Page 81 of Loving the CEO

Meredith called as I entered my house. "Hello, hello. What can I do for you? Is it about your houseguest?”

"The favor has to do with her, but she’s not living here anymore.”

Meredith gasped. "She left already? But we didn't even get to hang out with her."

"No, she didn’t leave. She actually decided to stay in Boston for good and got a place of her own."

"Mm-hmm."

Was it my imagination, or did she sound disappointed?

"All right, so how can I help?" she asked.

I paced the kitchen up and down. "She’s a bit lonely.”

“Ohhh, I’m on it. I figured she’d call after the brunch, but I think we might have overwhelmed her that day.”

"She had a lot on her mind back then."

"And now she doesn't anymore?"

"Starting over is rough" was all I said.

"But why did she move out so quickly? We figured that if she stayed longer, then you would..."

I closed my eyes. "Cade told you?"

"To his credit, he didn't, actually. He was talking on the phone with Nick, and I put two and two together."

I groaned. "Who else in the family put two and two together?"

"Jeannie might have informed everyone that she's hoping you and Tory will be an item.”

"This is just Gran, right?"

"You're taking it remarkably well. I thought you might be more pissed."

How could I be pissed when once again Gran was 100 percent spot-on? Of course I couldn't live with Tory and keep things platonic. I had no idea why I thought I ever could. I prided myself on my excellent self-restraint, but even I had limits.

"Okay, listen, I have another favor to ask," I said.

"Do tell."

"Since Tory moved into a new place, she needs some stuff."

"All right."

"I might have already gone overboard with her housewarming gift, so I can't buy more things for her." I planned to carry the gift over to her place tomorrow.

She sighed. "Oh, Leo."

"But she needs some stuff.”

"And you happen to know what those things are?"

"Yeah. I took a look at her Amazon wish list. I can send you some links. But—”

"Yes?"

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