“Ahem.” I cleared my throat.

She didn’t turn around, so I did it again. “Ahem.”

I sighed as I walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and turned around.

“Jesus Christ, you scared me,” she said as she took her earphones out.

What the fuck? She was no eighteen-year-old. I stared at her ocean blue eyes as she placed her hand over her heart.

“I tried to speak to you, but obviously, you couldn’t hear me.” I pointed to her earphones.

“You must be Alex Parker. I’m Emerson James. Adam’s sister.” She extended her hand.

“Nice to meet you. How old are you?”

“Excuse me?” she asked with a narrowing eye.

“It’s just the way Adam talked about you. I thought you were around eighteen. Obviously, by looking at you, you’re not.”

“I’m twenty-six.”

“I see. Okay. Welcome to my home, Miss James, and please make yourself comfortable. I’m assuming Jenna showed you around the property.”

“Yes, she did. She was very nice. And what exactly did Adam say about me?” she asked with a furrowed brow.

“Not much. I just assumed you were younger. What are you cooking?” I leaned over and looked in the pot that was sitting on the stove.

“Pasta with a homemade palomino sauce.”

“It smells delicious. Adam told me you are quite the cook.”

“Would you like some?” she asked with a smile.

Placing my hand in my pocket, I politely told her no.

“I have a dinner date that I need to get ready for. So if you’ll excuse me.”

“Oh, sure. Have fun.”

I turned away and began walking out of the kitchen. Stopping, I turned around and looked at her one last time before heading upstairs. “Thank you.”

Fuck oh fuck. Adam’s sister was beautiful, extremely beautiful. Her brown hair with blonde highlights that she wore in a ponytail complemented her tanned skin and ocean blue eyes. From what I could see, her body was perfect. She was fit, lean, and toned in all the right places, and the tank top she was wearing clung tightly to her large, round breasts. I shook my head and successfully stopped my cock from getting hard. I was a man, after all, in the presence of a beautiful young woman, and it couldn’t be helped. As I stood in the shower, I kept thinking about my cock’s reaction to her. Normally, I don’t get hard just by looking at a woman like that. I see beautiful women every day and this had never happened before. What the hell was going on?

Chapter 3

Emerson

Alex’s pictures didn’t do him justice. That man was just as delicious-looking in person as he was online. He stood a little over six feet tall with short, sandy-brown hair and brown eyes. His chiseled cheekbones and strong jaw made him very handsome, not to mention the five o’clock shadow that he sported gave way to perfection. Shit. And yes, I did look down to his man area to see if he was perhaps sporting anything big. It was too hard to tell in his black suit pants. I’d have to see him in a pair of jeans or maybe a pair of khaki shorts.

As I put my pasta on a plate, and before I stepped onto the patio, I heard the front door open and then shut. That smell. I caught a whiff of man scent that drifted into the kitchen. I knew that smell. He had put on Dolce & Gabbana, my favorite man scent of all time. I sighed, grabbed my plate, and took it outside on the patio. It was a beautiful night. The sun had set and the stars were coming out. The warm breeze that swept across my face made me remember how much I used to love living in California. As I was eating, my phone rang. It was Adam.

“Hello.”

“Just making sure you arrived safely. How are things going?”

“Fine so far. You didn’t tell me that Alex Parker was the Alex Parker.”

“To be honest, I didn’t think about it. Does it matter?”

“No. But his house is like a mansion.”

“Yeah. It’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Hey, are you okay being there? I mean, back in California?”

Oh, now he asks.

“No. Not really, and to be honest, I’m really pissed at you for making me come back here.”

“You need to put the past behind you, Em. I know it’s hard, but you have to move on with your life.”

“I have moved on, Adam! I just chose not to move on here. This conversation goes the same way every time. I have to go.” Click.

I was getting tired, so I cleaned up and headed to my bedroom. After changing into my pajamas, I opened the French doors to let the breeze blow into the room. Climbing into bed, I pulled the sheet over me and stared out into the night, listening to the waves as they crashed against the shore.

****

I had always been an early riser. As far as I was concerned, there wasn’t one minute of the day to be wasted. Climbing out of bed, I slipped into my crème-colored, short silk robe and stepped outside on the patio off my room, breathing in the fresh morning air and looking out into the ocean. A smile crossed my face when I saw two dolphins in the water.

I went into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. I jumped when my phone started to ring. Who the hell would be calling me this early? Oh. It was Billy. Shit. I answered it and put it on speaker as I took the eggs from the refrigerator.

“Hello.”

“Where the hell are you, Em? I went to your place last night and you were gone. I tried calling your phone, but it went straight to voicemail.”

“I’m in California and I turned my phone off last night.”

“California! What the hell are you doing there and why didn’t you tell me you were going?”

“I had to come here for my brother and I forgot to mention it.”

“Baby, please don’t lie to me. I’m sorry for the other night. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t upset me and I’m not lying.”

I cracked the eggs in the pan, put a piece of bread in the toaster, and began to slice up some avocados.

“Baby, when are you coming home? We need to sit down and have a serious talk.”

Alex walked into the kitchen and looked at my phone and then at me.

“I’m not coming back to Texas, Billy.”

“What the fuck do you mean you’re not coming back to Texas?!” he yelled.

“Do you not understand English?”

I saw Alex smirk.

“It’s over between us, Billy. I’m over Texas. I told you to begin with that I probably wasn’t staying very long.”

“But, Em, what about us? We had plans, damn it!”

“You had plans, Billy. Plans that you were making without talking to me first. You were just assuming a whole lot of things.”

“So you’re just going to walk away from our relationship? Do you have any idea how bad I’m hurting right now, baby?”

“For god sakes, stop calling me ‘baby’ and I’m sorry if I hurt you. I’m moving on, Billy, and I suggest you do the same.”

“But, Em, I love you. Please don’t do this to us. What can I do to make things right?”

“Billy, it’s too early for this and I haven’t even had my coffee yet. There’s nothing you can do. I’m not coming back and it’s over. You deserve better than me. I have to go. I’m sorry.” Click.

“Coffee?” I asked Alex, who was leaning up against the counter.

“Yes. Coffee would be nice. You’re quite the little heartbreaker. I was feeling sorry for Billy.” He smirked.

I rolled my eyes as I handed him his coffee cup. “Billy will be just fine. Eggs?” I asked.

“No. I don’t have time. I have a meeting. Have a nice day, Miss James.”

“Enough with the formalities, Alex. Call me Emerson, Em, Emmie—whatever you want. Just not ‘Miss James.’”

He cocked his head and smiled. “I think I’ll call you ‘heartbreaker.’”

“Ugh.” I put my head down on the counter and I heard him chuckle as he walked out.

****

Alex

I guess I didn’t need to make any rules since Emerson was a grown adult. A beautiful, grown adult, which ultimately could lead to trouble for me if I wasn’t careful. Damn Adam for not telling me how hot she was. Hot or not, she was my friend’s sister and I couldn’t cross that line. Plus, she wasn’t my type. She wasn’t... how could I put this nicely? She wasn’t upscale enough. The women I dated and fucked were of high society. They were classy, something Emerson seemed to lack. I had standards and, unfortunately, she didn’t meet them. Which was a good thing. I couldn’t help but wonder, though, why she left Texas the way she did. Listening to her conversation with Billy was quite entertaining and the way she just blew him off was ballsy. The women I’d known weren’t like that. They were the Billys of the relationship. Begging and pleading me to stay and always trying to change themselves for me. There was a story behind Emerson James and I couldn’t help but wonder just what her story was. Was I going to find out? No. It was none of my business. She was here for three months and three months only. As long as she stayed out of my way and life, I would stay out of hers.