Taming The CEO: An enemies-to-lovers romance (The Whitley Brothers)

Chapter Twenty-One

Cami

As soon as we were in the car, I started feeling more than self-conscious about my outfit. In broad daylight, it was totally out of place.

Yep, walk of shame. That’s me.

But I actually didn’t feel that way. Being with Maddox felt right, and even though I was in last night’s clothes, being with him was comfortable. I was very happy to be spending the day in Boston with this intriguing man. Yesterday, I’d figured it was a booty call, which I was more than fine with. But this was turning out to be something entirely different.

”Where are we going?”

“Is Bloomingdale”s all right for you?”

That was a hell no. It wasn’t just outside my price range—it was in another galaxy.

“Ummm, how about Macy”s?” I asked.

He turned to me. ”I have a personal shopper at Bloomingdale”s. She”ll help us out.”

My eyes bulged, and I cleared my throat. “Maddox. I, ahh...”

“Yeah?”

“I”m not a Bloomingdale”s shopper. It”s really out of my price range.” No sense in beating around the bush. Our economic situations were very different.

He took my hand, squeezing my fingers. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll put everything on my credit card.”

I laughed nervously. ”No, you won”t.”

“It’s no big deal.”

I tried not to let that make me feel dirty. I would never expect anyone to pay for my things—especially after a hot night of sex. It made me feel weird.

“It is for me. I pay for my own things. Always have, always will.”

I took out my phone and searched for Macy’s address. I’d shopped there on two occasions, but I didn’t remember where it was off the top of my head.

“Let’s go here,” I said, showing him the screen.

He looked up from the phone to me. For a few seconds, he said nothing, then asked, ”It”s really that important to you?”

I nodded. ”Yes.” I was standing firm on this.

”All right, we”ll go to Macy”s.”

My mouth hung open as I put down my phone. I”d expected him to fight me on it, or at least try to get his way. I liked that even though he was ruthless in business deals, he was very considerate in his personal life. I hadn”t expected that.

Washington Street was fairly empty for Boston standards. After parking, we walked hand in hand. The city didn’t get nearly the amount of snow and sleet the suburbs did. Essex was in ten times worse shape than Boston. It was warmer than yesterday, so I didn’t button up my coat.

I smiled at a passerby who stared at me.

”Ah, I should write ”I am not ashamed” on my forehead,” I whispered to Maddox as we stepped inside the store.

”What are you talking about?”

“People are giving me judgy looks as if I”m doing the walk of shame. I absolutely do not feel ashamed about going on a date last night and staying over. I won”t have anyone shaming me today.”

”I like you so damn much,” he said, putting an arm across my back and unexpectedly pulling me close to him. He brushed his thumb over my lower lip. ”I fucking love your sass.”

“That”s a good thing because I have an endless supply of it. Now come on, let me go get some clothes. I might not care about people ogling me, but these shoes are not meant for walking.”

The one thing I enjoyed most about Macy”s was their sales section. They had many options, and I always found something I loved. Today was no different. I found a dark pair of skinny jeans, black sneakers, and socks, plus a sweater that they had in three different colors.

”Can I come in?” Maddox asked as I was trying on the sweaters.

”The dressing room is pretty small,” I said, ”but you can peek.” I”d put on the dark brown sweater, which was cheaper than the rest by ten bucks. But it was honestly not my color. The other options were black and dark green.

Maddox came inside, and I held up the two sweaters. After a few seconds, he swallowed hard but stayed silent.

Ha! He was looking at my boobs.

“Maddox? Which do you like better?”

He cleared his throat. “Dark green.”

His voice was almost a groan. I barely bit back a laugh.

”That”s my favorite too,” I said. ”Okay, you can wait outside.”

”No, I want to watch. Put the clothes on.”

I’d already paid for the jeans and the rest of the clothes, and the sales associate had removed the tags on them.

I licked my lips as Maddox sat on the small wooden shelf that was probably meant for bags. His eyes were fixed on me in the mirror.

Oh goodness.I was starting to simmer beneath his stare.

“Luckily there are no cameras,” he said on a growl.

I gasped. ”Maddox, no sex in here.”

“Fuck no,” he said, growling louder still. “No matter if there were cameras or not, I”d make you scream. Everyone would know exactly what”s going on.”

”Holy shit, I can”t take you out in public, can I?” I stammered.

He leaned forward, touching my outer thighs with his palms. ”Something about you makes me forget myself.”

”All right, new rule. No touching while I dress.”

He cleared his throat and straightened. ”That”s a damn good rule.” He truly was on edge if he”d agreed with me so fast.

I put on the clothes quickly, and then we headed out. A sales assistant was looking at us suspiciously. Maddox cocked a brow at her.

Oh yeah. He”s a menace today to the public in general.

The tour was starting at the City Hall Plaza. We didn”t have as much time as we”d previously thought, so we went straight there.

I was beyond excited about this. My new shoes were comfy, as were my jeans. This day was literally amazing. The weather was acceptable too. I wondered if anyone had dropped by Essex Adventures, though I doubted it. It was too cold and muddy for summer activities and too little snow for sledding even though we’d had a blizzard.

Regardless, I knew Dad and our staff could easily handle it.

As we got out of the car, Maddox took my hand, brushing his thumb over my palm. There was already a group at the meeting point, and a beautiful blonde woman was talking to them.

”All right, we”re a small group today,” I heard her say as we approached, ”so we”ll have no problem sticking together.” She beamed at us when she noticed Maddox. ”Now we have two more.” She came over to us and said, ”Morning, Maddox.”

”This is—”

”Cami,” she finished for him.

I blinked, glancing at Maddox from the corner of my eye. He”d told her who I was? His expression told me he was just as stunned as I was.

”Nice to meet you, Diane. I”ve heard you”re one of Boston”s greatest tour guides.”

”Oh, my brother-in-law likes to sing my praises. But I do like to think that I”m doing a great job. Let”s join the group,” she said, then resumed her position. ”As I was saying, this tour doesn”t simply include the Freedom Trail. I”ll be showing you a lot of little hidden gems that don”t appear in tour guides.”

Diane”s enthusiasm was contagious, and her stories were riveting. She wasn”t simply showing us buildings and giving us a brief overview, but instead she weaved everything into a detailed story. I liked the group we were with as well. No one interrupted her. Whenever someone asked a question, it was pertinent, and it led to a wealth of information when Diane answered. Maddox also seemed to enjoy himself.

”All right, everyone, we’re reaching the end of the tour,” Diane said three hours later.

Oh thank God.My feet were protesting a bit. The sneakers might eventually be comfortable, but I hadn”t broken them in yet. Walking for three hours in new shoes was a bit much.

As the tour ended, Maddox”s phone vibrated. He took it out, frowning at the screen. My stomach lurched. I hoped nothing was wrong.

Then he chuckled and glanced at Diane, who grinned at him. She had her phone in hand too. Are they messaging each other?

Diane turned to the group. ”Thank you, everyone, for your time today. It was lovely. You can ask me anything you want, recommendations for restaurants and so on. Tipping is optional but very welcome.”

Thank heavens everyone tipped, because she”d gone above and beyond. A few asked about restaurants, and others even asked if she thought the cruise was a good idea at this time of the year. She advised them to check the weather forecast because if it was cloudy, there was a high probability of fog as well.

Once everyone left, Diane looked at me. ”Did you enjoy it? Please be very honest. I haven”t been doing this for too long, so I”m happy for any tips.”

”But Maddox said you”ve been a guide for years!”

She nodded. ”True, but I only set up my company a few months ago.”

”It”s a great tour. I can”t compare it to others in Boston, but I”ve been on a few in Essex. You”re by far the best tour guide I”ve ever had.”

She grinned widely. ”I can see why Maddox likes you.” Then she looked at him. ”So.”

”So,” Maddox replied, glancing at me.

I frowned. ”What”s going on? I feel like I”m missing something.”

Diane laughed. ”Um, well, you”d better explain, Maddox, because I”m still not sure what”s happening.”

”Gran found out from someone”—he looked at Diane—”that you”re in Boston today.”

”Hey, don”t look at me like that. I didn”t tell her anything,” Diane professed.

”But Gabe knows?”

”Of course. Ah,” she said, understanding dawning on her features. ”My fiancé has a tendency to run his mouth.”

”Yeah, but only when it comes to his brothers” personal lives, not his own,” Maddox clarified.

”Okay,” I drew out, still feeling like I was missing something.

”So she very nicely asked us all to come by for coffee.”

”What do you mean, ”all”?” I asked.

”She wrote it in the family group,” Diane said. ”Her exact words were ”Whoever”s got time is welcome” and that ”This is your chance to meet Cami.””

Maddox looked at me, taking my hand and squeezing my fingers. ”We don”t have to go.”

”I like your grandmother,” I replied.

”Yeah, a word of warning. This would not be just the grandparents,” Diane said. ”Most of the family will be there. It feels as if everyone”s dropping whatever they”re doing to meet you.”

I laughed nervously. ”Maybe they”re just excited to see Jeannie.”

Maddox started to laugh. ”Knowing my brothers, they’ll come just to make sure the focus stays on the two of us. And so Gran doesn”t get any ideas about matchmaking the two of them. The rest will be just enjoying the fact that Gran was right again.”

Diane smiled at me. ”There”s never a dull moment with this bunch.”

”Starting to learn that,” I said.

”It”s your call, Cami,” Maddox said.

”Let”s do this. I want to meet everyone.” I was also jumping with joy at the fact that he seemed to take all of this in stride. ”I”ve already met Gabe, Leo, and Jeannie. I think I”m good. I won”t be overwhelmed.”

He snorted. ”Famous last words.”