Thea hooked her arm in his as she walked him out.
“Yes, but Gerald has taught me that you can love many people in many different ways and honor each relationship. If my Aunt Lydia hadn’t gotten to him first, I might have given Gerald a spin myself if he would have had me. Frankly though, I don’t think I have the energy to keep up with him.”
Tom laughed. “Yeah, right. I know how you really feel about Gerald. You’re just trying to let me down easy. Is his son as good as his father?”
Thea laughed. She had no idea what kind of man Morgan was, but he sure knew how to kiss.
“I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. Morgan doesn’t seem to be nearly as nice as his father, but he has some redeeming qualities.”
“Like what? No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know,” Tom said, pulling away from her and walking to the door to the sound of Thea’s snickering laughter behind him.
Leaving did not stop Tom Reynolds from being interested in seeing the man that had snapped Althea Carmichael out of her grief, and he wondered how to wrangle an introduction. If all Thea wanted from him was friendship, then Tom would at least be the best friend he could be to her.
Who knew what would happen after the man left town? She might reconsider Tom’s offer then. And if that was the case, he needed to see for himself what kind of man the woman liked other than Angus Carmichael. It shouldn’t take much investigation to check out Gerald’s son and make sure he was decent.
*** *** ***
Morgan laid the two button-up shirts he’d bought on the bed, trying to decide which one to wear tonight. He was going to dinner at the restaurant, and if he got lucky, he was going home with Thea.
“Go with the blue stripe,” Gerald said from the door. “Sorry. It was open. I figured it was okay to stop in and say hi.”
“It’s fine Dad. You think Thea will like the blue stripe?” Morgan asked.
Gerald shrugged.
“Don’t know, but blue is supposed to be calming. It might help you at least,” he said, laughing when his son didn’t correct him or say anything snippy back.
Morgan picked up the blue striped shirt and slipped it on.
“Thea doesn’t need to be alone tonight. She got some bad news about a family member today,” he said softly.
“Yes. I know. It’s her mother-in-law,” Gerald said, his own tone sober. Looking at Morgan’s face, he could tell his son was concerned about Thea’s frame of mind about it.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell Morgan about his own relationship to Delilah, but Gerald still wasn’t sure his son could accept his being committed to a dying woman while he was sleeping with another one. Nor did Gerald think Morgan would believe him if he said he loved them both.
He certainly didn’t need anyone’s judgment weighing him down on top of the grief.
“You know the person who’s dying?” Morgan asked, noticing for the first time how tired his father looked.
“Yes. I know her very well,” Gerald said carefully. “I’m going to miss her terribly when she’s gone. Delilah Carmichael is a special woman, probably the sweetest one I ever met next to your mother.”
Morgan stopped buttoning his shirt and turned. “I’m sorry, Dad. You sound as down about it as Thea. You need me to stay home with you tonight? I’m sure Thea will be okay.”
Gerald took a moment answering to make sure he wouldn’t get too mushy on Morgan and scare him, but it was damn hard to keep it all inside when his son was offering support.
“No. I’m going to a friend’s,” Gerald said shortly. “That’s what I came to tell you. I didn’t want you to worry that I’m not at home. You head on back to the restaurant.”
“Let me give you a lift to your friend’s house. I’ll even pick you up tomorrow if you want,” Morgan offered.
Gerald shook his head. “I’m going to drive the Honda.”
Morgan nodded and then looked at the floor as he spoke.
“Thea kissed me today. If things work out the way I hope, I may not be home tonight either.”
He made himself lift his gaze to his father’s face then, even though he feared what he would find there. Surprisingly, he watched his father smile and nod as if it were inevitable. Since being with her was all he could think about—in a way, Morgan guessed, it was.
“Well, good luck with that,” Gerald said. “Be good to Thea, son.”
“Thanks, and I will,” Morgan said, watching his father walk away, his step slower and more sluggish than he’d seen it be since he had come to Sedona.
*** *** ***
“It’s Friday night. Everyone eats out on Friday nights. You should be crowded,” Morgan said, looking at the nearly empty restaurant. “Where is everyone?”
Thea sighed and looked around her. Here was hard evidence that Tom was right in his projections. She wasn’t going to last much longer if something didn’t change soon.
“Times are tough. People stay home. If they do go out, it has to be the best expenditure of the week for them to justify spending the money,” Thea said with a resigned shrug.
“You need to offer a special for dinner. Do a different one every day. Pasta, salad, and a drink for one price,” Morgan told her, not really considering the fact that he was in short telling Thea how to run her business. It just seemed like a logical solution to how to fill the empty seats. “Tea and soda included. Beer is extra.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, this is not an Italian restaurant. I serve burgers, sandwiches, and fries,” Thea said dryly. “You’ve practically tried the entire menu in a single week of coming here. You should have it memorized by now.”
Morgan laughed. “I knew you had a sense of humor. That’s good because you’re going to need it. I think you should try offering a dinner special one night next week to see how it goes. What’s stopping you?”
“I don’t know. Having an Italian pasta chef maybe? I don’t think Pete sees himself stuffing manicotti for a living,” Thea told him. “He likes the grill.”
“I could do it,” Morgan said, sitting up straighter when she laughed at him. “I took lessons. I’m a fairly good cook.”
“You cook?” Thea asked, her disbelief evident in her tone. “I’ve seen you eat greasy fries with enough ketchup to drown in, and now you’re telling me you’re a gourmet.”
“I didn’t say gourmet,” Morgan denied. “I said I could cook. I make damn good spaghetti, and a ziti that my Dad begs me to fix. He’s putting on weight.”
“You’re pulling my leg,” Thea challenged.
“No. I am serious,” Morgan told her. “How many would I have to feed?”
“I don’t know. I guess we could plan for a hundred and be real positive thinkers,” she said, laughing sarcastically.
“You don’t have to even pay me during the trial,” Morgan said reasonably, his face creased in a sexy grin. “I’ll take it out in trade instead.”
Thea laughed. “In my thirties, that would have been a good bargain for you. In my fifties, I’m apt to get bored and fall asleep before you get your money’s worth.”
“I’ll take my chances. I want a down payment tonight, and the rest next Friday after you start selling burgers and sandwiches when the pasta runs out,” Morgan told her. “I have great instincts when it comes to making money. This is going to work.”
Thea sighed. Morgan’s idea was no worse than anything she’d thought of trying, she supposed. She could always donate the unsold food to the homeless shelter and write it off.
“Okay. We’ll try your pasta next Friday. What the hell,” Thea said, resigned to spending money on Morgan’s experiment that she couldn’t really afford to burn. At least if the restaurant went under, Thea could say she had tried everything.
She rose from the booth intending to go check on the other two tables. She’d already sent Amy home because business was so slow.
“Don’t forget my down payment tonight,” Morgan teased as she began to walk away.
Laughing, Thea walked back to the booth, stepped up on the edge and reached to kiss Morgan’s cheek. He automatically lifted his hand to her face and she kissed his palm as well.
It was the sweetest, nicest moment he’d ever experienced with a woman. Morgan suddenly understood his father so much more than he ever imagined he would.
“Okay,” he said, voice rough with an emotion he didn’t want to analyze. “You drive a hard bargain, Althea. That was the best kiss I’ve ever had. I’ll consider you paid in full tonight.”
Morgan’s tormented expression made her laugh.
“One thing you need to know about me, Morgan Reed,” Thea said, her breath a whisper along his jaw. “I pay my debts in full when they’re due. Come home with me and collect the whole amount.”
“Thea,” Morgan said on sigh as she straightened. “Are you sure?”
“No,” Thea said honestly, and then laughed at both of them and their flirting. “But if I’m alone I’m just going to cry myself to sleep. I’d rather not do that.”
“We won’t let that happen,” Morgan promised.
“Well, don’t set your hopes too high about my decision. I haven’t had sex with a man since I was your age,” Thea told him honestly, “but I hear it’s like riding a bike.”
“Thea,” Morgan honestly thought he was going to choke on her name.
Ten years. God have mercy. The woman hadn’t been loved in a decade.
And he’d been sexually pressing her like some horny kid.
“You won’t be sorry about taking this chance with me.”
“Well, why would I be?” Thea asked lightly. “I’m sure you’ve practiced enough to help me over the rough spots. Now I need to go be the polite wait person. I’ll be right back.”
She walked off through the tables again, and Morgan’s gaze raptly followed her swinging hips as it had every other time he’d seen her. His attraction to her was so intense that it was hard not to believe other men hadn’t gotten as far as he had. He was having serious trouble believing what Thea had told him.
However, Morgan also thought it was probably true, given her resistance to a simple date. After all this time without being with anyone, Thea was practically a virgin and just as skittish as one about men.
The idea of dialing the attraction between them back down played through his mind, and Morgan found himself wondering if he could just gain access to her house, look around, and call that proof enough before he moved on.
Except there wasn’t any way around admitting that he had intentionally lit the damn match for the raging fire of need now burning inside both of them. He wanted Thea so much he ached.
Besides, after just one week of knowing her, and even without completing his investigation, Morgan no longer believed Althea Carmichael could ever be the kind of person who would take advantage of his father.
Which meant if he did end up being with Thea tonight, it would only be because he genuinely wanted her.
Morgan guessed he must have been staring hard because Thea’s gaze lifted to his from across the room. She smiled at him, a hundred secrets about her intentions and desires in the look she sent him. Morgan could swear he heard some sort of click inside himself like a key turning in a rusty lock.
Part of him thought briefly of fleeing, of walking out of the restaurant and out of Althea Carmichael’s life. It would keep things simple for him. He liked his life simple.
However, another part imagined himself easing inside Thea’s body, could quite clearly imagine her tortured groans of satisfaction while being initiated into lovemaking again after all this time. And he could hear Thea all the while begging “let me, let me” to kiss him again, because it still rang in his ears from this afternoon.
Who was he kidding? There wasn’t a man alive who wouldn’t trade places with him to have the chance he was getting.
The only place Morgan was going tonight was home with Althea Carmichael.
Chapter 8
Thea let them into the quiet dark of her house about nine-thirty. She had closed up at nine, knowing no one would come in that last hour anyway. They hadn’t had a run of evening customers since late spring.
“I need a shower to remove the restaurant smells, and to have some girl time for half an hour,” she told him. “I don’t have cable anymore, but there are some books and magazines in the living room.”
“I’ll be fine,” Morgan told her. “I could join you if you want—wash your back maybe?”
“Next time,” Thea said, smiling. “I’m nervous. I need to mentally prepare.”
“Okay,” Morgan said easily. “Let me give you something to think about while you’re getting wet.” It made him lightheaded to hear her laugh at his teasing.
He pulled her into his arms, kissed her softly, then a little more, until he was pressing his mouth to hers urgently. By the time he released her, Morgan was probably thinking of Thea more than she was of him.
Morgan looked at Thea’s face, the flush covering her, and her eyes closed to no more than slits. Well maybe not, Morgan conceded, running nervous hands up and down her arms. Her hands were flexing on his shirt like they had when he’d kissed her earlier and Thea looked like she was contemplating whether she absolutely needed the shower or not.
Whatever concerns Morgan had, there was no question in his mind at all about whether or not the woman wanted him.