Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (13 page)

“Here,
sugar tits.” He handed over the information and kissed her
forehead. “Hey.” Cade was already walking away when he
turned suddenly and got Morgan's attention. “Be safe. And have
fun.” Morgan smiled and nodded, then quickly jumped into his
arms.

“Thank
you. For being my friend.” Cade hugged her tightly before
setting her feet back on the floor. Morgan watched him leave then
took her bags to a nearby chair to see where she was heading. She
opened the paper, smiling at her name that Julianne had written. “Who
else would this be for?” Morgan giggled at how detailed her
boss always was, and finally began to read.

“
New
Guinea?” Morgan also opened another paper that had been tucked
in with the first. It was a letter, also written by Julianne.

Morgan,
I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you. Your strength truly
amazes me. But, with every strong woman comes a downfall. We, at
times, are too strong for our own good. We don't see the whole
picture, and we need one another to help point it out. That's what
I've done for you. Your next client,Gabriel Medina, is someone that I
know you'll enjoy, but before you meet him, you'll spend the week
with someone else. Tanner will meet you at the airport. No arguments.
Live, Morgan. Go have some fun on the beautiful beaches of New
Guinea. Love, Julianne.

Morgan
didn't have time to process everything before finding one more piece
of information at the bottom of Julianne's note.
p.s. Finlay will
meet you in New Guinea after your week with, Gabriel. From there, you
will fly to Scotland with him for another week. You are free to pick
your next client after that. p.s.s. Remember your promise.

BOOK
THIRTY-TWO

NEW
GUINEA

Chapter
One

The
plane hit the runway, and Morgan was jolted out of a deep sleep, one
she had desperately needed. She'd been dreaming about her home,
imagining it completely finished, and a smile spread across her lips
as her mind revealed the beautiful possiblities. She was already
looking forward to seeing the renovations.

“
Excuse
me,” Morgan mumbled, realizing her stretch placed her elbow
almost directly onto the cheek of the man sitting next to her. She
quickly brought her arms down as the man turned to her. He was very
handsome. Mid-twenties,golden brown eyes, and a perfect smile, that
was directed at her.

“
Not
a problem, Love. Are you staying in Sydney?” His accent was
much thicker than Tanner's, and it made Morgan smile.

“
Yes.
Uh, on the outskirts.” Morgan nodded.

“
You're
alone? Visting friends? Family?” He tucked his laptop into his
bag, with the occasional glance toward Morgan as he put his things
away.

Morgan's
smile grew even bigger. “Both.” Tanner wasn't just her
friend, they were all part of her family. She also smiled, because
for the first time in almost two months, a man was hitting on her. It
made her feel good. Normal.

An
hour later, Morgan was standing in front of the airport, looking for
any signs of Tanner. “I'm starving!” Morgan looked in
both directions, her eyes scanning every vehicle that lined the side
of the long curb. Families, lovers, business associates, and long
lost friends were greeting one another as far as the eye could see.
It wasn't like Tanner to be late, without as much as a word of
notice, and Morgan was beginning to worry.

She
sent him a text, and hauled her bags to a nearby bench to wait.
Fifteen minutes later, her stomach decided the next move. Morgan
walked to the curb and got the first taxi that she came to. “Food.
I don't care where.” The driver smiled and nodded. Typical
American, he thought. Happy, carefree, and would most likely want a
burger or steak. He knew exactly where to take her.

Tanner,
at that moment, was parked within a long line of vehicles that had
stopped due to an accident on the only road outside of his home. He
was nine miles from his driveway, and his cell phone was completely
dead. “Bloody hell!” He could envision his car charger on
the counter in his kitchen, and ran his hands through his hair in
complete frustration. Morgan was waiting, and with no way to contact
her, all he could do was worry. Their first meeting after the
incident shouldn't leave her alone, and possibly afraid. “Move!
Go!” He yelled at the long line of cars ahead of his, but it
wasn't going to help.

Morgan
read the large wooden sign outside of the building that came into
view. She smiled and slid the driver his money, and a generous tip,
after he handed over her bags in front of, Tony's Steakhouse and
Burgers. It was perfect. “Thank you!” She pulled her bags
through the front door and was greeted right away.

“Hello,
Miss. One?” She nodded and looked down, letting the hostess
know that she needed a little room for her luggage. “Right this
way.” Another host, a young man with bright red hair that
Morgan instantly liked, ran over and took the bags from her hands.
She smiled and nodded, allowing him to help. She was still admiring
the boy's hair when she was directed to a small booth beside the bar.
“Here ya go, enjoy your meal.” Morgan was thanking both
of them when another voice could be heard.

“We
meet again.” Morgan looked over to see the handsome man from
the plane sitting directly beside her in another booth. He too, had
his luggage in tow. Morgan laughed as she replied.

“Are
you following me?” He took a sip and smiled.

“I
was here first. That makes you the stalker.” Morgan nodded and
rolled her eyes as she laughed. “Care if I join you? We're
going to look pretty silly talking to one another from across the
room.” Morgan shook her head as she continued to laugh at the
man.

“You're
right beside me, not across the room. And yes, you may join me.”
The man quickly gathered his things and slid into the seat across
from Morgan. “We didn't really introduce ourselves,”
Morgan stretched her hand out between them, “I'm, Morgan.”
The man took her hand in his and shook it gently.

“Very
nice to meet, ya. I'm, John.” He pulled out a wooden chair, and
placed his luggage under the table. “I can't check into my
hotel until two, what's your excuse?” Morgan was staring at his
luggage, more than what she typically carried around. John took a
bite of bread that had been placed on the table, and nodded toward
her own bags. The restaurant was close to the airport, and used to
people getting off of long flights, tired and hungry.

Morgan
looked down at her phone before answering, still no sign of Tanner.
“Someone is picking me up...but he's late. And I'm starving,”
she added lightheartedly.

“
Boyfriend?”
He took another bite and picked up his menu.

“
You're
awfully concerned about who I'm visiting.” Morgan giggled and
picked up her own menu, and quickly navigated to the long list of
burgers.

“
Just
making sure I...”

“
You
what?” She raised a brow, and laughed again.

“
I
don't want to...you know, cross any lines. The last thing I need is
an angry man coming in here and beating me to death on vacation.”
He laughed, but Morgan didn't.

She
dropped her menu and took a drink of water to avoid speaking. “Excuse
me.” Her long legs carried her to the bathroom before he had
time to ask what was wrong. She placed her hands on the sink, and
took a long look at herself in the mirror. “I can do this.”
Morgan pushed her hair behind her ear, and leaned closer to her
reflection, and ran a finger over the faint scar on her forehead,
then the one under her chin. “I told Julianne I was ready.”

Morgan
knew she could do it, but for nearly two months, her only
interaction with people had been with those who
knew.
Julianne,
Felix, Finlay, Tanner, Angel...everyone knew, and they had all
learned to choose their words carefully due to her fragile state. She
took another deep breath, and told herself that she can't go to the
bathroom and mentally spiral each time someone said something that
she didn't like. Slowly, she walked back to her table, knowing things
were going to be harder than expected.

“
Everything
come out alright?” John sat back in his chair as he put his
menu on the table.

“
I
wasn't...” Morgan sat down and playfully narrowed her eyes at
the man. “So, you're nosy
and
presumptuous
.
”

“
You got up in a hurry, just figured you had to
go.” He knew Morgan hadn't run to the bathroom to actually use
it. John could see something behind her beautiful green eyes, but he
had also already figured out that humor seemed to work best.

“
How about we just order and you don't worry about
what I was doing,” Morgan announced as a waitress approached
the table. She quickly told the young blonde girl what she wanted,
and Morgan smiled as it was repeated back to her quickly. “I
have no idea what you just said, but I heard burger, so I think we're
good.” Morgan handed the waitress the menu, and the girl
laughed with her.

“
I'll have the same.” John handed his menu
over as well. “But no tomatoes.” The waitress nodded, and
quickly disappeared behind two double doors. “So, tell me,”
John took another sip, and smacked his lips loudly when he finished,
“Morgan, what are your plans for holiday?” Once again,
his invasive questions were annoying her. She took a deep breath and
grabbed the sides of her legs discreetly under the table for self
control. The man wasn't doing anything wrong. A bit rude, yes. But
not wrong, and she knew that blowing up in front of a stranger in a
public place wasn't the best idea.

Tanner was finally back on the road to the airport, and
the final ten minutes it would take to get to her was driving him
crazy. The entire morning was a disaster, from finding out that one
of his boats needed major repairs, to running late to pick up Morgan,
and finally realizing that he'd left his charger at home when his
phone died. His only hope right then was that Morgan was safe. He
couldn't help but to feel overprotective of her considering what
she'd been through, and visions of some mad man kidnapping her again
kept his foot to the floor as he raced to the airport.

“Look, I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't
want to tell my whole life's story to a stranger. Alright?”
Morgan sat up straight and put her hands back on her lap. She waited
for his reply, knowing that she would excuse him from her table if he
didn't understand. John nodded, his eyes speaking more than his words
as he spoke.

“I'm sorry. It's... well... a bad habit of mine.
Prying. I'm a salesman by trade and it sort of comes with the
territory.” She instantly forgave him, and in typical Morgan
fashion, she felt guilt for being rude. “Let's try this again,
shall we?” He sat back as their food arrived, and Morgan nodded
as she stole a fry from his plate. “Hey!” Morgan eased
the tension, and he was happy to have a second chance with the
beautiful woman.

Tanner pulled in front of the airport and ran inside.
He didn't see Morgan waiting outside and that terrified him. He did a
quick glance around and made his way to the gift shop where he
purchased a new charger. He was still looking as he went back to his
car, and began to charge his phone. “Come on!” Two
minutes of torture, waiting for a large enough charge to turn his
phone on, was enough to send his blood pressure to a dangerous level.
“Dammit!” The first message he read was from Morgan,
letting him know that she went to get something to eat, and the
second message was telling him where she was. The only good news was
that the restaurant was only a few miles away and he would be there
in no time.

Morgan took her first bite of burger and sat back as
she moaned in delight. She had been starving, and it was the perfect
meal after a long flight. “Oh my god, it's so good.” John
watched her as her hair fell to the side when her head leaned back
against the booth.

“What else could get you to make that sound?”
Morgan's eyes opened wide as she sat up. Rage filled her body as her
fingers rounded into her palms in fists of absolute fury. Manners and
attempting to keep the mood light were instantly forgotten. She
narrowed her eyes at the man and moved a few inches in his direction.

“I get that you're a man, and I'm a woman. I even
get that you're flirting a little.” Morgan moved even closer,
and her teeth were clenched so tightly as she spoke that it began to
hurt her jaw with each word that left her lips. “But if you
think you can speak to me like that, you're fucking mistaken.”
She went to stand, but turned to tell him one more thing. “I
decide who speaks to me like that! Do you understand? No one else, I
DECIDE!” A few people at the surrounding bar turned to look,
but immediately went back to their meals when Morgan stood and began
to gather her things. John also stood, and grabbed Morgan's wrist. He
didn't mean to offend her, and he wanted to apologize for doing so.