Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (129 page)

“I
first had that reaction too,” Elena assured her. “I moved
here fourteen years ago, and the view still takes my breath away.
Come now.”

Morgan
took one last glance at the view, then turned to follow Elena once
again. The hill that the house sat on was larger than Morgan first
thought, and it was a steady decline, all the way to the beach. The
hill was covered in tall trees, and aside from one small path that
led from the house to the shore, that's all Morgan could see around
the home.

“This
one is yours,” Elena pushed open a door with her foot,
revealing a bathroom, as gorgeous as the rest of the home. “I
do apologize for the mess, I will take care of that right
away.”
Morgan took a few steps inside, and took it all in.
Another window took up most of the far wall, directly across from the
tub she was already hoping to be soaking in soon. A shower was in the
corner and a double sink took up the last wall. It wasn't a large
bathroom, but the view alone made it perfect.

Elena
strode past Morgan and went to the towel rack and straightened out
the hand towel, then took a look and did it again. Morgan had to hide
her smile, knowing that the slightly disheveled towel had been the
horrid
mess
she had spoken of.

Just
as Morgan tried to tell her that she could certainly tolerate the
mess and there's no reason to fuss, they both turned towards the
bathroom door at the sound of loud footsteps on the stairs. “I
bet there are two beautiful women in my bathroom!” Elena
giggled, and shook her head.

“He's
a handful, Miss Holland. I hope you can handle him.” Morgan
smiled as she took a step closer to Elena, then whispered quickly
over her shoulder.

“Actually,
Elena... I hope
he
can handle
me
.” The woman
covered her mouth to hold back the giggles, and both women were
leaned over one another in a girly giggle fest when Anthony pushed
the door open quickly.

Morgan's
laughter stopped. Her eyes widened before diverting to the tiled
floor.
Here we go again. Shit!
Anthony walked directly up to
Morgan and she watched, with her head still downward, his hand grab
hers.

“Hello,
Morgan. I'm Anthony.” A full, bold, deliberate, perfectly
placed kiss to the inside of her wrist had Morgan's heart beat
erratically through her chest. He was absolutely beautiful, and even
more stunning than his looks, his very presence could be felt all
around her. She was still processing the meeting when his laugh
finally brought her eyes back to his face. “I hope you're
hungry.” She nodded, and he smiled again. “Good. See you
downstairs.” He released her hand and turned, then left the
room.

“Like
I said, I hope you can handle him.” Elena laughed, and nudged
Morgan on the shoulder as she left the bathroom, and left a
speechless Morgan in her wake.

Chapter
Nine

“Okay,
he's just a man. I got this.” Morgan checked herself in the
mirror, pushing her hair to one side, then the other. She had
straightened it that morning and it hung in a perfectly flat sheet
against her shoulders and back. “Get it together, Morgan.”
She whispered to her reflection as she applied a quick layer of
gloss, and finally took a deep breath. “Just a man.”

Morgan
made her way from the bathroom, back toward the direction Elena had
led her. She couldn't wait to explore the rest of the home, but that
would have to wait.

“Dios
mio, hello!” A voice stopped Morgan in her tracks, followed by
the sound of the front door slamming shut as a man walked inside.

“Oh!
Uh, hi.” Morgan smiled as she watched the elderly man walk
toward her, and take her hand in his, then place a kiss on top of her
soft skin. “I'm Morgan.”

“You
are much more beautiful than the others.” He was still holding
her hand, and kissed it several more times before their small party
was broken up.

“Rudy,
leave the woman alone!” Elena moved between them quickly and
took Morgan's hand and pulled her a couple feet away from the old
man. “This is Morgan, and you won't be...”

“What?”
The old man put a hand up to his ear, signaling he had no idea what
Elena had just said.

“This
is Morgan,” Elena spoke more clearly, and Rudy nodded.

“Buenas
tetas,” Rudy smiled wide at Morgan and made large, invisible
breasts over his own chest, then nodded. “Very nice.”

“Rudy!
Morgan, I need your help in the kitchen.” Elena wrapped her arm
around Morgan's elbow and began walking with the young woman at her
side. “You make no mind of Rudy. Anthony lets the man get away
with far too much!” Elena looked over her shoulder and pointed
a warning finger at Rudy.

Morgan
felt her face heat with embarrassment, but it didn't stop the new
wave of giggles that came over her. “It's okay. I wouldn't
expect that just because a man gets older that he doesn't still like
boobs.” She giggled again, feeling like she was back in school
and had just spoken a bad word.

“True,
very true.” Elena took the lead and Morgan followed behind
through a small hallway that opened up to an enormous kitchen. “Go
on, get out of here.” Elena walked up to Anthony, barely
reaching his chest and gently pushed on his back, forcing him away
from the bags of groceries.

“I
can help!” He turned and reached for a bag, and Elena slapped
his hand.

“You
go on, show the young lady around. By the time you come back, you can
put the food on the grill.” Elena was the best one when it came
to cooking inside, and preparing food, but anything outdoors, that
was left to the men.

“Yes,
ma'am.” Anthony nodded toward Elena sarcastically, then
directed his attention to Morgan. “Shall we?” His smile
was beautiful, the kind that reached his eyes.
Hazel. They're
hazel.

“I'd
love to.” Morgan agreed quickly when she saw that he was
directing them out the back door of the kitchen, and being outside
felt much less formal. She smiled at her thoughts, since everything
with her new client so far was anything but formal. “Your home
is beautiful, Anthony.” It was all she could say when they
reached the back patio. She stopped in front of the outdoor
fireplace, and shook her head as she attempted to take it all in.

There
were a dozen chairs, with oversized red cushions, surrounding the
open stone pit. Large potted palm trees made another enclosure around
the seating area, and the back drop of a nearly olympic sized pool
was already glowing from underneath the inviting surface. He took her
hand and led them to the left, where the outdoor kitchen awaited his
dinner skills. “Thank you.” It was as if she had just
told him that his shoes were nice, and she instantly liked the fact
that he wasn't too full of himself.

He
sat in a chair closest to the grill, matching the ones by the
fireplace, and pulled Morgan onto his lap. She laughed at the shock,
but fell onto his leg without resistance. “Uh...well...I guess
I'll just sit here then.” She turned to face him and for the
first time since meeting, he wasn't smiling. He moved her hair from
the front of her face and held it back with one hand.

“Morgan,
I don't like awkward moments. Never have. You're beautiful, and
you're here for me. Are you alright with that?” He was the most
forward man she'd ever met, and she found that she liked it
immensely. Morgan nodded, her smile remained.

“Yes,
I'm alright with that.” His fingers moved against her scalp, in
tiny gentle circles. He pulled her closer, and his smile returned.

“Good.
Let's just pretend as if we've known one another for years, and have
fun. Okay?” Morgan laughed and nodded.

“Yes.”
She brazenly moved the last two inches on her own and placed her lips
against his. He pulled her body closer and his hand moved down her
back, then nearly covered her entire ass. When the kiss ended,
Morgan's lips curled as her forehead dropped against his. “Reminds
me of the time we went to Bermuda, and we sat together before you
made me a fabulous meal.” Anthony's head fell back as loud
laughter filled the entire patio. Yes, he thought, she was going to
be a lot of fun.

“It
was Red Snapper and asparagus that I prepared then, wasn't it?”
Morgan got up from his lap, shaking her head.

“No!
It was steak and a potato smothered in butter and sour cream!”
He stood then, taking her hand and leading her back inside to join
Elena and Rudy.

“Yes,
it was! Elena, make sure we have steak. My sweet Morgan isn't in the
mood for fish this evening.” Elena shook her head at their
nonsense, but still grabbed several steaks from the refrigerator and
began to open the packages. “Thank you.” Elena nodded,
then let out a deep sarcastic sigh.

“I'll
never get my work done at this rate.” Everyone laughed, except
Rudy who was then too busy starting at Morgan's chest. “Rudy!
Go cut something!” Elena got him on track, and back out to the
yard where he should have been. “Some landscaper.”

“Rudy
has been in the family for years,” Anthony began to explain to
Morgan, as he walked behind Elena to reach the refrigerator.

“What
do you need?” Elena stood in front of him, guarding
her
fridge and everything in it. She knew where everything was, and
where it went and one of her biggest pet peeves was when Anthony got
in there and
misplaced
something.

Anthony
smiled and took a step back, then looked at Morgan. “You a
beer, wine or liquor girl?”

“Yes,”
she answered without hesitation, and Elena and Anthony laughed
loudly. “I think I'll have a beer, thank you.” He didn't
seem the type to have a supply of moscato in his pantry, and Morgan
wasn't about to ask for it.

“I
would have thought you to be a martini, or perhaps margarita, kind of
girl,” Anthony replied as Elena dug two bottles of beer from
the refrigerator.

“I
certainly like my margaritas, but beer and steak just kind of go
together.” Anthony twisted off the top of one and handed it to
Morgan. “I love this kind!” It was a pear flavored beer,
something she had tried once during one of her many layovers.

“I
know, you drank so many of them on our last cruise,” Anthony
spoke with a straight face.

“And
you had to carry me back to the room!” They both laughed, and
Elena shook her head once again at their behavior. Morgan walked
around to one side of the long island and pulled out a bamboo bar
stool, then carefully sat on it. She took a big gulp of her beer and
turned to Anthony again. It was easy to pretend she had known her
client for years, and it made things less
awkward
as he put
it. He was already an easy person to talk to, but their game helped.

He
took a seat next to Morgan and took a long drink of his own beer, but
before he could speak, Elena interrupted. “Can you two please
tell each other your life stories
outside
?” She placed
one hand on her hip and waved the other in a display fashion over the
island, where she was setting up all of her food preparations. “I
need this space. I'll bring the steaks outside in a bit.”
Anthony knew
in a bit
was most likely at least thirty minutes.
She was cutting vegetables, marinating the steaks, and shucking the
corn. It was gong to be more than a
bit
and having the privacy
with Morgan sounded nice.

“Fine,
fine. Morgan, do you have a swimsuit?” She nodded, and took her
cue to stand up. “I'll meet you outside in a few minutes.”

Morgan
almost skipped to the bathroom where her bags were and grabbed her
black bikini out of her smallest one. She didn't mind going for a
swim, but she really hoped the jacuzzi was the reason for her
clothing change. She threw on a white pair of shorts over her suit,
and another coat of lipgloss then made her way back to the kitchen to
grab her beer.

“Watch
yourself. Like I said, he's a handful.” Elena gave Morgan a
subtle wink and handed her another beer.

“Why's
that?” Morgan didn't get an answer, other than a smile, from
Elena. She didn't know what Elena meant, but she obviously had a
reason for saying it. “I guess I'll see you out there.”
Morgan finished her first beer and threw it in the garbage, then went
outside.