Loving the CEO (Whitley Brothers #7)

Chapter Two

Tory

God, it was good to see Leo. I almost didn't want to leave him, but I had to. Duty called. My wedding planner, Nancy, discovered that some of the name cards were missing, and I wanted to check out for myself what was going on.

I found her in the ballroom, going through a huge box.

"Found them. Sorry I alarmed you." Nancy didn't work very well under pressure, which made me wonder how she got into wedding planning in the first place. But then again, I wasn't one to judge. I had the propensity to get in over my head as well.

"So, that's all sorted out?"

She nodded. "So sorry I disturbed you."

I bit the inside of my cheek, then said, "Please let me know when you solve a crisis so I don't run around the hotel for something that's already been taken care of."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Sure, I'll do that. It just slipped my mind."

I realized about a month ago that Nancy wasn't the wedding planner I was hoping she'd be. I wanted someone who was more in control, but it was too late to get someone else. And I seriously doubted that another wedding planner would have solved my problems with Walter anyway.

After leaving the ballroom, I rubbed my shoulders and turned my head from the left to the right. I had a lot of tension gathered in my body. Since I still had some time until the rehearsal dinner started, I decided to go back to my room to rest a bit.

Even though we lived together in a very cute house in the Marigny, we decided to stay here in separate rooms tonight. It was more practical, and it gave us the chance to dress without seeing each other before the wedding tomorrow. God forbid there’d be a cause for bad luck. My nerves were doing me in well enough already. Then Walter and I would spend our wedding night together in their bridal suite. Hopefully . The last time we'd been “together” was four months ago. I was certain that had contributed to the stress between us—lack of sex could do that. But honest to goodness, I wasn't in the mood for any fun in bed when he snapped at me all the time.

Mom insisted that it was normal for tensions to run high when we had so much pressure on us, but that didn't feel right to me. We were planning our wedding, for goodness' sake. It was a happy occasion. What would happen when we had kids? For some reason, I couldn’t even imagine that at all. I was exhausted at the mere idea.

I was tempted to hunt Leo down again. Just thinking about hearing more stories of the Whitleys filled me with joy unlike anything I'd felt in months. How weird was that? But no, I really wanted to talk to Walter before dinner, so I headed right to his room on the floor directly above mine.

As I walked, I thought once again how gorgeous this hotel was. I was so happy we'd picked this one. The rooms were large and decorated with a lot of thought. Most people were arriving tomorrow; it was only close friends who came today. I was beyond happy that Leo was here early and for the rehearsal dinner as well.

Walter's room was at the back of the corridor. Pulling out his key card—we each had access to the other's room in case we needed to get something—I opened the door quietly, as I didn't want to wake him up in case he was sleeping. But when I heard his voice, I took in a deep breath. My stomach clenched, and my chest constricted.

Calm down, Tory. You won’t fight this time.

Stepping inside, I planned to wave to make my presence known, then wait for him to finish his conversation. But his words stopped me in my tracks.

“Look, there’s no way for me to get away before dinner. Everything is planned to the minute.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Did he want to hang out with his friends before rehearsal dinner? I wouldn’t mind.

“I mean, maybe you could come to the hotel, but she insisted on having a key card to my room, so that’s not safe.”

My feet felt cold all of a sudden.

“You know what? I’ve got another proposition. After the rehearsal dinner circus, she’ll insist on going to bed early for her beauty sleep. And I’ll sneak out and come to your place, and we can have fun for a few hours. Hell, I can even sleep there. It’s a win-win, since after a few rounds in bed with you, I’ll be more likely to be the smiling groom everyone expects tomorrow."

Bile rose in my throat so violently that I stumbled backward with rapid steps. I opened the door and broke into a run down the corridor. The farther away I got, the worse I felt.

There was a small balcony next to the elevator. I opened it and stepped out slowly, inhaling the humid New Orleans air.

That's it, Tory. Deep breath in, slow exhale .

I leaned against the edge of the balcony, looking down. That didn't help, so I turned back around.

I glanced through the glass door, down the corridor. His room door was closed. God, had he heard me leave? I didn't think so. I hoped he wouldn't come running after me. I couldn't bear seeing him right now.

He was cheating on me. Since when? Was that why he couldn't stand being near me?

God, I couldn't believe it. I felt my heart splinter as my plans for the future came crashing down.

One thing I knew for sure: even though my parents would be disappointed in me, I wasn't going to marry Walter. I couldn't marry someone who clearly didn't care about me. Who’d been in another woman’s bed while I was planning our wedding .

I swallowed hard and noticed my throat was aching. I put my hands on my face. My cheeks were wet. I was a mess.

I opened the balcony door as delicately as possible, looking toward Walter’s room. Was he still on the phone with her? Actually, it didn't even matter.

I repeated that to myself a few times, but my heart grew heavier anyway. I wasn't in the mood to take the elevator, as there was a good chance I’d meet a guest, so I took the staircase to the lower level and went straight to my room.

But I couldn't be here either. I felt the walls closing in on me.

Walter was cheating. Cheating!

The word was haunting me. Hearing him speak like that, as if I was a nuisance, was unbelievably painful. I put a hand on my chest and one on my stomach, applying slight pressure. The trick helped when I had anxiety, but it wasn't of any use right now.

I need to get away.

I grabbed my purse, checking that my wallet was inside, and started for the door, then stopped, realizing I needed to take everything with me. I couldn’t stand the sight of this room, and I knew I wouldn't return to it.

I’d only brought a small carry-on here. After opening it, I paused, considering what to take with me. Not the wedding dress, of course. I’d carried it separately anyway. All the underwear for the wedding night? That made no sense. I didn't need them nor want them. I’d only brought the clothes I had on today and another T-shirt as well as underwear, and those fit perfectly in my purse. I didn’t need the carry-on at all. I grabbed my toiletries bag and looked around the rest of the room.

Come on, what else do you need? Just take it and leave this place .

I couldn't think straight. This was pointless. I simply needed to get away from the hotel. So, without taking anything else besides my purse and my light coat, I headed out of the room. Once again, I took the staircase, hoping against hope that I wouldn't run into anyone, especially my parents. I couldn't face them right now.

Once I reached the first floor, I carefully stepped into the lobby. I didn’t recognize any guests among the people scattered around, but it didn't matter. I could do it. If I met anyone, I'd just tell them I needed a bit of fresh air. Yeah, that was a good story. Everyone knew brides were stressed out before the big day. It was a good thing I didn't bring my carry-on with me. That would have been a dead giveaway.

Just don't burst out crying, Tory. You’ll attract attention .

I held my head high as I walked through the lobby. Once I was out the front door, I took a deep breath. Then a familiar voice reached me.

"Hey, gorgeous. Going for a walk?" Leo asked.

My eyes flew open. I opened my mouth to tell him that I just wanted to stretch my legs and would be back shortly, but I couldn't. I didn't want to lie to Leo, of all people, but no words would come out. Saying out loud that Walter was cheating on me would somehow make it irreversible. My eyes filled with tears as I tried to figure out what to say.

"Tory, what's wrong?"

I just shook my head.

Leo stepped closer, taking both of my hands in his. "What do you need? "

I bit my lower lip to keep it from trembling, but it wasn't helping. What did I need? Yet again, I had no idea.

But then it hit me—I just needed Leo.

With a hiccup, the tears ready to fall, I leaned in for the second hug of the day.

When he put those strong arms around me, I could finally breathe again.