Chapter Three
SPENCER
"You did well moving here," Grandmother said. "It's a great house to raise a baby in."
Ben was sleeping on my arm. I had no idea when he'd fallen asleep, and I still couldn't believe he was so tiny that he fit in one arm. Then again, two weeks ago, he was even tinier. I was in disbelief about many things these days. Such as the fact that I was a dad in the first place.
"Dude, you need to throw a housewarming party," Gabe said.
As the youngest brother, his mind always went straight to parties.
Mine usually went there too, but life had gotten too serious too fast as of late.
"I can throw it for you. I'll bring all the booze here.” Since he ran Whitley Distillery, his offer didn’t surprise me.
"Yeah, we can help too," my twin, Cade, said. My four brothers were gathered here along with my grandparents. The only ones missing were Cade’s fiancée and my half brothers. I was grateful my brothers supported my decision about Ben. Family was family, and we stuck together through thick or thin.
"I volunteer for babysitting duties," Grandmother called, clearly not wanting to miss a moment with her great-grandson.
I stared at her, then at my brothers. Jake whispered something in his fiancée Natalie's ear. Gabe and Cade exchanged a glance.
Colton was the one who finally spoke up. "Grandmother, I think a newborn is a bit much."
"I've got it under control," I said. "I’m going to work from my home office as much as possible."
Grandmother cleared her throat. "Spencer, honey, I love you, and I know you are an excellent businessman, grandson, and brother." I chuckled, sensing the but coming. "But that’s a lot to take on. You should accept help when it’s offered to you."
"I'll figure it out, and I've already contacted a nanny agency."
Grandmother glanced around the table at my brothers.
Colton shook his head. "Don't expect us to back you up, Grandmother. He's right."
"I still can't believe Naomi could do this,” she said. I felt a hole in my stomach like someone had delivered a punch.
"Let’s not talk about it again. Just enjoy the pizza before it gets cold.” Honestly, I couldn't believe it either. But I was thrilled to have Ben, and I’d never give him up.
He fussed on my arm and woke up.
“Can I hold him?” Jake asked. Natalie looked at him in surprise.
“Sure,” I said. “Just make sure you support his head.”
Jake easily took him in his arms. Ben seemed to like him.
"I want to go to the car," Grandmother said. "I forgot my purse. I have something for little Ben there."
"Do you want me to get it for you?" Colton asked.
"I’ll go. I want to take a look at this street, anyway. It's truly a nice neighborhood,” Grandmother said.
The second she left the house, Gabe exclaimed, “Dude, you look like shit.”
Jake burst out laughing. “Gabe, a bit more tact wouldn’t hurt.”
“Boys!” Grandfather chided.
“I didn’t get much sleep. Ben was up most of the night. Happens a lot lately. I nap during the day. My team is already getting anxious with my bizarre sleep habits.”
I was a very hands-on CEO. I liked to be involved in the day-to-day business, not just on a strategic level. But right now, Ben took priority.
Jake straightened up in his seat. “Want me to assign someone from New York Consulting to your company?”
“I appreciate the offer, but it’s not necessary.”
Prior to moving back to Boston, Jake ran a successful consulting company in New York. He was still part of it but not as operationally involved as he first had been.
“You tell us if you need anything,” Cade said.
“I will.”
Grandfather cleared his throat. He wasn’t a man of many words, so I listened intently. “It’s important to take things one day at a time. You can’t fix everything right away.”
I’d always been good at prioritizing, and Ben was right on top, which was why I bought this house. I liked that I didn’t have to worry about decorating it, but I realized now that everything was too white for my taste—it reminded me of a hospital.
It would have to do because I had no time to deal with stuff like this right now. I prioritized the convenience. Hence why I’d ordered pizza for everyone today. We spoke about Whitley Industries a bit, up until Grandmother returned. She put a pair of tiny socks on the table.
“I made these for Ben. Haven’t knitted since Gabe was the same size as Ben, but I’ll practice.”
“Thanks,” I said. I took Ben back from Jake, so my brother could eat more easily.
"I had a lovely interaction," she said, grabbing a slice of pizza.
"With who?"
"Your neighbor. She's a darling girl, out for a walk with a beautiful collie. Have you met her?"
"No. I moved in five days ago, and I've slept maybe five hours in total. So no, I haven’t met my neighbor, or any neighbors for that matter. I'm sure she's great."
"She's very beautiful too."
I stared at Grandmother and then at my brothers. "Everyone heard that, right?" I was struggling to keep my tone polite. I was exhausted and stretched thin—the last thing I needed was for Grandmother to try and set me up with someone.
"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it," Grandmother said. I didn't believe her one bit.
Grandfather cleared his throat. “Jeannie.”
Grandmother immediately closed her mouth. Clearly, she'd been about to dish more about my neighbor. Just how much had Grandmother talked to her? She'd only been gone for a few minutes.
"Let's finish the pizza and get out of Spencer’s hair,” Gabe said, laughing.
As I focused on eating a slice of pizza without dropping any cheese on Ben, I took a good look at my grandfather.
He was doing well lately. When one of the companies in Whitley Industries—Whitley Advertising—had been in trouble, he’d gone back to work against the doctor's orders.
That landed him in the emergency room and had prompted Jake to return to Boston and take over Whitley Advertising.
Ever since, we'd been keeping an eye on Grandfather.
"Why is everyone so serious?" I asked.
Cade cleared his throat. "We are going to give you shit about everything at some point. Just not right now. It's still all too fresh."
"I appreciate it," I said with a grin.
Ben fussed in my arms.
"Can I hold him for a bit?" Natalie asked. “I’m done eating.”
"Sure.”
She easily took him from me. He didn’t wake up.
"Oh, sure."
The first three nights I had him, I hadn’t slept one wink. I kept waking up at every sound, only to realize after forty minutes that the little guy was still sleeping. He was just moving around a lot. Then I read that babies had active sleep.
I'd instructed my assistant to place cribs in most of the rooms. I didn't want to drag one around.
"See you at tennis on Sunday?" Cade asked.
"I’ll let you know if I can make it."
He played tennis with our half brothers once a week, and I’d joined them before Ben came into my life.
I needed the break, but Ben needed me more, so I had to play it by ear.
Once everyone was done with the pizza, Ben woke up in earnest. By the way he scrunched his face, I knew he was going to start crying.
"Okay, everyone, I don't want to be rude, but it's best if you don't witness this. Trust me, he can get pretty loud."
"Oh, nonsense," Grandmother said.
But I shook my head. "I mean it. I liked having you all for dinner, but he needs his space when he's in crisis mode."
"Okay, okay. We won't disturb you," Grandmother said.
I walked everyone to the door, carrying Ben on my chest. Another thing I’d learned was that he calmed down if he was close to me.
Just as I opened the door, Grandmother said, "Promise you’ll meet your neighbor. It helps to know people around you."
"Jeannie," Grandfather said sharply, "leave the boy alone."
My brothers looked at him in shock. Grandfather was usually calm and indulged Grandmother in everything. She winked at him. "Spencer should do what's best for himself. Penny seems wonderful."
I couldn't believe Grandmother had already gotten my neighbor's name.
Then again, this was Jeannie Whitley. She'd been a theater actress for decades and was a very sociable person.
She'd been stuck indoors a lot with my grandfather lately and clearly missed meeting people.
No one could make friends faster than Jeannie Whitley.
But I also knew that glint of mischief in Grandmother's eyes, and I realized why Grandfather was chastising her.
She truly hadn't given up on matchmaking.
But she wasn't going to be successful with me.
The last thing I had time for was a relationship.