Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (65 page)

“
Does
it matter?” That's all he had to say about it?
Sorry for
lying? No? None of that?
Finlay thought about it for a moment,
still only about how Morgan had found out.

He
took a few steps toward the large bay window in his room. “Ah.
Yer wee Brazilian friend told ye. I remember.” Finlay's hand
went to his face, then slid down slowly, until his bottom lip was
pulled down with his palm. He dropped his hand to his side and his
lip flapped back to his teeth with a soft
pop
before a long
and heavy sigh fell from his mouth.

“
Yes,
Fin. Angel told me. Do you know why?” Morgan stood and took a
step toward the glass, still watching people on the other side. The
woman with the frilly underpants climbed into a cab and Morgan
stifled another giggle. “He told me because he's honest.
Something you obviously have a hard time understanding.” She
twirled a piece of her long hair around her finger as she spoke. It
was so hard being upset with Finlay. Of course, she still cared very
much for the man, but until they got over the honesty hump, she
wouldn't be able to feel the same way for him. She wasn't even mad,
but that didn't mean she was ready for forgiveness either.

“
If
ye'll let me explain, lass. I'm sor...”

Morgan
closed her eyes tightly and shook her head back and forth.
Nope,
I'm not hearing it. Not now.
“I have to go, my cab is here.
I'll...call you later.” She didn't wait for a reply and hung up
the phone. “Finny Fin. I'll talk to you when
I'm
ready.”
She dropped her phone down in her bag and let out a sigh of her own,
but it was a tired sigh, not one for the Scot.

Things
were starting to look up for Morgan and she planned on keeping it
that way. Control, it was the thing she always said she needed more
of, and the one thing she was certainly going to start taking. Yes,
she'd call Finlay whenever
she
felt like it. It wasn't a huge
step, but it was one that made her feel better and it was a step
nonetheless.

“
And
that will be after a long bath and...” She tapped her chin with
her finger as she thought, narrowing her eyes at the cars outside,
“pizza. A long bath and pizza.” Morgan nodded and pulled
her bag's strap higher on her shoulder and stood. She still had a few
minutes until her cab arrived, but a little fresh air wouldn't hurt.
It turned out to be a good idea, because a cab pulled up no sooner
than she took her first crisp breath of Hamburg air. “Fantastic,”
she giggled as she waved down the vehicle. Pizza, wine and a bubble
bath were coming sooner than she thought.

*****

Morgan
soaked for the half an hour that it would take to get her pizza, and
the moment would have been perfect if hadn't been for the fact that
her hotel didn't carry her wine. Beer was on the liquid menu, and it
would have to do. The thought of it brought one man to mind, Tanner,
and as she leaned back to enjoy the soft bubbles clinging to her
skin, the Aussie brought a sweet and tired smile to her face.

“
Drunken
butthead.” She giggled as her eyes closed, mostly at the fact
that she had made her fair share of alcohol induced mistakes, but the
image of her Tan Man made her feel even more relaxed. “I
need...,” her head fell back as a loud yawn escaped her lips,
“to visit you soon.” Morgan's eyes came together again,
and that time, stayed that way until the pizza delivery man knocked
loudly on her hotel room door. “Shit! I'm coming!”

Ten
minutes later, she was dressed in her pink sweat pants, and white
hoodie, ready to make a perfect nest in bed, and enjoy her meal. It
would have been perfect, that is, if her phone hadn't sounded from
her jean's pocket on the floor beside her. She leaned over and
grabbed as she held the pizza box on her lap. “Fin.” He
was persistent, she would give him that much, but his punishment
wasn't even close to being dished out. Morgan smiled, and answered.
“Fin... what is it that you'd like to lie about now?”
She covered her mouth as the smile she had was quickly turning into
more. She heard his long intake of air, and waited.

“
Love...
I didna lie. It was before ye.. before us. She left, I didna know
where she...,”

“
Super.
I have to go, I've joined the German race car circuit and I have a
big race tomorrow. You understand. Talk to you later.”
Morgan laughed as she finished her very obvious, and very outrageous
lie, and ended the call. “But you, my lovely, I would never lie
to.” She pulled a large slice of pepperoni laden pizza from
the box, and moaned as she bit off a large chunk from the tip.
“No..,” she spoke between loud chews, “you're my
true love.”

Morgan
was halfway through her third slice, when her phone rang, a call that
she was more than willing to take. “My Angel!” She
chewed quickly and wiped her mouth, then scooted back for a nice long
conversation with her best friend.

“
Baby!
Ah shit, I shouldn't use that word around you, should I?” She
heard him laugh, and she knew that he'd probably been waiting for
days to use that line. It was several moments later when he finally
stopped giggling.

“
No,
you shouldn't.... because.. well...,” she took a slow deep,
and very loud breath, “I'm... pregnant. I don't know what to
do, and...”

“
What
the mothafuck did you say? You're having a baby? It's Fin's isn't
it? He knocked you up in Vegas... oh... Stick... what are we gonna
do? I'll marry your ass.. and we'll just..,” his hysterical
rants came to an end when Morgan could no longer hold hers in. Her
head fell back against the wall as she dropped the phone to her
chest, howling in laughter. “Put the mothafuckin' phone to
your face, Stick! I ain't playin'!” His bellowing caused even
more eruptions from Morgan, and she wasn't even close to getting
herself under control. “It's like that?! I tell one joke... I
tell one... Stick! Stop mothafuckin' laughing! Fine! Call me when
you're acting right!”

“
Hold....”
Morgan fell to her side, clutching her ribs with laughter. Angel
tried one more time to get her attention and she felt blindly for her
phone as the tears of laughter clouded her vision. It was nice to
laugh and it was something that had been over due. “Wait...”
She finally retrieved her phone in her grasp and brought it to her
ear as she heaved for air. Nope, she still couldn't talk. Each time
she tried, her hand fell back to the bed with another series of
giggles.

When
the time came that she realized Angel had hung up, she had been close
to getting herself under control, but that sent her over the edge
again. Another five minutes, and she was finally where she was before
the phone call.
Sorry, Angel.
She wiped the tears from her
eyes and sat up, then stared at the blank screen of her phone. “I'll
just call you later,” she shook her head at her own behavior
and tossed the phone beside her. “At least the pizza is still
warm.”

The
pizza and beer combination was such a heavy reminder of her friend,
even though she hadn't intended it to be that way. By the time she
was three beers in, a call to said friend was in order. She wasn't
drunk, but confident enough to say what she needed to say,
if
anything needed to be said. Morgan closed the pizza box and
carried the leftovers to the small fridge, grabbed another bottle of
beer, then built herself a nice cocoon of blankets before climbing
back in her bed.

She
pressed the call button as she sat down, tucking her legs into her
chest as she did so. The phone began to ring and Morgan took a sip of
her new beer.

“
Baby,
baby, baby! How the fuck are ya?”

“
Oh
my god! That was almost the cutest thing I've ever heard!”
Morgan nearly spit her drink from her lips when she heard Tanner's
baby
chant. His accent sounded different, but maybe that was
because... “Shit, did I just wake you up? Damn, I'm sorry...I
didn't....” She realized she hadn't looked up the time
difference, but if she guessed she'd say it was a ten hour
difference.

“
No,”
he lied.
“I was already up,” he lied once more.
“Where are you, beautiful?” Normally, he would have been
up already, but a Saturday morning? No, that was his only day to
sleep in, even if just for an hour or two, but for Morgan, he was
happy to wake up, especially after the stunt he'd pulled.

“
Are
you sure? Because you sound like you just woke you up?” Morgan
giggled and pulled the phone away from her mouth so she could yawn.
“And I'm in Germany. It's almost eleven, what time is it
there?” Really, she only wanted to see if she were right. When
he told her it was nearly nine in the morning, she did a silent fist
pump, congratulating herself for being correct.

“
Germany,
huh?” Morgan told him that she'd only arrived less than two
hours before that moment, but she didn't tell him what had reminded
her to call him. A smile spread across her lips as she took another
sip of beer and explained to him that a few things had changed,
starting with the fact she'd be taking time off between clients. Of
course, his reply was of no surprise.

“
So,
that means you'll be coming to visit soon?” Tanner stretched
his toes out, then rolled over, facing away from the window that was
allowing the warm sun to enter his room. Sometimes he thought it
wasn't the best choice to pick the bedroom that had an eastern facing
window, but it was worth it to have the coolest room in his home for
the rest of the day.

“
I
didn't exactly say that,” Morgan brought her brows together and
shook her head as she continued to smile. She knew she'd have to
visit the Aussie soon, she missed the hell out of him, but she wasn't
going to give him too much hope.

“
But
you thought it. Just tell me you'll be here soon.”

“
I
can't promise anything, Tanner.”

“
But
you love me,” Tanner pleaded. She could hear the smile in his
voice, and that was almost as cute as the damn accent that gave her
butterflies. She could also picture the wink that would have gone
with it, had they been speaking in person.

“
I
never said I...”

“
No,
don't say you don't remember!” Tanner sighed and rolled over to
his back, then pushed his too-long hair from his eyes. “Tell me
you remember, Morgan.”

“
Remember
what?”

“
What
you said!” He sat all the way up, then leaned his back against
the wall. “That you love me.”

“
I
said no such thing,” Morgan argued with a giggle. Surely, she'd
remember if she'd said
that.
She reached for the remote and
turned on the television, only to be accosted by loud men, yelling in
German. “Wow, that's loud,” she quickly recoiled, then
turned the volume down.

“
You
said it. I promise ya did.”

“
When
was this?” She finally had the volume under control and was
flipping through channels. After a few, she came to one that spoke
english and left it there, even though it was only a commercial for
rugs.

“
The
other night, you were drunk!” Morgan sat back again.

“
I
wasn't drunk at all last..oh! No, I wasn't drunk...I...well, I wasn't
drunk.”
I can't exactly say I was stoned on high quality
pain killers.
“But I didn't say that.” The two of
them argued about it for a while longer, then Tanner was finally left
with the quiet response of Morgan's slow breathing. It wasn't the
first time she'd fallen asleep during one of their conversations, and
it wasn't the first time he could admit that he didn't mind at all.

“
I
love you, Morgan,” he whispered into the phone, then hung up.
“I really do.”

Chapter
Two

Robbie
paced slowly in the small garden behind his house. It was less than
a week before he would have a woman again, and his emotions were
nearly raw with what to expect. His hand went through his short
black hair as he let out a long sigh, much like he had done several
times that morning.

Life
was easier, and sweeter, before the headaches, before the pain,
before the loss. He was a man that had it all; a great job, success,
and a future filled with beautiful promise. It was the loss of it
all that forced him into near seclusion, but the need for a woman had
nearly consumed his protected life. Robbie sat on the end of a long
stone bench as he tried to focus on the sky above. It was cloudy,
and he shook his head slowly at how many times he had cursed a gray
sky. “I never would have guessed that I'd miss it.” His
shoulders fell slightly at the reminder, and he stood again as he
looked up one last time before returning inside.