As I flicked on my blinker to turn into Jake and Abby’s driveway, I had the overwhelming urge to just keep driving. I couldn’t remember a time that I hadn’t wanted to hang out at Jake’s. But the thought of being around all the happy couples and their children completely turned my stomach.

It was Thanksgiving, and I should’ve been grateful for all the blessings of the year. Instead, I felt like holing up at my condo and drinking myself into a stupor. Deep down, though, I knew I had to do the obligatory family dinner. Otherwise, it would have alerted Abby and my parents that something was wrong between me and Emersyn. I knew Gabe and Rae had my back and wouldn’t say anything about what had happened back in Nashville.

After I parked my car, I glanced at my phone. Of course, there were no missed calls or texts from Emersyn. She’d made it pretty clear the other day that she had nothing else to say to me. Maybe you should be a man and pick up the phone yourself. I didn’t know why I couldn’t do something so easy. I guess I felt that when I was finally able to talk to Emersyn, it should be in person. At least, that was what I told myself.

Just as I opened my car door, the dark skies opened up and a deluge of rain began to fall. “That’s just fucking great,” I muttered, as the cold drops pelted against me. I hustled up the walk and onto the porch. After I opened the front door, I was overtaken by Micah’s four kids who ranged from seven to two. Considering I didn’t get to see them much in person, I felt guilty that I wasn’t feeling like my old self for them. Plastering on my best smile, I played the part of doting Uncle Eli.

While the rest of the men argued over the football games on television and the women worked on the growing feast, I kept my mind occupied being the Pied Piper for all the kids. In the end, it felt good to detach for a bit and get my mind off of Emersyn. It’d been fucking exhausting thinking about her twenty-four seven for the last few days.

Right at six, Dad ordered everyone into the dining room. As the adults gathered around the antique table that had been in Jake’s family for years, the kids sat at an adjoining table. Once we were all assembled, Dad’s gaze fell on me. “Eli, would you give the blessing?”

Inwardly, I groaned. The last thing on earth I wanted to do was say grace. In our family, it wasn’t about reciting the usual appreciation for the food. No, we always searched out individual things throughout the year to give thanks for. With a broken fucking heart and a growing bitterness inside me, I didn’t think it was possible.

As I debated pulling a “let this cup pass from me”, Gabe cleared his throat across the table. “If it would be all right, I’d really like to do it.” He turned to smile at Rae. “I have a lot to be thankful for this year.”

“Sure, son. I was just going by whose turn it was,” Dad replied.

When everyone started bowing their heads, I mouthed, “Thank you,” to Gabe. He nodded before beginning his blessing. Playing with the lacy edges of the tablecloth, I didn’t pay much attention to what he was saying. That was until I heard the name Emersyn. “Thank you for bringing her into the band and back into a closer place in all our lives. Help her to find peace and the strength she needs to move on from her grief and embrace the happiness waiting for her.”

Tears stung my eyes at Gabe’s request. No one but Rae, him, and myself knew the true depth of his words. I knew at this point, it was worth asking for the Big Man to intercede since it didn’t seem that anything else was going to help.

After a chorus of “amens” rang around the table, Dad stood up and began carving the turkey, and the moms went about fixing plates for the children. I debated ducking into the kitchen to see if I couldn’t score some alcohol. I sure as hell didn’t want anything to eat, which was completely out of character for me.

At the sound of a doorbell, we glanced around the table. “Who in the world could that be?” Mom asked. She turned to Jake. “Are you expecting anyone else?”

Before Jake could reply, Abby popped out of her chair. “I’ll get it.” She then hustled out of the dining room. A few moments passed before she reappeared with her face lit up as bright as the giant twelve foot Christmas tree in the living room.

“Who was it?” Mom asked.

“Someone who wants to see Eli,” Abby replied. When she stepped aside, my heart shuddered to a stop, and I fought hard to breathe.

It was Emersyn.

I vaulted out of my chair so fast it clattered onto the floor. Then I hustled around the table to join her in the doorway. When I was finally in front of her, I fought the urge to reach out to touch her to see if she was real. It seemed almost too hard to believe she was really here.

“Hi, Eli,” she said softly.

My eloquent response was to exclaim, “You’re soaked!”

“Yeah, I kinda realized that. But don’t worry, I won’t melt,” Emersyn teasingly replied.

“I’m aware of that. But you’ve got to be freezing your ass off.” I glanced passed her. “Did you bring a suitcase?”

“It’s in the rental car.”

“I’m going to get it.”

When I started to go to the door, she grabbed my arm. “No. Stay with me. I can get it later.”

“I need to get you out of those wet clothes.”

“How ungentlemanly of you.”

“Excuse me?”

Tilting her head at me, she asked, “Shouldn’t you offer me a drink first before trying to get me naked?”

I’ll be damned. This certainly wasn’t the way I expected our conversation to go. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Maybe. Would you mind?”

“Hell, no. I’m wondering why you flew thousands of miles just to flirt with me.”

With a shake of her head, Emersyn replied, “I came thousands of miles because it was my turn to do a grand gesture.”

“What do you mean?”

“You dropped everything to come to my side when you found out Jack had been killed. You gave me a job in music that I desperately needed. Over the last few months, you’ve gone and above and beyond to ensure both my physical and emotional healing. Then when things got tough between us, I ran.”

“I shouldn’t have accused you of that. You needed space.”

She shook her head. “No, I was running.”

“I still understand.”

“Would you stop being the incredibly kind and decent person you are for one minute and let me take the fall for being a bitch?” Sonny demanded.

I blinked at her. “Um, yeah. Okay.”

“I’ve been miserable each and every day since we’ve been apart. I realized that there was no way I could quit the band or music. But more than that, I knew there was no way I could quit you. Because of the unimaginable asshole I was, I knew if you were ever to forgive me, I needed to do a grand gesture.”

When sniffling came from the dining room, I sighed. “You do realize we have an audience, don’t you?”

She grinned. “I’m not ashamed for them to know how wrong I’ve been, but if would you prefer I said what I came to say in private, I will.”

With my heart threatening explode out of my chest, I shook my head. “I’m not sure I can wait.”

“I’m tired of being scared. I’m tired of worrying if things will or won’t work out between us. Most of all, I’m sick of letting fear drive my decisions.”

I sucked in a ragged breath. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

After closing the space between us, Emersyn’s hands came up to cup my cheeks. “I love you, Eli. I’ve loved you as a best friend since I was ten-years-old, and now I love you as deeply and completely as a woman can love a man.”

A murmur rippled through the occupants of the dining room, but I kept my eyes firmly and intently on Emersyn. “You once said you didn’t have a way with words. I disagreed then, and I disagree now.” I brought one of my hands up to take Emersyn’s. I swept it over to bring it to my lips where I bestowed a tender kiss on her soft skin. “And I’ve loved you as a best friend since I was ten-years-old, and now I love you as deeply and completely as a man can love a woman.”

I searched her eyes for the answer I was looking for. When I read it loud and clear, I happily dipped my head and brought my lips to hers. Cheering and applause rang out behind us, causing Emersyn to jump. “Maybe we should have done this in private,” she mused, her breath fanning against my cheek.

“Don’t worry. We’ll do it again the moment I get you alone.” Tilting my head at her, I asked, “Speaking of, can we get you out of these wet clothes now?”

She grinned. “Yes, please.”

I turned around to face my family. “We need to get Emersyn changed. We’ll be back in a bit.”

Gabe snorted. “What’s this we stuff? She’s fully capable of dressing herself.”

If my parents and small children hadn’t been present, I would have told Gabe to mind his own fucking business. But from the amusement dancing in his eyes, he was just giving me a hard time. I winked at him. “I haven’t seen her in four days. I think we have a lot to catch up on.”

“Well, don’t be too long, or you’ll miss dessert,” Mom said.

Once again, I bit my tongue. The last thing I needed to do was horrify my mother by replying that I hoped I would have enough alone time with Emersyn to have my favorite kind of dessert. Instead, I bobbed my head before heading for the door. While I went out to the car to get the bag, Abby sent Emersyn upstairs to one of the guest rooms.

When I slipped inside, I found Emersyn warming herself in front of the fire. She’d ditched her clothes and was sporting one of Abby’s silk robes. Ordinarily I might have found the robe sexy, but the very fact it belonged to my sister totally killed it for me.

“Now, you’re soaked,” Emersyn lamented.

“Don’t worry. I won’t melt,” I replied.

She smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.” Waving her hand, she motioned me over. “Come here, and dry out by the fire.”

Dropping the suitcase, I stalked over to her. My intentions were to use Emersyn and not the fire to warm up. Emersyn squeaked when I jerked her against me. “Eli, wait—”

I silenced her by crushing my mouth against hers. Thrusting my tongue inside her mouth, I deepened the kiss. My hands slid around her waist and drew her body flush against mine. The more I tasted her, the more I wanted her. I wanted my dick buried inside her instead of my tongue in her mouth.

Placing her palms on my chest, Emersyn eased me away. “Eli, we need to talk.”

I feathered kisses along her jawline and then onto her neck. “We said we loved each other. What else is there to say?” I questioned against her skin.

A breathy sigh escaped her lips. “I need to get changed, and we need to get back downstairs.”

I slipped my hand into her robe to cup her breast. “I want you so bad.”

As her nipple hardened under my fingers, Emersyn protested, “But your entire family is downstairs.”

“I don’t care.”

She shoved me away. “Well, I do. They’re like my family, too.”

I groaned. “You’re killing me, Smalls.”

Emersyn laughed. “Another great movie quote from our past.”

“I’m serious.”

“Even if your family wasn’t downstairs, don’t you think we need to slow things down a little?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Eli,” she giggled.

“The only reason people put on the brakes on the physical side is because they need to get to know each other better. Um, hello, we know everything there is to know about each other. The only thing left to discover is what position makes you come the fastest, or how long it takes me going down on you to make you come.”

A shudder went through Emersyn at my words. “I do appreciate your concern for my pleasure.”

“I’ll always put you first. I don’t come until you do. Ever.”

“That sounds like a motto for a business.”

I grinned. “Eli’s Orgasms?”

“Yes,” she laughed.

Inching closer to her, I said, “Why don’t you patronize my business?”

“You’re impossible.”

“Impossibly hard.”

Emersyn jerked her thumb at the door. “Go take a walk in the rain to cool off.”

Growling, I pulled away. “I don’t think I’ve had to work this hard to get a woman in my bed since I was a teenager.”

“Anything worth having is hard work,” Emersyn teased.

“Yeah, this is so not the time to quote my dad.”

“The truth is we don’t know everything about each other.”

“Name one thing.”

Emersyn appeared thoughtful. “How many children do you want?”

“I used to want a houseful, but after seeing everyone else with their kids, I think three would be good.”

She smiled. “I’d like three, too.”

“You do realize that, in order to have children, one has to have sex?”

“You don’t say.”

“Yep. It’s the truth.”

“Good thing we’re not married and starting a family right now.”

“There is a minister in the house. We could get married after dessert and start our honeymoon tonight.”

Rolling her eyes, Emersyn said, “You’d really marry me tonight just to have sex?”

“No. I’d marry you tonight because I love you and you’re the only woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

Emersyn’s expression softened. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“Oh, Eli, I love you, too, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

When a sad look flickered in her eyes, I frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking how everything will be a first for you—first time getting engaged, and first time getting married.” She shook her head. “I can’t give you any firsts.”

“None of that matters to me.”

“I know, but it does to me. I’ve had the proposal and said yes to the dress. I’ve walked down the aisle and honeymooned. Even if sounds crazy, it feels like I’m not completely whole for you.”

“Yep. That’s completely crazy.”

“Eli,” she warned.

“Look, just because they aren’t your firsts, it doesn’t mean it will take away anything from me.” Reaching into our past, I smiled at her. “Besides, you did give me a first—my first kiss.”

Emersyn blinked at me in confusion. “That day at the Selena tribute? But you said you’d already kissed a girl at the fair.”

“I lied to make myself look like a thirteen-year-old pimp,” I acknowledged.

“Why am I not surprised?” she mused.

“You’ll be the first woman I ever kissed as well as the last. I think that’s a pretty fucking impressive first. Don’t you?”

Bobbing her head enthusiastically, she replied, “Oh, yeah. I do.”

“I guess there is something else I don’t know about you.”

“What’s that?”

“What happened to change your mind about us?”

“Rachel helped me see the light.”

My eyes widened. “Jack’s mother?”

Emersyn nodded. “We had a really good talk.”

“I’d have to agree, considering you flew in from Tennessee on Thanksgiving Day,” I mused.

“I had to go to the distance and ease his pain.”

I shook my head. “No, it was you,” I murmured, echoing the line from the movie.

With a smile, Emersyn said, “We’ve come full circle.”

“We have.” An idea hit me then with such a force, I shuddered. “When we do get married, I want us to go back to Taxcao—the place where we first met.”

Emersyn’s eyes widened. “I love that.”

“Want to go tomorrow?”

Clapping her hands over her face, Emersyn shook her head. “No. Not tomorrow. Have you lost your mind?”

“Isn’t the definition of a man in love one who is crazy?”

She playfully smacked my arm. “Just when I think you couldn’t be more romantic, you have to go and say something like that.”

“The truth hurts.”

“Whatever.”

“Okay, if not tomorrow, how about next weekend?”

“No. We’re not rushing into this, Eli. Just because I’ve already had some of the experiences, I’m not going to deny you having them.”

I snorted. “Babe, I’m not a chick who dreams of walking down the aisle. I would be just as happy having my dad marry us next to the leftovers as I would to get married in some big-ass cathedral somewhere.”

“Not happening.”

“Why do you have to be so damn stubborn?” I growled.

“I believe I could throw that question right back at you.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Okay, fine. I’ll concede on getting married right away. But I’m going to need you to do something.”

“And what is that?”

“Have sex with me right now.”

She jabbed a finger at me. “This is exactly what I was talking about before with us not knowing everything about each other. How did I not know you were such an unbearable horndog?”

“I’m not a horndog.” When she pinned me with a pointed look, I replied, “If I was such a horndog, I would have been banging women every night after the shows. But I didn’t.”

“And why do you think that was?”

“Maybe subconsciously I only wanted to get in your pants, but I just didn’t realize it at the time.”

Emersyn laughed. “I’m sure there was something endearing in that statement, but it got lost along the way.” Taking a step back from me, she asked, “Do you want to know the real reason why I don’t want us to have sex right now?”

“Because you don’t want my parents and siblings to hear us?”

“While that’s certainly a big part of it, that’s not the complete reason.”

“Fine. I’m listening.”

“The last time we were together, it wasn’t entirely for the right reasons.”

I winced. “We were both trying to fuck Jack out of your head.”

She nodded. “I want it to be about no one but us.” She ran her hand down my arm to take my hand in hers. “I want you to make love to me.”

“And I want nothing more than to do that.”

“Good. Let me get dressed, and then we’ll go have dessert with your family.”

“Okay. Sounds good. You change in the bathroom. You know, for your privacy and all.”

“That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“It’s more about the fact that seeing you naked would be just too hard.”

She giggled. “If you say so.”

“For your sake, I’ll go ahead and go back downstairs, so we don’t give my family any ideas.”

“I’ll hurry.”

When she started to go to the bathroom, I reached out to pull her against me. “Say it again.”

“I’ll hurry,” she teasingly replied.

With a growl, I reached down to bring my palm over one of the perfect, round globes of her ass. Her gasp of both surprise and pleasure caused my dick to twitch. “Don’t be coy. You know what I want you to say.”

“You should know by now I’m a modern woman who doesn’t take commands.” She had the audacity to bat her eyelashes at me. “Maybe if you asked me nicely, I might say it.”

“Sonny, will you please make me the happiest man alive by saying those three little words again?”

She smiled adoringly at me. “I love you.”

I slid my thumb across her bottom lip. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing that come out of your mouth.”

“I love saying it. Most of all, I love how it means something entirely different now between us.” She brought her lips to mine. After a few breathless moments of lip-lock, she eased herself out of my embrace. “Now, get out of here.”

“Fine,” I grumbled.

As I turned to walk away, she smacked my ass. Hard. “Sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

I shook my head at her. “After all these years together, how did I not know how cruel you could be?”

“See? We have a lot to learn about each other,” she teased.

“Forgive me if I only want to know about the sweet parts of you.”

“I’m about to take off this robe, so if you really don’t want to see my sweet parts, then get out. Now.”

“Just when I think you couldn’t get any worse,” I replied, but I smiled in spite of myself. I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life sparring with her.

When I got out in the hallway, I saw Abby pacing on the landing of the stairs. At the sight of me walking toward her, she jumped and then blushed. “Oh, hi, I, um, I just wanted to make sure Emersyn didn’t need anything else.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “Did Mom and Dad send you up here to make sure we weren’t having sex?”

She laughed. “No. I came of my own nosy volition. But I do think they were glad when I said I’d check on you guys.”

“Unbelievable. I’m thirty-years-old and my parents are still trying to ensure I don’t have premarital sex.”

“While they’re fully aware that ship has sailed, I think they’re more concerned about it happening under the same roof as they are.”

“You can take the pastor out of the church, but you can’t take the church out of the pastor,” I mused.

“Exactly. And since we’re on the subject, I’m pretty sure if Emersyn stays the night, she’ll be bunking with Rae and Linc in the guest house.”

Since I knew Emersyn and I probably wouldn’t be having sex tonight, I couldn’t help laughing at how pissed Gabe must be. Of course, he hadn’t just been through a sex drought and away from the only woman in the world he wanted to sleep with.

“Not my ideal scenario, but I guess I can live with it for one night. Then I’ll whisk her back to the city with me tomorrow.”

Abby laughed. “Whatever you have to do, brother dear.”

“If you’re not up here spying on me like when you were a kid, what are you doing?”

“While I might not have been spying for mom and dad, I did have my own reasons for being nosy.”

“Such as?”

“Emersyn called me this afternoon to make sure you would be here tonight.”

I lifted my brows. “She did?”

“To ensure she arrived to see you, I pulled a few strings.”

My baby sister had rendered me speechless. “I don’t know what to say. I mean, yeah, I know I should thank you for going to all that trouble for us.”

“It wasn’t any trouble.”

“Bullshit. Travel is hell at Thanksgiving, Abby.”

She laughed. “Okay, maybe it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t any trouble.”

“What was it she said that made you want to help?”

“Actually, it wasn’t just her I was thinking about.”

Frowning, I asked, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I wanted you be happy.”

“And just by what she said, you thought seeing her again would make me happy?”

“No. I went by what I’d witnessed when I was with the two of you.” Abby’s lips twisted into a knowing smile. “The others might have been blind to your feelings, but I wasn’t.”

I sucked in a harsh breath. “How long have you known?”

“Since I saw the Instagram picture of your Goodwill Date. The way the two of you looked at each other—” Her expression melted. “There wasn’t a doubt in my mind then.”

“But I didn’t even know then. Well not entirely.”

“Oh, it was there. You just didn’t want to admit it. I saw the same thing happen with Rhys and Allison when they were trying to deny what they felt for each other.” She placed her hand on my chest. “Words can lie, but the heart never will. With every beat, it brings in love and gives it out. That’s why it’s the strongest muscle in the body.”

A lump of emotion formed in my throat. After swallowing hard, I asked, “How did I get such a wise little sister?”

“Just luck, I guess,” she replied, with a wink.

I wrapped her in my arms and kissed the top of her head. “You blondes are going to kill me. You know that, right?”

Abby laughed. “It’s a good death though.”

“True.”

Emersyn emerged from the bedroom. “I thought I heard you up here. What happened to putting your parents at ease?”

“He got sidetracked by me,” Abby admitted.

“And you can’t be mad at her, considering all she did to get you here.”

As Abby smacked my arm, Emersyn grinned. “I’m not mad. I’m also very grateful for what Abby did for me.”

“For us,” I corrected.

“Yes, for us.”

“You guys seriously don’t need to thank me. I’m just glad it all worked out, and now you two get to spend the holiday together.”

“All four hours that’s left of it,” I quipped.

“I’ll take it,” Emersyn replied. Winking, she added, “Especially some turkey. I’m starving.”

“Come on. Let’s get you some food.”

As we started down the stairs, Emersyn asked, “Is that the room where we’ll be sleeping tonight?”

At Abby’s snicker of laughter, I rolled my eyes. “Your evil wish came true—we won’t be sharing a room tonight with my parents here.”

Leaning over, Emersyn whispered, “Surely you snuck out of the house when you were a teenager. I’m sure you’ll find a way for us to be together.”

“Wait, I thought you wanted to slow things down.”

“I did. At that moment. I never said anything about tonight.”

My jaw dropped open. “Well, fuck me,” I muttered.

With an alluring smile, Emersyn said, “No. It’s making love, remember?”

Yeah, she didn’t have anything to worry about there, and just as soon as everyone was asleep, I would finally get to make love to Emersyn. And then for the rest of my life. Thank fuck.