who ran away from her own wedding. Get a grip.

"As I told you, Maddox has moved with Cami to Essex," I told her.

Cami smiled brilliantly.

"She put him through the ringer beforehand," I continued with a wink.

"How come?" Tory asked.

"He was a bit too full of himself when he tried to buy my property," Cami explained.

Tory laughed. "That does sound like Maddox. Actually, it sounds a lot like these three guys."

"What about us?" Gabe asked. "We can be pretty full of ourselves." He pointed at himself, then waved to the rest of his group, which contained Colton, Jake, Cade, Spencer, and their respective partners.

Tory's lips curled up in a smile. "I see the competitive streak is still going strong.”

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