“Fuck, baby. Go. Don’t stop. I’m so close,” he whimpered.

Riding him faster, his grip on my hips tightened as he strained and poured himself inside me.

My heart was racing at the speed of light and my breathing was rapid. He pulled me down on top of him, holding me tight while I buried my face into his neck. We lay there for a few moments in silence, trying to regain our normal breathing rate.

I lifted my head and kissed his lips. He smiled as he pushed my hair from my face. “You are amazing.”

“So are you. Not to ruin this beautiful moment, but I’m starving.”

He chuckled. “Me too.”

I climbed off of him and we went into the bathroom and took a shower together. The tub was really small, and it was difficult, but nonetheless, we made it work.

After having lunch, we did some shopping. We stumbled upon a small art gallery not too far from the cottage. Hanging on the wall was a portrait of the Bass Harbor Lighthouse.

“Is this the same painting your parents had?” Alex asked.

“No. It’s different. It’s so beautiful.” I ran my finger along it.

Alex called the sales lady over and told her he would like to purchase the painting.

“Really?” I asked excitedly.

“Of course, Emerson. We’re going to hang this in our house as a memory of the start of our future together as a couple.”

My heart melted when I heard him speak those words. I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head on his chest.

“Thank you, Alex. And you said you weren’t a romantic guy.”

“To be honest, I never was until you walked into my life.”

****

Alex

We were sitting on the plane, sprawled out on the couch with Emerson’s head on my lap. She was finally coming home where she belonged. There wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do for her. I loved her so much and I never wanted to be apart from her again.

“Emerson, there’s something I have to say.”

“What is it?” she asked as she looked up at me.

“Just because you’re coming home doesn’t mean you have to stop seeing the places on your map. I promise you that we’re going to go to all the places you have left. You’re never going to have to go alone again. I want to see everything you and Emily talked about. I want to explore the world with you.”

She gave me a small smile as she reached up and placed her hand on my cheek. “Thank you. That means so much to me, but if you noticed, the map is almost full of red circles.”

“Then how about we start our own map?”

“Really? Do you really mean that?” she asked in excitement.

“Yes. I really mean it. I would do anything for you.”

****

We were finally back in California and Phillip was waiting for us with the Bentley.

“Welcome back, Emerson. I hope you’re here to stay.”

“I am, Phillip, and thank you. It’s good to be home.”

Opening the door to the house, Parker came running to us.

“Oh my God! There’s my baby,” Emerson screeched as she bent down and Parker licked her face.

“Welcome home, Mr. Parker and Emerson.” Jenna smiled.

“You can call him Alex. You’ll confuse the dog if you call him Parker. Right?” She looked over at me.

“Right.” I slowly nodded my head. “You may call me Alex, Jenna.”

“Oh. Okay,” she spoke with a hint of fear in her voice.

I grabbed both of our bags and headed up the stairs, Emerson following behind. When we reached my bedroom, she stopped in the doorway.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Making sure it’s okay to step inside His Majesty’s quarters.”

I took in a deep breath and glared at her for a moment. With a smile on my face, I walked over to her, picked her up, and carried her inside the room.

“This is our quarters now, Your Highness.” I softly kissed her lips before setting her on the bed.

Parker ran into the bedroom and jumped on the bed, jumping all over Emerson.

“Do you like this bed, Parker?” she asked as she grabbed his face.

I stood there watching her play with the dog, and my heart melted. I knew she’d make a wonderful mother someday.

“There’s something I need to do,” she spoke with seriousness.

“Adam?” I asked.

“Yeah.”

Walking over to the bed, I sat down next to her and Parker went wild all over me.

“Why don’t we have him over tomorrow for dinner and the two of you can talk.” I grabbed hold of him and pinned him down, rubbing his belly.

“I think it’s best if I talk to him at his house. Come here, my little baby.”

I leaned over to kiss her.

“Not you. The dog!” She smiled as she got up from the bed.

“I don’t think I’m going to like sharing your attention with the dog,” I spoke.

“I have plenty of attention to go around,” she spoke as she grabbed my face and kissed me.

Chapter 37

Emerson

The next morning, as I was cooking breakfast, my phone rang and it was Adam.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hey. I saw you called last night. I was out and, by time I got home, it was too late to call you. Where are you?”

“At Alex’s house.”

“I see.”

“Adam, we need to talk. I need to talk to you.”

“I’m going to the cemetery at eleven o’clock. If you want to talk, that’s where I’ll be.”

The tone of his voice was flat. He was still hurt and mad at me and it killed me inside that I did that to my brother.

I took in a deep breath. “I’ll meet you there.”

“When you turn into the cemetery, take a left on the first turn. Go down about a quarter mile and their graves are on the left.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon.”

Just as I set my phone down, Alex walked in with Parker.

“Did he go?”

“Yep. He sure did.” He walked over and kissed me. “What’s wrong? You seem upset?”

“Adam just called. I’m meeting him at the cemetery at eleven to talk.”

Alex sighed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into him. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be okay. This is something I need to do on my own.”

“Okay. But if you need me, I can be there in a flash.”

I broke our embrace and kissed his lips. “I’ll be okay.”

“I know you’ll be.” He softly smiled. “Is breakfast ready? I’m starving.”

“Yes. Breakfast is ready. Go sit down.”

“Have I told you how much I love you?”

“Nah. You only love me for my mad cooking skills.”

“Maybe, but I also love you for your mad fucking skills.” He smirked.

“Get your ass to the table, you dirty-talking man.” I slapped his ass with the spatula.

“Make sure you bring that to bed tonight.” He pointed at me with a grin on his face.

****

The pit of my stomach was twisted in knots as I pulled into the cemetery. Making a left on the first turn, I saw Adam’s car parked at the curb. I pulled behind him and took in a long, deep breath as I got out of the car. Feeling sick to my stomach, I leaned against the car for a moment to collect myself. I could see Adam straight ahead, kneeling on the ground. Slowly walking over to him, I stared at the headstones that displayed my sister’s and parents’ names.

“Hey,” I spoke as I placed my hand on my brother’s shoulder.

He turned and looked at me, squinting his eyes as the warm sun beat down on us.

“Hey. Thanks for coming.”

I knelt down beside him. “The headstones are beautiful.”

“Yeah, they are. When did you get back?” he asked without looking at me.

“Yesterday.”

“Are you staying?”

“Yeah. I’m staying.”

“So you and Alex are a thing now?”

“Yes. We’re dating and living together. Is that okay?”

He glanced over at me. “Are you happy?”

“Yeah. I love him, Adam.”

“Then it’s okay.” He reached over, grabbed my hand, and gave me a small smile.

“Listen, I’m so sorry for everything. You’re my brother and all the family I have left and I really screwed us up over the past eight years.”