Loving the CEO (bundle of five romance novels)

by Noelle Adams

  He squinted at her hand. “That close? Really? Damn, I should’ve kissed you again.”

  “This isn’t funny,” she snapped. “After what happened the with Jason, she’s vulnerable, and if your brother is half as smooth as you are, he’d have no problem taking advantage—”

  “Hold it right there.” Zach rose to his feet once more, taking a deep breath to control the anger threatening to raise his voice beyond the closed door. “First of all, if my brother is half as smooth as me, he’s in real trouble, because you make me nervous as hell every time I see you.”

  Her eyes widened at that, but he didn’t give her a moment to think about the admission.

  “Second, I know my brother and he would not take advantage of any woman. We weren’t raised that way.”

  “Is that why he told me if I slept with you, you’d buy me anything I asked for?”

  His hands clenched at his sides. The conversation was going from bad to worse. Especially for him. “Do you really believe that?”

  She didn’t meet his eyes as she answered, “You were about to offer me money earlier.”

  “Not so you would sleep with me,” he bit out. “When that happens, it’ll be because you want me, not what I can buy you.”

  Her gaze jerked up. “Did you just say when?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  He held her gaze and she visibly swallowed.

  “What happened to being nervous?” she asked.

  “I perfected my poker face in the boardroom years ago. Besides which, right now I’m more pissed off than anything.” And offended, and hurt—to a depth she shouldn’t have been able to reach in the short time they’d known each other.

  “You’ve got some serious hang ups about money,” he said. “And I’m sick of taking all the hits when I don’t deserve them.”

  “Since when is being self-sufficient and independent a hang-up?”

  She didn’t get it. He wanted to point out that self-sufficient and independent were not synonyms for discriminatory judgmental coward, but he’d regret that later, so he walked away.

  “Zach—”

  He lifted a hand on his way to the door. “Save it. I’m going to take a walk and it’s probably a good idea if you’re not here when I get back.”

  “You’re asking me to leave?”

  “No, Sadie, I’m telling you to leave.”

  Twenty-Two

  As her sister tiptoed inside and closed the door, Sadie reached over and turned on the lamp next to her chair.

  Gemma gasped and spun around. “Geez, Sadie—you scared the crap out of me!”

  “If you’d bothered to answer your phone, or come home before one a.m…”

  Her sister hung up her stuff and came to stand behind the couch, her expression mutinous. “Why? So you could lecture me again like Zach lectured Matt earlier?”

  That second question threw her for a moment. Zach had lectured Matt? So he wasn’t as unconcerned about the two of them having a relationship as he’d let on. Interesting.

  “I’m not going to lecture you, I just want to make sure you’re okay. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “Matt and I have gone out a couple times, that’s all,” Gemma assured her.

  Sadie raised her eyebrows. “You haven’t slept with him yet?”

  “No.”

  Despite the firm answer, Sadie read guilt on her sister’s face. “He implied you did. Went out of his way to make sure there was no mistaking the implication.”

  Gemma fiddled with the couch slip cover. “Yeah, he told me about that.”

  “And his bragging lies don’t bother you?”

  Sadie sat forward in her chair as Gemma dropped down on the couch opposite her.

  “No, because he told me about it and then apologized for doing it. He said he was pushing your buttons—the same as you did to him.”

  “And you bought that?”

  “There was nothing to ‘buy’, Sadie. Matt’s a nice guy, the same as Zach.” She glanced up with a grin. “Even though I know for a fact he’d like to, he hasn’t pushed me to do anything more than kiss. He’s been a complete gentleman.”

  Same as Zach.

  Her sister’s words confirmed the growing feeling of dread that’d started the moment he’d walked out of his office. Tears pricked her eyelids, but she quickly blinked them away.

  “Great. You know, it would’ve been nice to know that earlier instead of you ignoring my texts all day.”

  “Well, I’m sorry, but I was mad and—”

  Blinking wasn’t helping.

  “Hey, what’s the matter?” Gemma’s concern brought her to her knees in front of Sadie.

  “I think I screwed things up with Zach.”

  “I doubt that. He really likes you.”

  She shook her head as the tears blurred her vision. “Not after what I said today.”

  “Come on, whatever it was, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

  “It was.”

  Comforting arms drew her into a warm hug. “If this is my fault, I’m sorry.”

  “Not your fault, Gem. It was all me.” She returned the hug for a brief moment before reluctantly admitting, “We started arguing about you and Matt and ended with me accusing him of offering me money to sleep with him.”

  Gemma jerked back. “You didn’t!”

  “I told you it was bad.”

  “Why would you even say something like that?”

  Sadie threw up her hands and slumped back in the chair. “Because I’m an idiot.” She sniffed and wiped the moisture from her cheeks. “He did offer us money to help with the rent. Or at least I think that’s where he was going before Matt interrupted.”

  “And you, being you, thought he’d expect you to sleep with him because he offered to help?”

  Sadie sighed at the exasperation in her sister’s voice. “That’s the kicker. I knew he didn’t mean it that way. I guess I was thinking that if I threw it out there, I’d see how he’d react and if he hesitated, well…”

  “Oh, Sadie, you are an idiot,” Gemma said as she sat back on her heels. “What’d he do?”

  “He told me to leave and walked out.”

  “Good for him.”

  “Hey!”

  Gemma shrugged unapologetically. “It was a really crappy thing to say.”

  “I know.”

  Her sister pushed to her feet and then plopped down on the couch again. “What is it about Zach that you like?”

  The answer required no thought. “He’s nice. He’s funny when he wants to be. He was very protective and sweet when he helped us the night of Jason’s party.”

  “Anything else?”

  Revelations from her interviews sprang forward and Gemma listened as she listed them one by one. “He’s smart. His employees are super loyal and absolutely love him. And he may not have gone to college, but he damn sure knows what he’s doing with MovieMail. He’s generous. He trusted me with the interview and proved he meant it today.”

  “You haven’t mentioned how hot he is,” Gemma pointed out. “Does he kiss decent?”

  Her entire body warmed at just the thought of Zach’s kisses and she smiled. “Decent would be the understatement of the century.”

  Gemma laughed. Silence fell for a moment and then she asked, “Tell me this…if Zach lived in an apartment like ours and drove a rusty ol’ truck, would you date him?”

  “Of course. You know I don’t care about that stuff,” she retorted without thinking. As the answer settled, the truth lay bare before her.

  “Exactly. So, the money is just a bonus,” Gemma stated as if she’s read her mind. “As long as you know why you like him, it doesn’t matter what he has or what anyone else thinks.”

  “That’s what Zach said,” she admitted softly.

  “Then listen to him, for heaven’s sake. For once in your life forget about high school. Forget about mom and Doug and just go for it, Sadie. You deserve to be happy.”

  She swallowed past th
e lump that formed in her throat with another onset of tears. “He was really mad when he left. What if he doesn’t want to see me again?”

  “He wouldn’t have gotten so angry if he didn’t care,” Gemma assured her. “You can call him tomorrow.”

  “No,” Sadie said with a shake of her head. “He and Matt have an early flight in the morning. Besides, this is an apology that should be done face to face.”

  If she was lucky, he’d have cooled down by Friday and would listen to her apology.

  ****

  ‘Face to face’ didn’t necessarily mean alone.

  Sadie parked the car in the closest available spot and reached over to the passenger seat for the large pan of butterscotch and chocolate chip frosted brownies she’d made earlier that day. On her walk down the block, she surveyed the house that belonged to Zach’s parents, marked by balloons and steamers on the mailbox.

  The small ranch bracketed closely by neighbors on either side was nothing compared to his massive beach house, yet it appeared warm and welcoming with an abundance of blooming flowers and a well-kept lawn. She recognized the pride in the yard and the freshly painted white picket fence along the sidewalk.

  Tension in her shoulders eased the tiniest bit—until a sideways glance spotted Zach’s convertible. Then not even a fortifying breath helped as she took that final step up onto the front porch.

  She knew full well she was taking the coward’s way out facing him at his dad’s birthday party, but hoped to lessen the chances of having the door slammed in her face when someone else answered the doorbell summons. She figured she had a better chance of him listening to her apology with others present.

  And yes, if she absolutely had to, she was prepared to make it in public.

  Possible introductions were still running through her mind when the door swung open and Zach stood there tall, handsome, and casual in a pair of jean shorts and a hunter green polo that deepened the green of his eyes.

  The welcoming smile on his face morphed into surprise and then settled into a frown that sank her stomach. He stepped closer, pulling the door halfway closed.

  “What the hell are you doing here?”

  Twenty Three

  Zach hadn’t meant that to come out so angry, but he also hadn’t expected the thrill of seeing Sadie again to completely undermine his resentment, and when he purposely recalled her accusation the other day, everything amplified.

  For a brief moment, she looked ready to turn tail and run with the cake pan of whatever was in her hands. But in one blink the indecisive expression disappeared and she gave him that defiant chin lift so familiar from the day they’d met on the commercial.

  “You invited me, remember?”

  “Right. For the article.”

  Disappointment quickly took up residence alongside remembered offense—though neither one stood much of a chance against the allure of Sadie directly in front of him. Why’d she have to look so damn beautiful with her curls loose about her face and shoulders, and pink gloss spotlighting those kissable lips? Her sleeveless white blouse tucked into a black pair of belted jean Capri’s was just as distracting with the top two buttons left open.

  He lifted his gaze as she said, “I’m not here for the article, Zach.”

  Without warning, the door was pulled from his grip and his mother stood beside him.

  “Typically we invite guests inside, Zach, we don’t hold them at bay on the porch.”

  Great. Once his mother got her hooks into Sadie, he wouldn’t have a moment alone with her for the rest of the night. He didn’t intend to share her until she explained her last statement.

  “Thanks for the advice, Mom, but can you give me and Sadie a minute before you take over, please?”

  “This is Sadie?” His mother’s teasing smile became a full-fledged grin as she reached forward to take Sadie’s arm and pull her inside. “I’ve heard all about you! Come in, come in. I’m Zach’s mom, Jessica.”

  Sadie’s gaze met his as she passed and he felt heat creeping up his neck at his mother’s revealing declaration.

  “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Robinson.” Her sincere smile for his mother made it even harder to maintain a protective emotional distance.

  “Call me Jessica, I insist. We’re so happy to have you here. Zach’s never—”

  “Mom.”

  His mother paused and gave him an innocent look. He glared back, but Sadie broke the silence.

  “Jessica, I appreciate the welcome, but Zach’s right, we do need a minute. Can I give you these brownies to take to the kitchen, or wherever you have the food set up?”

  Sadie extended the pan in her hands and his mother took it, her green gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them. She lifted the lid and even Zach got a whiff of decadent rich chocolate.

  “Mmm. These look better than anything Zach had catered in. No offense, hon.”

  “None taken. Now go.”

  She balanced the pan in one hand and flipped her long, dark hair back over her shoulder before shaking a finger in warning as she backed up. “Don’t take too long, or I’ll come looking again.”

  Zach waited until she’d disappeared into the kitchen before he turned back to Sadie. “She never goes to a party empty-handed either. You just scored some major brownie points.”

  “Pun intended?”

  He smiled briefly, shoving his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching out to touch her.

  Sadie glanced around, almost as if making sure they were alone. Boisterous voices filtered in from the kitchen and the backyard beyond, but here in the front of the house, they were mostly muted.

  One hand gripped the other in front of her, then switched as if the constant movement would help her apparent anxiety. This time, her show of nerves did nothing to ease his.

  “You said you weren’t here for the article,” Zach prompted.

  “I came to apologize for what I said. I would’ve done it that day if you hadn’t walked out on me.”

  “What you said hurt,” he defended. Then he looked away, because he hadn’t meant to admit that to her.

  “I’m sorry.” She took a half step toward him, drawing his gaze again. “I knew it wasn’t true the moment I said it, and I don’t want you to think I’m making excuses, but I want to explain where it came from.”

  He waited for her to continue, fingers itching with the desire to trail along the bare skin of her arms.

  “I told you my stepdad’s wealthy and my mom didn’t have much before they married, but I left out the fact that there’s a thirty year age difference between them. I grew up hearing every day how my mother was—is—nothing but a gold-digging tramp. And the couple times I dated in high school, the kids at school would tease that Gemma and I were just like her.”

  “You told me your mother’s happy with your stepdad,” he reminded.

  “She is, and they’ve never listened to what anyone else says. But when you’re a kid, you don’t always see it that way—especially when it seems like everyone is saying it. I even heard a couple of my teachers whispering about them one year after parent-teacher conferences.”

  Okay, things were definitely starting to make a lot more sense.

  “It was only after Gemma and I moved to California that I was able to look at things more objectively.”

  “Where your mom’s concerned, anyway,” he couldn’t help but point out.

  “That was true until the other day,” she said with a wry smile. “I realized that I kept pushing you away because I was scared if I let myself fall for you that I’d just be proving everyone right.”

  Her words made his pulse skip a beat. “And now?”

  “I can’t control what anyone else thinks. And as long as we know the truth, it doesn’t matter anyway, right?”

  Zach ambled closer. “I told you that awhile ago.”

  “I know. It just took me awhile to believe it.” She lifted her blue gaze to his and held steady. “If you can forgive me, I’d like to give this t
hing between us a chance.”

  He pulled his hands from his pockets and skimmed them along her upper arms before resting them on her shoulders. “I don’t care about your mom and stepdad. I don’t care what Matt may or may not think. I don’t even care about what you said anymore now that I know why. I just care that you’re here now and ready to give us a shot.”

  She moved forward until they were inches apart and placed her hands on his chest as she tipped her head up. Heart thudding beneath her palm, he slid his hands to cradle her face and leaned in to kiss her. She raised up on her tiptoes to meet him and wound her arms around his neck when he wrapped her in his arms.

  “Zach! Aunt Jess said to…” The voice trailed off into a chorus of giggles, a snort, and an “Ewww, gross.”

  Zach pulled away from Sadie to see his second cousins Alexia, Tim, and Mike—all between the ages of nine and eleven—standing in the doorway, watching him and Sadie.

  Keeping an arm firmly around her shoulder, he grinned at the kids. “Go ahead, what did she say?”

  Mike, the eleven year old, made a sound of disgust. “She said to bring your girlfriend out to meet everyone.”

  “Leave it to my mom,” Zach said with a shake of his head. He watched Sadie’s flushed face closely as he teased, “Bet you didn’t expect this when you brought your pan of brownies and that apology.”

  “No,” she agreed with a soft laugh. “But I’m good with it if you are.”

  Then she gave him a smile that made him want to kiss her again. Better yet, drive off into the sunset and keep her all to himself for the evening.

  Zach tucked aside his fantasy for later. “Oh, I’m good with it. Better than good.” He took her hand and led her toward the kitchen. Just before they turned the corner, he snuck a quick kiss and squeezed her fingers with encouragement. “Deep breath, smile, and…here we go.”

  ****

  Zach watched Sadie across the backyard, laughing with her sister and his Uncle Larry and Aunt Reesa around the campfire his dad had lit. His parents had welcomed her with open arms and he’d lost her before they got anywhere near the food table. She fit right in as if she’d known his family for years, and he was sure she’d gotten tons more material for her article—even if that wasn’t her motivation for coming.