Someone Someday (All in Good Time Book 2) (9 page)

"I wanted to see if I could hang out with you a little bit."

"Why?" I glanced at him again, and my expression must've been comically confused because he laughed.

"Nick would be mad if he knew I told you, but I was asking about you while we were standing there watching class, and Nick told me what you did with that girl April who couldn't pay her tuition."

Chapter 11

My face flushed as I stood in the elevator. Morgan had just told me he knew I was paying April's tuition at the gym, and I was having trouble making eye contact with him because of it.

I realized he must think I was incredibly generous, especially now that he knew I worked at a coffee shop and was trying to save up to open one of my own. He must have thought I was a saint. I came really close to blurting out that I had money to spare and it was really no big deal, but the words got stuck in my throat.

"I'm sorry," he said, since I just stood there lost in thought. "Nick didn't mean any harm. I was just asking about you, and he said you were a really generous person. When I asked him what he meant by that, it just sort of came out." He leaned toward me to try to get me to look at him, and I glanced his way with a little half-smile before he continued, "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"Oh, no it's fine," I said. "I was just confused for a second because I didn't even know Nick knew about it. It was Jordan who helped me take care of it." I paused. "But it makes sense that the office people would all know about it." I glanced at him. "Just don't mention it to April if you don't mind. I don't want her to feel like she owes me anything."

The elevator door opened, and we stepped out. We were walking toward my car when Morgan reached out and touched the back of my arm.

"I won't say anything, but you should know I think it was super cool of you."

He barely even touched me, and the feel of his fingertips on my arm sent shock waves through my body. I was responding to him in the way a girl responded to a guy. It was the first time that had happened since before I was raped, and it threw me for an absolute loop. I started digging in my purse to look for my keys as a means of distraction.

"It's nothing," I said. "My sister and brother-in-law have a ton of money and they like to help people."
Had I just led him to believe my sister was the one who paid for April's tuition?
I had no idea why that came out. I knew it still counted as a lie even though I technically didn't tell one. I cringed as I waited for him to make me clarify my statement, but he didn't. We made our way to my car, and the job of getting in and getting settled made him drop the subject, a fact for which I was extremely grateful.

It took us about thirty minutes to get to his house, and we talked about food, and music, and what it was like to grow up in Washington and Iowa. I randomly asked him how old he was during our conversation and he said he was 25. He returned the question, and I told him I had only recently turned 21. That made him comment on how ambitious I was to be working toward opening my own business at such a young age. It was another opportunity to tell him about my money, but I decided for whatever reason to remain quiet about it.

He led me to his house, which was a sprawling mansion in a gated community. Okay, so maybe it wasn't sprawling, but it was big—much bigger than I expected for a single guy. The driveway wrapped around the house, and when I pulled into it as he instructed, I was shocked to find a breathtaking view of the city lights like we were on some sort of mountainside. I'd never seen San Francisco from a vantage point like that.

His patio lights must have been on some sort of sensor, because as I pulled to a stop, the entire back patio lit up. He had a pool with a terrace that was decked out with lavish outdoor furniture. The scene looked like something from a magazine. It was breathtaking. I didn't bother turning off the ignition. I was sweaty and exhausted and felt entirely out of place there.

"Your house is gorgeous," I said, trying to sound unaffected.

"Thanks," he said. He stared at me from over the console for a few long seconds as if deciding what to say. "Would you like to come in?"

I instantly began shaking my head. "Oh, no. I can't. I really need to be getting home. I have to work first thing in the morning."

"Are you sure?"

"Definitely," I said. "I need to be going."

There was a tinge of sadness to his smile, but he nodded as if he understood. "We have home games the next three nights," he said. "I'd love it if you could make it out to watch. I can get you tickets."

"Oh, that's so nice, but I have to work, actually." I was overwhelmed and just felt like I needed to get out of there without any further obligations.

The games don't even start till seven," he said.

"Yeah, but I work the night shift," I said. "Not at J.D.'s, at Miller's." I did have to work there the next two nights, but not the third. I figured I'd leave that part out.

"Miller's, the restaurant?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm sorry, I thought I told you I worked there too."

His smile faded to a look of disappointment and he shrugged. "That's too bad," he said. "I was hoping you could come out and cheer me on."

"I will sometime for sure," I said, reverting back to my non-committal ways.

"After this three-game series, we'll be out of town for ten days straight, but when I get back, we'll be playing at home for the rest of the season. Maybe you can catch one of those."

"That'd be fun," I said.

He stared at me, and I could tell he was trying to figure something out. Maybe he sensed my withdrawal. "Are you sure you can't come in for a little while?" he asked.

"Thanks, but I'm sure. This whole evening was sort of a surprise."

The corner of his mouth quirked up in a gorgeous grin. "A fun surprise, I hope."

"Super fun," I said. "Thanks for dinner and dessert. Your parents were great."

He started to say something but looked like he changed his mind, and then he reached over and gave me a quick hug. "I had fun too," he said. "Thanks for the ride." He got out and stood up next to the car with the door still open before stooping down to look at me again. "I'll see you soon."

"Yep," I said.

He closed the door and we both waved and smiled. I turned the car around and honked the horn just barely as I drove around the house and out of his sight.

I breathed a huge sigh of… relief, or disappointment, or some toxic mixture of the two as I turned onto the street and pulled away. I wasn't sure how to feel. Part of me found hope in the fact that I was actually attracted to a man for the first time since the rape, and the other part felt that this specific man was hopelessly out of my reach. Maybe that was why I liked him in the first place.

I drove home replaying the night's events. I smiled remembering that he seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time in my presence, but then my smile fell when I thought about little things like the fact that he neglected asking me for my phone number and had no way to get in touch with me.

The entire ride home was a roller coaster of memories and thoughts about the evening I'd just spent with Morgan Turner. I contemplated going to Laney's to tell her about it, but it was late for a new mother, and I didn't want to keep them up. Besides, I desperately needed a shower.

I took that shower and put on my pajamas, thinking about nothing but my time with Morgan. I got on the internet the instant I finished up. I knew nothing about baseball so the first thing I did was go to Google and type in his name.

It was probably a mistake to search him, but I did it anyway. Pictures, stats, and articles flooded the page. I didn't even know where to begin. I clicked on random things and read various stats and articles for the next ten or fifteen minutes. I watched a few videos of him, and each time he had a good hit or a home run or whatever, he would point to heaven as if thanking God right there on the field. I smiled as I watched, thinking Laney and Zack would eat that up. I could see that he played second base, but the stats associated with him really didn't mean anything to me. I read comments on articles, some of which praised him for being one of the best players in the game.

I'd been reading for a while when my eye fell upon a photo of him with a girl. They were dressed for some occasion, and posed in the obvious manner of a happy couple. My heart sank the instant I laid eyes on it, but of course I clicked on it to investigate. The caption under the photo read, "Nadia Lewis confirms her engagement to Morgan Turner of the San Francisco Giants."

I shut my laptop as if a fireball was about to jump out of the screen and hit me in the face. "I knew it," I said out loud. I wasn't sure what I knew, but I said it anyway. Maybe I knew that big house wasn't just for him. Maybe I knew the whole thing was too good to be true.

I left my laptop closed, but was just too curious to leave it alone. I grabbed my phone, opened Instagram, and searched hashtags for #nadialewis. Over seven thousand pictures came up. It only took a few clicks to recognize that she was either a swimsuit model or she just looked really good in a bikini and enjoyed having her photo taken in them.

One of the pictures had a link to her account, and I clicked on it even though I knew I shouldn't. She had hundreds of photos posted, and as I scrolled down, I could see that a portion of them were with Morgan and some of them were at his house. I could tell simply by the view and patio furniture. Some of them were with him in his baseball uniform or of her at the stadium watching a game. It was torturous to look at them, but I did it anyway. I couldn’t help myself.

I clicked on the most recent one with Morgan in it, and looked on the corner of the photo to see how long ago it was posted, which was 16 weeks ago. I told myself it was a good sign that he hadn't showed up in any of her pictures in the last four months, but doubt and disappointment won out over hope and I went to bed feeling like the evening had been a big waste of time.

I was glad I hadn't told him about my money. The less he knew about me the better. I woke up in a terrible mood and went to work with a chip on my shoulder. I was able to fake my way through it, though, and no one seemed to notice.

It became easier and easier to forget about him as the days passed. I busied myself with work and with getting to know my precious nephew. I heard from Maddie who said the surprise went even better than expected and she never imagined she could be so happy in New York, especially with Andy. She thanked me for the encouragement and support. She made me promise to visit and I told her I'd love to do so one day.

I had also begun more serious planning for my coffee shop. Zack was helping me with putting together a business plan and budget. I never told him and Laney about the evening I spent with Morgan. I never told anyone about it. I figured it was best kept a secret. The only positive thing that came from it was the realization that I was capable of having a spark with someone, but I couldn't tell anyone that either, since they never knew I was incapable in the first place.

The ten days that Morgan was out of town had come and gone and I barely even thought of him that whole time. Okay, so maybe that wasn't entirely true, but I tried to think of him as little as possible, and I had done a pretty good job.

I ended up pulling the trigger on a new car. I told myself it was more for a distraction than trying to put myself on the same playing field as Nadia Lewis, but the truth was I didn't know why I did it. I tried to hold off on making any big purchases like that, especially when I wasn’t sure of my own motives, but one afternoon when I was feeling low, I found myself in a Range Rover dealership with every intention of driving away in a new SUV.

I ended up getting the small, sporty model with basic packages, but it seemed extremely luxurious compared to my hatchback. I had to admit; it felt good driving down the street in a nice vehicle. I knew the thrill wouldn't last long, but I did feel a tiny boost in confidence, which helped ever so slightly in my quest to forget about Morgan Turner.

I was working a morning shift at J.D.'s when that quest was thrown out the window. It was a day just like any other. I was working the espresso machine and minding my own business when the Giant's second baseman himself walked in the door.

Chapter 12

After two weeks of trying to forget about Morgan Turner, he had just walked into J.D.'s. I had on jeans and a plain-old wife beater tank top with my hair in a bun right on the top of my head. I wasn't even close to presentable—at least not how I wanted to be for him.

I was working the espresso machine, and I ducked out of his sight for a split second before realizing how silly that was. I pretended to get milk from the fridge under the counter so it wouldn't be obvious that I was ducking, and when I stood back up, Morgan was standing on the other side of the counter staring at me with a smile. I expected him to be waiting in line just like everyone else, and it startled me to find him so close. I gasped.

"Oh, hey, it's you," I said.

He seemed amused by my surprise and his smile broadened. "In the flesh," he said. He had on athletic looking clothes, but they weren't Giant's colors or anything—just blacks and greys. I hadn't looked at photos of him since that night when I found too much information on the internet, and I'd almost forgotten how handsome he was. I was so caught up in looking at his face that it took me a second to remember I was working. I began steaming the milk I'd been absentmindedly holding.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here, remember? I just came back to town yesterday."

"I meant here in this coffee shop," I said, pouring steamed milk over a shot of espresso. I set the milk on the counter and fitted a lid onto the paper cup.

"Mark," I said with a smile as I held the cup over the counter for one of my customers to grab. Morgan leaned over to let Mark get his coffee.

"I know you're busy," he said. "I just didn’t know how else to get in touch with you."

Internally, I was rejoicing at the fact the he was here. I told myself that he'd gone out of his way to come see me and knew that must mean something. But then the images of him and Ms. Sports Illustrated came flooding back to my mind. I knew I could never compare to that, which made the butterflies that were filling my stomach turn into nausea.

"I was thinking about bringing some of my friends to a game sometime before the end of the season," I said, thinking it was a pretty neutral statement.

"I was hoping you could come tonight," he said. "I can get you tickets."

"Oh, no that's okay. We don't mind getting our own tickets. I want to support you guys."

He let out a little laugh. "I really don't mind," he said. "They're pretty expensive."

"Lexi doesn't mind," Alex said, coming up behind me. "She's loaded."

I rolled my eyes as if Alex was being ridiculous and continued working on the next drink order.

"Are you in a band or something?" Alex asked talking to Morgan.

"Me? No, why?"

Alex shrugged. "You were saying you could get Lexi tickets to something."

Morgan started to clarify for Alex, but I cut him off before he could. I looked at Alex. "Can you run to the back and get some more hazelnut syrup, please? I need it for this drink." He knew I was telling him to butt out of the conversation, but I did need the syrup, so he took the hint. I motioned to the orders that were waiting to be filled and looked at Morgan. "If you'll give me a few minutes to knock out some of these, I'll take a five minute break and walk you out."

"All right," he agreed.

"Can I make you something for the road?"

He nodded. "That'd be good."

"What'll you have?"

He thought about it for a second, but said, "Your choice."

He found a comfortable place to stand off to the side while I chipped away at the drink orders. I made him a semi-sweet latte, which was what I normally drank. I was holding it in a paper cup when I came around the counter to meet him, and he reached out to grab it with a smile.

"Thank you," he said. "What do I owe you?"

"I got it," I said. "I get a discount."

He held open the door for me, and as I walked past him, he said, "I get a discount on tickets too. I wish you'd let me get you some."

I had a whole series of thoughts before I said anything. Believe it or not, I came really close to lying to him and telling him I had a boyfriend—that I'd met someone during the past two weeks and I was really happy. I came so close to saying it, that my mouth was open and the words were about to come out. I knew saying it would make him leave me alone, and while part of me knew that was the right thing, the other part of me enjoyed the attention I was getting from him, regardless of whether or not it was short lived.

"Are you okay?" he asked, noticing my inability to come up with something to say.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about when I could see a game," I said.

"What about tonight?"

"I don't know who'd come with me tonight."

"What about your sister?"

"I thought about asking her, but Henry's still so little. I don't think she'd want to bring him just yet." I paused. "I'm sure I can get one of my friends from here or Miller's to come with me."

"Great," he said. "I'll leave two tickets at will call. Or do you need more?"

I shook my head. "No, two is plenty. Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. That's why I came by. I like this coffee, by the way."

I nodded. "I switch it up, but that's the way I drink mine most of the time."

As we talked, we made our way to the far side of the parking lot where he was parked. His truck happened to be right next to mine. "I'm excited you're coming to the game," he said. "I'm glad I decided to come inside. I almost didn't since I didn't see your car."

"Oh, this is me," I said with a quick gesture to my new SUV.

He looked around with a bit of a confused expression. "Where?"

"This." I pointed more directly at the Range Rover this time.

"This right here?"

"Yeah. I just got it. I had a little buyer's remorse for a few days, but I really like it. What do you think?"

"I love it," he said. He bent and cupped a hand to the tinted window to try to see inside. "It's nice."

I happened to have the keys in my jeans pocket and I knew once I got close enough, it automatically unlocked. "You can open the door," I said. "It should be unlocked.

He opened the door and looked inside. "This is really nice," he said. "I think I might want to drive it sometime."

"Anytime," I said, thinking about Nadia and how it would never happen. "How'd your new stereo come out?"

"Good," he said, shutting the door. "Nick always does a good job."

"I think I'll just stick with the factory one for mine. I'm like your mom. I can't really tell the difference."

He smiled at my comment, but otherwise didn't respond. He took out his keys, unlocked his truck, and opened his own door. "I think I should probably get your phone number," he said. "I realized after you left my house that night that I didn't have any way to get in touch with you." He held out his phone with the keypad on the screen, expecting me to type in the correct digits. I swallowed hard as I took the phone from him and put in my phone number. No matter how doomed I thought we were, I still couldn't deny him a way to get in touch with me.

My emotions were all over the map. On one hand, I felt like I was in high school with a crush on the quarterback. This thrill lasted until I remembered that I wasn't the head cheerleader. The head cheerleader in the story never had the type of baggage I had, and I knew it. But that didn’t stop me from typing in my number.

Once I was done, I handed him his phone. He instantly pressed the call button and waited for it to connect. "There," he said. "Now you have my number too." He hung up and tossed his phone onto the seat of his truck. "So I'll see you tonight?" he asked.

"Yep, I'll see you then," I said. "I'll give you a text if something comes up."

He smiled like he thought it was cute that I felt the need to give myself a way out like that. Then he leaned over and put a quick kiss on my cheek. "Thanks again for the coffee," he said.

"You're welcome. Thanks for the tickets."

I had four hours left to go on my shift and it went by in a flash. Before I knew it, I was home. I decided to go straight to Laney and Zack's before heading upstairs to my apartment. I knew I could get someone from Miller's to go to the game with me in a heartbeat, but I'd feel most comfortable with Zack or Laney, so I decided to ask one of them first.

They were both in the kitchen when I came in. "Is he sleeping?" was the first thing I asked, speaking in hushed tones.

"Yeah, but he's in the back, it's okay," Laney said, speaking a little louder, but not quite full volume.

"I stopped by that house again just now," I said.

There was a house for sale four doors down, and I was seriously thinking about buying it. It was a huge, three story place that was currently used as a home, but was zoned for business or residential. My goal was to turn the bottom floor into a small coffee shop and live in the upper two floors. Or maybe I'd use the bottom two for the coffee shop and live on the third. I hadn't really figured it out yet, but the place seemed to be ideal for my needs. Parking would be a bit of an issue, but there was plenty of on-street parking and a lot a block away. Plus, I thought the foot traffic in this area would be sufficient for business.

"I walked by there earlier too," Zack said, overhearing our conversation. "There's a little yard back by the alley that you could convert into a small lot. I think you could fit eight or ten cars back there—at least enough for your employees."

"I think I'll make an appointment with the realtor to see it. Do you think you could come with me?"

"Of course," Zack said.

"Henry and I want to come too, if that's okay," Laney added.

"I just assumed you would," I said. I paused. "Speaking of coming with me somewhere... I have two tickets to see a Giant's game tonight. Would either of you be interested in doing that?"

"Baseball?" Laney asked, confused. "Yeah, I got two tickets and figured I'd ask you guys before I mentioned it to any of my friends."

"You always said you were gonna marry one of those guys," Laney said.

"I didn't
always
say that," I said. "I think I wanted to marry a rock star if I remember right."

"No," she said, "It was definitely a baseball player."

"No it wasn't," I said.

She gave me a sideways glance as if she knew I was lying. "I don't think Henry and I are quite ready for that type of thing just yet, but Zack might want to go."

"Of course I want to go," Zack said with no hesitation whatsoever. "We can talk about the shop while we're there—kill two birds with one stone." He looked at Laney. "As long as you don't mind."

"Not at all."

"They last like three hours," he said.

She shrugged. "I'm fine."

Zack smiled. "What time's it start?"

"6:10 I think."

"Who's driving?" he asked.

"You."

"Sounds good. Meet me in the driveway at 5:30."

The image of the stunning Nadia Lewis was in the back of my mind the entire time I got ready, so I carefully chose my outfit and took great care with my hair. I wrapped it, lock by lock, around my flatiron until I painstakingly achieved loose waves.

It was chilly out and the stadium was right on the water, so I dressed warm. I put on jeans and an undershirt with a dressy black sweatshirt that had a cowl neck and a drawstring. I applied mascara and pale pink lip-gloss. It was a simple makeup application but was still far more than Morgan had ever seen on me. I was relatively sure I'd only see him from a distance, if at all, but there was no way I was going to that game looking like I had the last two times he laid eyes on me.

Laney and Zack were both out in the driveway when I came down. He had on a Giant's sweatshirt that he must have dug out of the closet because I'd never seen him wear it before. Laney told me how beautiful I looked and made us pose for a quick photo that she took with her phone. She sent us on our way with her best wishes to have lots of fun.

Zack brought us right to the stadium, which wasn't far. Finding parking was harder than I anticipated, though. Zack knew his way around San Francisco, but it still took us a while to find a place in a lot and make our way to the gate. It was almost time for the first pitch when we found the will call window.

We had to wait in a short line, but it moved fast. When it was our turn, I stepped forward and leaned over to speak to the lady through the little hole in the glass.

"I should have two tickets waiting for me," I said. "My name's Lexi Charles."

The lady looked through a stack of envelopes. "I don't see anything," she said. "Are you sure that's the name they were under?"

"I think so…" I said, feeling doubtful and on the spot. "He might have forgotten to do it. Can I just buy two tickets instead?"

"Yes ma'am, but you'll have to do it at the ticket counter. Was someone supposed to leave them for you?" she asked. "They might be under their name."