Page 93 of Falling for the CEO

He waved his hand. "I don't mind sharing the spotlight. Besides, I’ll be the star of the evening, anyway."

"You would. Opening the bar is a great achievement."

"So, I'm the first to find out about this acquisition, huh?"

I didn't say anything.

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not. Who did you tell, and how come it didn't get back to me?"

"Penny is the only one who knows."

"Wait a second. Penny..." His eyes widened. "Your neighbor?"

"Yeah," I confirmed.

"You still have something going on with her?"

"Yes. We’re dating."

"I thought it was a fling."

I cleared my throat. My jaw clenched. "Things can change."

"Oh, for fuck's sake. All right. I need you to tell me exactly how this happened. With details."

"Why?" I asked, completely confused.

"So I can avoid the same happening to me."

"Gabe, relax."

"The third brother falling in less than a year. I'm starting to get worried. Is it your age? Do you feel old?"

“No." What the hell kind of question was that?

"This conversation needs whiskey or vodka—something."

"I want Penny to feel comfortable at the party. Think you can behave in front of her?"

"Man, you know I'd never be anything but polite."

"Not just polite. Friendly."

"There are going to be nine Whitleys waiting to talk to her. Safe to say, it's going to be an interesting evening for her. I'm surprised she even wants to come.”

I hadn't asked her yet, mainly because I hadn't had any actual plans, but there was no way she’d say no. I just had to find the right time to tell her.

I disliked the fact that she had moved out of Taylor's home. I saw her far less often since that happened. It took more coordination, and because of Ben, I couldn’t be very flexible. More often than not, she was the one who ended up coming to my place. The result was that she just spent a lot of time driving back and forth. I wished she'd just move in with me.

"All right," he said, standing up. "Thanks a lot for all the ad space. I'm going to return the favor somehow."

"No, you won't," I said. "Actually, you know what? You already are. You're throwing the party."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, that's going to make up for the tens of thousands in ads.”

“That's not up for a discussion."

"I'll find a way to pay you back."

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