Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (84 page)

“
That
would be nice,” Morgan began, when she felt a firm grip around
her thigh, just below the table. She looked down quickly and saw
Angel's hand around her leg. A glance at her friend, who gave a nod
toward Finlay, told her what she needed to know. Finlay looked...sad.
She knew she was being a bitch, but it broke her heart.

Finlay's
fists tightened on his lap, then he sat up, forced a small smile, and
excused himself from the table. He could deal with being ignored, he
could deal with Morgan choosing to drink beer because Tanner chose
beer, he could even deal with the Aussie sitting between him and
Morgan, but for her to agree to spend the day with Tanner, right in
front of him, when she wouldn't even speak to him...no, he couldn't
just sit there.

“
Actually,”
Morgan spoke louder than she needed to, “I'm just going to go
with Angel and the four of us can get together afterward.” Her
eyes followed Finlay as he crossed the lounge, and out the double
doors to the lobby. The hurt must have shown on her face, maybe even
because she was biting the shit out of her bottom lip, but she heard
the long breath of air from her left. She looked at Tanner, and the
handsome man tilted his head toward Finlay.

“
Go
on,” Tanner spoke.

Morgan
smiled and nodded. “I'll...uh...be right back.” She
stood, then bent slightly and gave Tanner a quick kiss to his
forehead, did the same to Angel, then grabbed one of his curls to
watch it spring back.

“
Don't
mess up my fuckin' hair, Boo Thang!” Angel swat her hand away,
then smacked Morgan's ass as she walked away from the table. “And
good mothafuckin' luck!” Morgan smiled as she walked from the
table, to the front door, knowing that Angel would spend the next
five minutes trying to figure out which of his perfect curls had been
assaulted. Her smile, however, faded slightly when she walked
outside, and approached Finlay.

His
back was facing her, and he seemed much larger than usual. She
immediately remembered a time when she and Angel were shopping, and
two young men were beginning to argue over the asking price of a
handcrafted necklace that the larger of the two had for sale at a
busy street market. Angel had told her that it was common to see
arguments such as that, and he was all too happy to stand and watch
them. “Look, Stick....that one,” he had pointed to the
seller, “will puff out and make the little guy run off like a
chipmunk with a big ass nut.” She had wanted to correct him,
but right then, the larger man actually 'puffed out.' It was as if
he had gained several inches in size, and Morgan never forgot that
strange ability that men obviously had.
But why is Fin puffing
out?
Her question was answered just as quickly as she had asked
it of herself.

“
Why?
Why is he here, Morgan?” He turned to face her as he spoke.
“Is it so damn hard for you to spend a little time with me? We
have to talk... I need to explain what happened.” His hands
moved to her arms, and his fingers curled around her thin arms
firmly. His touch was warm, and it made Morgan want to fall forward
and bury herself in his chest. She cleared her throat and shook all
thoughts of his chest from her mind.

“
He's
here for the same reason you are, Fin. I mentioned that I would be
here, and he showed up.” He released her arms and shook his
head. His face showed his every thought. His reason for joining her
was valid, Tanner was just being a nuisance. “He's my friend,
so stop with the face.” Her arms crossed over her chest when
she was finished speaking, and Finlay let out another long sigh.

“
Aye.”
When his gaze dropped to the ground, Morgan's arms dropped to her
sides. At that moment, she no longer wanted to be angry at the man.
He had been defeated. She won. It felt terrible, for both of them.
As tears began to burn, Morgan stepped forward and lifted Finlay's
face to meet her gaze.

“
Fin.
I'm sorry.” She truly was. She knew that she hadn't even
given him a minute of her time to make things right, and he tried so
hard to ease her pain. In return, after not allowing him to do so,
she had caused him even more. “This week. We'll spend time
together, just the two of us, and we can talk.” She smiled and
nodded slowly in encouragement. “Yes?” His lips curled
as he shook his head, and a smile took hold of his handsome face in
seconds.

“
Aye.”

“
Aye
what?” Her head titled as she squinted playfully at him.

“
Aye,
Lass.” Morgan giggled and stood on her toes as she wrapped her
arms around his neck. “Thank ye, Love.” His whispered
words in her ear brought another battle of the tears. She wanted to
thank him in return, or at least, tell him how sorry she was, but all
she did was nod into his neck which brought a tight squeeze from her
Finlay. “Let's get back to yer wee friend and what's-his-name,
aye?” Morgan pulled away and playfully punched him in the
stomach.

“
Tanner.
And yes, let's have a good night, okay?” He laughed and put
his arm around her waist as he nodded, and the two walked arm in arm
back inside.

Chapter
Five

Morgan
released a long and very loud yawn that echoed in the spacious
bathroom of her hotel room. A bubble bath was the only thing on her
mind when everyone decided to call it a night, and it was the first
thing she did when she got back to her room.

“
Alone
at last.” Her voice was barely above a whisper as she soaked
the day away, and she allowed her body to finally relax completely.
The stress of the first part of the day was still felt, even though
it had improved greatly after her brief talk with Finlay. It was
actually a very fun evening, and all three men got along as friends
should, but Morgan was happy that it was over.

Her
eyes closed and she lowered her body deeper into the tub, until only
her head and knees were above water. Somewhere, in that gray area
between sleep and consciousness, her phone rang. Morgan sat up
quickly, splashing water over the side of the tub, her heart racing
as she looked for her phone. It wasn't her normal ring tone, but it
was definitely her phone, vibrating against the tile floor. “Angel,”
Morgan giggled, as Angel's voice repeated, “answer your fucking
phone, Stick” with each ring. It was all the way on the other
side of the bathroom, which in reality wasn't that far, but to a girl
who knew she'd have to leave the warmth of a hot bath, it might as
well have been in Ohio.

Morgan
shook her head and waved her hand at the phone, letting it go to
voice mail as she rested her back against the bathtub once again.
Whoever it was would have to wait until she was done. She smiled at
the silence that followed the call, but the feeling didn't last long.
Again, Angel's rich voice filled the bathroom. “I'm going to
have to change that.” Morgan sat up again, and rested her arms
on the edge of the tub, staring at her phone again. “Fine.”

She
slowly got to her feet and stepped out of the tub, dripping water all
the way to her phone. It was a number she didn't recognize and that
upset her even more. “Really? I'm trying to relax here!”
Standing naked, in the middle of the bathroom, she pressed the answer
button and brought it to her ear.

“
Yeah,”
she said with an exaggerated sigh. It wasn't a question, nor an
answer, but anyone on the other side, would know she didn't want to
talk.

“
Yes,
I'm calling for a Mrs. Morgan Holland,” the man's voice on the
other end replied.

Morgan's
brows came together as she slowly walked back over to the tub. “This
is she...but I'm not
Mrs.
”

“
Okay,
Mrs. Holland. I'm calling on behalf of the French Sweepstake
Committee, to let you know that you and your husband have won...”

“
I
don't have a husband!” Morgan laughed as she sunk back down
into the tub. “Who is this?”

“
The
French Sweepstake Committee, and I'm calling to let you know that you
and your husband have won a trip to...”

“
Look,
dude...I don't have a husband and we...I...haven't signed up for
anything like that.”

“
I'm
so sorry to hear about your divorce, Mrs. Holland.”

“
What
are you talking about!? For the millionth time, I'm not married.
Never have been. So...you need to give some other happy couple
whatever trip you're talking about.” She was about to hang up,
when the person on the other end mentioned a name worth catching her
attention.

“
Perhaps
Mr. Campbell, or Mr. Collins would like to attend.”

“
What..who
are...what did you just say? Who is this?” Morgan sat up again,
her brows even tighter than before. For a few moments, all Morgan
heard was silence, then laughter, then the tone of an ended call.
“What the fu...ANGEL!” It hadn't been Angel on the other
side of the phone, but someone else she knew. “Cedric. You're
gonna get it!” Morgan laughed and shook her head. “Jerk.”

Before
Morgan could set her phone back down on the tile, it rang again. She
quickly hit the answer button, and spoke before it was up to her
face. “That was not funny! Okay, it was a little funny, but you
had me frea...”

“
Morgan?”

It
wasn't Cedric that time. She pulled the phone from her ear and looked
at the screen, and nearly dropped her phone when she saw the image on
the front. “Dante? I...uh...sorry. I thought you were someone
else. What...what's going on?” She looked down at her body,
almost embarrassed that she was speaking to the handsome Italian man
as she was submersed in a tub of bubbly water.

“
I
never got your R.S.V.P.” It was a statement, but sounded like a
question.

“
R.S.V.P.?
What was I R.S.V.P-ing to?” She almost laughed at her own joke.

“
My
wedding? Didn't you get the invitation? I had Franco send them out
nearly two weeks ago.”

“
Franco?
Oh! Luigi! How is Luigi?” Morgan blurted without thinking. “I
mean..how are you?” She was still wrong. “Right..uh...wedding.
Congratulations! And no, I never received anything. I don't exactly
have an address though. Where did you send the invitation?” She
knew the answer before he gave it.

“
Julianne,”
he replied, and Morgan had been right with her guess. She knew her
boss had been so preoccupied with Felix. If an invitation had come
for Morgan, it was no surprise she'd received no word. “
Luigi
is fine, I'm fine.” Morgan laughed into the speaker of the
phone as Dante continued. He'd said it, he said Luigi. “I would
love to see you at the wedding, Morgan. After all, you're the one who
made it all possible.”

“
Aw,
no...I didn't do anything.” Morgan blushed and silently smiled
as she popped a large bubble on her knee. “When is the
wedding?”

“
In
two months.”

“
Wow,
really??” Dante confirmed, it was in fact, real. “I...uh...”
At first, she wanted to say no, only because she was already
traveling so much, but she couldn't disappoint her sweet friend.
“I'll be there.” Yes, she would take Angel as her plus
one, and another trip with her best friend had just been planned.

*****

“
Sweet
baby, Moses! My Stick officially has two mothafuckin' eyebrows again!
That was too fuckin' close. That eyebrow you had was about to turn
into a cocoon and fly off your face.” Angel brought his hand to
his forehead, brushing off imaginary sweat from the
close call.
Cedric doubled over in laughter and Morgan shot them both a
glaring look.

“
I'm
sorry I don't get a lot of time to manage my eyebrows,” she
said as she climbed out of the salon chair.

“
Baby
girl, you only had one eyebrow to take care of and you see where that
got you.” Angel winked at her and wrapped his arm around her
elbow. Everything had been taken care of. Her hair, her
eyebrow
,
her nails and even a deep exfoliating facial; which had been more for
Angel than her.

“
Oh,
shit,” Morgan said, ignoring Angel's last stab, “we're
late! I hope they're not killing each other.”