I read her message a couple times, and when I heard her authoritative voice in my head, it made me smile. It was bossy and domineering…sexy. I liked that she pushed me when I didn’t want to be pushed, when she said she right thing to take me out of my head. I’m coming.
You bet your ass, you are. You’re gonna have dinner with us, watch a movie, and then make love to me before bed and again first thing in the morning. Because I love you with all my heart, and you love me with all your heart, and we should be together—not apart.I sat at the table and typed on my laptop while I waited for Emerson to drop off Lizzie for our biweekly tutoring session. It was much easier for me to switch between my two different roles, being creative and being mathematical, than it used to be, and now I could do it without encouragement. It was hard to believe Emerson used to have to force me to sit at my computer to get anything done.
I actually enjoyed it again.
Emerson knocked on the door before she walked inside with Lizzie. “Hey.”
I lifted my chin and looked at them, wearing a smile. “Hey. How was school, Liz?” I noticed she didn’t have her backpack with her this time.
She walked up to me and grabbed me by the arm. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Go?” I asked as I let her pull me to my feet. “Go where?”
“Wow.” Lizzie stared at me blankly before she looked at my mom. “You weren’t kidding. He’s totally obtuse.”
“Yep.” She grabbed my jacket off the coat rack and brought it to me. “Put this on. It’s cold outside.”
I put it on as instructed but continued to be confused. “Why are we going outside? Am I not tutoring Lizzie today?”
“I had my exam today, and we’re out of school until Monday,” Lizzie said. “So, what are we studying for? Come on, we want to show you something.” She nodded to the door before she took the lead, wearing a pea coat and a scarf.
Emerson came to me and kissed me on the mouth. “You’ll see.”
“See what?” I asked.
“Just trust me, alright?” She smiled as she looked at me, like I was her whole life the way Lizzie was. “You trust me, don’t you?”
I stared at her for several heartbeats, feeling a sudden blanket of peace, knowing that the past hadn’t repeated itself, that I could trust this woman with my life. “Yeah, I do.”It was a cold evening, the lights from the traffic bright as we walked down the sidewalk. There was a breeze that made our cheeks sting from the cold. Emerson held my hand as she walked beside me, Lizzie in the lead.
I still had no idea where we were going.
Lizzie stopped in front of a shop with a large window, and as we came closer, the sign was visible.
Parchment Books.
Emerson guided me in front of the window and stood beside me, beaming at the books on display.
My books.
I stared into the window and saw the new release on display, along with a picture of me signing books from my book signing. A stack of books was arranged along with fake fall leaves and mugs of coffee. The sign read, “The Next Installment in the Best-selling Series Is Here!” Quotes from magazines and newspapers were underneath my picture. “Derek Hamilton brings sci-fi to a new level.” Another read, “Hamilton can weave a technical story like poetry!” The quotes went on and on.
Emerson kept her hand in mine as she turned to look at me, wearing a beautiful smile.
It was a dream come true, seeing the success of my story, the way it affected so many people all over the world. But the success didn’t compare to what I had with the woman beside me, my source of happiness. I turned to her and squeezed her hand, this moment actually meaning something because she was there with me. The only reason that book was written was because of her, because she believed in me.
Lizzie pressed her face to the window then turned to me. “Who in their right mind forgets they’re releasing a book?”
Emerson slipped her around my waist and stood close to me, holding me the way I held her. “Someone who cares about other things more.”
I leaned in and kissed her, bringing her close as we embraced in front of the display window showing the book we wrote together. “I love you.” My heart was so full, full like there wasn’t a single inch left for anything else.
She smiled before she turned away. “I know you do.”Emerson bought two copies for her and Lizzie, and then I walked them to their apartment, which was a long walk in the cold, but the bookstore was right between my penthouse and their apartment, and it didn’t make sense to go to my place first just to get my Range Rover to drive them.