Page 66 of Flirting with the CEO

“Okay. Call me if our grandparents need anything,” I told them.

“You can trust us on that,” Maddox exclaimed, and I realized I truly could. They'd shown up here even before I did. They'd spoken to the doctors. They were on top of this.

"Thank you very much, for everything today. We'll stay in touch.”

"Sure," Maddox replied, eyeing me suspiciously.

I didn't blame him. My history of keeping in touch with them was nonexistent.

I headed downstairs, finding Zoey by the coffee machine.

"Hey!" she said when she noticed me, then turned her phone to me.

"What's that?" I asked. The picture she had pulled up looked like some sort of bottle.

"It's a smart water bottle. Apparently it tells you if you've drunk enough during the day."

"I'm not following."

"It's for Jeannie. Maybe this will help her stay hydrated. It’s easy to forget to drink water.”

I couldn’t believe she’d researched this.

"I think she'll appreciate it.Iappreciate it."

"Of course. Every bit helps, right? I mean, obviously, if you don't keep it with you or you drink other things, it doesn’t work.”

“I didn’t mean the bottle. I appreciate what you did.”

"So, what's the plan? Are we sticking around?" she asked.

"My half brothers are on top of everything, so for now, let’s go back home."

"Do you ever just call them your brothers?"

"No," I immediately replied. "It's a reflex, honestly. For so long, I’ve just been angry at them, even though it wasn’t their fault that Father was... an asshole.”

“They seem like great guys. I like how they rallied around Jeannie.”

“Yeah, I liked it too.”

Zoey had also made an effort to lift my grandmother's mood. And now she was looking up at me like just being here with me was enough to make her day better. I wanted to find out what I needed to do for her to look at me like that every day.

We heard footsteps behind us, and I knew my brothers must have arrived. Jake and Cade walked up first, and Spencer was right behind them. None of my brothers had come with their better halves. Maddox, Gabe, and Leo also came from upstairs.

"Relax," I said. "There's nothing wrong. The situation is under control."

I saw the change in them at once. Jake lowered his shoulders. Cade craned his neck as if it had been stiff, and Spencer just nodded. He had dark circles and a permanently exhausted look on his face. But then again, he had a small child, so that was to be expected.

"So what’s the news?" Jake asked.

Maddox spoke. "First of all, they're keeping Gran here under observation and gave her an IV. Leo’s already taken Grandpa home, and as Colton said, everything’s under control."

That was when my brothers seemed to notice Zoey. She was looking at them with a smile.

"Everyone, this is Zoey. Zoey, these are my brothers Jake, Cade, and Spencer."

As they shook hands with her, it dawned on me that their reactions were very toned down. I would have expected at least Spencer or Cade to crack a joke or give me a shit-eating grin. Then I realized Gabe was exchanging a glance with Cade. I was willing to bet anything that our little brother had given them a heads-up. I was grateful to him for it.

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