Chapter Twenty Three
COLTON
The next morning, I woke up later than usual. I immediately turned onto one side, intending to watch Zoey for a while before deciding how to wake her up. My favorite method was to go under the covers and kiss my way down her chest. By the time I reached her belly, she usually reacted.
But she wasn't in bed.
I got up, opening the door of the bedroom, and heard her voice from the living room.
The place looked like it'd been robbed. Zoey's stuff was everywhere.
Then I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
She had hair products on one shelf and face creams on another.
We spent more time here than at her place, and it showed.
I fucking loved it. I never thought I'd say that, but I liked seeing signs that she lived here.
Well, she didn't live here—yet.
After cleaning up, I went directly to the living room.
"I'm so glad you could call me," Zoey was saying into the phone.
She noticed me, and her face immediately lit up with a huge smile. She gestured toward me, and I realized what she was asking. I nodded.
"By the way, Colton's here," she told the phone. I assumed she was talking to her parents.
"Oh, can we meet him? Hi, Colton. We can't see you," a woman's voice said.
Zoey chuckled. "Mom, that's because he’s not in the camera frame yet."
I went and sat down next to her, focusing on the screen.
Two people were waving frantically, looking anywhere but at the camera.
I stole a glance at Zoey. She shook her head almost imperceptibly, pressing her lips together.
Clearly, her parents weren't big tech aficionados.
Her dad vaguely reminded me of her brother Alex, but Zoey looked nothing like her mom.
"We've heard a lot about you, Colton. It's nice to finally meet you."
"Yeah, her brothers told us about you," her dad said.
"But Zoey didn't?" I teased.
She elbowed me lightly.
"She did, but we figured our sons would have a more unbiased opinion," her mom added.
"That’s very true," I said.
"All right, I don't want to keep you youngsters any longer. We don't want to disturb you," her mom said.
"How come you're even awake?" I inquired.
"We have a flight to catch."
Now that they mentioned it, I realized they were in an airport. They were each wearing an earpod.
"We had to wake up at three o'clock in the morning. We feel jet-lagged already," her mom continued.
"Where are you flying next?" I asked.
"Rome. We're doing a bit of sightseeing there before our next gallery."
"Have fun and send me lots of photos. Any idea when you'll be back?" Zoey asked. There was apprehension in her voice.
Her mom smiled. "Oh, honey, we got word from the gallery in Copenhagen that they might extend our showing for another month and keep our paintings there. They've asked us to pop in for some events."
Zoey smiled back. "I'm glad for you. Send me pictures from everywhere, okay?"
"Will do. I think we're going to board soon," her mom informed us. "Love you."
"I love you too." Zoey blew a kiss.
"It was nice meeting you, Colton," her dad said.
"Likewise," I replied.
After they hung up, I turned to look at Zoey. She sighed, putting the phone away.
"You miss them," I said.
She nodded. "Yeah, but I know the gallery season will be over soon and then they'll be back, so I'll have them all to myself." She smiled sheepishly. "I know I'm being very possessive."
I touched her lips. She was wearing her nightgown still. "I think it's nice that you want to be so close with them."
She yawned. "I didn't get to shower because they called and I didn't want to miss it. I should go now, maybe wash my hair too."
I pulled her onto my lap, kissing the side of her neck. "By the way, do you want to order a shelf or something? I noticed you don't have too much space in the bathroom for your stuff."
She stilled, looking at a fixed point on my chest. "You want me to order a shelf?" she parroted.
“Or something to help you organize things a bit more."
She swallowed hard. "And you wouldn't mind?"
I frowned. "Why would I? I'm asking."
She licked her lips. "I don't know, Colton. This is new to me."
I pulled her closer to me so her breasts were pressed against my chest. "It's new for me, too, Zoey, but I'm excited to explore this new stage of life with you.”
She grinned, kissing one corner of my mouth and then the other. The gesture was so tender that it completely caught me off guard. She grinned, shimmying in my lap.
"Okay, then I guess I'm going to look around for a shelf. What do you plan to do today?" she asked.
I tilted my head. "I should probably go back to the lab, but that's not appealing at all right now."
"I wonder why."
"So do I," I teased.
"Does it have something to do with me?"
She batted her eyelashes. Fucking hell, she was cute.
I kissed the side of her neck. She shimmied some more, gasping when I pushed my hand under her nightgown, cupping her ass and then her pussy.
"Hey! You already want to do the dirty first thing in the morning, huh?"
"I always want that," I replied. "Fucking always."
"Hm, I could be talked into it," she said, but my phone vibrated on the kitchen island. I groaned.
"Wait, I'll bring it to you."
She jumped up from my lap and hurried to the kitchen, grabbing the phone and returning with it. She made to sit next to me, but I pulled her right back onto my lap. Zoey immediately smiled, leaning in to kiss my Adam's apple. When she straightened up, I looked at the phone.
"Fuck," I said.
"What is it?" Her voice was laced with worry. "Is Jeannie okay?"
"Yeah, this is about our father. Maddox finally talked to him and suggests we all get together to discuss it."
"That's smart. It's better than going back and forth over the phone." She pressed her thumbs on my forehead, tracing my skin from my eyebrows up to my hairline.
"What are you doing?"
"You've got frown lines. I'm trying to make them disappear."
My phone beeped with another message.
"What the hell?" I asked.
"What?"
"They're suggesting we all drop by Nick's fitness club. They moved their weekly tennis match with Spencer and Cade. They think I can drop everything and just show up?"
Zoey cleared her throat.
I stared at her. "What?"
The corners of her mouth twitched, and then she smiled. "God forbid they suggest something spontaneous, huh?"
"That's not it," I said. "I like to plan things like that. It's a big conversation."
"Colton, honestly, if you don't feel comfortable, don't go. But… I don't know… I don't think family stuff needs to be scheduled in. And you do spontaneous stuff. You took me to Salem, and it was amazing."
I grinned. "You’re finding this very amusing, aren't you?"
She nodded. "Yeah."
She put her hands on my chest, rubbing them up and down. The move was calming, but I considered her words. Before Zoey, I would have simply headed to the lab today and told Maddox we would need to reschedule. But I didn't want to go to the lab today. I'd planned to spend the weekend with Zoey.
“I'll do it. I'll go to the club, but only if you come with me."
"You're serious?"
"Fuck yes." I wanted her to be part of every facet of my life. I had this drive to share everything with her. I’d only ever been to Nick’s club once before, and this time I wanted Zoey there with me.
"All right, that sounds like a deal," she said. "I do have some workout clothes here. I'll just grab them, and we can go," she said.
I stood up. "You really don't mind doing that on Saturday?"
She shrugged. "I'm game for anything. Unlike you, Colton Whitley, I don't plan my weekends, so I'm happy with whatever."
I put my hands on her back, kissing her hard while walking her backward until we reached the wall. I couldn't get enough of her. Even though she slept here often, I was inventing reasons just to see her. Sometimes to kiss her, sometimes just to watch her. This was an incredible feeling.
She grinned as she pushed me away. Her mouth was red.
"Come on, chop chop. We can leave the hot romantic things for later."
An hour later, we entered the fitness center. I wasn’t a big fan of them; as far as I was concerned, going to the gym was a waste of time. The treadmill and weights section in my home were all I needed besides the ring.
"This is amazing," Zoey said, looking around. We’d brought our training gear with us. Zoey insisted we could train here after my chat with my brothers.
The fitness branch wasn’t part of the original group of companies in Whitley Industries. Father set it up on his own, and Nick had transformed it by leaps and bounds.
I remembered reading the financial reports of all the companies in Whitley Industries back in the day when I first started at Whitley Biotech.
The fitness branch was barely breaking even.
Considering Nick had expanded it and it was now one of the top fitness clubs in the country, I was sure it was doing extraordinarily well financially.
We went straight to the reception desk where a woman sat behind a screen.
"Hi, I'm Colton Whitley."
Her expression immediately changed, going from polite to eager, smiling and looking at me and Zoey.
"Yes, Nick told me you were coming. They're expecting you. We can give you a small tour or you can head right to the locker rooms."
I turned to Zoey. "We can do a tour later.”
“Sure. I’m curious. I want to see the fitness studio and check out everything."
I groaned. The prospect of checking out everything was daunting. "Come on, don't be such a grump," she said, and I laughed. “I know, not everyone can be a ray of sunshine like me. But you know what they say, 'Fake it until you make it.'" Her enthusiasm was contagious.
She was right. We could explore it together.
At any rate, I wouldn't mind watching her work out.
Even though it would probably be even harder for me to keep my hands off her.
Whenever I saw her in tight spandex in the workout room at home, I immediately got a hard-on.
I couldn't see myself doing much better in public.
"Anyway, he asked us to do anything to make you feel comfortable, so let us know what you need,” the receptionist said.
I appreciated that. I was determined to make more of an effort with my half brothers. I was the one who'd been standing in the way all this time.
I’d only been here once before and had hung around with my brothers at the bar. Spencer had needed everyone's advice, and I wasn’t one to sit out a family meeting if I could help.
The receptionist showed us to the changing room. Zoey and I agreed to meet in front. Five minutes later, I came out, looking around. There was a place to fill the water bottle I got from the reception area, so I went to do just that. Someone walked up to me, and I stepped to the right.
"Oh, hi. Thanks, such a gentleman. You can finish filling your bottle."
"No, be my guest."
"I haven't seen you around," she said with a smile.
"Only my second time here.”
"I could show you around. I've been coming here for years. I know all the best spots."
"The best spots in the gym?"
"You know, where it's not too crowded," she said. "Where we can grab a drink, if you want to buy one."
I realized she was hitting on me. "I'm here with someone, so no thanks."
The woman took a step back, shrugging. "My bad. Didn't know you were taken."
She glanced at my finger and smiled, looking very pleased.
What the hell? Suddenly, I realized she was checking for a ring.
"I'm not interested," I repeated.
"All right, love," she said, turning around.
I shook my head, finally filling my water bottle. Then I heard a shuffle behind me, and looked over my shoulder. It was Zoey.
"Hey," I said, "when did you come up? I didn't hear you."
"No, you were talking to that woman," she said.
"You heard that?"
"Yes, I did."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"I don't know. I was too surprised."
I walked over to her, giving her the full water bottle and filling her empty one.
"I leave you alone for a few seconds and you get hit on, huh?"
I looked up. Her voice was odd. "What's wrong?" I asked.
"Nothing. I don't know. It was a strange feeling. You didn't even flirt back."
I blinked. "Why would I? I didn't realize she was flirting until she flat-out asked me to buy her a drink."
She swallowed hard, draping her arms around my neck. "How are you even real?"
I moved my free hand from her waist up to her shoulder and then her neck. I had to keep eye contact because, damn it, she was far too sexy in these clothes. I spoke in her ear. "You're the only one who matters to me, babe. You’re my everything."
She shivered. I was fighting my instinct to pin her against the nearest wall. Damn, it was a bad idea to be in public with her when she looked this delicious.
"Zoey, Colton, you're here. Oh shit, I didn't mean to interrupt." Nick's voice came from behind us.
I felt Zoey suck in a breath before I turned around.
Nick grinned. "Right. Far from me to want to cockblock anyone, but just so you know, we do have cameras everywhere."
Zoey blushed violently, which was even more delicious.
"Thank you for the information," I said curtly.