Loving the CEO (Whitley Brothers #7)

Chapter Six

Tory

After stepping out of the shower, I smiled, looking around the room. I wanted to pinch myself. Leo’s house was absolutely amazing. I was glad that he’d asked me to come stay with him. But even though I wasn't in New Orleans anymore, I couldn't hide my head in the sand. I needed to figure out my life and how to move forward.

I'd checked in with Debbie this morning and told her why I was leaving. She'd replied right away, telling me that she was taking care of everything. It was dinnertime, and by now, everyone would know. I felt bad not notifying my hairstylist, makeup artist, and photographer to cancel those appointments directly, but I just couldn’t have those conversations in the heat of the moment.

I feared turning off Airplane Mode but finally convinced myself that it was for the best. As expected, I had a lot of messages—thirty, to be exact.

Mom's popped out at the top of the list.

Mom: I can't believe you did this. I can't believe it. I raised you better than that.

She was a handful, but still I loved her. She'd had a very rough life. After Dad left, I’d been heartbroken, wondering why he disappeared from our lives. But I’d come to terms with it over the years .

I remembered when Leo and I exchanged stories about our families. It had shocked me that someone else had gone through something similar—and it was the first time I was grateful that I didn’t really know why Dad left us. Knowing didn’t make things better.

Mom had worked three jobs. Three . I never saw her because she worked herself to the bone, and because of that, she wanted better for me. For me to marry a man who could keep me financially comfortable. But that wasn’t what I wanted and was why going to college and getting an education was so important to me. I had completely different opportunities than she’d had, and it was all because of my degree. That was the part Mom just didn’t understand.

I couldn't help myself and checked Walter's messages. They were all nasty, the last one taking the cake.

Walter: You’ll regret this. You'll never find a good catch like me again.

My mouth hung open as I reread it. Was he serious? I didn't even care anymore; I was so mad at him that I didn't even feel pain.

Well, no, that wasn't true. Every time I remembered his conversation with that woman, I wanted to crumble all over again. But somehow, I didn't feel sad about our lost future. I’d had troubles conjuring it up for months, which should have been an indicator if I’d thought about it. I was almost relieved that I didn't have to marry him anymore. What did that really say about me?

Sigh.

Then I found a message from Debbie.

Debbie: Everything's taken care of. I made sure to tell them that New Orleans's golden boy is a cheating bastard. He tried to spread some BS about you running off with Leo (which I would totally agree with because that man is HOT) .

I burst out in an unladylike laugh, the laugh, snort, laugh, snort kind. It all rolled out of me. I wiped my happy tears before continuing to read.

Debbie: But I set the record straight and told everyone what happened. Tell me when you land.

I loved her so damn much. I replied quickly.

Tory: I'm in Boston now. Thanks for taking care of everything.

Debbie: Tell me you're not crying your eyes out.

Tory: I'm not. I almost feel guilty.

Debbie: No the fuck you don’t! That asshole deserves zero time in your life. Walter the Dickwad is over. Done.

Tory: Okay.

Didn’t I say I loved her?

Debbie: I require evidence of no tears.

I sat on the bed and snapped a selfie of myself, sending it to her right away.

Tory: See? I just took a shower. That's why my face is red.

Debbie: Uh-huh. Good thing I have Leo's number. I'll tell him to take care of my girl.

I typed back one last message.

Tory: I'm putting this on Airplane Mode again. Don't want to risk anyone calling me.

Debbie: Yep, good idea. All good on my end. Just keep in touch when you’ve got time.

After that, I dressed. It was chillier in Boston than New Orleans, so I put on jeans and a polo shirt. I knew I should probably go shopping at some point for other clothes, but that was a problem for another day. I had to set up my workstation, but that mostly meant getting out my laptop, and I didn’t have to do that today either.

I walked out of the bedroom and heard the unmistakable sound of someone running on the treadmill. The vibrations carried through the floor. I hesitated, then decided to ask Leo if he was okay with me getting dinner ready. Now that I was here, I was feeling a bit like a leech and needed to earn my keep somehow.

I knocked at the door, but there was no reply. Figuring he probably listened to music while working out or something, I decided to just walk in.

I opened the door and hoooooooooly shit. Leo wasn’t wearing a shirt. That back of his was so damn impressive, his trapezius and lats and all the other muscles on full display.

As I tore my eyes from his physique, I noticed Leo had quite a professional weight room, and clearly he used it. I stayed in the doorway, staring at him for longer than I realized. I just couldn't take my eyes off him. But I couldn't stand here and ogle him like a creep.

I cleared my throat, but he didn't acknowledge me. I slowly walked around to the front of the treadmill so I wouldn't startle him.

He saw me out of the corner of his eye as I approached, and if I thought his back was impressive, it was nothing compared to his front. That six-pack was absolutely insane. And those V lines. My God! I didn't think those were actually real.

I wanted to shame myself for appreciating a man so soon after my breakup, but I couldn’t. Nope, I just could not.

Leo took out an ear bud. "Hey, I didn't hear you."

"I figured."

"I won't keep you long." I forced my eyes to stay on his face. Not an easy thing.

He was running at full speed and had a thin sheet of sweat on his chest. Somehow, that made him even sexier.

"I wanted to cook dinner. Do you have a preference? Anything in the fridge you’d like me to make?"

"Why don't we hit town instead? "

"Because I want to do something for you."

He shook his head. "Tory, there'll be plenty of time for you to cook dinner if you want. Wouldn’t you rather go out and explore a bit?”

My face exploded into a grin. "I'd love to go out and explore, see if we can find any of our old hangout places."

Leo winked. "I know better ones, and I'm happy to be your guide. Just give me half an hour or so. More like forty minutes so I can clean up."

“Sure. I'll be downstairs."

"Feel free to grab a bite if you're hungry."

I nodded, walking past him, then looked over my shoulder. I needed to ogle that backside just a few more seconds.

I had no idea why I couldn't look away. I'd always known that Leo was handsome and sexy, but somehow I'd been able to push that to the back of my mind. Right now, though, I simply didn't have enough willpower. So I took my fill of him for a few seconds more before leaving the gym.

I descended the steps, glancing around the living room again. This place was quintessentially Leo. Back in college, he’d lived in a cramped space but always talked about how one day he’d have a huge house with all the luxuries. This definitely fit the bill. I sat on one of the bar chairs and swirled around, taking everything in as I enjoyed the peace of relaxation.

Only fifteen minutes later, Leo came down and stood in front of me. “What do you think?”

“You look great. I’m kind of surprised you asked. You usually don’t fish for compliments.”

“I meant about the house.” He laughed and moved forward, totally catching me off guard as he tickled me under my arms. I laughed so hard that I almost fell off the chair.

“Thanks, Leo. I needed this, the getaway, you know? To be with a friend.” I felt like things would work out after all. That one day I’d feel normal once again.

“I'm all yours, babe.”

Annnnnd I almost melted.

“You said you’d need forty minutes.”

“I cut my training short just for you.” The wink he gave me just about won me over.

"I don't want to keep you from training." It was on the tip of my tongue to add, How else will you keep that hot body?

“Don't worry, this is the only time I’ll make an exception. Besides, I’m excited to take you out and spend some time with you.”

I laughed nervously. Now that I knew how he looked without a T-shirt, I kept wanting to check if his muscles were real. I hadn't ever paid attention before, but copping a feel just to make sure was definitely in my near future.

As carefully as possible, I glanced down his body. Yup, I could make out the contour of his muscles. My breath caught, and I licked my lips. Then I realized what he’d said and bit the inside of my cheek.

“Listen, Leo, I don't want to be in your hair for long, okay?”

“Tory.” He said my name like a warning.

“No, let me finish. I know your invitation is open-ended.”

“Yes, it is.”

“My plan is to stay here until I decide where I’m going to go. You know, if I’m going back to New Orleans or staying in Boston, or moving somewhere else entirely. Then I’ll look for a place to live. In case I decide to stay in Boston, I’d love your help finding something.”

"Sounds good," Leo said. “You know you can count on me.”

He was okay with me finding my own place? I was suspicious now. “You're not going to give me any pushback? ”

“No, because after you live here for a while, trust me, no other place in Boston will make the cut.”

I started to laugh but didn’t reply. We both knew that if I ended up permanently moving to Boston, I’d need my own place. I couldn’t live at Leo’s; I’d cramp his style.

With that thought, my mind started to wander. Thank God Leo cut in.

“Ready to go?” he asked.

“Yes. What are we doing?”

“You still like food malls?”

“Hell yes. They're my favorite. Although, the last time we were at one, we got food poisoning, remember?”

He grimaced. “Ugh, I’m still traumatized. Thought I was gonna die. Felt so bad, I couldn’t even text to ask how you were feeling. But don’t worry. Gone are the days of eating at the cheapest places. I’m taking you to one of the best in Boston.”

"What's it called?" I asked.

“Why? Do you want to google it on the way there?” He grinned.

“How come you remember everything about me? It's so freaky.”

"How could I not? Wait, you mean you don't remember things about me?" he asked.

“I do,” I admitted. “But I thought men weren’t that detail oriented.” It was on the tip of my tongue to say it was Walter’s favorite excuse, but I didn’t.

“I've registered a lot of details about you, Tory, and they're all stored right here.” He tapped his temple.

I took in a deep breath and then realized that I'd gotten extremely close to him. I could smell him. His fragrance was fresh and woodsy, and I absolutely didn't need to know that detail. I already knew far too many—like how defined his six-pack was .

"After you," he said, pointing to the front door.

"Oh, I need a coat."

“I'll wait here.”

I darted up the steps, taking a short jacket out of my bag. Then I went into the bathroom, checking my appearance in the mirror. I didn’t look all that great. My eyes were sunken because I'd cried myself to sleep last night. I was also extremely pale.

Why didn't I put on makeup? I didn't have time to do it now. But I also didn't want to go out with Leo looking like something the cat dragged in.

Decisions, decisions .

Not wanting to make him wait after he’d cut his workout short for me, I walked downstairs. He'd already opened the door.

“Sorry I look a bit like a zombie.”

He frowned. “What do you mean? Are you tired and want to sleep? We can order in.”

“No, I mean, look at my face.”

Leo zeroed in on me. “I don't understand.”

“It was a figure of speech. I just look like shit because I slept badly.”

“Tory, let's get something straight. You could never— never- look like shit. You're fucking beautiful.”

My breath caught. Leo had complimented me a lot over the years, but he'd never straight up told me I was beautiful.

“You don't need makeup,” he continued. “You don't need anything, okay? You're just beautiful.”

I was too stunned to say anything other than “Thanks.”

“Now, let’s head to High Street Place. You’ll love it.”

As we got in his dark green Lexus, I googled the food hall.

“Oh, yum. So many things look good. How can I decide what to eat? ”

“We don't have to decide. That's the beauty of a food hall.” He flashed me a cheeky smile.

“Leo Whitley, you want to talk me into a food festival.”

“Obviously. Why do you think I would even suggest going to a hall otherwise?”

I started to laugh. “I don't have the metabolism of a twenty-year-old anymore.”

Leo growled. “Do we need to start that conversation again about how beautiful you are? Your body is amazing. Those curves you have...”

I froze. When had Leo checked me out? Not that I didn't do that with him, but the thought that he’d done the same never crossed my mind.

I looked at him intently, but he didn't even glance my way. In fact, I was pretty sure he was avoiding my gaze. I needed a sassy reply now to cut the tension.

Come on, brain. Come up with something.

"Okay, food festival it is," I declared lamely.

“That's my girl.”

And suddenly, I wished that were true.