“Thanks, Simon. It was good seeing you too. Thanks for listening.”
“No problem. That’s what friends are for.” As he began to walk away, he pointed at me. “Remember, if you want something bad enough, you have to fight for it.”
Upon entering my suite, I sat down and opened up my laptop to check my emails and do some work. I would normally meet up with other friends, hit a bar, drink, and maybe pick up a girl for sex. But today, I wasn’t interested in any of that. The only girl I couldn’t stop thinking about was Emerson. She was in my head all the time and I found myself missing her already. I missed that damn sassy mouth of hers. As I was on my laptop, I pulled up the definition of love again. Everything about that definition held true for me where Emerson was concerned. I would do anything for her and everything to make her happy. Maybe Simon was right and I needed to make her see that staying in California with me was what was best for her. I wasn’t ready to let her go in a month’s time. Fuck, I didn’t want to ever let her go.
I forgot to take my blood pressure medication this morning so I got up off the couch and went into my bag. They weren’t there. It suddenly hit me that I forgot to grab them off my nightstand. Shit. I was so focused on not wanting to leave Emerson that I forgot them. I had an idea.
Chapter 24
Emerson
I was in the kitchen preparing dinner for myself so that I would have time to do some laps in the pool before I ate. Alex had been gone for hours and I couldn’t quite get a grip on myself. I felt off. It wasn’t any different than him being at the office, but knowing that he wasn’t going to be coming home for a couple of nights bothered me. I was already missing him and his uptight attitude. I never missed anyone except Emily, Adam, and my parents. I was getting too close to Alex and letting him into the deepest part of my soul. As I was preparing the chicken, Phillip walked into the kitchen.
“Hey, Phillip. What are you doing here?”
“Excuse me, Emerson, but I need you to go pack a bag and come with me.”
I laughed. “Where are we going?” I asked as I continued prepping the chicken.
“To the airport. It seems that Mr. Parker forgot his blood pressure medication and he needs you to bring it to him.”
I looked up at him in disbelief. “He’s in Seattle. He wants me to fly all the way to Seattle to bring him his medication?”
“Yes. The private jet is fueled and waiting for you. When you arrive in Seattle, there will be someone waiting for you with a car to take you to the hotel.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I am.” He smiled.
At that moment, Jenna walked into the kitchen.
“Jenna, could you please put the chicken in refrigerator. I’m being summoned by His Majesty.”
“Huh?” She gave me a strange look. “He’s in Seattle. Isn’t he?”
“Yes, and he forgot his medication, so he needs me to bring it to him.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Have fun in Seattle.”
I sighed as I went to my bedroom. The good thing was that I was already semi-packed from Napa. I took out my old clothes, packed some new ones, and headed to the airport with Phillip. Arriving to the hotel, I took the elevator up to the top floor to the Presidential Suite. As I knocked on the door, I said, “Room service,” and held up Alex’s bottle of pills. The door opened and he stood there with a smile on his face.
“Your pills all the way from California, Your Majesty.” I took a bow.
He stood there with his hands on his hips and his head tilted. “Really, Emerson?”
I laughed as I stepped inside. “How could you forget your pills, Parker?”
“I just did. Thank you for bringing them to me.”
“Like I had a choice?” I smiled as I walked around, checking out how amazing his suite was.
“Not really. But aren’t you happy to be here in Seattle? It was raining earlier and it’s supposed to rain again tomorrow.” He smirked.
“Oh, well, in that case, I’m extremely happy to be here. Thank you. But I will have you know that I was in the middle of making a spectacular meal for myself when Phillip dropped by.”
He walked over to me and placed his hand on my cheek, sending my panties into a soaking wet frenzy. “You can make it when we get home.”
I froze for a moment, my heart suddenly racing. The way he said “when we get home” sparked a feeling inside me that freaked me out. I hadn’t had a “home” since my parents and Emily died. Even when Adam sold the house and I moved in with him, it wasn’t home.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked.
I gave him a small smile. “Nothing. It’s just the way you said that.”
“Said what?”
“‘When we get home.’ That’s your home, Alex. Not mine.”
“It’s yours too as long as you’re staying there,” he spoke softly.
I placed my hand on his chest. “Thank you, Alex. That’s very sweet of you, but a home isn’t somewhere temporary.”
He took hold of my hand. “Let’s not talk about this anymore. Let’s go do something.”
“What do you want to do?” I asked.
“You pick. I’ll do whatever you want to.” He softly smiled.
“I picked just about everything we did in Napa, so it’s your turn.”
“Fine. Give me a second. I’ll be right back. Did you pack a dress?”
“No. I didn’t think I’d be needing one.”
“Okay. After I make this call, we’ll go buy you one.”
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see. I’ll be right back.”
My stomach was a-flutter at the thought of what he had planned. A few moments later, he walked back into the room with a smile on his face.
“Are you ready to go shopping?”
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“I am taking you on a moonlight dinner cruise.”
“Fancy, Parker.” My lips gave way to a big smile.
****
As I was in the dressing room at Saks, Alex waited outside in an oversized chair. When I walked out in a short, red, sleeveless dress, he looked at me.
“What do you think?”
“It’s alright, but I think you can do better.”
“Perfect.” I grinned. “This is the one I’ll take,” I spoke to the saleswoman as I looked at myself in the mirror. “I’m just going to wear it out, so could you please remove the price tag?”
“Certainly, miss,” she replied.
“Are you wearing those shoes with that dress?” Alex asked.
I looked down at my flip-flops and sighed.
“No worries. I have the perfect shoes to go with the dress. What size are you?”
“Size 7,” I replied.
Alex sat there with a grin on his face.
“What?”
He got up from the chair and walked over to me. Leaning close to my ear, he whispered, “I knew you’d pick that dress if I said I didn’t like it. But guess what?” He grinned.
“What?”
“I really do like it and I think it looks beautiful on you.”
“Jerk!” I lightly smacked his chest.
He laughed and the saleswoman brought me a nice pair of red heels that matched the dress perfectly.
Stepping onto the boat, I noticed Alex and I were the only ones on it.
“Is it just us?”
“Yep.”
“How did you do this on such short notice?” I asked as he grabbed my hand and led me up to the upper deck where a table for two covered in white linens sat.
“I arranged it earlier. When I made the call, it was to let the captain know what time we’d be arriving.”
“Hmm.” I smiled. “And what if I wanted to do something else?”
“We still would have ended up here.” He winked.
After an amazing dinner under the moonlight, a bottle of champagne, and a lot of talk, we headed back to the hotel. The minute we stepped into the room, Alex came up from behind, lightly grasped my shoulders, and began softly kissing my neck. When I let out a light moan, his fingers began to unzip my dress. This man always unraveled me to the point where I couldn’t breathe. The way his hands manipulated my body and the way his mouth devoured me always left me inebriated. Letting my dress fall to the ground, his hands caressed my breasts.