Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (103 page)

The
day came to an end within San Isidro, at a perfect little cafe that
served the most delicious cheesecake in all of Peru. At least,
that's what the tour guide had told her. After one bite, Morgan had
to agree.

*****

It
was late Thursday evening that she received a text from Julianne.
Morgan stretched out on her bed and pulled her phone out of her
purse, as the notification sounded from within.

Julius
has contacted me, if you still want to do this, he has requested that
you meet him at Eko Restaurant at seven PM. I think it's sushi.

“Sushi?”
Morgan stuck her tongue out and closed her eyes tightly, making her
best
yuck
face. It was not something she'd ever tried, but the
thought of raw fish was enough to make her stomach turn. She smiled
down at her phone and wrote Julianne a quick reply, letting her know
she would be there.

As
soon as Morgan set her phone down on the bed, the sound of a text
came through. “You couldn't have replied that quickly!”
She picked her phone back up, and saw it was her Angel.

Don't
ignore a bitch! Stick, this woman is jumping her tramp ass up and
down on my last nerve. I need to know, what's the best way to hide a
body?

Morgan
giggled and quickly replied.
My Angel, don't kill her. We both
know the prison jumpsuits would not flatter your figure.
She got
up to get ready for bed, but her phone went off before she made it to
the bathroom. Morgan laughed again and ran to her phone to see what
Angel said back, but it wasn't Angel, nor Julianne.

Last
night was amazing, thank you for a memory I'll never forget.

“Asshole.”
Morgan deleted Tanner's message, and another one quickly came
through.

Sorry.

Morgan
deleted that message also.

Wrong
number.

The
third message was enough for Morgan to turn her phone off and set it
on the stand beside her. She didn't want to read about Tanner's
amazing
night or be the victim of another
wrong
message.
Morgan rolled over and tucked her hands under her head. She worked
over her lip as thoughts of the Aussie flooded her mind. “Oh, I
had such an amazing night!”
Pfft.
She knew he was
already with one of Julianne's girls, but what she couldn't figure
out was why he would text her. Sure, she texted Tanner, but his
message just didn't seem right. “Maybe she's not there. But...”
Morgan sighed again. Even if there was no
hired
company, he
still had company. “It's okay. I said I want you to be happy.”

Morgan
grabbed her phone again, and turned it on, then went to Tanner's
message.
No problem.
I'm glad you had a good night.
She
knew she would never find happiness for herself, if she harbored
bitter feelings as well. Even if she wasn't actually glad Tanner had
a good night with whoever, she would be nice and try to smooth things
over with a man that she deeply cared for.

An
hour later, Morgan fell asleep to the sound of
Jaws
playing on
her laptop, and thoughts about the Aussie, and ideas about how the
following night was going to play out. She had told herself that she
wasn't going to say a word to Julius about what she knew and just see
how the night goes. “It's the best I can do.”

*****

By
five, the following day, Morgan was completely ready, and pacing the
short distance between the bed and the desk in her hotel room. Her
phone was passed back and forth between her hands as her mind raced
and her nerves went to overdrive. She couldn't remember a time where
she was more nervous to meet a client, and she couldn't figure out
why.

She'd
met more than two dozen men, and never had one made her feel more
anxious to meet them. She didn't want him to feel the need to impress
her with fancy dinners, but she also didn't want to push the fact she
knew he was running on very limited funds. It reminded her of Robbie,
and how she had known about his condition, and when she had tried to
help him, she'd only made it worse. This time, she didn't want to do
that, but she knew it would be difficult to hide.

At
six-thirty, Morgan arrived at the destination, which happened to only
be a fifteen minute walk from her hotel. She had opted for a cab
though, because her knee was still tender and with cute taking
precedence over comfort, walking fifteen minutes in four inch heels
didn't sound appealing.

As
the taxi slowed to a stop beside the curb, Morgan's heart began to
race once more. The restaurant was like something Gio or Finlay would
take her to, and she felt the lump in her throat as she realized she
was already making judgments about her client.
Maybe he's saved up
for this. Maybe Manuel is paying for everything. Maybe...

“This
is the place,” Morgan heard the driver announce and she was
brought back to the present. She nodded and pulled cash out of her
purse and passed it forward between the two front seats, then climbed
out of the car. The driver was nearly pulling out before her feet
were on the ground and Morgan nearly tripped as she caught her
balance.

“In
a hurry much? Geez!” She pulled her purse over her shoulder and
watched the small car disappear into traffic. She looked back at the
restaurant and was happy to see that it served more than raw fish.

“You're
American?” The deep voice behind Morgan made her jump and she
knew before she even turned around, who was going to be standing
there. She took a deep breath, and nodded as she faced the man. “Are
you...Morgan?”

She
nodded again, feeling that lump in her throat once more, but that
time, it was because she had no words. It was Julius, and he was one
the top three most beautiful men she had ever seen in her life.

Holy
Shit!
It took everything Morgan had to not reach out and touch
his golden brown skin, run her thumb over his tightly trimmed goatee,
kiss his full lips.
Don't do it. Keep your hands to yourself,
Morgan.
She realized she was still nodding, and stopped
immediately, then smiled nervously, hoping to hide her embarrassment.
Her eyes met his, and Morgan was mesmerized by the whirlwind of
colors that reflected in the bright sun. Blue, green, brown...she
didn't know what color they were, but they were beautiful, and more
importantly, they were kind.

“So
very nice to meet you, my name is Julius. Thank you for meeting me,
Miss Morgan.” His accent made her smile again, only because one
of Angel's quotes surfaced in her mind.
His accent is thicker than
the hair on a woman's legs in mothafuckin' winter.

She
took his outstretched hand in hers, “very nice to meet you,
Julius.”

Chapter
Nine

Julius
watched Morgan walk through the door that he held open, and tried not
to smile too wide, nor look away when her eyes met his. It had been
far too long since he'd had interest in a woman, and he was nervous
that the intimacy that was expected of them would cause just that.
She was breathtaking, and it took every ounce of effort to stop
himself from running out of the restaurant and straight back to his
old life.

His
suit was rented, his shoes belonged to his brother and were far too
small, his new hair cut felt foreign, and the words of the limo
driver, “I'll get the door for you, sir, please stay seated,”
kept circling in his mind as another reminder that he was far out of
his league with the whole charade. His lack of focus, even
concerning the skills to properly ride in a limousine, were reason
enough to meet Morgan instead of picking her up.

Morgan
walked straight to the hostess podium and moved to the right to allow
Julius to take over. She leaned in closer when he stood next to her,
as he spoke softly to the host. Morgan didn't quite understand what
he said, but she loved his tender voice nonetheless.

He
put his hand at the small of her back and gently led her as they
walked with the pretty brunette to their table near a small window
overlooking the street. It was a great table, and Morgan was about
to tell Julius as much when he suddenly excused himself.

“Please,
sit.” He pulled her chair out a few inches. “I'll...
uh... excuse me.” He walked quickly toward the back wall, and
straight into the men's room. Morgan stood for several seconds and
looked at the closed door that had shut behind him, and regained her
composure when their waitress joined her.

“Hi.
My date will be right back... I think.” Morgan shook her head
slightly and took her seat. The server nodded and smiled, then
placed two waters that were served in large wine glasses, on the
table.

Julius
paced in the bathroom, tugging at the tie around his neck that felt
as if it were suffocating him. It was too much. The lie was
consuming him, and he didn't even know if he could make pleasant
conversation with his beautiful
date.
He finally stopped in
front of the mirror and stared at the stranger before him. He wasn't
Julius anymore, and he didn't like himself for what he was doing. It
was during that moment that he fumbled for his cell phone in his suit
jacket and called Manuel.

Voicemail.
“Shit! Mannie, I can't do this man! I can't! I don't know what
to do, she's here. Damnit! Call me back!” He shoved the phone
back in his pocket and paced the luxurious bathroom once again.

He
realized that he would have to end the game, and with that reality
came a sudden calm. He would apologize, and send her on her way. He
would never have to see her again, and that would certainly help with
the guilt that he was already feeling. He took a deep breath, and
grabbed the handle to the door. “I just need to get this over
with.” He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Morgan
watched him leave the restroom. He looked sad, and his drawn face
and lowered shoulders tugged at her heart. She had no idea what was
going on with the man, but she knew by the look on his face that she
would find out soon enough. She stood as he approached their table.

“Is
something wrong?” Her hand automatically went to his shoulder
as she spoke. He looked at her, and nodded, then put his hand on the
back of her chair to encourage her to sit again. Morgan's eyes went
from his face to the chair then back.

“O...kay.”

He
took the chair across from her, and inhaled deeply through his nose.
It was something that Finlay always did when he was about to tell her
something that he didn't want to say, so she mentally braced herself
for whatever Julius was about to tell her.

A
loud sound, however, shook her from her thoughts. “Was that
a... a hyena?” The
laughter
from a pack of hyenas
turned out to be the sound of a text notification on Julius' phone.
Morgan giggled and made a mental note to look it up for Angel. It
would be perfect to sneak into his phone the next time they were
together.

“I'm
sorry.” Julius fumbled with his phone and opened the message.
It was a text from Manuel.

I'll
be there in five minutes.

“Is
everything alright?” Morgan asked again, and Julius nodded,
then took a long drink of water. After he carefully set the glass
down, he crossed his hands in front of him on the table, and kept his
eyes there for a moment, before finally looking up at Morgan.

“Yes,”
Julius finally spoke. “So,” he started, his voice a
lighter tone, and a smile threatening his full lips, “what time
did you arrive?” He knew he still had to break the news to
Morgan, but knowing that his brother was on the way, definitely
helped.