Forever Love (Now & Forever) Read online

“I can’t believe you actually put it on, Emily!” Sam laughed. “You are so hot!”

  Emily laughed as she got into the water and sat next to Angie. “You are crazy.”

  Sam looked up at Alex, “Isn’t she hot?”

  Alex chuckled as he removed his shirt and joined them. He moved Emily so she could sit between his legs, his fingers traced over the strings at her hips, “Oh yeah, she’s hot.”

  Sam cheered again. “See, I told you! Rob, take a picture of all of us with my phone. I left it in my purse.”

  Rob hopped out of the hot tub and grabbed her phone. “Everyone move together and smile.” He snapped the picture and smirked.

  “Thanks Honey.” Sam started to talk about the upcoming wedding. She beamed as she talked about what she wanted and how she was going to have her dream wedding.

  “Thank God I was just drafted into the major league, how else would we afford this elaborate affair!” Rob said laughing.

  “Where are you heading, Rob?” Alex asked as he continued to stroke Emily’s hip.

  “Seattle. It’s too bad that Emily won’t be moving with Eric. The girls would have at least been somewhat close together.”

  “Rob.” Sam said looking at him.

  “What? I’m just speaking the truth.”

  Emily tensed up a little bit knowing that Alex could feel her, he leaned down and whispered in her ear. “It’s ok, Baby.”

  Emily calmly said, “Yeah, it will definitely suck being away from Sam but I will be going to Denver a lot because of Emma. She needs to know her father, Rob. So, I will just have to take a few trips to Seattle. That’s all.”

  Rob nodded. “I don’t mean to be a prick, Emily. You know me but Eric is my boy.”

  Emily nodded. “Of course he is but I hope you know that he was the one who made the mistake. He cheated on me.”

  Sam piped in. “Come on guys, this is supposed to be a fun night, celebrating all our achievements especially Emily. She managed to graduate college and raised that perfect little girl. I know I couldn’t have done it!”

  Rob wasn’t listening to her. “But you know that he feels horrible about it, right? He knows he messed up. He goes through pain every time he sees you with him.”

  Emily didn’t cry but instead she found her courage and voice. “Rob, I know that Eric was in several situations that put him at a higher risk to cheat on me but he chose to go to those parties and have that lifestyle. I still don’t know all the stories. But I was here, raising our child. I met Alex when I was trying to find my career path and yes, we developed a friendship but even though I felt a strong attraction to him, I controlled myself. I didn’t allow myself to be in those situations with him. I respected my relationship with Eric. When that finally fell apart, yes, I chose to give my feelings for Alex a shot and God help me, I’m falling for him too.” She tensed waiting for his response.

  Alex turned her towards him. “You know, don’t you?”

  Emily nodded. “I heard you talking to Sue.”

  Alex sighed. “You aren’t freaking out?”

  Emily laughed. “I really didn’t want to have this conversation right now.”

  Alex nodded and kissed her. “We will talk later.”

  Emily nodded and looked back at Rob. “I’m sorry for venting but you needed to hear my side of the story.”

  Rob nodded. “Don’t say you’re sorry, I’m going to try and behave because if I don’t, Sam will cut me off.”

  They finally all laughed and went back to discussing everyone’s upcoming weddings.

  As they got out of the hot tub, they wrapped themselves in towels and headed towards the grill. The girls sat around and talked their about wedding dresses and the guys stared at the food cooking on the grill.

  “Emily, are you in love with him?” Angie asked.

  “I don’t think it is love. But God, it’s close.”

  “So, there is no hope for you and Eric?” Sam asked.

  “Right now, no. I know that sucks but I have to give these feelings I have for Alex a fighting chance. If I keep thinking about Eric, I will never be able to do that.”

  Angie looked at her. “We just want you to be happy.”

  Emily nodded. “I am guys, I promise you.”

  The men finished up dinner and they all went back into the enclosed patio to eat. They sat around and laughed, they shared high school stories with Alex and he told stories of his life. They were all getting along for once and everyone was having a fun time.

  As the night ended, Emily hugged her friends and they promised to get together again to discuss wedding plans. As she closed the door, Alex pulled her into the living room and they sat on the couch.

  “Did you have a good evening?” He asked her.

  Emily smiled and nodded. “I did. Thank you for inviting them. I thought I was going to punch Rob but I stood up for myself.”

  “Yes, you did. I was so proud of you.”

  Emily smiled and reached for his hand. “We should go clean up so Mrs. Bennett doesn’t have a heart attack in the morning.”

  Alex looked at her with his gorgeous dark eyes. “We need to talk about your spying tendencies first.”

  Emily looked away and blushed. She looked back at him from underneath her lashes. “I just happened to enter the room when you are talking about me,” Emily reached for his hand again. “You said that you love me.”

  Alex took a deep breath. “Does that scare you?”

  Emily was silent. She didn’t know how to respond to that wonderful statement. She didn’t think she was scared but she needed to move on from Eric first.

  “I didn’t ruin this, did I?” He asked nervously.

  Emily quickly moved onto his lap and kissed him. She pressed her body tight against his as he tightened his hold around her waist. She moaned as she felt him touch her bare skin.

  He pulled away. “God, I could kiss you all night long but we need to talk, Emily.”

  “You didn’t scare me away because technically you never said it to me. I have feelings for you also but I just need more time to sort everything out in my head. In the meantime, we can enjoy getting to know each other better and you can help me start the next chapter in my life and when the time is right. You can say it personally to me.”

  Alex smiled and kissed her again. “I will be there whenever you need me. Right now, I want you in our bed.”

  Emily tensed in his lap and looked at him with worry.

  “We will stop when you say stop, Baby. But, I really want to feel your bare skin next to mine.”

  Emily kissed him and stood up. “I’m nervous.”

  Alex reached for her hand and led her upstairs. “Tell me why you are nervous.”

  “I’ve only been with Eric. I only know how to be with him. What if I suck at this whole thing?”

  Alex started a small fire in the fireplace and turned off the lights. “You know that’s just silly, right? We need to learn what each other want and likes.” He moved towards her like he was stalking his prey. “Emily, I want you to show me what you like. How you want to be touched, where you want to be touched.”

  Emily’s heart raced. Alex turned her on just by talking to her. “Alex, you are so different than what I’m used to. I don’t want to lose you over this stuff.”

  Alex lightly traced the side of her face. “When are you going to learn, Emily? You amaze me. I’m not going anywhere. Tell me one thing you like.”

  She looked at him and then found her voice. “The way you touch me, all night long, your hands have touched my hips, wanting to untie the strings.”

  Alex grinned. “Now I know for future use. And believe me, I wanted to untie those all night long, seems like I will finally get my chance.”

  Emily watched him as he unhooked her shorts and slid them off and onto the floor. She was left just with her bikini.

  Alex smiled. “Beautiful.” He touched her hip just above the string and she locked eyes with him. He pulled her over to the bed and they conti
nued to get to know each other better.

  He listened to her and she listened to him and when the moment arrived, Alex was a man of his word and stopped. Emily knew he was disappointed but she still wasn’t ready yet.

  When the morning arrived, it was bittersweet. Her weekend with Alex was over but she was going to see her baby girl. She rolled over and slowly made her way to the bathroom. Alex was still sleeping so she hopped into the shower. When she finished, Alex was sitting up in bed looking sexy as ever.

  “Good morning.” Emily said walking towards him and grabbing some clothes along the way.

  “Good morning to you. How was your shower?”

  “Wonderful. I’m going to miss this place.”

  Alex smiled. “Whenever you want to come back, you just have to let me know.”

  Emily undid her towel as Alex groaned. She smiled as she got dressed in front of him feeling very comfortable with him.

  “You don’t play fair.” He said getting up from the bed. He kissed her softly and went to take his shower.

  Emily headed downstairs realizing that they never cleaned up from last night. She entered the kitchen to find Mrs. Bennett doing the dishes.

  “I’m so sorry. We were supposed to do that. We were…” Emily trailed off.

  Mrs. Bennett laughed. “Oh Honey, we have all been there. Why don’t you sit down and I will get you some breakfast.”

  Emily sat on one of the breakfast stools and watched her fix breakfast. “Tell me about Alex.”

  Mrs. Bennett got an instant smile on her face. “He’s like my adopted son. I helped raise him and once his father passed away, I made sure he was ok. He’s generous and wonderful. But, I’m sure you know that already. He loves his work. It’s the only thing that worries me.”

  Emily nodded. “Me too, I don’t think he has enough fun. He always seems to be working even yesterday when Sue showed up here, he dropped everything to finish up his work.”

  Mrs. Bennett looked annoyed. “Between us, I don’t like her. She is always around him. I know she’s his assistant but it’s not right. Alex needs to learn how to separate work from his personal life.”

  Emily nodded and smiled as Alex walked into the room and joined them. “What are we discussing?”

  Emily smirked. “You.”

  Alex laughed. “I hope you aren’t scaring her away, Mrs. Bennett.”

  She laughed. “No, just teaching her a thing or two about you.”

  Alex grabbed his breakfast and turned to look at Emily. “What time did you need to get back for Emma?”

  “I don’t know. Eric is supposed to call me but I should be home when he does so I will probably head back after breakfast. I have my car so you don’t need to worry about me.”

  “Don’t forget that tomorrow you need to call George at the museum to set up an interview for the office assistant position.” Alex said as he ate his breakfast.

  “I can’t wait. I need to go look an apartment in the morning and then I’m planning on stopping by Henry’s gallery to see him.”

  Alex smiled. “Well, if you need me for anything, just call me, ok? I have some business meetings in the morning and then an appointment in the afternoon but I can stop by and say hi to you and Emma afterwards.”

  Emily felt her heart warm at her words. “We would love that.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Emily headed home later that morning and she missed Alex already. As she pulled into the driveway her phone rang. “Hey Eric.”

  “We just got back into town, are you home yet?"

  “Yep, I just got here.”

  “How was your weekend?” Eric asked clearly trying to be polite.

  “It was a lot of fun. It was nice to hang out with Sam and Angie, felt like high school again.”

  “Yeah, I heard.”

  Emily frowned as she sat on the front porch. “Rob?”

  “Yeah, we talked this morning.” Eric continued, “I heard that you gave him quite the earful.”

  Emily sighed. “I knew he was going to tell you.”

  “I will see you shortly. Emma is just saying good bye to my parents.”

  Emily hung up and headed inside and found her parents on the couch watching television.

  “Emily!” Her mom jumped up and hugged her, “I missed you so much.”

  Emily chuckled and threw her bags on the floor. “What are you going to do when I move out?”

  Her mom pouted. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Paul, how did you enjoy the quiet house?”

  He smiled at her. “We missed you, Emily. But, I won’t lie. I enjoyed having your mom alone for awhile.”

  Emily put her hand up. “I don’t need any more information!”

  They laughed as the front door opened and Emma ran inside. “Mommy!”

  “Emma!” Emily shouted as she scooped her up into a big hug. “I missed you so much!”

  “I miss you too, Mommy!”

  “I want to hear all about your weekend with Daddy. Did you have fun?”

  “Yes, we played and ate junk food.”

  Emily laughed. “Oh, you did, did you?” Emily looked at Eric as he laughed and shrugged.

  “Yeah, I played with the puppy.”

  Emily smiled as Emma talked and talked about her weekend. But, Emily was breaking down inside because she knew that Emma didn’t understand that she wouldn’t be able to see her father for awhile now. She didn’t know how to tell her something like that either.

  Emily placed her back onto the floor and her mom led her into the kitchen for a snack.

  “Thanks for dropping her off.” Emily said walking over to Eric. Paul took his cue and left the room, leaving them alone to talk.

  “No problem. Can I grab some of my stuff from upstairs? I’m leaving in a couple of days and need to start packing.”

  “Of course.” They headed upstairs and Emily helped him pack up his remaining items.

  “How’s Alex?” He asked.

  Emily sat on the bed and looked at him. “I know you are trying to be nice but it is ok. We don’t have to talk about him.”

  “I saw the bikini.”

  Emily froze. “What?”

  “Rob.” Eric whispered.

  Emily sighed. “When he took the picture for Sam, I knew he was up to something. God, what is wrong with him!”

  “He’s just looking out for me, Emily. Just like Sam would for you. If it helps, you looked so hot.” Eric said as he continued to pack.

  Emily blushed and softly answered. “Thanks.”

  Eric pulled her off the bed and wrapped his arms around her. She smiled and hugged him back. It felt familiar to her, this was her Eric. He wasn’t caught up in all the craziness and he was thinking of his family and trying to act civilized.

  He moved slightly and kissed her cheek softly. Emily closed her eyes and sighed. He moved closer to her lips and kissed her again. She knew she should stop him but her heart was racing. This was the man she fell in love with, her body was deceiving her and responding to him.

  “Emily, I love you. There is no one else who understands me like you do.” He whispered as he placed his lips gently on hers. He didn’t kiss her right away as he waited for her to respond to him.

  “Eric, I love you too. But, you hurt me.”

  “I know I did, Gorgeous. I know I did. I will live with that forever.”

  Emily opened her eyes and saw him staring at her. His grip tightened around her waist and pulled her closer against him.

  “Did you sleep with him this weekend?” He asked.

  “Eric, we can’t talk about this.”

  He remained close to her. “Why not?”

  “Because he’s my boyfriend now and it’s slightly weird talking to my ex-boyfriend about it.” She cracked a smile.

  “Emily, kiss me.”

  She didn’t move. “It’s not right, Eric. You know that.”

  “Emily, I’m leaving town. I don’t know when I’m going to see you again. I don’t know wh
en I’m going to see Emma again. I’m so in love with you, Emily Stone. I was supposed to be marrying you. We were supposed to be starting our lives together. But instead you are with this incredibly intelligent wealthy guy and I’m standing in your bedroom with a broken heart and damn it…” Eric trailed off as he crushed his mouth to hers. She lost herself in the kiss as she quickly realized this wasn’t what she was craving anymore. His hands gripped her backside and pushed her closer to him. He moaned into her mouth as she pulled away. “God, what am I doing?”

  “You are doing what feels right, Emily. God, you love me. You said so yourself, why do you keep pulling away from me?”

  “I’m with someone else, Eric and that's my decision.”

  “So, change your mind, Emily! God, I want you back and I’m going to fight for you.”

  “I think you should go, Eric.”

  Eric sat on the bed and covered his face with his hands. “Emily, you barely know him.”

  “That’s the point of dating someone, Eric. We are getting to know each other. I can’t do this to him. He’s wonderful to me and I’m cheating on him.”

  “You are following your heart. There is nothing wrong with that.” He said as he stood up and grabbed his bag.

  “Eric, I will always have a deep love for you because you are Emma’s father. But, I’m with Alex. We are trying to make our relationship work and I’m developing feelings for him.”

  Eric nodded as he headed towards the hallway. “I can’t hear that. It’s too weird. I don’t want to know that he has been touching you or kissing you. It breaks my heart. This is my punishment. I will call you when I get settled.”

  He headed downstairs as Emily followed. Her mother shot her a look and Emily knew she overheard the conversation. Eric hugged and kissed Emma. He turned and opened the front door. “I want you to find happiness, Emily.” And with that, he was gone.

  Emily turned and faced her mother, “Help me.”

  “Oh Sweetie, I heard what happened. Are you sure this is what you want? Are you really choosing Alex over Eric?”

  Emily sat on the couch and watched Emma playing in the corner of the room, “Yes, I am. Mom, I’m falling in love with Alex.” She heard her mom gasp and sit down next to her. “Eric is just familiar to me. That's my problem. When I was kissing him, I realized, he’s not Alex. I need to give this thing with him a fighting chance and for that to happen, Eric needs to be out of my head.”