The Seduction of Alex Parker(19)

“Am I forgiven?” I asked with a smile.

“Maybe.” She smirked.

I climbed off the bed and grabbed some tissues from the nightstand. She got up, pulled back the sheets, climbed in, and held them up to me. I climbed in next to her and wrapped my arms around her as she snuggled into me, lightly running her fingers up and down my arm.

“Why do you break so many hearts?” I asked.

“Relationships are fun as long as they don’t get too serious, and the guys I dated got too serious. Which I found weird because it’s usually the girls who become so attached. I can’t even settle down in life, let alone settle down with one guy. What about you? Why have you broken so many hearts?”

“I guess you could say I think the same way you do, but I’m settled in my life with a home and my company.”

She turned on her side and propped herself up on her elbow. “Since you’re settled, don’t you want to settle down and have a family?”

“I never really gave it much thought. I like dating different women and it just seems silly to settle down with one for the rest of your life. I mean, look at how my parents turned out.”

“True, I guess. My parents were so in love that it was quite embarrassing sometimes.”

“Growing up with that didn’t make you want to settle down with someone special?” I asked as I ran my finger across her forehead.

She looked down and began playing with the bed sheet. “Maybe it did once. But since the accident, my views on life changed.”

“What about Adam? How did he handle everything?”

“He doesn’t talk about it. He never did. All he would say was, ‘They’re gone and we need to move on.’ So I did and he disapproves.”

“How often did you see him if you haven’t been back here in eight years?”

“We talked on the phone a few times a week and I usually saw him at Christmas. But he would come to wherever I was.”

“I don’t mean to upset you by reliving the past, but where was Adam when the accident happened?”

“He was away at college. My parents were taking me and my sister to the ballet and it was raining something awful outside. My dad could barely see the road and my mom kept telling him to pull over. He said if he pulled over, we were going to be late and he didn’t want to disappoint his girls. We were coming around a curve and the last thing I remember was my mom screaming, ‘Look out,’ and the car rolling over several times before hitting a tree and stopping. I remember grabbing Emily’s hand and squeezing it tight. Then everything went black except I could still hear voices in the distance. As the voices got closer, I heard a man say, ‘This one is still alive.’ After that, I don’t remember a thing except waking up in the hospital three months later.”

“I’m so sorry, Emerson,” I softly spoke as I stroked her cheek. “Is that what your nightmare was about?”

“Yeah. After the accident, I had them just about every night. But once I left California, they stopped. Now that I’m back, so are they, but not as frequent as they were. I’m going to go to sleep now.”

I kissed her forehead before she snuggled against me and I wrapped my arms tightly around her. I wanted her to feel safe and I wanted her to sleep in peace.





Chapter 15


Emerson

When I opened my eyes, I was alone. I glanced over at the clock and it was six-thirty. Shit. Where was Alex? I needed to get up and start breakfast. Climbing out of bed, I noticed a piece of paper propped up on the dresser. Walking over to it, I picked it up and discovered it was from Alex.

Emerson,

No need to worry about breakfast this morning. I needed to get into the office early since I wasn’t there yesterday. I didn’t want to wake you. See you later.

Alex

At least he didn’t want to wake me, but I wouldn’t have minded if he had. Something happened last night between us. There was a connection. I had never told any of the guys I dated about the accident, my parents, or sister. There was no need for them to know because I wasn’t sticking around. But with Alex, I opened up as if he were my best friend. It felt natural with him and I couldn’t figure out why. I’d be gone in a couple of months and Alex would be nothing but a distant memory like the rest. I set the note down, showered, and got dressed. Since I didn’t get the chance to make him breakfast, I decided I was going to make him lunch and bring it to his office.

After preparing Alex’s lunch, I hopped in Adam’s car and googled the address of Alex’s office building. I parked the car in the parking garage and stepped inside the doors of Parker Enterprises. I found the directory on the wall next to a beautiful wall fountain and saw his office was located on the top floor. Of course it was. As I took the elevator up to the thirtieth floor, it suddenly dawned on me that he might be mad I brought him lunch. Oh well, he’d have to get over it. Someone had to make sure he ate properly, and what better person to do it than his chef. The elevator doors opened and his secretary wasn’t at her desk and his office door was closed. I lightly knocked and then stepped inside. A wave of shock swept over Alex’s face when he looked at me.

“Oh. I’m sorry. Your secretary wasn’t at her desk and I didn’t know you were in a meeting.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked.