Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (3 page)

“I'm
sorry... I can't. I'm not letting this silly mystery run my life.”
The silence that followed was awkward, and neither of them were used
to it all. She took another deep breath, and tried to clear the air.
“I love you, and I'm so grateful for how much you care, but I
want peace, Angel... not drama.” Angel couldn't understand, he
could never let something so huge go without getting answers, and all
Morgan thought of the situation was that it was unwanted drama.

“Baby,
get some rest. Call me when you can, and... we'll figure something
out.” He ended the call, without the needed 'goodbye' or
kisses, and Morgan closed her eyes as she leaned back against the
tub.

“
I'm
the queen of disappointments.” She sighed loudly into the open
space above, and blocked the negative thoughts that tried to creep
into her mind. “I'm so tired of guilt... and drama.”
Morgan's eyes remained closed as she let the warm water cradle her
body as she slipped into a much needed slumber.

The
following morning, Morgan wasn't sure whether it was the scent of
coffee, the fact there was a painful kink in her neck or the
realization she was freezing that woke her up. Maybe it was a
combination of all three, but regardless, it left her confused and as
usual, it took her a few long moments to gather her bearings and
remember where she was.

“
Shit,”
her mumbled curse came through as she sat up. “I have got to
stop doing that!” Her hand quickly moved to the back of her
neck, then she rocked her head back and forth slowly, hoping to work
out the pain.

“Doing
what?” Ian's cheerful voice filled the room and Morgan forgot
the pain in her neck for a moment as she saw what was in his hands,
two cups of what she hoped was... “Coffee?” She was
relieved that it was in fact her beloved drink and she held her hand
out for the mug with a nod that made her remember the pain just as
quickly.

Her
hand shot back to her neck again, with a soft groan of pain
following. “I fell asleep in the tub,” she answered his
question with a laugh, then pulled the blanket up to her chest. “I
do it all the time and
every
time, I suffer the consequences,”
she added.

“
You
wasted no time with moving on,” he sat down next to her and
took a sip of his own coffee. “I leave you for an hour and
you've already cheated on me.”

“I
told you, I can't resist a sexy bathroom,” she joked back,
then prodded him with her elbow. She looked down to her wrist and saw
that it was only a little past eight and she smiled with relief.
Good, I didn't sleep the day away.
Morgan could barely
remember going to bed the night before. She had a foggy memory of
wrapping herself in a robe and walking into the bedroom, but she
couldn't remember dressing herself nor did she have the memory of Ian
joining her in the large bed.

“Well,
I don't give up easily,” he told her, then stood again. “Looks
like I need to up my game.” Ian raised an eyebrow and she
returned it, waiting for his suggestion. Instead, he asked her for
one. “What can I do to change your mind?”

Morgan
thought about it for a few moments, trying to think of something
clever, but her stomach answered for her. “Breakfast is a good
start. Actually...food is always a good start!” Morgan giggled
again, clutching her growling belly.

Another
quick decision, and she decided to brave the cool air conditioned
room. She flipped the blanket off her body and stood, then quickly
toe-walked toward her zebra bag.

“
It's
freezing in here!” Morgan looked over her shoulder to the man
who was watching her every move. Realizing she was in a tight, nearly
transparent pink tank top and tiny matching shorts, she understood
why. She rubbed the goosebumps from her arms and raised an eyebrow at
Ian again. “If it wasn't so cold, I wouldn't have to wear
this...” Morgan grabbed a hooded sweatshirt from her bag and
held it up in front of her by a finger, letting it sway back and
forth like cloth pendulum for a few moments.

“
Point
made, I'll fix it.” Ian's laugh made her giggle too. He made a
quick promise to adjust the temperature and said he'd have breakfast
ready before she was. Morgan nodded, knowing it was probably the
truth and Ian left the room, leaving her in privacy.

She
grabbed a pair of denim shorts from her bag and decided she was still
going to wear the hoodie, at least until the suite warmed up. A half
hour later, after straightening her hair and applying a bit of
makeup, she finally made an appearance into the suite's kitchen where
Ian was laying out all of the food that had arrived. “Wow,
that's quite a breakfast!” Morgan's mouth nearly watered at the
sight in front of her.

“If
there's something else you want, just tell me and I'll have them
bring it up..”

“No,
I like just about everything here, so you're good. Thank you!”
Morgan reached past him, grabbing the first thing that caught her
attention, a muffin from a tray of many others. When she realized
they weren't her favorite kind, she set it back on the tray, then
went for the pancakes instead. “No wonder you live here,”
she told him after taking a bite of the chocolate chip laced
flapjacks.

“I
know,” he replied with a smile, then grabbed a plate and served
himself a bit of eggs and a pancake of his own. “Sorry for
leaving last night, just had to take care of a few things
downstairs.”

“No
need to apologize. Remember, I got to spend time with your...wait...”
She spoke before his words sunk in.
Took care of
things...downstairs.
“So,
this
is what you do?”
Morgan spread her arms out, indicating the room around her. “Is
this...”

“It
is,” he laughed at her disbelief.

“Wow,”
she nodded, then took another bite. It made sense he lived there if
he owned the whole damn building.

Chapter
Three

“
I
guess you were hungry!” Ian and Morgan both laughed as she
popped the last of her bacon into her mouth. It was her fourth
piece, along with everything else that she had devoured.

She
was still giggling when she threw her napkin in his direction. “Hey,
you're not supposed to tell a lady that she ate too much!” He
feigned shock at his own words, and stood to bow at her side.

“If
the lady will forgive me?” He took her hand and brought it to
his lips and offered a kiss with his sarcastic apology. She raised
her chin and looked down her nose as he released her hand. Ian was
so relaxed, and his smile was something that her eyes searched for
each time she looked at the man. She was never disappointed.

“I'll
consider it, if.... and only if.... you agree to take me shopping.”
She had no idea why the words left her mouth so easily, Morgan
wasn't one to suggest anything to a client unless he left it up to
her. She was just about to tell him that she was only kidding, when
the truth hit her at full force.
Because I want to.
Morgan's
chin remained high as she waited for her gentleman to agree. He
smiled at their playful moment, and nodded once.

“A
day of shopping it will be, my lady.” She pulled her hand from
his and stood quickly, offering only a quick kiss to his lips before
turning. Morgan was almost to the bathroom to find a proper outfit
when she stopped to reply.

“I'll
be but a moment, kind sir. Oh, and don't throw out my coffee, I'll
finish that before we leave.” She nodded toward the table
where his hand was dangerously close to her full cup, and giggled
when he moved his hand away from her drink. “Thank you.”
She smiled as she shut the bathroom door as memories of Michael, and
his talk of her being his fair maiden, flooded her mind. But, she
thought, she was Ian's fair maiden for the week, and it was something
that Morgan greatly looked forward to.

Her
white distressed jeans and a long purple tank with dark wood beads on
the straps would be perfect. “I need jewelery.” She
looked in the mirror as she ran her finger over the white gold angel
wings, and smiled as she thought of the man behind the gift. The
purple tank, however, would look even better with a long beaded
necklace, and that would be something that she shopped for that
afternoon. She also had to find time for another full laundry day,
as the best she had done was wash only one load while she was with
Finlay and Burke.

She
was just double checking the mirror before leaving the room when she
heard Ian's voice. Then she heard another voice, and she put her ear
to the door to listen. The two men were speaking in spanish, but she
caught the gist of the conversation. Ian had to leave again. It
wasn't a surprise when he called out her name in a regretful tone.

“Yes?”
She replied after scurrying to the other side of the room to make it
clear she had
not
just been eavesdropping on the man.

“There's
a problem downstairs with the restaurant delivery, I have to go get
things sorted out. If you want to wait, it shouldn't take more than
an hour or two...”

Morgan
walked back to the door, then opened it and leaned against the
doorway as a smile spread across her lips. She wanted to go out, and
that's what she would do, with or without her client. “I'd like
to go shopping now, but name a place and I'll meet you there whenever
you're done.” Her index finger wrapped around a long strand of
hair as she spoke. His lips curved into a quick frown, then he nodded
and suggested they exchange phone numbers so they could meet up
later.

Morgan
typed her number into his phone, then she grabbed her purse, and
while the two took the elevator downstairs together, he explained
where she could find some good shops within walking distance. She
thanked him for the information, and he kissed her on the cheek
before parting ways.

Morgan
was actually excited to be shopping on her own and even more happy
that she was finally doing something because
she
wanted to.
The old her probably would never have even mentioned shopping in the
first place, and she certainly would have waited for him to return.
I'm growing up.

She
made her way in the direction he'd referred to and by the time she
reached the first store, her cheeks were aching from the grin on her
face. Something had changed, something she couldn't quite explain,
but she felt it. It was a new independence, one that made her feel
strong. She wasn't letting her clients rule her thoughts and that was
something she hadn't been able to do since her first meeting with
Finlay. It was always
something.
For the past few months,
she'd felt like she'd been doing everything in her power to make
everyone else happy, always
fixing
everyone and everything.
Morgan loved helping other people, but she'd somehow dropped herself
from the list of those she should do more for. Sometimes, she
thought, she needed
fixed
as well.

She
walked into the little clothing store with her head held high, then
did a completely unnecessary hair flip and clicked her heels over to
the first dress rack she saw. When she reached for a long blue and
white sundress, her eyes caught her bare finger where the ring had
been and she smiled again, knowing the pretty little thing wasn't
going to bring her down. It amused her even more for the fact that
whoever had sent it to her was probably losing their mind by then.
Angel had wanted her to figure out the mystery...maybe she would one
day, but that day was not going to be the one.

Morgan
shook her head and let out a quiet laugh.
Nope, whoever you are,
I'll just let you come to me.
She laughed again, then grabbed the
dress off the hanger and moved on to the next display. Retail therapy
at its best.

The
sundress rested at the bottom of the white bag that she draped over
her shoulder as she made her way to an outdoor display of beautifully
hand crafted jewelry. “This day just keeps getting better!”
The girl was in full shopping mode and picked up her pace toward the
large table.

The morning had quickly turned to a beautifully bright afternoon, and
she stopped to get her sunglasses from her bag, as she was only a few
steps from the jewelry stand. When she looked up after sliding them
on, she was face to face with someone that she never expected to see
again. “Oh... oh my... hi!” Morgan nearly ran front
first into a previous client, and friend. “Jake!” Her
hyper Floridian grabbed her around the waist and nearly picked her up
from the ground in a tight hug. He let go enough to hold her at
arm's length and look her over.