Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
Emerson
I awoke to the sun peeking through the window curtains, my body wrapped comfortably around Alex’s. I lay there and watched him sleep for a moment before he opened his eyes and looked at me.
“Good morning.” I smiled.
“Good morning. How long have you been awake?” he asked.
“Just a few minutes. I’m going to go cook some breakfast.”
As I began to climb out of bed, he reached for my hand. “I’ll help.”
“Really?” I turned to him with a smile.
“Why not? It wasn’t so bad helping you last night with dinner.”
“Then let’s do it, Parker.”
As we climbed out of bed, I slipped into an oversized pink t-shirt, and we headed to the kitchen. After grabbing the eggs from the refrigerator, I took out a bowl and asked Alex to crack six eggs.
“Just crack the eggs into this bowl while I cut up the veggies.”
“What are we making?” he asked as he poured us each a cup of coffee.
“Vegetable quiche.”
As I started to cut up the vegetables, I noticed Alex was having difficulty with the eggs, and his finger kept going in the bowl.
“Why are you sticking your finger in the bowl?” I asked.
“Because there are shells in there.”
I rolled my eyes and silently laughed. “Don’t you know how to crack an egg without getting the shells everywhere?”
“Apparently, I don’t.” He chuckled.
I set the knife down and took the rest of the eggs, cracking them with one hand and letting them drop into the bowl.
“How the hell did you do that?”
“It’s all in the cracking skill, baby.” I smiled.
“Did you just call me ‘baby’?”
“Yeah. Don’t take it too seriously. It’s just part of the phrase.” I winked.
“Have you ever thought about running your own restaurant?”
“That would mean settling in one place,” I spoke as I sliced the onions.
“So? At least you’d be doing what you love.”
I didn’t want to talk about it anymore. Why was everyone so hell-bent on getting me to settle in one place? I changed the subject and finished making the quiche. Alex and I sat down and had breakfast together when it was ready.
“This is delicious, Emerson. I think I might have to keep you as my personal chef.” He winked.
I ignored his comment and asked him to tell me about this charity event we were attending tonight.
“Tell me what this charity event is for.”
“It’s to help fund an art program for underprivileged kids. Kids who are either homeless, abused, or neglected.”
“Good cause.” I smiled.
Alex finished his breakfast and got up from the table.
“I’m going into the office for a while. I’ll be home later.”
“But it’s Saturday,” I spoke. “What happened to cutting back?”
“I cut back last night, and I have a few things I want done before Monday.”
“You can’t do it at home?”
“No. The files I need are at the office. Are you going to miss me or something?” He smirked.
I frowned. “No. I have my own things to do today. Toodles, Mr. Parker.”
“Toodles? Really, Emerson? And what things do you have to do?”
“Just things. Girl things. You wouldn’t understand because you’re not a girl.”
“Okay, then. Go do your girl things, and I’ll see you later.”
He walked out, and I cleaned up the breakfast dishes. I couldn’t believe he had asked me if I would miss him. Like, why would I? Just because we had sex didn’t mean anything. I had sex with a lot of guys. But it was amazing sex. The best sex I’d ever had in my life. He was a real man in that department. The other men I’d had sex with were boys in men’s bodies. They didn’t know how to do half the things Alex did, and it really sucked that my body craved his touch way too often. It would be hard to leave sex with him behind when I left California.
Alex
When I arrived at the office, my phone rang. Pulling it from my pocket, I sighed when I saw Adam’s name.
“Hey, Adam. How’s Tennessee?”
“Tennessee is fine. I’m going to be blunt here, Alex. Is something going on between you and Emerson?”
“No. Why would you ask that?”
“You’re not sleeping with her?”
I cleared my throat. This wasn’t a conversation that should be had over the phone.
“No. I’m not.”
“She’s my sister, man.”
“I know that, Adam. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. I know how you are with women, and I don’t want my sister to be a part of that.”
What the hell was he talking about?
“You know how I am? Do you know how your sister is? How many hearts she has broken all over the world? I nicknamed her ‘heartbreaker’ until she threatened to break my balls.”
He chuckled. “Oh, God. Did she really? Sounds like Emerson.”
“Yes, she did. I’m going to warn you. Your sister has no plans to stick around.”
“Has she talked about where she wants to settle yet?”
“No, and I don’t think she will settle.”
“We’ll see about that. I’m sorry for asking what I did, but I had to make sure.”
“I understand. You’re her big brother and her protector.”
“Yeah. She’s all I have left.”
“I know.”
“How do you know that?”
“She told me about the accident.”
“Why? If she told you, then the two of you must be talking a lot.”
I sighed.
“I had a health issue, and she took me to the hospital. When we were there, she freaked out and had a panic attack. It was after that when she told me.”
“Are you okay?”
“I have high blood pressure. Nothing I’m not managing. I’ll be fine.”
“Sucks, man. I’m sorry to hear that. Is Emerson okay?”
“She’s fine.”
“Okay. Thanks again for taking her in, even if she’s a pain in the ass. I’ll talk to you soon, Alex.”
“Bye, Adam.”
I let out a deep breath. If and when he found out I’d been sleeping with his sister, shit was going to hit the fan real hard.
I finished my work at the office and headed home to shower and prepare for the charity event. As I walked through the door, I looked around for Emerson. I knew she was home because Adam’s car was in the driveway. I went to her room and knocked on the door.
“Emerson, are you in there?”
“Yes, but you can’t come in. I’m getting ready.”
“Okay. I’m going upstairs to shower and get dressed. I’ll meet you in the foyer in an hour.”
“I’ll be ready,” she yelled.
Once I was dressed, I walked down the stairs and stopped midway when I saw Emerson standing in the foyer. When she turned and looked at me, she took my breath away. She looked so stunning that I was speechless.
“What’s wrong with you?” She smiled with her red lips.
“Nothing. You look beautiful.” I made my way down the stairs.
“Thank you, Parker. You look very handsome in that tuxedo.” She reached for my bowtie.
Her black Christian Dior dress was captivating, as was how she wore her hair pinned up with a few strands of curls hanging down. Her face was painted with makeup to perfection, and she was by far the most beautiful and elegant woman I’d ever seen.