I won’t go there. Instead, I toss the question back to him. “What did you do to him?”
“What are you talking about?” He brushes past me to drop his laptop bag on the couch. “Tell me what’s going on between you two.”
Ignoring Jane, I turn my back on her so I can face my brother. “A girl named Delaney asked you to give Case a message seven years ago. You never gave him the message, did you?”
He chuckles. “I don’t know what you’re doing right now, Em, but if you’re trying to cover up the fact that you slept with my best friend, you’re doing a shitty job.”
“I did sleep with him,” I confirm with a nod. “And we fell in love.”
He drops onto the couch. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Why?” I bark out a laugh. “He’s happy. I’m happy. You don’t get to dictate who either of us loves.”
He’s quiet. His face falls into his hands.
“What were you saying about someone named Delaney?” Jane steps into my view. “I remember meeting a girl named Delaney when I helped Drake move some boxes out of an apartment years ago. I hated every second of it. It wasn’t what I thought I was getting into when I took the intern position.”
Drake’s head pops up. “It’s fine, babe. This is between my sister and me.”
I shake my head. “What do you remember about her, Jane?”
“She was so sad.” Her hand drifts to her cheek. “She was tall and very thin. I remember she looked like she’d been crying for days. She asked Drake to give Case a message for her. I remember that.”
I twist back around to face my brother. “Did you give him the message?”
Drake darts to his feet. “Why the fuck would I do that? His brother had just died, Em. He couldn’t walk straight. Do you know how many times that girl called Apollo’s phone? I turned it off because it never stopped ringing.”
“You what?” I seethe. “You had Apollo’s phone after he died?”
“I had to handle all of it, including his cremation,” he stresses the last word. “I erased everything from the phone and tossed it.”
Anger barrels through me. “You had no right to do that. You should have given the phone to Case.”
“Case couldn’t think straight. He didn’t need any of that teenage drama in his life,” he spits the words out. “Why the hell are we even talking about this?”
This is Drake’s fault. It’s my brother’s fault that Case has never met his nephew. He’s the reason Delaney and Case haven’t connected to help each other through their shared grief.
“I have to find Case.”
“Call Cabbott in San Francisco.” Drake tosses that out with a flick of his wrist.
“I tried that.”
“Gavin Fuller would know.” Jane clears her throat. “I overheard Drake telling his assistant that Case is close to his cousin. Elias loves to gossip with your brother.”
“Give me Gavin’s number.” I point at my brother. “If you have it, give it to me now.”
His finger slides over the screen of his phone. He steps closer to me until he drops it in my hand. “I have no idea what the fuck is going on here, Emma, but I need you to know I love you and I love Case. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry if I screwed up.”
I take the phone from him and press the call icon next to Gavin’s number. I can only hope that he’ll help me get in touch with the man I love.
Chapter 67
Case
Five long hours on a flight next to my grandfather is not how I thought today would play out.
I wanted to sit quietly with my thoughts. He wanted to replay his championship run when he pitched for Fordham University decades ago.
By the time I was old enough to throw a ball, I knew how the season had ended.
His team placed second, and he met my grandmother after the final game when she came onto the field.
She was a California girl with blue eyes and golden blonde hair. They married a year after they met, and the rest is a history filled with more laughter than pain. The smiled every day until she passed away.
“You need to slow down, Rush,” he calls from behind me as we make our way through the terminal at LaGuardia. “My old legs take twice as long to get anywhere these days.”
“Hop on my back.” I pat my shoulder. “I’ll give you a ride.”
He tosses me the same look he always has when I overstep.
Pushing my luck, I keep at it. “There’s a car waiting for us if you can make your way out of here before the crack of dawn.”
“You should be wearing a suit.” He lands a hand on my forearm. “Men always travel in suits.”
He’s wearing the same tan-colored three-piece number that he’s worn for every special occasion for the last decade. He had it on when we took Apollo’s ashes out to the ocean to lay him to rest.
My brother didn’t want a formal service. He told us that when he was fifteen. He made us both promise that if anything ever happened to him that we’d skip the pomp and circumstance and take him to his favorite place on earth. He was a kid of the ocean.
“A T-shirt and jeans is a lazy man’s suit,” he scoffs as he drags his feet behind me.
I glance at him. “It’s a rich man’s suit. Do you know how much I’m worth?”
“I read Forbes.” He laughs.
I hold onto his hand as we step on an escalator to take us down to the ground level. I didn’t bother calling Drake’s driver. Gavin arranged for a car for us when I gave him a heads-up that we were headed to Manhattan.
I can’t stay with Emma, so I followed my call with Gavin with one to Julian, Maya’s husband.
He owns a chain of luxury hotels, so my grandpa and I are set with two suites.
Cadby balked about it. He wanted to share a room, but I need space. It’s the reason he lives next door to me, and not with me.
As we reach the bottom of the escalator, my eyes land on a beautiful woman standing near the baggage carousels.
I stop mid-step and stare.
“Rush.” My grandfather yanks on my hand. “Move it.”
I let him drag me forward as I keep my gaze pinned on Emma.
How the fuck am I looking at her right now?
It’s almost midnight. I’m dead tired. I’m emotionally spent, but I feel like the world just handed me a gift.
“That’s her, isn’t it?”
I glance at my grandfather for a split second.
He pats my cheek with his hand. “No words. That tells me that beautiful brunette in the killer blue dress is Emma.”
I brush past him, drop my bag, and race to her. I don’t fucking care that tears are streaming down my face. I run, full speed until she’s in my arms.
I kiss her as I twirl her in a full circle.
Her hands land in my hair. A small moan escapes her when the kiss breaks.
“I love you,” I whisper against her mouth. “I love you, Emma.”
“Me too, Rush. I love you so much.”
***
I finally turn the lock on the deadbolt of the hotel room door. After seeing Emma at the airport, I thought we’d skip the hotel and head back to my apartment.
It turns out Drake and Jane picked today to fly to Manhattan.
They can have the apartment to themselves tonight. I got my grandfather settled in his room after sending Emma to the suite we’re in now.
“I have so much to say.” Emma jumps to her feet from where she’s been sitting on the corner of the bed.
I tug my T-shirt over my head. “Just let me look at you, Freckles.”
Her gaze falls to my bare chest. “Let me look at you. I’ve missed this view.”
I huff out a laugh. “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you at the airport.”
She shakes her head slightly. “I had to come. I need to tell you something.”
I take two steps toward her before I fall on both knees. Wrapping my arms around her, I beg for forgiveness. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I was an asshole
to you. I should never have left, but something happened. I saw someone.”
Her fingers sift through my hair. She gently tugs it so I’ll look up and into her face. “You saw Delaney.”
I stare at her. “What did you say?”
That brings her down to her knees too. “You saw Delaney at Sweet Bluebells.”
Nodding, I can’t find words.
“I need to show you something, Case.” Her hands tug on my biceps. “Sit on the bed.”
I do as I’m told. I’d do anything for her.
I help her up before I settle on the bed. Kicking my shoes off, I watch as she crosses the room to grab her purse.
Before I can say a word, she’s dumped it on the bed.
Her hands grab for a large envelope. I recognize the logo on it immediately. It’s from Printe.
“You’re going to show me a picture?” I sigh. “Can this wait, Emma? I want to hold you. I need to make love to you.”
“She bends to brush her lips over mine. “I want that too, but you need to see this.”
The envelope’s contents flutter to the bed when she turns it upside down. Prints spill out. She spreads them out with a jerk of her palm over them.
I reach out to grab a photo of her with what looks like a mark on her forehead left by a pink-lipstick kiss. “What’s this?”
She glances at it. “Bella’s grandma gave me a kiss.”
I grab another picture, and then another. It’s me. I’m on the bed. She took them the morning she sang to me.
“I’m putting those in my scrapbook.” She plucks them out of my hand with a pinch of her fingertips.
“I want one for my scrapbook,” I tease.
Her eyes hunt for something on the bed. “You don’t have a scrapbook.”
“I want the one of you with the lipstick mark on your head.” I grab it again. “You’re beautiful, Emma.”
She picks up a print from the bed and hugs it to her chest. “Case. I need to…I want to… I know Delaney.”
I nod. “That makes sense. You love that bakery. She works there.”
Her teeth bite into her bottom lip. “I took a picture of her.”
I don’t need a picture to tell me what she looks like. I’ll never forget her face again. Sorrow consumed it both times I’ve seen her. That’s rooted in my memory forever.
“Can I show you?” she asks with so much tenderness in her voice that it bears down on my heart.
I feel it stall in my chest.
“You can show me anything,” I answer.
“This is Delaney, but you know that,” she says as she turns the picture to face me. “And this is her son, Mickey Easton Wilts.”
Chapter 68
Emma
Case can’t take his eyes off the picture.
He keeps running his fingertip tenderly over the face of little Mickey Wilts.
“He’s the spitting image of Apollo.” He pulls in a deep breath. “Right down to the blond curls on his head.”
I watch as he reaches behind him to tug his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. He opens it and carefully removes a photograph. It’s taped down the center, and as he hands it to me, he hesitates for a split second. “That’s the last picture I have of the two of us.”
I take it and cradle it in my palm. I know it’s a treasure.
I gasp when I see the young man next to Case in the photo. There’s no mistaking that Mickey is this man’s son. They share the same hair color. The shape and color of their eyes are identical, and their smiles are carbon copies of one another.
“Mickey looks so much like him.”
Case nods. “He looks just like my brother.”
I settle next to him on the bed. I hold the picture in my hand next to the one in his hand.
“Look at that, Emma.” Case’s gaze volleys between the pictures. “I wish to fuck Apollo was here.”
I bite back a rush of raw emotion. “He would have been proud. Mickey is so bright, Case. He’s the sweetest little gentleman.”
“He’s a great kid, isn’t he?” He smiles. “I can tell just by looking at him.”
“You’re going to love him.”
“I already do.” He swallows. “I can’t wait to tell my grandpa that he has a great-grandson. Is Delaney all right with us meeting him? She’ll let us see him, won’t she?”
I took a second to text Delaney in the car on the way to the hotel. I told her that I was about to tell Case the good news, and she insisted that I bring both him and his grandfather to the bakery in the morning to meet Mickey.
“You’re going to see him in the morning.”
His eyes track a path over my face. “Hours from now?”
I glance at the watch on my wrist. “Just a few hours from now.”
He darts to his feet. “What the hell am I going to say to him? Does he wonder why we haven’t been around?”
“We’ll talk about all of that.” I carefully slide the picture of him and his brother back into his wallet. “You should get some sleep before you meet your nephew.”
“You’re staying with me.”
I nod. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Before I know what’s happening, he’s sliding his hands over the bed, searching through everything I dumped out of my bag.
“What are you doing?” I laugh. “Let me clean that up.”
“Tell me you threw at least one condom in here before you came to the airport.”
I swat his hands out of the way so I can take on the search myself. “I brought two because with you, one is never enough.”
“You knew we’d end up in bed?”
“Hoped,” I correct him. “I crossed my fingers and hoped.”
“It worked.” He unbuttons his jeans. “Get naked, Freckles. I’ve missed you.”
***
Crawling up the bed, I take in the sight of Case on his back. It’s almost too much. He’s gorgeous. I settle between his legs, sliding my hand up his thighs. I stop just short of his erection.
“You love this, don’t you?” He glances down with heavy-lidded eyes. “Driving me mad with desire turns you on.”
I inch my fingertip over the plush head of his cock. “This right here turns me on. Is it bigger than the last time we were…?”
A deep laugh escapes him. “Get on it.”
“Get on what?” I lean down to flick my tongue over the tip.
His hands fist the blanket. “Jesus, Emma. Please.”
“Please do this?” I take him in my mouth, inch-by-glorious-inch.
“Goddammit,” he bites out between clenched teeth. “I. Want. To. Fuck. You.”
I nod as I take him even deeper.
“Please,” he hisses out as his hands dive into my hair. “Wrap my dick up so I can feel you, Emma. I’ll beg if need be.”
I slide my mouth along him, slowly savoring the taste of him.
With an audible pop, I release him.
“That was fucking hot.” He points at one of the condom packages next to him. “I need that on me now.”
“That will be my pleasure.” I reach for it, ripping it open with my teeth.
He watches every movement, spellbound.
As I sheath him, he takes in a heavy breath. “I’m going to lose it.”
“You won’t rush,” I tease as I crawl up his body. “You always take your time.”
His hands shake as he yanks me over him, positioning his cock at my opening.
With a single drive up, he’s inside of me.
I moan because it’s too good. It’s so good. “Case.”
Before I can find my rhythm, he flips us over. He starts on a thrust, and then another, each deeper than the last.
I wrap my legs around him, stare into his eyes, and let his powerful body take me to the edge as I watch his lips silently chant my name over and over again.
Chapter 69
Case
The day I found my brother in bed cold and alone, I lost it.
I crawled under th
e covers with him and held him against me. I thought in my fucked up mind that I could breathe life into him through my embrace.
I knew he was gone.
His body was stiff. His lips were blue.
His eyes were closed. He looked as peaceful as he would have been if he were lost in a dream about being out on the ocean with his favorite surfboard.
When I called 911, I told the woman who answered that he was gone, but she did her job. She got everyone who needed to be there to rush over.
I watched as firemen, an ambulance crew, and two police officers burst into that small apartment to try and save my brother’s life.
One-by-one they left the room. Some were in tears because who wants to see a young life taken before its time?
Today, my grandfather and I are getting another chance.
Mickey’s not Apollo, but he’s a part of him.
He’s the best part of the best man I’ve ever known.
It was my decision when to tell Cadby about his great-grandson. I didn’t want to put the picture in his hand and make him wait, so I got Delaney’s number from Emma.
I called her at daybreak, and we spoke for an hour.
We sorted through some of the pain and talked about what matters more than anything. Mickey.
The kid was named after Apollo’s favorite baseball player. Mickey Mantle.
We’re two steps away from walking into Sweet Bluebells and a future that looks a hell of a lot better than the past we’re leaving outside the door.
I turn to my grandfather.
He’s got the tan suit on that he always wears for special occasions. I had it pressed at the hotel this morning when I told him that we were meeting someone special.
He joked if it was Emma’s grandmother because he’s in the market for a sweetheart.
That brought a smile to Emma’s face. My grandpa loved the sight of that.
He’ll bring a lot more happiness to her life when she moves in with me back in California.
I haven’t asked her about it yet, but I know she wants it as much as I do.
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