“I’m boring. Just pepperoni.”
A slow smile tilts his lips. “You’re anything but boring. Wings? Breadsticks?”
“I like them both, so whatever is fine with me.”
“Fine,” he sighs. “You’ve left me no choice.” I watch as he pulls out his phone and taps the screen before placing it to his ear. He rattles off that he wants to place an order for delivery and confirms his address. “I need a large pepperoni and cheese, a large breadstick, boneless wings, with all the sauce options on the side, and a brownie for dessert.” He listens and nods before thanking the person on the other line and ending the call.
“We can’t eat all of that,” I say, my eyes wide.
“We can try.” He winks. “Now, let’s get Madeline set up in the living room.” I follow along behind him, and there’s a mat, similar to hers, only it’s blue and green. He spreads it out on the floor and slides Madeline underneath it. Her eyes grow wide as she looks in the little mirror and all the brightly colored toys that hang from the bar.
“You keep baby toys just lying around?”
“I do now that I’m an uncle. I’ve watched Roan and Carter a few times when I can get my name thrown in the hat between my brothers, their wives, and my parents.”
“I love how close all of you are to your family.”
He nods. “I don’t know what I would do without them.” He furrows his brow, and I know he’s thinking about me and how Madeline is my only family.
He surprises me when he settles on the floor, resting his weight on his elbow. He reaches over and bobs Madeline on the nose, making her laugh. “Come on, Mommy.” He waves for me to join them, and the temptation is too hard to resist. I slide out of my shoes and take the opposite, mirroring his position.
“Tell me about your day.”
“I thought we already had this conversation,” I tease.
“You said it was long. Tell me about it. Any funny resident stories? Any coworkers that pissed you off?”
“You go first.”
“Well, it was long. I kept watching the clock. I didn’t want to be late to pick you up, and I was excited to see you. Both of you,” he says, his eyes flashing to Madeline.
“My brothers and I had our weekly Monday morning meeting. We each give an update of what’s going on in our departments, issues we might be having, and our schedules for the week.”
“What’s it like working side by side with your brothers?”
“Like working with my best friends. My parents started the company with just one truck, and now we’re all over the United States.”
“How were your positions decided?”
“It just kind of happened. Royce, as the oldest, it was always assumed he would take over as CEO. Owen is the numbers guy. Always has been. He’s a whiz, so for him to be CFO made sense. Grant, he’s a people person. He has this calm demeanor about him, so it was fitting for him to be CCO. Conrad was always into the latest technology growing up. He was fascinated by it. CIO was a no-brainer.”
“What about you?”
“I’m like Grant. I’m a people person, but I had no desire to be their boss, if that makes sense. Yes, I have employees who report directly to me, but Grant, he has all the plant managers that report to him, and that’s just never something that interested me. I didn’t want to put out fires and have that weight on my shoulders. I was good at graphic design in college, and I minored in marketing.” He shrugs. “CMO made sense.
“So, other than my weekly meeting with my brothers, I spent my day analyzing our latest marketing campaign results and thinking about you.” As soon as the words are out of his mouth, the doorbell chimes. “That’s dinner. Be right back.” He hops to his feet, and I watch him walk away.
The beat of my heart feels as if there is a herd of wild horses tromping around in my chest. I told myself I wasn’t going to fall for him. How is that possible when he says things like that?
Chapter 15
Marshall
“One more piece,” I urge Wren. She groans and places her hand over her belly.
“I can’t do it.”
“Sure you can.”
“I had two pieces, two breadsticks, and that pile of wings.” She points to her plate. “I’m stuffed.”
“You have to have a brownie still.”
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“No.” I laugh. I am trying to fill her belly, though. She loves pizza, yet she rarely gets it. I know it’s not because she’s watching her sexy-as-fuck figure, not with the way she just devoured her meal. Money is tight for her, and I’ve been sitting here all night thinking of ways that I might be able to help her. All I can think of is that she needs to have dinner with me every night—her and Madeline.