Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (44 page)

Her
next call caught him off guard completely. “Yes, this is Morgan
Holland, I'm staying in your hotel. Yes, it's very nice, thank you.
I'm calling to see if you could direct me to a nice restaurant? I'm
looking for authentic Moroccan food...not a cheap imitation of
American food such as this steak in front of me that I can't even
chew. Thank you very much. Just text me the information.”
Morgan covered her meal with her napkin for emphasis, and made one
last call.

“
John,
it's Morgan. I'll be there this afternoon. I'll need the number to
the resort. Thank you.”

“
What
are ye doing, Morgan?” Finlay asked her once more what was
going on, but Morgan still refused to look at him as she took another
drink of her no-longer-hot coffee.

“
Ma'am?”
Morgan called over the woman with the large bosom and handed her
enough money to cover her and Finlay's food, plus a generous tip. The
woman thanked her and Morgan offered a warm smile in return as the
waitress disappeared into the back of the restaurant. It wasn't the
woman's fault the food was terrible.

“
Why
did ye do that?” Finlay was pulling out his wallet to
compensate Morgan for the food, but she finally turned her face
toward his direction, and shot him a look that told him it was best
to just drop the matter.

Morgan
shook her head as she typed something into her cell phone. After a
few torturous silent moments for Finlay as she studied the screen, a
small smile crept across her lips, and she stuffed her phone back
into her purse. Her heart was pounding so hard, she could hear it
beating in her own ears, but she took a deep breath, pushed her chair
out with her legs and stood. She had found the directions to the next
restaurant and she would find her way there, with or without Finlay.

“
Love,
wait,” Finlay stood and was quickly behind her as she pushed
her way out of the stuffy restaurant. “Morgan...” The
heels of her boots clicked against the sidewalk as she made her way
from the small row of buildings.

“
I'm
hungry.” Morgan did her best not to smile. It felt good to have
the upper hand for once, and she wasn't going to let him talk his way
out of it. She was tired of information being withheld from her. Even
after the heart to heart talk she'd shared with the Scot, he still
hadn't told her that Mustafa had been moved, and that was more than
enough to get her blood boiling. She wanted to confront him about it,
it was in her nature to get answers. For right then, getting her
point across was much more important.

For
nearly one mile, Finlay followed at least three sidewalk blocks
behind Morgan and she made it nearly impossible to strike up
conversation. “Morgan, will ye just stop one bloody second and
let me explain?”

“
Explain
what, Fin?” Her tone was a lot more cheerful than he'd
anticipated and he stumbled over a small break in the sidewalk when
he quit paying attention to the ground.

“
Fook!”
He caught his balance quickly, and surprisingly, considering his
size, but Morgan never paused to even look at him.

“
Great.
Glad we could have this talk.” She shook her head again, and
fought off another smile. Morgan didn't know why he'd cursed, but
she'd been right to assume he'd nearly fallen. Either way, she wasn't
going to push any further to find out.

“
No,
just listen te me.” Finlay caught up to her side, and jumped in
front of her, forcing Morgan's eyes on his.

“
Like
I told you, Finlay, I think it's time I give
you
information.”
She gave his broad body a push as she walked around him, and up three
stone steps. “We're here.”

She
pushed open a small wooden, unmarked gate in the middle of a white
wall, and followed a concrete path through two narrow walls of
hedges. Knowing she could barely make it through comfortably brought
amusement to herself as she heard the grunts of frustration from the
large man following her.

“Morgan,”
Finlay whispered, and his hands found her hips as his breath brushed
against the back of her neck. “Wait...”

“Finlay...”
She stopped and closed her eyes when he gripped her tighter and
pulled her back against his body. He kissed her neck and her skin
broke out in a wave of goosebumps she couldn't control.
Stop it,
Morgan. You're going to make your point, he's trying to distract you.
It was so hard to be mad at him sometimes, but right then..it was
easy to walk away. “Still hungry.” If it were under
different circumstances, she could have pulled him through one of the
hedges and found a private spot to ride the Scot...
but it's not
one of those circumstances Finny Foo Foo.
She pulled away from
his grip and continued walking down the path, leaving Finlay in her
wake. “Holy shit.”
It was more beautiful than she
could have imagined, and much better than she had expected. She took
the concrete steps that winded along the side of a huge hotel, up to
the rooftop restaurant. The steps looked ancient and in need of a
good paint job, but that's what she loved about it, and reminded
herself to get a picture on the way back down.

“
Wow.”
Finlay's quiet exclamation made her smile too, even if he would never
see it. Morgan pushed her purse further up her shoulder, and walked
to a small wooden podium where a well dressed young man quickly
greeted them.

“
Seating
for two?” Morgan nodded, and felt Finlay's hand on the small of
her back.

“
That
doesn't mean anything.” Morgan pulled Fin's hand off of her
back and raised a brow of warning.

They
were escorted to a table that sat directly under a large wicker
chandelier. Morgan sat gently in the large oversized burnt orange
cushion, and nearly smiled as she watched Finlay sink into his seat.
A soft mist surrounded their table from the spritzing fan within the
ceiling vents, and Morgan's head fell softly to the back of her chair
as she allowed the cool water to caress her warm skin.

A
young thin man in a large straw hat approached their table and
pointed to the small chalkboard that hung from his neck and covered
his chest and waist. The writing was English, and he smiled as Morgan
began to read the specials for the day. After several moments of
consideration, Morgan pointed to the items that she wanted, and
ordered for both of them.

Finlay
never saw the chalkboard menu, and he was about to stop the man from
leaving. “I don't get a say in my meal?” He smiled at
Morgan, but she just shook her head. He had ordered far too many
items for her, and it was time to turn the tables.

“
We'll
start with salad. You'll love it, I assure you.” Morgan put her
napkin on her lap and nodded as another server approached with their
drinks. “That, is mint tea.” She smiled at the server
again and nodded toward the plate that was also placed on the table.
“That's flat bread, it's served with every meal. When the salad
arrives, which will be cubed eggplant, potatoes, and sweet carrots,
you can scoop it all on the bread. It's wonderful.” She took a
sip of her tea and tried not to watch Finlay attempt to sniff his
drink before trying it. She leaned back with her cup, and continued.
“After that, we'll have harira. It's the most common soup in
Morocco, made with chicken, rice, ginger, lentils, tomatoes and
onions.” She took a slow sip, and smiled slightly as Finlay
nodded. “For our main course, I ordered pastilla. I guess you
could call it a meat pie. It'll also be made with chicken, unless
they're more traditional... then it will be made with pigeon.”
Morgan smiled at the memory of Mustafa explaining several Moroccan
meals, and his insistence that pigeon tasted almost exactly like
chicken. She had no interest in trying it then, but she was more than
willing to try it with Finlay. “It has a shell on the outside,
like phyllo, but more crunchy from what I've been told. It also has
sugar mixed in with the spices, so it's a bit sweet.” Finlay
stared at Morgan as she spoke, and nodded on occasion as he listened.
“Their cous cous is, hopefully, as good as it was in the desert
prepared over an open fire.” Finlay looked down to his cup, and
he pushed the thoughts of Morgan and Mustafa from his mind. “I
didn't order dessert, but I think we should have the crème
brulee.” Morgan took another sip, then moved slightly to allow
their server to place the salads on the table. “Enjoy, Fin.”

He
took several spoons of his salad, per Morgan's suggestion, and placed
it on his bread before meeting Morgan's gaze again. He looked across
the table just as he was about to cut into his newly rolled piece of
flat bread. “Love?” Morgan was pushing the vegetables on
her bread with her fingers, and she looked at him briefly before
bringing it her lips.

“
Yes?”
She took a large bite and moaned in delight as the herbs in the fresh
salad danced across her tongue. She finished chewing, then pointed at
Finlay's fork and knife. “The best way to enjoy an authentic
meal, is to be.... authentic.” Finlay looked at his hands and
smiled.

“
I'll
use my fork, thanks.” He continued cutting into his bread and
took a quick bite. “Aye, it's good.” Morgan scoffed
playfully, and they spent the next ten minutes enjoying their food
without speaking.

As
they ate, four more tables had been seated around them. Finlay
watched as salads, stew, and bread were placed on their tables. Every
person was using their hands, and Morgan looked as if she blended
perfectly with the Moroccan clientele. It was a sight to see, and he
leaned back slightly to take it all in. He was still staring when
Morgan wiped her mouth and hands.

“
If
you'll excuse me.” Finlay didn't have time to respond, as
Morgan was out of her seat and walking towards the restroom in
seconds. Morgan smiled all the way to the back of the restaurant, and
was still smiling when she entered the ladies room. She just had a
quick call to make, and it couldn't be done in front of Finlay.

Finlay
looked down at the soup that had arrived, and he had to admit, it
smelled wonderful. He glanced to the other tables and saw them
dipping their bread into their bowls. Again, they didn't use a spoon.
He shook his head slightly and smiled. “Seems I have a lot te
learn.” He grabbed his spoon, still unwilling to
dip
,
and enjoyed several bites before Morgan returned.

“
Tourist.”
She giggled and took her seat, and immediately pulled her bread
through the thick liquid. It was only toward the end of their meal
that Finlay finally gave in and finished the last half of his meat
pie with his fingers. He also had to admit that it didn't feel as
foreign as he'd thought it would.

“
You
surprise me, Love.” Morgan's head tilted as his words crept
through her mind. She pushed her plate to the side and met his gaze.
It was then that Morgan finally released her frustration. It was,
however, not in the typical Morgan fashion that Finlay had grown
accustom to.

“
Surprise?”
She rolled the word from her tongue as if she were only speaking to
herself. Surprise. How was that possible? Her face never changed as
she chose her words and Finlay waited for the avalanche of emotion
that he'd been waiting for since Morgan heard John's words. Morgan
leaned back and nodded.“Surprise.” She slowly wiped her
hands and placed her napkin on the table. “That just might
explain things, Finlay.” She nodded again, obviously accepting
her own thoughts. “You haven't looked at what's right in front
of you, you're too busy knowing everything.” Finlay started to
protest, but Morgan stuck her finger in the air, as if asking him to
wait. “Let me ask you... how many countries have you been to?”
She lowered her hand, and it was his cue to speak.

Finlay
chuckled, that was one topic that Morgan wouldn't be able to keep up
with. “Ah, Love. I've been to more than a dozen countries. What
would ye like te know?” His question was sincere, but Morgan's
laughter was confusing.

“
Actually,
I was going to offer the same to you. How many countries do you think
I've been to, Finlay?” He smiled and nodded.

“
Aye,
I supposed you've been to at least that many.”

“
Actually,
I can nearly triple your number. So, what would
you
like to
know?” He smiled again, understanding her point.

“
Ah,
Morgan. It isn't the same.” He tried to keep his words polite,
but there was no other way to make his point. “Love, yer job
has you... well... staying in hotels and takin' yer wee bubble baths.
It's different for me.” Morgan smiled and motioned for another
tea from their server. She moved a bit to get more comfortable in her
deep cushion, and leaned back before speaking.