Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (67 page)

“
It
takes some getting used to, the food. We'll find you something that
you'll like.” Morgan looked into his eyes and bit her lip
while her mind drifted to places filled with naked time with the man
across from her. She was glad that the place was poorly lit, because
the heat from her cheeks would have shined like a beacon announcing
that Morgan Holland had just met a man that left her almost
speechless.

She
was still staring at him, openly, when he nervously cleared his
throat. Morgan looked down quickly and stared at her legs, hoping to
find words that wouldn't sound like she felt. “So, where are
we going?” She hoped that it wasn't too far, because even
though her heart was racing out of control at the sight of Robbie,
she was still starving, and the noises that would be coming from her
midsection would be far from cute.

“
If
it's alright with you, I thought we could order out. Spend a little
time getting to know one another.” Morgan's body froze.

He
wants to go to my room. Does he want to.... but it's not our time
yet.. but damn!
“Sure.
That would be... fun.”
Fun? Did I just tell him
that I'd sleep with him? I hope I did.
Morgan almost giggled at her own thoughts, but kept her face as
straight as she could.

Chapter
Three

“
Great,”
he told her with a smile that made her heart race. Even in the dim
lighting she could see the light flecks of gold in his bright blue
eyes and it took her whole being to stop staring when he spoke again.
“Do you know what you want?”

Morgan
could answer that one quickly. “Anything but pizza. Or
pancakes. Or oversized sausages.”

Robbie
laughed, “alright, how about a burger?”

“
If
you can produce a burger for me, I will love you forever! I have been
looking for three days! Why is that so hard to find?” Morgan
placed both palms on the table as she spoke, relaxing a bit. Again,
Robbie laughed and knew exactly what he'd do. There was a burger
place a few blocks away and he could call, then go pick it up. It was
a hole in the wall restaurant, one that Morgan never would have seen
on her own. It wasn't a far walk, so he should be able to get her a
drink and be back before she finished it.

“I'll find you the best burger you've ever had. Would you like
a drink while we wait?”

Morgan
nodded, then her stomach growled loudly and she quickly spoke over
it. “Beer is fine.” She'd found that she hadn't minded
the German beer at all. Stronger than what she was used to, but she
liked it.

“
Beer
it is. I'll be right back.” Robbie let out a quiet laugh,
surprised by her choice, and nodded, then pushed his chair out with
his feet and stood. It was out of habit that he nearly grabbed the
back of Morgan's chair to get his bearings, but he stopped himself.
Why is it so fucking dark in here?

Of
course, he could have waved a server down and had drinks brought to
their table, but that method wouldn't have allowed him to make a
phone call away from Morgan. Having the beautiful woman watch him
struggle, five minutes into meeting, wasn't on his agenda. He made
his way to the bar and ordered Morgan a beer, then evaluated his
current lighting situation.
This might work.

Robbie
glanced over his shoulder as he brought his phone out of his back
pocket. Good, Morgan wasn't looking. He brought the screen in front
of him, nothing but a blurry black screen. It was far too dark. He
looked over his shoulder again, still safe. Robbie lifted the phone
toward the light hovering over the bar and squinted his eyes, hoping
to make out anything that resembled a number.

Morgan
looked over to Robbie, right before he brought the phone back down.
His shoulders fell and she could almost
see
the
heavy sigh that was released. He turned around to face her and Morgan
saw his expression change, it went from a happy smile, to one that
almost looked forced. A smile that reminded her of someone being
caught in a lie. He hoped she hadn't seen the whole display and he
also hoped his lie would be believable. Slightly, Morgan's head fell
to the side and she gave him a curious look, as if to ask what was
wrong. His smile returned and he slowly began walking back toward the
table.

“
I'm
not picking up any signal in here, I'm just going to step outside.”
Morgan nodded and watched him turn to leave. His backside was just as
good as the front. Wide shoulders that she could picture, even
under the blue and white flannel shirt he was wearing and an ass that
would have made Angel yell obscenities.
Angel...he's going
to love Robbie.
Morgan smiled at
her thoughts and reached for her own phone as Robbie went through the
front door of the hotel.
Perfect signal.
She
had perfect reception, so it was odd he didn't.

“
Great.
Just wonderful.” It was even darker outside, which Robbie
should have realized before announcing his brilliant idea. He would
have been better off going into the bathroom to make a call, but he
was already outside, so there was nothing he could do. After a failed
attempt of trying to see his phone in the light of a street lamp, he
knew he'd just have to walk there without ordering first. It would
take longer, “but what other option is there?” Robbie
shook his head, knowing he should have thought things through before
agreeing to meet Morgan, then started down the sidewalk.

“
And
where are you going?”

“
Loraine,
I told you to leave!” He was laughing before he even turned
around completely.

“
And
you need help. Just what do you think you're doing?” Loraine
grabbed the phone from his hand and looked at it, then chuckled
quietly and brought it up to her ear. “Uri? Yes, it was a
mistake. Mhmm. Yes, you too. Okay, bye-bye. Yes, very well. Thank
you. Bye.”

“
I
did it again, didn't I?' Robbie groaned loudly and ran his hand
through his hair.

“
It's
alright, boy. He said to stop by tomorrow, he's got fresh banana
bread for us. So, it was good you called him!” Loraine tried to
lighten the mood, but Robbie groaned again. It wasn't the first time
he'd accidentally called people and it wouldn't be the last. “Now,
tell me, who are you trying to call? It was me, wasn't it?”
Again, she joked.

“
No,”
he laughed and looked back to the hotel. “I'm trying to order
us dinner. Burgers from that place down the road....”

“
Down
the road? That's nearly five blocks away, are you insane?” She
didn't mean to sound so harsh, but for him to think he was capable of
walking that far, at night, was nearly insane. Especially for a woman
she wasn't even sure was worth his time. She placed her hand on his
shoulder and apologized. “I'll get the food, you go back inside
and I'll bring it back.”

“
You
can't bring it in, she'll see you...then she'll see you again when
she comes to the house.”

“
I
know, don't worry.” Loraine was always a few steps ahead and
she already had it worked out. “You go on, have fun. Not too
much fun though,” she wagged a finger at him, then gave his
shoulder a squeeze.

“
You're
a crazy woman, but I don't know what I'd do without you.”
Robbie took his wallet from his back pocket, and handed it over.
“Thank you.” His head dropped slightly, and Loraine
reached up and pulled him down to her level, then kissed his forehead
before leaving.

Robbie
watched her as she quickly walked away and closed his eyes again to
ward off the pity attack that was on the horizon. He knew that if he
intended to have what he wanted with Morgan, he couldn't fall apart,
not that night.
How am I going to do this for a whole week?
He
let out another long sigh as he reached for the door, and managed to
relax enough to form at least a small smile by the time he reached
their table again. Morgan watched him sit slowly across from her and
her eyes soaked in the brief glimpse of a tattoo on his chest when he
bent forward slightly to scoot his chair in. It was one of her
weaknesses, and knowing that she would have his bare body in her
hands, tattoo and all, brought yet another jolt of anticipation that
he probably would have noticed if he knew her a little better.

Morgan
brought both hands around her large glass, which was half empty by
then, and tried to keep her eyes occupied while he settled in.
Yeah... Angel would freaking love you.
It wasn't exactly
Angel that she was thinking about, and she knew it. She didn't
usually have such a strong attraction to a man so soon, with the
exception of Finlay and Tanner, so Morgan was clearly wading in
unfamiliar water. It helped that she had some experience in acting
normal when all she wanted to do was giggle and flip her hair at his
every word, she just hoped it was enough to get through their night
without embarrassing herself completely.

“
Your
dinner should be here shortly.” Morgan's eyes met his again,
and all she could do was nod. The silence between them, however
short, was thick and awkward enough for Julianne's lessons in manners
to take over.

“
Thank
you, I appreciate it. But.. we could have just gone and picked it
up.” She was beginning to feel as if she were being a burden,
and felt bad for taking him away from his night to help her. She
also still had a sense of pride that made her want to pay her own
way, especially if something had been her idea. It was only dinner,
but in her world before Julianne, it would have been a good chunk of
her wages for a whole night. “How about I get you a drink
while we wait?” Morgan didn't sit still long enough for him to
answer, and she was standing in front of the bar placing an order
before he could think of what to say.

Robbie
purposely didn't buy himself a beer earlier, and he wanted to stop
her but it wasn't something that he wanted to explain. Not yet,
anyway.
Shit... it's a shot.
He watched the bartender hand
over a tall glass, and two very short ones. Any alcohol, especially
hard liquor, did one thing to him each and every time he drank it.

“
Here
ya go,” Morgan's hand was nearly shaking as she set his beer
and and two shots down in front of him and her voice sounded much
higher than it should have. She swallowed hard and laughed nervously
as she sat back down.

“
I
should warn you, I...”

“
Just
drink it,” Morgan nudged the shot toward him, then took one for
herself. She wanted to drink to help calm her hormones. Getting him
drunk didn't really have a point, but it was a good ice breaker, and
that's all Morgan could ask for.

Robbie
saw the faint outline of the small shot glass, filled with dark
liquor, but it was hard for the man to determine if it was three
inches or a foot away from his hand. He kept his eyes on Morgan as
his hand slowly slid forward, fingers outstretched, waiting to bump
into the glass. He found it and carefully wrapped his fingers around
it, then held it up in front of him. “Fuck it. To, uh....new
friends, then.” His glass was lifted slightly and Morgan tapped
the rim with her own.

“
To
new friends and a great week ahead.” Both of them brought the
whiskey to their lips and drank it. Morgan set her glass on the table
and breathed out of her mouth deeply a few times, then grabbed the
tall glass of beer and took a long gulp. “Wow, sorry. That was
intense. I'll get you another beer.” She laughed and wiped her
mouth with the back of her hand. It was funny to her, how easily she
was able to finally begin to act like herself with nothing more than
a drink or two. “Be right back....”

Once
more, Robbie didn't have a chance to tell her no, and in a couple of
minutes, four more shots were brought to the table. She passed two to
him and pulled the other two toward herself.
This isn't going to
be good,
Robbie shook his head as he felt for one of the glasses.
He recognized the taste, and as Morgan had called it, the whiskey was
certainly
intense.
“I'd say you are trying to get me
drunk.” His fingers found the glass, and again, he held it up.

“
I'd
say you're right,” Morgan laughed again and brought her drink
up.
Hopefully, it works.
“Cheers.” They both threw
back their shots and set them down. Morgan grabbed the next two and
held his out for him.