Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (30 page)

“Morgan.”
She leaned her side against the door and waited for his reply.

“That's
a beautiful name. Can I ask you something, Morgan.” She said
yes, and turned her head to lean her cheek against the door frame.
“Why are wearing a bikini in the hallway, and why are you alone
on Christmas?” She closed her eyes at the Christmas reminder,
but still answered his question.

“That's
two questions, smart man.” She heard him laugh, then took a
deep breath. Something came over her that wasn't her usual style,
but alcohol mixed with guilt seemed to have taken over. “I'm
alone because nobody wants a call girl on Christmas. I'm in a bikini
because I just wanted...I needed....I just wanted to celebrate with
my friends.” Michael's heart broke at the sadness he could
hear, and the admission of what she did hardly took him by surprise.

“Well,
Morgan, why don't we have a drink together, then neither one of us
will be alone.” She had to laugh at the man, he was even pushy
like Fin. Then, with more behavior unlike herself, she walked to her
front door and opened it, seeing that he had done the same thing when
he heard her. They leaned out their front doors and smiled at one
another, then she motioned for him to join her. She watched his
smile spread across his face as he put one finger up, and disappeared
for a few seconds to grab his key. She couldn't help but to compare
the man to Finlay, but when she got a better look at the man, she saw
so much more than what she noticed earlier. His hair was much like
the Fin's, but his eyes were bright blue, and she immediately
compared them to Dante. He even had the extra thick black lashes
that made them stand out, just like her Italian client. He was tall
like her Scot as well, but not quite as thick. He was...
beautiful
.

The
first thing Michael did when he entered her room, was to pick a robe
up from the back of the chair and hand it to her. The man knew that
he would never be able to concentrate on conversation if he had to
see her in a bikini much longer. She gladly put it on, and sat on
the bed with her new friend.

The
next two hours brought one of the best conversations that Morgan had
ever had with a stranger, maybe one of the best that she had ever had
with anyone. Her secret was already out, so she held nothing back
about her life, past and present, including the men that she had met.
He was easy to talk to, and she was grateful to have the chance to
just be herself. Even when she told him about her mistake with Kole,
he gave her the same advice that Angel had, that he would either
forgive her or move on.

He
happily helped her finish the pizza, and even took a few bites of the
spicy chicken dish. After spending time with her, even though she
had still been fighting laughing fits that the alcohol helped bring
on, he had figured out her situation completely. He also admired the
fact that she wasn't ashamed of what she did, and her obvious love of
life. Michael still wanted to question how the men in her life
hadn't bothered with a gift for her, but that wasn't something that
he wanted to bring up since she seemed so happy at the time.

She
had started to sober a bit by the time he told her that he had to get
some rest, and it was just enough for her to honestly tell him how
grateful she was for his company. “I have no idea why I let
you in here, but I'm glad I did. Thank you, for spending Christmas
with me.” She put her hand over his for a brief moment, then
stood and showed him the door. He stopped and took a long look at
her before leaving.

“You
have to be the most interesting person that I've ever met, Morgan
Holland.” With that, he took her hand and swept his warm lips
across her knuckles. “I hope to see you again.” She
knew that she shared the same hope, but she wouldn't admit it right
then.

“Goodnight,
Michael, and Merry Christmas.”

*****

“No,
no, no.” Morgan's hangover the next morning brought the words
to her lips as she held her head and walked to the bathroom. “Why?
Why did I drink before flying?” She kept her eyes closed
throughout most of her shower, and only managed to keep them open
when she stepped out to get ready for her day.

She
walked around her room with a towel wrapped around her waist as she
gathered up the items from her
party
and put them into her
bags. Her flight wasn't until that afternoon, but checkout was at ten
so she'd have to be out of there by then. The empty pizza box and the
chicken that was still laying out on her bedside table were only a
little reminder of the night before. The dozen bottles of beer, in
which Michael had drank a few as well, were still another reminder of
the night before.

“Oh,
what was his name?” she whispered, knowing he could probably
hear her next door. She had remembered most of the night, at least
the important parts, and blushed as she thought of all the things she
had told him. “Everything. That's what I told him. I told a
complete stranger my life history.” She bent over and picked up
the last bottle, then threw it in the trash. The only name that kept
coming to mind was Finlay, but she knew that wasn't his name. She
couldn't even remember what he looked like, aside from those bright
eyes.

When
all of her things were together, she went downstairs to grab
breakfast and to think about what she was going to do until her
flight. She could just go to the airport, but nobody does that when
they're in Hawaii. There were things that needed to be seen
and...
shit.
Mr. Tall, Dark and Handsome was sitting at a table
by himself, right next to the only walkway.
Guess I'll make this
as least awkward as possible.

Morgan
walked right up to his table and tapped him on the shoulder. “Excuse
me, sir, is this seat taken?” She pointed toward the empty
chair across from him, then met his eyes. The
sir
line
prevented her from using his name.

“Good
morning, Morgan,” he smiled up at her and waved his arm toward
the seat, indicated she should sit.
Name. Name. Name...hey Mickey
you're so....

“Mickey!
Michael...sorry...good morning,” she tried to hide the flushing
of her cheeks that her outburst had caused.

“Close
enough,” he assured her and they both laughed, remembering the
scene. “Glad to see you again. You're leaving today right?”

She
looked over the menu as he asked the question, but already knew what
she wanted. Before she could answer, a waitress approached and Morgan
choose two blueberry muffins and eggs, sausage and potatoes.

“Hungry?”
he asked a second question. He had already eaten, but he had lingered
around the dining area, hoping the girl would come down. Michael was
pleasantly surprised to see his hopes came true.

“Yes,
flying out today. Yes, I'm starving! And it's a long flight,”
she replied, holding her cup of coffee to her lips with both hands.

“That's
a shame, I was hoping to take you on a date.”

Morgan
nearly choked on her coffee.
A date? Me? He's not a client, and I
wouldn't be getting paid...
“I...uhm...I don't 'date'”
she spoke nervously, making finger-quotes around the word. “I
mean...I get...paid to date....I told you, didn't I?” She knew
she had told him, and it confused her as to why he would want to even
go on a date, knowing what she did for a living.

He
laughed quietly and nodded. “Yes, you told me. I don't care.
It's just a job. I've got one too. It's nothing to be ashamed of.”
His smile, it was definitely contagious and one-hundred-percent
gorgeous.

“What is your job?” She found her way out of the topic
and took it. “I told you my whole story, granted it's your
fault for asking so many questions,” she smiled back at him. He
told her that he owned a few car dealerships in California and that's
why he was in Hawaii, collecting new contracts and having some new
cars shipped over.

“Well,
to be honest,” he added after explaining his job, “We
couldn't have had a proper date today anyway. I leave today too, but
my flight isn't until tonight. What time is yours?” Morgan told
him that her flight was at four and both of them smiled at each other
for a few minutes, knowing they'd get to spend a few more hours
together.

They
went upstairs, gathered their bags and threw them in his rental car.
His rental car that was a Hummer. She smiled to herself again when
she saw it, because it was just another thing that reminded her of
the handsome man in Scotland. It was an afternoon well spent. Morgan
didn't have to worry about feelings, or acting or any drama. Michael
had gotten her mind off of the holiday disaster and she was able to
simply enjoy the company of another human being. They laughed, joked,
ate ice cream on the beach and talked about so much, but nothing at
all. He asked more about the guys and Morgan was comfortable telling
him. Of course, he could tell she had an attachment to the Scot and
the Aussie by the way she spoke of them, but she had also made it
very clear that she wasn't a 'thing' with either of them.

By
the time Morgan needed to get to the airport, she was all smiles, and
she felt as if she had at the very least, made a good friend out of
the whole fiasco.

“Well,
I guess we got our date,” Morgan said as she lugged her backs
out of the back of the SUV and waited for him to gather his as well.

“I
guess we did, didn't we?”
His smile. I'm going to melt into
a puddle and then I'm going to miss my flight. It could happen!

They
walked into the airport together and before they went their separate
ways, Michael handed Morgan a business card with his name and number.
The last time someone handed me a business card, my life
changed...
She took the card from his hand and put it safely into
the side pocket of her purse.

“I
hope we meet again, Mickey,” she giggled at his nickname, and
gave him one of her awful attempts at winking.

“I
have a feeling we will,” he winked back. “Take care,
Morgan.” He gave her a final wave and watched her go to the
check in counter. He had a bit of information that he kept to
himself, just in case the girl changed her mind in a sober state. The
night before, she had invited him to her birthday party in London and
he didn't plan on missing it for the world.
See you in the new
year.

Morgan
looked at her itinerary as she stood in line to board her flight. It
was going to be another long trip. Five and a half hours to San
Francisco, unfortunately Michael was going to San Diego, then another
ten hour flight to London. With the time difference, and an hour
layover to account for, she would arrive in England in almost exactly
twenty-four hours.

*****

By
the next day, not only was Morgan exhausted, but she was very hungry
and hadn't had a decent cup of coffee since leaving Hawaii. She
didn't want to be grumpy when she met her new client, but at the rate
things were going, she hoped she'd be able to control her sarcasm and
facial expressions long enough to get a hold of a bed, coffee and
food...
maybe not in that order.

As
she climbed off the plane, the cold air was nearly enough to shock
her awake. “Shit! Sorry,” she turned around to see an
older woman with a look of disgust on her face at Morgan's language.
The young woman stopped in the middle of the tunnel and pulled her
jacket on, holding up traffic from leaving the plane, but Morgan
didn't care. She wasn't going to freeze and since she hadn't gotten
her caffeine, nobody knew what she was capable of.

Lucas,
Lucas, Lucas. Where for art thou, Lucas?
Morgan scanned the huge
room with her eyes, then back to the luggage belt and back to the
room. She was expecting the worst. To see a man who looked nothing
like his picture, reeking of alcohol....
I swear, if he takes me to
the shady part of town, I am taking his balls and I'll put them into
a....

“Oh!”
She had been staring at the luggage belt and when she looked up, the
man from the database was standing only feet in front of her. He had
a boy next door look about him, but a sexy boy next door. One hand
was in his pocket, and the other was messing with the button on his
denim jacket.
He's nervous, that's a good sign right? He was a
green flag, so he's done this before...so maybe...maybe it's just a
ploy. No, stop it, Morgan. Use your voice, say something.
“Hi,”
Morgan raised a hand in the air and waved it toward the man who was
still surveying the room, having no idea his girl was right in front
of him.