Forever Love (Now & Forever) Read online

  Sam and Emily had been shopping for work clothes and continuously talking about her upcoming wedding. Rob and her decided not to wait and planned to get married before they permanently moved to the west coast. Sam registered for her graduate classes at the local university in Seattle and shared her adventures from her recent trip there.

  “Rob had to stay for training camp, so it’s my responsibility to find a reception hall, order all the flowers, cake and send out invitations.” Sam collapsed on Emily’s bed as Emma jumped up next to her.

  Emily smiled. “Be careful Emma, Miss Sam feisty today.”

  Sam grabbed Emma and gave her an airplane ride in the air. Her giggles filled the room. “I’m going to miss you Munchkin and your mommy.”

  Emma started to jump on the bed. “Emma Maria Mason! You know you can’t do that, you will get hurt.”

  She stopped immediately and started to cry. She hopped off the bed and stomped away. Emily sighed and looked at Sam. “Are you sure you don’t want one?”

  Sam shook her head. “Oh no, not right now, watching you is exciting enough!”

  They laughed as they went back to talking about the wedding. Sam wanted a dream wedding but with less than a month to prepare for it, Emily didn’t see how that was going to happen.

  Emily looked at Sam. “Oh my God!”

  Sam quickly looked back her. “What is it?”

  “I know where you can have the wedding!” Emily ran over to her and pulled her off the bed. “Ask Alex to use his house.”

  “The cabin?” Sam asked.

  “No, his house. It’s beautiful, Sam. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. There are gardens in the back and a pond with a gazebo that you could get married in and then you just have to rent a big tent for the reception.”

  “Emily, you are crazy. There is no way Alex will allow us to do this and you are forgetting the biggest problem of all.”

  They both looked at each other and said his name at the same time. “Eric.”

  Emily nodded. “I know it would suck for him but this day is about you and Rob. Not our issues.”

  “Can you call him and ask?”

  “Sure.” Emily grabbed her cell phone and realized that he would be at work right now. She hoped he would pick up and smiled when she heard his voice. “Emily?”

  “Hey Honey.” Sam rolled her eyes at Emily. “I have a question for you.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Have you ever rented out your house for social events?”

  “I had some work functions there before but nothing too big, why do you ask?”

  “Sam is looking for a venue for her wedding. They are getting married in just under a month and she needs help.” Emily laughed as Sam rolled her eyes again and grabbed the phone from her.

  “Please help, Alex. I will pay you for the major disturbance to your life.”

  Emily laughed as she let them talk and work out the details of her wedding. Emma came back into the room and Emily asked her, “Are you done pouting?”

  Emma looked at her. “Why can’t I jump on the bed?”

  “Emma, you will get hurt and Mommy will be heartbroken. I know it’s fun but it’s not safe, ok?”

  Emma nodded and pouted more. “Can Miss Sam give me another airplane ride?”

  “She’s on the phone with Mr. Alex right now.”

  Emma wasn’t happy as she left the room again in search of something or someone to play with. Emily shook her head and went back to focusing on Sam.

  “Thank you, Alex. I will come over with Emily and take a look for myself. I’m sure it will be perfect!” Sam hung up and looked at Emily. “Oops, did you want to say good bye?”

  Emily laughed. “It’s ok, what did he say?”

  Sam beamed. “He said I could use it, he said I would be able come over tomorrow night and take a tour.”

  Emily smiled at her. “I told you that we would figure it out.”

  Sam went to look for Emma as Emily started to find clothes to wear for dinner that evening at Alex’s. She pulled out a cute frilly dress for Emma with her favorite Mary Jane shoes. She dug through her closet for something special to wear for herself as she felt the butterflies in her stomach. She knew Alex came from wealth and high society and she was worried that she and her family wouldn’t fit in properly.

  She dressed in a short black cocktail dress that made her feel elegant. She wore a little higher heel than she was used to but she wanted to be closer in height to Alex for the evening. Sam returned and helped with her hair. They decided to softly curl it and let it flow down her shoulders for the evening.

  “Emily, you look beautiful.”

  Emily hugged her. “Thank you, I’m so nervous about tonight.”

  “Don’t be. Alex is so into you, Emily. That’s all that matters.”

  Emily nodded. “Where’s Emma, I need to get her dressed too.”

  Sam went out to find her again and bought her back. Emma loved dressing up so it was never a problem transforming her into a pretty little princess. Sam did her hair and put a small pink headband on to contain her curls.

  “Thanks Sam. Let’s go, Emma. We need to make sure Grandma and Paul are ready to go too.”

  As they finished up getting ready, Emily called Alex and told him that they would be arriving shortly for their special dinner.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As they arrived at his house, it entertained Emily to listen to her mother examine his property. She spotted a new BMW and Lexus in his driveway and realized that his mother and sister must have already arrived.

  “Emily, this place is beautiful. Now I’m nervous.” Her mother said.

  “Yeah, I feel like my SUV isn’t good enough to be here.” Paul laughed as he got out of the truck.

  Emily started to unsnap Emma’s car seat as she spoke with her daughter. “Sweetheart, I want you to have fun tonight but I also need you on your best behavior. Mr. Alex wants to have dinner with us so be a good little princess, ok?”

  Emma nodded. “Ok, Mommy.”

  She smiled and kissed Emma’s forehead. “Let’s go then.”

  Emily’s family walked up the sidewalk as the door opened. She was taken aback by him again. He was dressed in another fine pressed Italian suit and recently had a haircut.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Peterson, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Gladys Smith and my sister, Peggy.”

  “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you.” They all shook hands and engaged in small talk. Emily smiled as she watched over the event.

  Alex interrupted. “This sweet little girl is Emily’s daughter, Emma.”

  Emma waved and smiled at everyone, being shy as a little girl would be with strangers. Alex’s mom handed her a small baby doll.

  “Say thank you, Emma.” Emily said as she smiled at Emma.

  “Thank you,” Emma said softly.

  For the first time, Alex and Emily’s eyes locked with each other. He smiled at her and Emily felt her knees weaken. “Mother, Peggy. I would like to introduce you to Emily Stone, the woman who has bought the sunshine back into my life.”

  Emily wanted to cry at his wonderful words but instead she smiled and reached for his hand.

  “Emily, it’s truly an honor to meet you. Alex hasn’t stopped talking about you.” Mrs. Smith stated.

  Peggy shook her hand and smiled. “My brother is quite taken by you, Emily. I can’t wait to get to know you better.”

  “I look forward to that, Peggy.”

  Alex’s mother started to lead everyone into the dining room. Emma took her grandma’s hand and disappeared around the corner.

  Alex pulled Emily into his arms and kissed her deeply. His hand braced the side of her face and smiled as he pulled away, “You look absolutely stunning tonight. I love you in heels. They show off those fantastic legs.”

  Emily blushed. “You don’t look so bad yourself. No man can look as good as you do in a suit. I would love to be the one to remove it later tonight."

  Alex
whispered softly her ear. “You can.”

  Emily gasped softly as he winked at her. They headed into the dining room to find everyone at their places already. Alex poured Emily a glass of wine and pulled out her chair.

  She looked at Emma who was trying to keep still but wanted to play with her new doll.

  The servers presented themselves as dinner started to be served. Emily helped Emma with her food as she answered questions from Alex’s family.

  “Alex tells us that you will have your work displayed at Henry’s gallery this summer,” His mother said as she continued with her dinner.

  Emily nodded. “I’m very excited about that. I never thought anyone would ever see my work and now I have a chance to sell it.”

  Peggy piped in. “I would love to see some of your work. I saw the portrait of Emma that Alex has in his collection.”

  Emily winked at Alex. “I would love to show you but we are in the process of moving right now.”

  “We heard you are starting at the museum on Monday,” His mother smiled as she spoke.

  “I’m looking forward to it, now that I have graduated and found an apartment. It’s time to start my career.”

  “Alex mentioned how mature you are for your age. You must be so proud of your daughter, Mrs. Peterson.”

  “I am. After she became pregnant with Emma, we struggled to find a way to handle their situation but here we are, three years later and she is a wonderful mother with a college degree.”

  Emily smiled at her. “It only worked out so well because of Mom and Paul. They supported me the entire time.”

  “Tell me about Emma’s father,” His mother asked nonchalantly.

  “Mother,” Alex stepped in with a stern voice.

  “What? I want to get to know her and I can’t do that properly unless I ask questions, Alex.”

  Emily tried to smile. “He’s in Denver starting his football career. He was just drafted a couple months ago. He still is a big part of Emma’s life.”

  Alex smiled at her. “Of course and we will figure out a way to go out there and visit.”

  Emily loved him, it was that simple. He completed her in a way that she didn’t know was possible. Whatever doubts or reservations that she had were now gone.

  They finished up their dinner and everyone said good night. Emily leaned down to Emma. “You were a perfect angel tonight. Thank you. Why don’t we go to the toy store tomorrow?”

  Emma smiled and then yawned. Emily looked towards Alex and grabbed his arm. “Can I still stay the night?”

  It was only one word but it sent a shiver through her body. “Yes.”

  Emily smiled and said good night to her family and shut the door as they left. She turned back towards Alex. “Does your mother like me?”

  “She loves you. She just wants to make sure that her son is happy.”

  Emily smirked. “Are you happy?”

  Alex grabbed her hand and led her upstairs to his bedroom. She remembered the large king bed from her past visit.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Alex.”

  “Emily, every time I see you my heart races and my head fills with ideas on how I can make you happy.” Alex slowly undid his tie and placed it over the chair. “The first time I saw you in that classroom, you stole my breath away.” He said as he unbuttoned his shirt and placed it with the tie.

  Emily stared at his bare sculpted chest. She couldn’t move as he continued, “When we were alone in your art room that night and I allowed myself to touch your face, I knew that I needed you in my life.”

  He crossed the room and kissed her lightly, teasing her. Emily was so taken by his speech, he was speaking so precise and clear that the tone of his voice was affecting her deeply. She was so lost in his kiss that she didn’t realize that he had unzipped her dress until she felt the straps fall over her shoulders.

  He moved her hair off to the side as he kissed her neck gently. She moaned in response. He slid her dress off and helped her stepped out of it. She felt very exposed as she stood there with only the bare essentials and high heels.

  “You are breathtaking, Emily.”

  He took a step back and took her hand guiding her towards the bed. “The night we kissed for the first time, I realized that I couldn’t let you go. You were mine and that night you said you would be my girlfriend and start to share your life with me, I fell in love with you.”

  Emily’s heart raced, she knew this was the moment. There was no going back. She took a deep breath and whispered. “I love you too, Alex.”

  His eyes told the story, they were full of desire, he loved her and she loved him. He kissed her, their tongues danced together as their hands started to explore each other’s body.

  Alex’s hands cupped her face. “Let me make love to you, Emily.”

  She couldn’t say anything so she looked into his eyes and nodded. He lowered his hands on her body and removed the rest of her clothing.

  She sighed as he looked at her. Her trembling hands undid his pants and removed them. He rested above her.

  “I have wanted this moment for a long time, Emily. Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I want you, Alex. You have stolen my heart and I want to be with you.”

  He smiled as he leaned over to his nightstand and took precautions. The moment was how Emily imagined it. Alex was sweet and sexy all in one. He allowed her to be herself and also showed her things she only read about in books.

  When she woke up in the morning and she found herself wrapped in his arms. She smiled as she closed her eyes. She was happy. She didn’t feel stressed out. She had no worries at that exact moment in time.

  She saw that his clock read seven thirty in the morning and she didn’t want to wake him as she rolled out of his arms.

  She reached for his shirt, put it on and went downstairs to find breakfast. She wasn’t sure what he had so she started to dig through his cabinets. She found some croissants and jam. Emily placed everything on a tray and grabbed some orange juice. As she headed upstairs, she thought she heard Alex talking on the phone.

  “Sue, I’m taking the weekend off. I don’t want to be disturbed. It’s Saturday morning - don’t you want to take some time off also? You have to be sick of me.”

  Emily waited in the hallway with the tray of food. She didn’t want to interrupt him.

  “Sue, the forms and signatures can wait. It’s time I start enjoying my life. We will discuss everything on Monday.”

  Emily walked in and spotted him waiting in bed for her. “Good morning. What’s all this?” He asked.

  “Breakfast in bed, I raided your kitchen, hope that’s ok.”

  “Emily, you are welcome to anything in my house.” He kissed her softly.

  They fed each other breakfast as they talked about his gallery. Emily shared her thoughts as he gave her advice on how the business worked.

  They talked about his family and she shared stories of her father, step mother and step sister. She realized that it had been years since she had been back to Texas.

  “Would you like to visit?” He asked her.

  “I would like Emma to meet her family. My father has only seen her twice. I haven’t seen my step sister since my high school graduation.” Emily got a weird look on her face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “How do you explain to your daughter that her aunt is only a couple of years older than she is? I still don’t know what my father was thinking when he had a baby so late in his life.”

  Alex laughed. “It’s the American family now-a-days.”

  Emily moved the tray off the bed as Alex watched her. “You look so hot in my shirt.” Emily blushed as she started to unbutton it. Alex moaned. “Now you are just a temptation. Come here.”

  Emily crossed the room and slid into bed next to him. They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon enjoying each other’s company.

  Around four p.m., Sam arrived to take a tour of the grounds. She was excited as she took in the scenic v
iew. Alex agreed with Emily that they could hold the ceremony in the gazebo and then bring in tents for the reception that would overlook his pond.

  “You are so thoughtful by allowing us to do this, Alex. Rob and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We really do.”

  “It’s no problem at all. I’m happy that I can help you out on such short notice.”

  Alex and Sam discussed the preparations as Emily sat down inside of the gazebo and gazed out at the pond. She looked at Alex as he talked and smiled. But her thoughts quickly found their way back to Eric. She shook them away as Sam called out for her.

  “I’m going to take off but we need to sit down and work out all the details.”

  Emily nodded. “Of course, why don’t we meet some night this week? We also need to go and get another fitting done on our dresses.”

  Sam started to stress out. “I’m not ready for this!”

  Emily laughed. “Yes, you are. You just need some guidance.”

  Sam nodded and hugged each of them and left.

  Emily smiled at Alex. “Thank you for everything.”

  Alex wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. “It’s my pleasure.”

  When it was time for Emily to head back home she found herself missing him before she even got out of his car.

  “Just be patient with me, Alex. I love you but this is all new to me. I want to share every piece of me with you and I hope you will share your life with me.”

  Alex nodded. “We proceed at your speed, Emily. Last night was amazing. I have never connected like that with anyone and I plan on enjoying every second of it.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Emily woke up on Monday morning and realized that she was starting a new chapter of her life. She was excited as she woke Emma up and started their day together. Emily was beginning her first day at the museum and she didn’t want to be late.