The Seduction of Alex Parker(61)
“Where the hell are you? I’ve been worried sick.”
“I’m fine. You all have totally blown everything out of proportion and I’ll explain it to you when I see you. But first, I need to know if Alex has a hotel here in Boston?”
“I think he does. Hold on, let me make sure. Yes. It’s called Parker International and it’s across from the Ritz Carlton on Avery Street. It’s about a fifteen-minute drive, but you’re going to be in rush hour, so it may take a little longer.”
“Thanks, Adam. I love you.”
“I love you too and we’re going to talk when you get back.”
I sighed. “I know.”
Walking out of the airport, I hailed a cab and had the driver take me to Parker International. As I stepped into the lobby, I went up to the desk.
“Hello, welcome to Parker International. How may I help you?”
“I’m looking for Mr. Alex Parker. Is he here?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you that information.”
A nice-looking man walked over and smiled at me. “You wouldn’t happen to be Miss Emerson James, would you?”
A smile crossed my lips. “Yes, I am.”
“I’ll just need to see some identification, if you don’t mind.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out my driver’s license and handed it to the man named Wes.
He glanced at my I.D. and, with a smile, he handed it back to me. “Here’s the elevator key to get to the penthouse. It’s on the top floor. Mr. Parker has been looking for you.”
“I know. Thank you.” I smiled.
I headed to the elevators, inserted the card, and took it up to the top floor. When the doors opened, I stepped into the hallway and stood before the large, double wooden doors. Taking in a deep breath, I lightly knocked. The door opened and Alex stood there with a shocked look on his face.
“I heard you were looking for me.” I grinned nervously.
He grabbed me and pulled me inside. Our mouths smashed into each other as our tongues danced with happiness. His hands were firmly planted on each side of my face as our kiss was never ending.
“Thank God, you’re safe.” He smiled as he kept kissing my lips.
“Of course I’m safe. I’m a seasoned traveler.”
He chuckled and held me tight. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to search the city for you. You didn’t check into any hotels.”
“I didn’t get into Boston until a couple of hours ago.”
“What?” he asked as he broke our embrace.
“You idiot!” I lightly smacked his chest. “I wasn’t coming to Boston. I went to Venice Beach. I was only going to stay there for a couple of days to think and then I missed your dumb ass too much and after a couple of hours I went home.”
“Oh. But you left without your phone.”
“Yeah. I forgot it in my mad dash to leave the house. And speaking of phones, I’ve been trying since yesterday to call you.”
“I turned it off to let it charge and I left it on the plane because I was trying to get to your gate to catch you before you left the airport.”
“Sorry, but I wasn’t there. I was back in California!”
“The only thing that matters is you’re here and you’re safe.” He pulled me back into a tight embrace.
“Alex, I’m so sorry for everything I said. I didn’t mean any of it.”
He placed his hand on my cheek. “Don’t. I’m the one who’s sorry. I should have told you that night. My God, Em, I love you so much and I never want you to doubt that.”
“I know, and I love you too, and I don’t doubt it. I never did. I was just being a bitch.”
“You’re not a bitch, sweetheart. You’re the love of my life and the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.” He smiled. “Are you hungry? I was just about to order breakfast.”
“I am, but we can eat after we have the best make-up sex on the planet.” I smiled.
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.” He picked me up and carried me to the bedroom.
****
Alex
She blew my mind. I didn’t think sex with her could get any better than it already was and I was dead wrong. We lay there, trying to catch our breath and smiling at each other. As we both climbed out of bed, we slipped on our robes and I ordered us breakfast.
“We need to talk, baby. I need to tell you about why Bella was at my office that day,” I spoke as I took her hand and led her to the couch.
“I know and I’m ready to talk about it.”
A smile crossed my lips as I kissed her. “Shortly after she left for New York, she found out she was pregnant and I was the father. Instead of telling me, she went and had an abortion.”
“Oh my God, Alex.” She placed her hand on my cheek. “I don’t know what to say except I’m sorry.”
“She told me she had been ridden with guilt for the past five years and she said that she needed to tell me with the hopes that I would forgive her because she couldn’t forgive herself.”
“Did you forgive her?”
“Yes. I was angry at first that she would do something like that without talking to me. But after we talked a bit and I could see how upset she was, I forgave her. I suppose she suffered in silence enough over the past five years. That’s when you must have seen us hugging. It meant nothing, Emerson. It was a friendly hug goodbye.”