Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (15 page)

“No,
no...nothing about what the wee bastards did ta ye is funny. I'm just
already thinkin' 'boot how we are goin ta get them all back!”
He was still laughing and when his words sunk in, finally, her smile
broke through like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

“Ohhhhh.”

“Aye,
doll, everything is goin' te be jus' fine, ye know. Did he say he was
sorry?”

“Yes,”
Morgan admitted. “Many times...”

“Well,
there ye go, just let it go and think aboot the payback!” There
was a short pause, then he spoke again. “Just got the word that
ma mum is getting released so got to go, but ring me later and I'll
tell ye my idea.”

“Thank
you, Sean. Tell your mom I said hi and to take care. I'll call you
later.”

“Will
do,” Sean replied, then hung up. Morgan sunk deeper into the
tub and smiled just a little more.
Karma is a bitch.

Chapter
Three

Morgan
wasn't sure what was better, the entire bottle of wine that she drank
while she soaked in a bubbly tub, the fact that Sean had given her
the gift of a better mood, or the scent of food that caused her
stomach to growl from under the depths of her watery bliss. “Sean,
definitely.. Sean.” She smiled again at remembering his
laughter, and his thick alcohol laced accent, then finished her bath
while thoughts of friendly revenge had began to make her laugh.

Clay
had almost knocked on the door when he heard her laughing, and the
sound was a relief that he'd hoped for since the botched fake arrest.
He stepped slowly away from the door, all the way back to the
hallway, and leaned his head into his bedroom. “Dinner's
ready.. if you're hungry.” He gripped the door frame tightly,
hoping for at least a remotely pleasant response.

“I'll
be right there!” She had also leaned in his direction, not
that either one could see the other, and answered him cheerfully.
The man let out a held breath, and tapped the door frame as he headed
back down the stairs.

Morgan's
original choice of clothing still stood, and she dressed quickly to
find out what Mister Vegas had prepared for them.
Or his butler.
She hadn't noticed anyone else in the house, but that didn't mean
that none were there. The mood she was in when they arrived could
have blocked her from noticing anything beyond the dog that tried to
eat her. Either way, dinner was on the horizon, and that's all that
mattered right then.

“It
smells wonderful in here.” Clayton was even more relieved to
see her smiling, and she actually looked at him when she spoke. He
smiled and opened the last of the carry out containers that had just
been delivered, and poured it onto a large white plate.

“I'm
not much of a cook, but I hope you like Italian.” He took a
chance at something that would make her happy, and he also knew that
handmade ravioli made at Pileggi's was the best in all of Nevada.

Morgan
looked at the array of entrees on the table and told him that it all
looked wonderful. “Oh, the fettuccine looks awesome!”
Rich people most likely didn't say 'awesome,' but she no longer cared
about pleasing her client. He was still in hot water with the girl,
so she could be any way that she wanted to... at least until his
punishment was over with.
And I have no idea when that will be.
She smiled to herself and sat down, then looked at the man for
permission to take first choice. He nodded, and slid the large
platter closer to her.

“But
these..,” he nudged the famous ravioli slightly towards the
center of the table, “are really good.” Morgan reached
out and put one finger on the plate, and nudged it back.

“And
you,” she gave it one last little push before bringing her hand
back to her own fork, “thought that having your friends act
like they were arresting me was a great idea. I don't think I can
trust your judgment.” She lifted her first bite of noodles to
her lips, and Clayton saw just a twitch of a smile. He nodded,
mostly to himself, and wondered what the hell he'd just gotten
himself into with the hot tempered, Morgan Holland.

“Fair
enough,” Clay finally spoke as he stole one of the raviolis for
himself. “More for me.” Morgan raised her eyes and
watched him take a bite of the little squares. They did look good,
but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he'd
done something right.
Nope, you're going to feel this for a while
longer.
Morgan knew she was being a bit dramatic.
Like Sean
said, he
did
apologize...
but the idea of sweet revenge was
still one that she was enjoying very much.

“Where's
Killer?” Morgan asked, then took a bite of garlic bread. She
couldn't be bitter the whole night.

“Abby.
She's not a killer,” Clay corrected her.

“Where's
Abby
?” Morgan almost smiled again. At hearing her name,
Abby ran into the kitchen, then stopped a few feet away from the
table and stared at Morgan with her head hung low. “I don't
think she likes me much,” she looked from the dog to Clay, then
back to the big dog. “Abby,” Morgan spoke in a
high-pitched voice and the dog immediately responded in a completely
different manner. Abby ran to Morgan and pushed her arm away from her
lap so she could get attention. For the first time in hours, the
woman laughed. Abby's tiny tail wiggled back and forth as the dog
pushed her head deeper into Morgan's chest, begging for head rubs.
“Okay, okay, I take it back. Whozz a good girl? You're a good
girl, yes you are. I'm sorry I scared you.”

“So
she tries to bite you and gets forgiveness? Hmm...” Clay
laughed quietly on the other side of the table as he reached for
another ravioli. “Abby, easy girl,” he told his dog when
he noticed she was pushing a bit too hard. “Come on...outside.”
Morgan giggled again when the dog paused and looked from the back
door to Clay, then to her as if she were trying to decide what to do.
Finally though, she listened and Morgan watched her prance to the
glass door leading outside.

Her
eyes went back to the table while she waited for her client to return
and she smiled when she saw the plate of delicious looking ravioli.
One won't hurt...come here you little...

“I
knew it! I knew you couldn't resist!” Busted. Morgan blushed,
knowing she'd been caught, red-handed, stealing one of the little
squares from his plate. She maintained eye contact as her hand slowly
moved across the length of the table, holding the lone ravioli
between her fingers. A large smile crept across her face as her hand
neared her own plate. “I'm standing right here, I see you, you
know?”

Morgan's
smile started to fade as she pretended to be serious, and she still
kept her eyes on him as her hand rose past her plate and toward her
mouth. “You don't see anything.” Slowly, she slid the
ravioli between her lips and shook her head back and forth. She
chewed in little bites, trying to keep her mouth as still as possible
while hoping to maintain a straight face as well.

“Right,
I see nothing,” Clayton agreed with her and sat back down in
his chair across from her. “I suppose the ravioli that you
aren't
eating isn't good either?” Again, Morgan shook
her head back and forth, but slowly, her hand stretched out for
another. Clay grabbed the plate before she could reach it and pulled
it closer to himself, a smile spreading across his own face.

“That's
how it's going to be?” Morgan sat back in her chair and crossed
her arms, playfully narrowing her eyes at the man across from her.

“Will
you accept my apology?” Clayton raised an eyebrow and leaned
back in his own chair, but still held the plate hostage between his
hands.

“Are
you really holding ravioli for ransom so I'll forgive you? Well, it's
not going to work!”

“No?”
He picked up one of the cheese stuffed bites and brought it up to his
lips, then slowly ran his tongue over the outside edge and set it
back on the plate. He picked up another one and did the same thing to
it.

“Nope,”
she whispered and brought her hands to her lap.
Two left...don't
you dare lick them!
His hand moved to the third one and Morgan
sat up in her chair, watching his every movement. .
Don't. You.
Do. It.
His fingers wrapped around the ravioli and Morgan thought
quick. Her head snapped to the front door, “someone just pulled
up, did you hear that?”

It
worked. Clay lowered his hand, distracted by the thought of company,
and Morgan quickly reached across the table and stole the ravioli
from his fingers, as well as the last non-licked one on the plate.
Clayton groaned when he saw what she'd done and even louder when he
watched her slowly lick them as he'd done.

The
ice had officially been broken, and through their greatly enjoyed
meal, both of them discovered that they shared a playful nature.
Clay was most relieved that she'd forgiven him, and was looking
forward to seeing her true personality, instead of tears of anger
that she'd shown him since they met.

“I
was going to take you to dinner to get those,” he pointed at
the empty plate that had been wiped clean of sauce by Morgan's bread,
“but... well, I sort of ruined that, huh?” She nodded,
pretending to be serious once again, but laughed when the man
promised to take her out for more of the ravioli that she didn't
like, just as soon as she wanted.

The
wine that Morgan had was working wonders in keeping her relaxed, but
she knew that he was also the reason. Their after dinner
conversation was almost as good as the meal, and Morgan could see
that the man was a hard core practical joker. She laughed at some of
the stories that he told her, and felt bad for a few of the victims.
“So, I'm just another joke for you, is that it?” She
leaned forward, with her arms crossed over her chest. Her smile held
a warning that he should probably come up with a good answer.

“Joke?
No. But I did want a laugh with you... you know.. to make sure we
got off to a good.... start.” When he finished, both of them
nearly fell forward in laughter, and Morgan finally put her guard
down completely. She couldn't remember how many times she did
something, thinking it was a good idea, then having it blow up in her
face at the end. He made a mistake, and that was the end of it.

The
next hour, the two talked about Clay's casino, and that he'd owned it
for only four years. He was thirty six, and still young enough to
learn more about the business, and old enough to make it work. She
was impressed with the risks that he'd taken to live his dream, using
every last penny he had, plus more than substantial loan and investor
money. She didn't think she could take those kinds of risks, but was
happy to see that someone could.

He
asked about Morgan, but she didn't share too much about herself. It
wasn't that she tried to hide her past, but compared to what he was
doing with his life, she felt that she didn't have much to offer to
the conversation.
I was a waitress. Now I'm a hooker.
Impressed?

“So,
I hear you were upset when my men picked you up. What happened?”
He wasn't shy about finding out anything he wanted to know. The
question caught her off guard, and she stood quickly to let Abby back
into the house when Morgan noticed her at the door. “Come on,
you ate the last of my only food! Tell me!” He put his hands
together at his chin, and the silly praying motion made her laugh
again. She leaned against his counter, and took a deep breath as the
memory of Angel and Cedric's deception came crawling back in.

He
allowed her time to think it over, and leaned back in his chair as
she began. Morgan told him everything that had happened, but left
out the part about her feelings for the men. He listened, nodded on
occasion, and then... laughed. Just as Sean did, he laughed so hard
that she had time to join him at the table and resume petting Abby
while he got himself under control. And, just as she did with Sean,
she asked what could possibly be funny about the situation.

Clay
wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes, and answered. An answer
that also reminded her of the Irishman. “There's only about a
million ways to get him back, and I was thinking about each and every
one of them.” Morgan smiled, even though she didn't want to,
and gave her attention back to the dog. Revenge. Did she really
want to get Angel back? Should she even tell him that she knew about
it? She questioned herself so much that she didn't even notice that
Clay had left the kitchen.