Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (89 page)

Evita
was still protesting when they got to her cottage, and Morgan was
still pushing her as they walked through the front door. The older
woman tried to stop Morgan when the younger of the two walked boldly
through Evita's home and found her overly tidy bedroom. The tiny
smile that Morgan saw on her friend's face had been the one thing
that gave her the unspoken permission to be so forceful. “This!
Wear this one... with... these shoes!” Morgan held up the
black dress with red straps and piping in front of Evita, and handed
her the black strappy heels.

“Morgan.”
The blonde was just about to leave Evita to her room to get dressed
when the older of the two spoke her name. Morgan's eyes nearly
teared when Evita reached up and put a small clip in her hair. It
had a tiny red ladybug on the top, and Evita secured the one curl
with the sweet accessory, then nodded for Morgan to leave.

“Thank
you.” Another nod from both women, and Morgan went to the
small living room to wait. A mere ten minutes later, and Evita left
her room looking like an entirely different person. “Wow!
Look at you! You're so beautiful!” Morgan made the woman
twirl, flaring the dress at her shapely knees. Evita's hair had been
taken from its binding, and it fell nearly to her waist in thick
large waves. She was breathtaking, and Morgan couldn't wait for
Tomas to see his date. The wonderfully applied makeup was even more
of a shock, and Evita's full lips were perfected by just enough red
color to show off the plump beauties.

The
women were giggling as they walked back across the grass to the main
house, and Morgan could see the top of Tomas' head through the large
kitchen windows.
Hold on tight, Tommy, you're about to get a
freaking shock and a half.
Morgan took one last look at Evita,
then grabbed her arm suddenly. “Gloss!” The lack of lip
gloss was important enough for Morgan to drag the woman around the
house, and through the front door, away from the men. “Be down
in a minute!” Morgan shouted toward the general area of the
kitchen as the two women ran up the stairs like giddy teenagers
preparing for their first prom.

Morgan
motioned for Evita to take a seat on the bed, and she rummaged
quickly through her zebra print bag. “Aha! This is new... so
if you like it, you can have it.” She knew that Evita had no
idea what she had just told her, but the older woman knew what the
gloss was for. She got up and ran to the bathroom, and applied the
final touch to her face. “Bonita!” Morgan hoped that
was close to pretty or beautiful, and according to the nod of
appreciation she received from Evita, it was close enough “Alright,
let's go find our dates!”

Tomas
and Diego were seated at the small table when the women joined them,
and Tomas nearly knocked his own chair backwards when he stood
quickly at the sight of Evita. Morgan started to leave her side,
hoping the two would have a moment alone before the four of them
left, but she stopped when she felt a small set of fingers grip her
arm.
First date jitters... I get it.
Morgan smiled at the
woman and kept her place while Tomas approached them.

The
move was subtle, but it didn't get by Diego. He noticed Evita grab
Morgan's arm, but he also noticed that Morgan stayed put. There was a
friendship there, that much was obvious, but coming from the bitter
Evita, it was nearly a miracle. Morgan had done more for his two
employees than he'd ever done in the years he'd known either. Not
that he was a rude man or didn't care, he just wasn't as observant.
It took a young beautiful blonde woman named Morgan to make him
notice, and for that, he was grateful.

Tomas
grabbed Evita's free hand, then slowly brought it to his lips. In the
process of receiving a tender kiss, the grip on Morgan's arm became
stronger. She also noticed the rosy color that had taken over Evita's
cheeks that had nothing to do with her blush. Morgan and Diego both
had to hide their smiles from the cute couple. Tomas didn't care
about hiding his feelings any longer. His biggest worry, aside from
Evita turning him down, had been the thought of Diego's disapproval
of them getting together. After Tomas' discussion with his boss the
night prior though, Diego had told him to go for it. As long as it
didn't interfere with their jobs, of course.

“Is
everyone ready then?” Diego broke the awkward tension in the
air and ushered everyone to the front door. “We're getting out
a bit later than I'd hoped, but we'll get there as soon as the
festivities are at their peak.” Morgan smiled with excitement.
Festivities. I like the sound of that.

The
ladies grabbed their purses and after Morgan double checked that she
had her camera, the four of them walked out of the house. The crisp
night air felt refreshing and Morgan looked up to appreciate the
beauty of the clear skies, and the infinite stars that sparkled above
their heads. It was already so dark out though, none of them noticed
the large dog racing across the lawn.

“Sofia!”
Evita snapped her fingers, then pointed toward her cottage. The dog
stopped in mid-run, paused for a few moments, then ran off in the
other direction. Thankfully, the dog's owner had noticed before the
muddy pup made a mess of their clothing.

“Sofia!
It's...it's a girl?” Morgan had been thinking that the large
dog was a male for the past few days. It seemed too large to be a
female, but she was no expert on dogs, so she kicked herself for
assuming. Not that it mattered, but she could have thrown in a few
“who'zzz a good girl”' praises. “That's explains
why...” Morgan shut her lips, realizing she was about to say
too much. She was going to say that it explained why the dog was a
trouble maker...girls always get what they want, but as far as Diego
knew, that was only the second time she'd ever seen the dog. The
first time being when Evita had been sitting on the couch enjoying
her soaps. Thankfully, Diego was already climbing into the back of
the car, so Morgan didn't have to explain herself.

Tomas
smiled and shook his head, then placed one finger over his lip in a
shh
motion. Morgan returned a smile and climbed into the back
when the driver opened the door for her. Morgan smiled again when
Evita turned around in her seat to give her a wide-eyed 'I can't
believe this is happening' look. A quick thumbs up was enough to
reassure Evita and she turned back around in the passenger seat and
watched her date climb into his side.

“A
double date! This is so much fun!” Morgan grabbed Diego's hand
and held it tight as they began to roll down the long driveway. In
the front, there was a quiet exchange of words, followed by a small
giggle from Evita. “They are so cute!” Morgan whispered
to her own date.

“I've
been meaning to ask, how did you know? I've worked with them for
years and never put it together.” Diego's words were so quiet,
Morgan almost had to ask him to repeat himself, but she'd heard
enough of the question to put it together.

“It
was the way they looked at each other. It's unmistakeable. Kind of
like the way you looked at me upstairs...” She was referring to
the time when he'd bent her over the bathroom sink for a quickie.
Diego put his hands up, waving them back and forth.

“I
don't want to think about them looking at each other...like that.”
Morgan giggled and told him she thought it was sweet.

“I
bet they'll be doing that tonight.”

“Stop
it.” He pretended to stick his fingers in his ears so he didn't
have to hear her continue. Morgan placed her hand on his leg, then
slowly moved it higher as she leaned in closer to his ear. “I
bet they'll do this too,” she whispered.

Diego
adjusted in his seat, then gave Morgan a stern look that made her
laugh. He also removed her hand that had been inching itself even
closer toward its prize from his leg. “They won't do be doing
what I'm going to do to you tonight.” His words didn't have the
same playful tone as before. They hung with the same sexy air that
his words had held in the bathroom, both times. Morgan felt the heat
rise to her neck and grabbed his hand again. It was probably the only
safe spot her hands could be at that moment, at least if they wanted
to actually see the carnival.

The
topic of what they were going to do to one another was dropped, and
for the remainder of the trip the car was full of laughter as Tomas
and Morgan recalled events from their night of drinking. Even Evita
jumped into the conversation, in which one of the two men would
translate for her. She laughed as she told everyone about the look on
Morgan's face each time she'd asked for another drink.

“You
would never know!” Morgan defended herself. Evita could put
back some tequila, nobody could argue that.

Evita
had started to mumble something else, but suddenly the car was filled
with flashing lights from outside. Morgan looked out her window and
saw it, the carnival. In the darkness, the lights were beautiful.
Lights from the food stands, lights around people's necks, lights
strobing from every direction.

From
her first glance, the only thing Morgan could come close to comparing
it to was Mardi Gras, minus the topless women. She hadn't seen much
of the carnival though, so she'd reserve any definitive answer on
that one. Music shook the glass and laughter filled the air. As soon
as they slowed down to find a parking place, Morgan began taking
pictures.

“You'll
have plenty of time to take pictures of everything,” Diego
leaned in and nearly yelled, trying to overcome the sound of the
street carnival.

Morgan
was far too over sensitized to hear anything he was saying, and she
was out the door and snapping more pictures before anyone else had
even stepped out of the car. “Come on!” She put her
hand out to her date behind her, and smiled in a way that made him
wish for much more time with the beautiful girl.

The
three natives couldn't help but laugh at Morgan's never ending energy
that night. She nearly dragged them from one place to another, and
they all silently agreed to allow the girl to lead the way throughout
the night. She would most likely never see the festivities again,
they were lucky enough to live there and enjoy it for many years to
come.

The
two couples danced, laughed, and three of them posed for dozens of
photos for Morgan. They also managed a few drinks while they were
there, but none of them were up for anything beyond a few glasses of
wine.

“I've
never had so much fun dancing, thank you for bringing me tonight.”
Morgan had her arms wrapped around Diego's neck, and they were
slowly swaying to the upbeat music that everyone else was dancing
quickly to. He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her close.

“Thank
you for reminding me to have fun. I've missed it. It's almost as
if... I forgot... how to dance.” She snuggled into his chest
until the song ended, and they were joined by the very happy, Evita
and Tomas. Morgan pulled away from her dance partner, and looked
down at the locked hands of the other two. She wanted to tell them
how happy she was for the couple, but Tomas reached out his free hand
toward Morgan and told her that they had to do one last thing before
leaving.

“Uh...
what...?” She gave him a comical, yet questioning look, but
took his hand and slowly walked in his direction. He whispered
something in Evita's ear, then led Morgan to the center of the
multicolored lit street. “Oh! It's the same music!”
Morgan giggled at hearing the same sounds from when she took her
Tango lessons, and she immediately stood still for the man to lead
them.

“She's
good! Look at her!” Diego spoke mostly to himself, but looked
at a nodding Evita who was enjoying the show just as much as Diego.
“Let's go!” He grabbed her small hand and dodged dancers
until they were close to Morgan and Tomas. The two couples showed
off their mad Tango skills through two songs, and when they were
over, they switched partners for one last slow number that would
bring their night to an end.

*****

“Did
you really learn to tango in just an hour?” Diego sat on the
edge of the bed, just as he'd done before and began taking off his
shoes. The carnival had been fun, but exhausting.

“You'd
be surprised of what I could accomplish in an hour.” She nearly
fell from laughter as she tried to jump around and take off her high
heel.

“Here,
let me...” He stood once his shoes were off, then guided her to
the bed and she sat down in the place he had been. His hands found
one of her small ankles, then slowly down to the strap that held her
white heels on. “Don't these things hurt?” he asked her
jokingly as he slid the first one off her sore foot.