Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (52 page)

“Yes,
if you'd like...” He wasn't going to point out the fact he had
just asked her to stay with him, so of course that's what he'd like.
Luis kissed her hand and released it, then left the room again,
mumbling something about drinks. Morgan shook her head as she watched
his backside disappear once more. “This is going to be fun.”
She fell back on the pillows and sighed loudly. It was a wonderful
day and she was truly having a wonderful time, even though she would
have been quite content to have missed out on the
ocean hurling.

Morgan
thought about how quickly she'd made the decision to stay and smiled
to herself. There was no reason not to. If she was with a client who
she was enjoying and he asked for another week, there was no sense in
leaving. Of course, that couldn't work with every client, but with
Luis, it worked. Her
why the hell not
thought also made the
decision of her next location.
Holland. I'm so doing it. I'm going
to Holland.

The
giddy woman jumped up from the bed and ran across the room, then
plopped down in front of her bag that held her laptop. Quickly, she
pulled it out and opened it up. When she was on the database, she
immediately went to the Netherlands and crossed her fingers with
hopes Holland had something good to offer her.

“Oh,
look at all the hot Dutchmen,” Morgan whispered to her computer
screen.
Oh... nice!
Her eyes scanned each of the seven men
Holland had to offer. She didn't end up choosing a man right then,
but it was good to know there were there if she
actually
decided
to go to Holland in the future. Morgan closed her laptop and put it
back in her bag. “Soon, I'll visit.”
But for now, I'm
going to enjoy Spain and all that it has to offer.

Before
she got up to go to back to the bed, she grabbed her phone and sent a
quick text to Julianne.
Things are going great with Luis, staying
another week. He'll be in touch with you soon. Thanks! Morgan.

She
laid her phone on top of her bag, then got up and ran back to the
bed, even finishing with her favorite cannonball move. She grabbed
one of the cold cut sandwiches and took a huge bite, right as her
phone began ringing from the other side of the room. “I'm
coming!” She and her sandwich walked to the source of the sound
and with a mouthful of bread, she answered Angel's call.

“Hey
bitch!” Luis walked into the room right as the words left her
mouth and her cheeks warmed immediately. MY BEST FRIEND, she mouthed
to the man who was still wearing only his towel. He nodded and a wide
smile formed on his lips.

“Morgan
mothafuckin' Holland!”

“That's
me,” she confirmed as her eyes watched Luis' every move.
Slowly, he walked over to the bed.

“You
know that story I told you? About my
friend
?” Angel was
more spastic than usual, but she didn't notice. He was at a point
where he was going to explode if he didn't tell Morgan. He didn't
even care if Finlay was mad or she was mad or Cedric was mad. Some
things just needed to be done. Luis crawled onto the bed and she
slowly moved in beside him with her phone and sandwich in her hands.

“Mhmm.”
She had no idea what story he was talking about. Luis took the
sandwich from her hand and set it back on the tray, then his hand
moved under her shirt.

“And
you know that shit about minding my own business? All that not
interfering bullshit?” Again, Morgan replied with a yes, barely
listening as Luis' hand moved further up her side, then back down
toward the waistband of her little shorts.

“Well,
Stick, what if I
can't
mind the business? I mean...what if
that shit ain't mine to mind? What if I've got to interfuckinfere or
some bad shit would happen?” Luis smiled even more, tempting
Morgan and purposely trying to distract her from her phone call. His
hand moved to the towel around his waist and Morgan shook her head
back and forth.

Morgan
finally heard the desperation in Angel's voice, and she sat up and
gave him her full attention. She also reminded him that she was with
her client, so he'd have to get to the point, or she would have to
call him back. Of all people, Angel should understand that she was
working since he usually ended their every call when Gio entered his
area.

“NO,
Stick, don't you fuckin' hang up on my ass!” There it went,
Luis' towel, right to the floor.

“Angel,
what's going on?” She smiled and tried to look away as Luis'
cock began to grow right in front of her eyes like a goddamn Chia
Pet.

“Morgan,
you ain't going to like what I'm about to say. Don't get mad at my
ass okay? I've got to tell you some shit I heard...”

“Uh-huh,”
she nodded.

Angel
was growing more frustrated and the conversation wasn't going how
he'd planned. He took a deep breath and with no way to take it back,
he spilled Finlay's dirty little secret. “Finlay's got a baby.”

Morgan sat up even more, holding her finger in the air for Luis to
wait. “Ha!” She gave a fake laugh. “Fin with a
baby, now
that's
funny. Okay, babe, out with the rest of the
joke.”

“Stick,
I'm serious.”

“About
what?” She turned to face the wall so she didn't have to see
Luis.

“Listen
to me, Stick! Fin had a mothafuckin' baby!”

“That...no...he...wouldn't.”
A part of her still believed Angel was joking, but his tone said
otherwise. Right at that moment, another call came through and she
held her phone out quickly to see who it was. It was Clay, and she
told Angel to hold on for just a minute. “Hey... how's Abby?”
She put her finger up again, and felt horrible for keeping Luis
waiting.

“Abby...
is... Morgan, I don't think she'll make it through the night.”
Her heart felt as if it stopped, and all she could hear was Clay
sobbing into the phone.

“No...
no... she was fine! She was fine, Clay! What happened?” She
tried to hear him through his heartbreaking struggle, but she heard
enough about an infection that they couldn't get under control. Her
body was beginning to shut down, and all Morgan could do was listen
to him fall apart.

“Okay...
it'll be alright. I'll.. uhm.. I'll try to get a flight tomorrow,
and...”

“No,
it'll be too late. I just wanted you to know... fuck.. I'll call you
tomorrow.” He hung up, and Morgan held the phone against her
ear as her mind sorted the horrible news that she refused to accept.
It was only with her last shred of stability that she remembered
Angel on the other line, and she clicked over to tell him that she
had to go. Angel, however, picked right back up with his
conversation.

“Baby
girl. He would and he did. I'm sorry, Stick...but I called his ass
when you wouldn't answer your damn phone! There was a baby crying,
and Finny Dip was dropping shit and he was all in duress.. depress...
mothafuckin' distress! I asked who's baby that was, crying all loud,
and he said... and I'm quoting this shit, that it was his son!”

Morgan
looked back at Luis, and he watched as the color completely drained
from her cheeks right before his eyes. He tilted his head and moved
closer to her on the bed, then placed his hand over her knee. He
wanted to know what happened, what was being said, but all he did was
stare, hoping that she'd end the call and talk to him.

She
softly replied to Angel, “I understand. And I believe you.
Thank you, Angel. I love you.” The sadness in her voice
brought tears of sorrow down Angel's cheeks, and he nodded as he held
his breath to keep his impending sobbing under control.

“I
love you too, Stick. Call a bitch... tomorrow.” He sniffed,
and ended the call, leaving Morgan to deal with the news that both
men had given her.

She
let the phone fall to the bed as she continued to look into Luis'
eyes, then she stood and walked across the room, stopping at the
double doors that led to his patio. Finlay's words of honesty
crashed through her mind like an angry sea, not stopping for a moment
of relief as Morgan closed her eyes in pain. Images of Abby, wagging
her tiny nub when she spoke to her last, were also fighting for her
mental attention.

Morgan
turned around, and faced Luis once again. “I need... I'm
sorry... I want to go home.” Home, the one place that she
longed for, but didn't have. Luis stood and grabbed her as her knees
began to shake, and held her tightly when her sobs broke free in a
frenzied release that broke his heart. He asked several times where
home
was, as that was all he could offer her without knowing
what had happened. “Ohio.” She cried the word into his
chest, and he soothed her hair as she clung to him in desperation.

“Okay...
tomorrow... we'll go to Ohio.”

Holland

Book
Twenty-Five

Chapter
One

Luis
was true to his word, and the following morning, elder Luis had
helped the two of them pack their things and he'd been the one to
make the arrangements for the flight from Madrid, Spain to Canton,
Ohio. The earliest one he could book was for twelve-forty-five in the
afternoon, but that was good enough. Even at that point, Morgan
hadn't changed her mind.

It
was the only thing she wanted. Home, the word that rang over and over
in her mind since the phone calls the night before. She didn't know
what she would do when she got there. Would she go to a hotel and
decompress for the week? Would she find Julianne and tell her she was
done?

I
don't know. Maybe I am done.
For the first time in months, Morgan
Holland was doubting herself. She looked over to Luis as the plane
descended upon the Akron-Canton airport and gave him a weak smile,
then grabbed his hand and squeezed gently. It was a small gesture,
but Luis knew that it was her way of saying that she was thankful for
his company. The young woman had no idea what she was going to do,
but she had to admit to herself that it was nice she wouldn't be
going through it alone.

She
felt bad giving Luis the silent treatment for over fifteen hours of
traveling, but there wasn't much to be said. Morgan didn't want to
talk about it and Luis didn't want to ask. He assumed she'd tell him,
when she wanted,
if
she wanted. If anything, he would offer
her a shoulder and an ear, even if that was all she needed. The two
had made very brief small talk about the flight or the weather, but
anything more had been mutually avoided.

Stepping
off of the plane and into the familiar airport, Morgan felt the
strain of tears in her eyes again, but she pushed the feeling away as
she'd done repeatedly since that morning. She was
home
and the
realization of it was overwhelming. The last time she'd been in her
hometown had been for Thanksgiving, a few months prior, but then,
she'd had the holiday as a reason for being there. Throughout her
whole life, Morgan had never felt like Ohio was her
home,
it
never felt right and she never once thought she'd miss it if she were
to leave. But right then, she wanted to be nowhere else in the world.
It felt...
comforting.
She lead the way through the airport
towards baggage claim and got caught up in the world around her
before she heard Luis speak up and pull her out of her thoughts.

“So,
where to, Senorita?”

“Shit...I'm
sorry. Here, let me...” Morgan hadn't even noticed Luis had
gathered more than his share of luggage and was more than prepared to
lug it through the airport. Luis shook his head and gripped the
handle of her largest bag more tightly. Morgan protested again and he
offered her one tiny bag. She let out the smallest of laughs as she
took his offering. “I can carry more than that.”
I
didn't want to come all the way to the United States for you to carry
my bags around.

“I'm
sure you can,” Luis nodded, then started walking away from
Morgan, leaving her no choice but to follow.

“You,
um...hold on...” Morgan stopped Luis and went up to her zebra
print bag, then opened it and pulled out a thick hoodie. “You
might want something warmer. Ohio isn't really the warmest of places
in March.” She tried to lighten the mood, even though she was
still on the verge of tears. Her voice was quiet and held no
amusement, but it was the best effort she had at the moment. Pushing
the news of Abby and the new knowledge of Finlay out of her mind was
difficult, but she did her best to do just that. Once both of them
were in warmer clothing, Luis called for a cab and within ten
minutes, one was pulling up in front of the airport.