Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (74 page)

“I
am not...needy.” Morgan sat up and grimaced at her reflection
in the mirror. She'd gone to bed with wet hair from her shower and
her long golden locks had crimped, curled and flattened all over her
head.
That's a look.
“But, oh my god.”

“Bitch,
you take a week off to relax and you end up doing your client before
he's even your mothafuckin' client,” Angel huffed, spinning one
of his own curly locks around his finger.

“Who
said it wasn't relaxing?” Morgan giggled, then added, “well,
it wasn't really relaxing. I was covered in mud, freezing cold and
I'm pretty sure my best bra is still in a back alley behind a
building with a fish statue. But it was a good ending to a crazy
day.”

“Sticky
Ass, baby girl, I don't need to know about all that kinky ass shit
with fish and mud and what he did in your back alley, but I'm glad
you had fun.”

“He
didn't do anything in
my
back alley, thank you very much!”
Morgan protested, still laughing and still examining. “I'm glad
he's my next client...if it were anyone else, they'd think I was
beaten!” Morgan went on to explain what had happened, about her
helping Robbie, the pouring rain, the phone call and ultimately, how
the raw emotions came out in physical form. Angel thought it was nice
that she'd met him already, but he suggested that she at least take a
couple of days for herself and Morgan actually agreed. “I think
I will. Robbie is great, but you're right. I came here early so I
could have some me time.”
After today.

The
two of them said their goodbyes, and Morgan did just that. Starting
with ordering a large breakfast from room service, then she took an
extra long shower. By the time her food had arrived, she was ready to
take on her day.

While
she picked at an omelette that could have easily served four people,
she gave Robbie a call to tell him her plan. She wanted to ask Robbie
to dinner and learn a little more about him before she took time off,
and before they were to spend a week together. Instead though,
Loraine answered.

“Oh,
uhm...hi, Loraine. Is Robbie there?” Suddenly, Morgan felt like
a girl in junior high, talking to their boyfriend's mom.

“You're
that
girl, aren't you?” Loraine was displeased, and
Morgan was instantly pissed.

“Excuse
me? What is that supposed to mean?” Morgan poked an onion with
her fork, making a loud sound against the plate.

“You
left him out there, in the rain, all alone! Just like I knew you
would! I knew you'd leave him!” Her voice was strained, Morgan
could tell she was fighting tears.

“Uh.
I don't know what he told you...but I didn't
leave
him. I was
even in the car with him when he came back last night!” Morgan
didn't want to waste any more time defending herself and asked to
speak to the man himself.

“He's
not here,” Loraine spouted. Suddenly, Morgan heard a man's
voice, announcing that he was, in fact,
here.
“That's
not a good idea,” Morgan heard Loraine whisper. The next voice
proved to Morgan that Robbie's housekeeper had lost the battle.

“Morgan.”
She could hear the smile in his voice, and her own smile grew. “I'm
sorry for that. All she,” meaning Loraine, “knew was that
I came home after one, soaking wet, and alone.” He looked at
Loraine, but spoke to both of the women, “Morgan...didn't....do
anything.....” His words were broken up with a fierce bout of
coughing, “wrong.”

“Are
you sick?” Morgan's lips pursed together as she waited for an
answer.
Please don't be sick, please don't be sick.

“Yeah,
I think all the rain got to me, but I'm....” more coughing,
“alright.”

“Okay,
well, I was going to ask you to dinner, but that's definitely not
happening. You get some rest and call me when you're feeling better.”
Morgan wasn't about to make him go out when he wasn't feeling well.

“Really,
I feel....fine.”

“You're
a horrible liar.” Both of them laughed, but Robbie agreed to
call her when he was feeling better, and both of them were thankful
that their week hadn't actually started.

That
day, Morgan spent most of in bed. She enjoyed more pizza and
authentic German chocolate, as she watched subtitled horror movies.
In her world, that was a perfect day. The next two days though,
Morgan spent in bed because she had to.

The
soreness that made her giggle that first morning had actually gotten
much worse. It wasn't anything serious beyond painful stiffness, but
she did make a worthy mental note to take a very large pillow the
next time she planned to have unexpected sex in the pouring rain
against a brick wall. She also didn't have much of an appetite for a
change, so finding food hadn't been that big of an issue.

“Two
more days, Robbie...and you're all mine.” Morgan smiled at her
reflection in the bathroom mirror as she added a final coat of gloss
to her already pink lips. She was finally feeling normal again, even
though her entire back side was still covered in bruises, but the
stiffness was gone and her usual perky walk had returned.

She
had thought about her sweet client all morning, and was greatly
looking forward to seeing him again. A few phone calls through the
week were all that they had shared since the storm, but it was enough
to build anticipation on both sides. “Today,” she
squinted at her reflection as if another face was looking back at
her, “I find out more about your true love.”

She
turned the light out and spun around, nearly prancing through the
room, all the way to the door, and grabbed her overnight bag from the
bed without even slowing down. Robbie's true love, jousting, was
still a mystery to Morgan, and she had to know more about it in order
to help the man that clearly needed her. Even if he didn't know it
yet.

She
had to go to Kaltenburg, which was near Munich, but a seven hour
train ride from Hamburg. It was the only place that offered a
jousting show that appeared most realistic. It wasn't exactly real
jousting, but close enough to get the information that she needed.
The show only happened once a year, in the month of July, but after a
few phone calls, Morgan was able to pull some strings and she had
scheduled a visit with a few of the personal trainers and jousters
that would be performing. The place she was going was a short
distance from the Kaltenburg Castle, so she was thrilled to have the
opportunity to sightsee while she was there.

Once
on the train, she was grateful that her soreness had eased, because a
seven hour ride would have been hell otherwise. It turned out to be
a wonderful trip, and her camera never left her hand as she took
dozens of photos of the changing scenery.

The
train stopped in Munich, and Morgan took a taxi to get to Kaltenburg,
to the hotel she'd already reserved for the night. More pictures were
taken along the way, and more thoughts of Robbie passed through her
mind.
You're not done riding, Robbie. Not yet.

When
she arrived to her hotel, it was only one-thirty and she didn't have
to be at the stables until five. She quickly realized, there was no
hotel bar, and in her room, there was no television or kitchenette,
even the tiny bathtub wasn't much to speak of. The bed was extra
large and adorned with more pillows that one would need, and the
window provided a spectacular view of downtown, and to Morgan, that
was worth more than a television that yelled at her in German.

“Just
beautiful.” She threw her bag on the bed and pulled the
curtains aside, then after a few photos, her stomach growled loudly,
reminding her she hadn't eaten since picking at a blueberry bagel
that morning. “Bagels just aren't the same to pick blueberries
out of,” she smiled and shook her head.

Morgan
went into the small bathroom and ran her fingers through her straight
hair and applied another coat of lipgloss, then went back to her bag
to grab her phone and camera. The day was beautiful, not too chilly
and would be perfect for a few hours of touring before she met with
the guys.

On
the way down the two flights of stairs it took to get to the lobby,
Morgan's phone rang out from her back pocket. “What do you want
now, Angel?” she asked aloud as she tried to remove the phone
from her jeans and continue bouncing down the stairs. Except, it
wasn't Angel calling. “Not right now,” Morgan looked at
Finlay's picture on the front of her phone and sighed, then ignored
the call. By the time she reached the bottom floor, it was ringing
again. “Can't I just find some food first?” She groaned
and pulled the phone back out of her pocket and brought it to her ear
as she answered. “I'm sorry, you've reached the automated voice
message system of Morgan Holland. Please leave a message after
the...”

“Lass,
quite being a wee...”

“Wee
what, Finlay? What am I?”

“Pain
in my arse,” Finlay answered, lightheartedly.

Morgan
shook her head and pushed through the front doors of the lobby.
Outside of the hotel, the wind had picked up, making it harder for
Finlay to hear. Morgan had no problem speaking louder, almost too
loud, and she knew it. “I'm sorry for being a pain in
your
ass, Finlay. But if you will excuse me...”

“What
is it noo? Ye've got to go on a sailboat and catch a tuna fer
supper?” Finlay was trying to beat her at her own game of
outlandish lies, but Morgan didn't find him amusing and only huffed
in reply. “Please, Morgan. Just listen te me.”

“Actually,
I'm getting ready to go get some food, not a tuna, and then I'm going
out to meet some people to find out some information on my client. Is
that alright?” Morgan was still shouting as she walked down the
street and she smiled as she looked down at her boots that had not
only dried out, but had not been damaged at all during the storm.

“Aye,
just give me a minute.”

“One.
Minute. Go.” She blew a small bubble out of her over-chewed
gum, then popped it loudly in the speaker of her phone. When she
turned the corner of the small street she was on, she found a brewery
and that was the kind of place that was sure to have a burger. “Oh,
you know what? Never mind. I have to go. Something just came up.”
She smiled wider.
Okay, yes, I'm blowing him off for a burger, but
he deserves it!

“Fine,”
Finlay sighed. His tone of defeat stopped Morgan in her tracks and
she went silent. “I love ye, lass.” With that, he hung up
and Morgan brought the phone to her chest. A silent promise was made
to herself that she'd talk to him soon. She was still mad at the man,
so very mad, but they were never going to get over it if she
continued to ignore him.

“Even
though I hate you sometimes, I love you too, Fin.” Her whisper
lingered in the air for a moment as she took in a long breath of
crisp air. “But I won't stop being a pain in your arse.”
She shook her head again with a quiet laugh and walked into the
brewery with her head held high.

She
had a very large, and very strong beer in front of her within
seconds, and was already calling Julianne before her first sip.
“Damn..,” her boss wasn't available, and she hated
leaving voice mails when it was important. “Hi, Julianne...
everything here is fine and I'm just checking in. Also...uhm... I
need to ask you something, so call me back when you can. Bye!”
That last part was shouted, and she closed her eyes tightly with
embarrassment as she hung up the phone. “Damn, I really need
to brush up on my phone etiquette.” She looked around at the
two men sitting at the bar and smiled, once again caught talking to
herself. One of the men, with long dark red hair pulled back in a
pony tail, smiled and nodded.

“American?”
Morgan giggled and nodded. “You're not, Morgan Holland by
chance, are you?” Morgan's eyes widened and she nodded again.

“How
do you know me?” Just as he was about to speak, it became
clear that the two men beside her were the same duo that she had
planned to meet with later. “Wait! Are you, John? And Brett?”
Both men nodded and she shook hands with the men that would help her
understand Robbie a little better. Little did Morgan know, they were
going to help in more ways than she could ever imagine.