Page 2 of Falling for the CEO

I nodded, acknowledging his apology before checking my messages.

I had texts from Jake and Gabe too.

Jake: Made it back?

Gabe: Need help with the move tomorrow?

That one made me laugh. Each of my brothers was CEO of their own company, and yet they wouldn't hesitate to drop everything just to help me with the move. I was handling things, though I didn't have them completely under control like I usually did. I was used to people doing what I wanted and everything turning out exactly the way I planned and needed them to be. Lately, that wasn't happening, and I was starting to learn patience.

"Excuse me if I'm intruding, but you look familiar. Are you an actor or something?"

"No," I said. "You must be confusing me with someone else."

He probably wasn't. There were often articles about Whitley Industries in the papers, but I didn’t feel like getting into any chitchat with the guy.

We didn't use photos very often. Still, my family was well-known. It wasn't far-fetched for him to have seen me somewhere before.

When we arrived, I headed straight up to my condo. This was a bachelor pad through and through. I liked it, and it had a great view of the city. But it wasn't the best place to raise a kid. Ben was still small, but time would pass quickly, and he’d need a lot of space to play, so I’d bought a home in Beacon Hill. It was big, and it had a backyard. It was in a good school district. Criteria I would have never considered for a home purchase a few months ago.

I'd always wanted to be a father. But not even in my wildest nightmares did I imagine it would happen like this.

When I went inside, I was surprised to hear voices coming from the living room. Ben was making sounds as well. Clearly, we had more company than just Cade and Meredith. My youngest brother, Gabe, was here along with my second-oldest brother, Jake, and his fiancée, Natalie. Grandmother was sitting down.

"Hi! Hope you don't mind that we stopped by," Natalie said. “We heard Jeannie, Cade, and Meredith had to spend more time than planned with Ben, and we figured they might want some company.”

I liked Natalie. My brother couldn't have found a better woman.

She cared about Grandmother and was more skilled than my brothers and I were at looking after her without her noticing.

“And since you didn't answer the text, I came to see what needs to be done,” Gabe said. “Apparently nothing.” Despite the fact that the new house came fully furnished and I wasn't taking much with me, there were many boxes lying around. And I had a few left to pack.

Cade looked straight at me. "As your twin, it was my duty to drop by and see what I could help with." We weren't identical twins. Most people couldn't even tell we were related. When next to each other, the only thing we had in common was our blue eyes. They were a trademark of all my brothers. Our half brothers had green and brown eyes.

“And to cuddle the little one,” Meredith added.

“He’s such a good baby,” Grandmother remarked. “His tummy is giving him a bit of trouble, but other than that, he rarely fusses.”

I took Ben from Natalie. He scrunched into a tiny ball as I put him on my shoulder. In those first two weeks after I got him, I was at a complete loss as to what to do with him. He seemed so tiny that even a wrong movement could break him. But he and I had found our way. Most of the time, though, he especially liked to keep me up at night.

"How was the meeting?" Jake asked.

"It was good," I said. "I achieved what I wanted."

"You always do!"

That was true. It was one of the reasons why Whitley Publishing had not only survived the drastic changes in the publishing industry but had come out on top.

"By the way," Jake said, "Gabe and I have finalized the details for my bachelor party."

I blinked. "The wedding's in five months." Or was I so sleep-deprived that I got things mixed up? No, it was April now. The wedding was at the end of August.

"Yeah, and look how long that one took to plan. It's only fair that we start talking about the bachelor party early too."

"Count me in for whatever you have in mind," I said.

"That's our brother," Gabe said. He patted my other shoulder. "We're going to get out of your hair. Grandmother, I'll drop you off at home."

"Thank you, dear."

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