Page 41 of Loving the CEO

I turned to look at Tory. She was fucking gorgeous.

Cami was wrong. It wasn't difficult. It was fucking impossible.

A few seconds later, Tory joined us. Meredith was right on her heels, as was Natalie.

"I have an idea," Meredith said. "And you can say no, of course. No pressure. But what about having a girls' night? Get to know each other a bit better?"

Tory smiled brilliantly. "I would love that. If that's not too much trouble?"

"Of course not," Meredith said. "Just holler whenever you're ready. You probably have a million things to do with all the..."

I stared at Meredith, silently warning her not to bring up the wedding.

She pressed her lips together. "Well, with everything going on."

Tory nodded. "Thanks. I'll take you up on that."

"Perfect."

I smiled at the two of them. I’d actually intended to ask Meredith to get in touch with Tory, but this wasn't the first time I’d had the impression that she could read my thoughts.

As the day went by, all of the women in the group rallied around Tory, though not all at once. They didn't overwhelm her, and I was grateful for that.

I caught up with everyone as we enjoyed brunch, and then Maddox and Gabe gave us a tour of the hotel.

It was very late in the evening by the time we left Essex. Tory was silent on the drive back.

"Penny for your thoughts?" I asked.

She smiled. "My mom and I always dreamed about opening a B&B together."

Her words jogged a memory.

"I remember you talking about that in college, but I figured that since you're working in journalism now, you’d changed your mind about that."

"No, but we never really found the right property.” She hesitated before adding, "And over the years, our relationship deteriorated. Not even sure if I could do it with her anymore."

I looked at her sideways. "Just say the word and I can find you the best place for a B&B in Boston.”

She giggled. "You're something, you know that?"

"I mean it. Just keep it in mind."

"Why are you being so goodto me?"

I took her hand, interlacing our fingers and squeezing them. "I care about you, Tory."

My mind was already racing. Would she want to open a place here? There were plenty of neighborhoods in Boston with historic homes that would make perfect B&Bs.

I was still lost in my thoughts when we got home. She yawned the second she took off her shoes.

"I'm going straight to bed," she announced.

"It’s late," I agreed as we walked up the stairs.

She was in front of me, and I once again tried keeping my eyes off her ass, which was becoming progressively more difficult.

"I hope you enjoyed today," I said when we reached the second floor.

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