Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (66 page)

“Michael!” For the
first time that she could remember,
she
was getting up to help
someone else off of the floor.

“The chair...it's uhm...”

“Are you seriously
blaming the chair for falling?” Morgan broke out in laughter
again as he made his way to his feet, then set the chair upright.

“Sorry,” Michael
told the waiter, but he clearly wasn't sorry. The look on his face
was still like that teenager, threatening the teacher to send him to
the principal's office. The waiter wasn't amused and Morgan caught
him rolling his eyes, which made her giggle even more. Once the two
were seated and got control of their laughter, they finally got
their orders made and Morgan was left thinking.

He says the wrong things. He
likes white wine...he...oh my God...did he just...he did....he
slurped his wine. He has a clumsy, immaturity to him....
Kai's
words rang loudly in her mind.
You don't even care, do you?
No,
Michael didn't care, and at that moment, she found him so very
attractive. Morgan was given something to look forward to, something
that no money could buy...being herself.

His phone buzzed loudly from
his backside, and Michael excused himself to take the call. Morgan
smiled as 'excusing' himself meant that he would just stay in his
seat and answer the phone. She didn't pay attention to his
conversation, she did, however, pay close attention to the man
himself. Her eyes took in the whole scene of the handsome guy, and
she couldn't help but smile at every detail that she noticed.

His hair was a little longer
than she remembered, being right above his shoulders, and it was so
very thick. He had a subtle wave here and there that made her want
to reach out and feel the dark locks, but kept her hands to herself
for the time being. It was all one length and he would push it back
from time to time, which made him appear even more youthful. She
thought of Vlad, and how he could have easily gone back in time and
fit right in. That was the same feeling she had with Michael, only
he would certainly be one that carried a sword and led his men
fearlessly into battle.

Michael looked in her direction
as he spoke, and his smile brought a blush to her face that he found
irresistible. His smile, she thought, was probably the most sexy
feature on the man, and that said quite a bit considering how fine he
was everywhere else. His incredible blue eyes were even hard to look
at for too long. The man was big, very big, and seeing him again made
her start to wonder if he were actually bigger than Finlay. Not
that it mattered, they were worlds apart in every other category, but
she still thought about it as she watched him finish his call.
She
had no doubt that his distressed jeans were quite expensive, his
black tee was probably from a boutique, and his overpriced sneakers
could easily pass for less than costly.... yeah, he had a ton of
money but had no interest in blaring it out to the world.

“So, did I pass your
inspection?” Michael had been off the phone for several
seconds and eyed Morgan while she scanned his chest and arms from
across the table. Morgan blushed again, but she wasn't exactly sorry
for staring.

“You know, I love to
read. I'll read just about anything, but I love Historical Romance
books.” Michael tilted his head to the side and nodded
slightly, waiting for her to make her point. “In the books,
there's usually a guy.” Michael laughed and nodded, of course
there's a guy. “And the guy is usually tough, big, gorgeous,
and nearly fearless. I guess that's the impression I have of you, a
guy that could catch the eye of every young maiden while he storms
the fields in battle.” Michael laughed loudly, the sound of
his humor sent chills through her body, the good kind of chills.

“Is that so? And tell
me, fair maiden, how does he win the attention of the most beautiful
girl in the village?” She put her head down and tried to hide
her cheesy smile, then looked up again and stared right into his
eyes.

“He gets to know the fair
maiden, and finds that he likes her as she is, and not as he wants
her to be.” She put her head back down, and Michael saw a
glimpse of what was troubling her.

Michael didn't know how long
she was in town for, nor did he even know why she was there, but one
thing he knew was that he wanted to spend as much time as possible
with the maiden. He wasn't going to beat around the bush when it came
to that, so he asked her out, hoping she'd take him up on the offer.
“Do you want to do something together today?”

There he was again, Morgan
thought, asking her out. She had no idea why the man would be
interested in her, but her mind immediately screamed,
of course!
Her response, though, was much more calm. “What were you
planning on doing today?”

“Well, actually, I was
going to treat myself to a movie. There's a theater about a mile down
the road,” he explained, then took a bite of his burger that
had been delivered while he was on the phone.

“Hmm...okay, if you get
me a large butter popcorn, oh, and a soda, the big ass kind, I'll go
to a movie with you.” Morgan's bargain made the man laugh and
he told her that was definitely do-able.
That's not the only thing
do-able.

The two finished their
lunch and a second glass of wine, then Morgan ran upstairs to grab
her purse. When she was in her room, she couldn't help expressing
the giddy feeling that came over her. “It's a date! It's really
a date! He asked me on a date!” Her excited chanting continued
as she paced around her room, trying to find her purse. Finally, she
found it tucked under her bed, grabbed it and ran back out the door,
then ran down the long hallway, back toward the elevator. Whenever
she was with a client, she was rarely ever that nervous. They went
out to eat, cuddled, watched movies...but with Michael, it wasn't the
same. She had butterflies in her stomach, something that hadn't been
felt in a long time.
We haven't even kissed! What's wrong with me?

When she got downstairs
and saw his smile though, she remembered why he made her nervous. She
wasn't being paid to be in his company, he just
wanted
her
company. No other reason, and it meant a lot to her.

The nervous couple chatted
non-stop on their way to the theater, and when they stood in front of
the ticket booth, Michael asked what she wanted to see. Morgan
quickly looked at the times for the next showing of the new zombie
flick, but then diverted to the rest of the shows when she thought
that he would find her strange for liking horror movies so much.
“Uh, I guess anything will be fine. I haven't been to a movie
in so long!” She left it up to him, but he saw the one that
she locked onto first.

“Zombies it is, then!”
He bought their tickets while Morgan stood next to him, wishing that
she could give him a big kiss for catering to her horror movie
weakness. It was when they walked inside that she literally had to
force herself not to connect her glossy lips to his.

“Popcorn! Sweet mother
of all that is buttery.....!” Morgan found her distraction as
she smelled the treat after walking inside. Michael laughed and
walked directly to the counter, buying the largest popcorn, with
extra butter, and two large sodas.

“Are we all set?”
Morgan nodded as she filled her mouth.

Their timing couldn't have been
more perfect as the lights dimmed right as they found their seats.
The previews were even wonderful, and they whispered to one another
silly promises to see this one and that one together when they came
out.

It only took thirty minutes for
them to finish the entire tub, and Michael placed it on the floor
beside them and handed her a napkin. “Do ya want more?”
He offered to have the popcorn filled again, but she was surprisingly
full by then.

“Nope. Thank you”
She had leaned in to answer him, and Micheal leaned in at the same
time to take advantage of her position. His lips slowly met hers,
and he watched her face relax before she closed her eyes and enjoyed
their first kiss. It was short and sweet, but it was the most
wonderful first kiss that she could ever remember. When he sat back
again, he watched her face one more time when he slid her hand into
his. She smiled up at him as she allowed him to take her hand and
hold it on his leg. The whole situation was sweet, innocent, and
exactly what she had needed.

Chapter Ten

“So, do you want a proper meal, or do you just want to grab
some ice cream?” Micheal grabbed her hand and swung it high
into the air, then twirled Morgan under his arm. Michael had left the
car in the parking lot of the theater and the two of them had spent
nearly three hours, simply walking the streets of San Diego. Morgan
was loving every bit of it, too. They'd shared more kisses, more hand
holding and went into at least a dozen stores, only to be silly and
try on things they'd never wear. She was also thankful her camera had
been in her bag because she took picture after picture of her friend
and the things around her.

“Well, clearly you don't
know me,” Morgan planted her feet in front of him and poked him
on the chest, just as she had done the very first night they'd met.
“I'll take both!” she said with affirmation. Michael
laughed and said he liked her thinking, then asked what she was in
the mood for. “Hmm. Everything!”

“Everything it is, then,”
he told her and grabbed her hand again. When they got back to the
car, Michael went around to Morgan's side first and opened her door,
then helped her climb in. It was just another simple reminder of how
sweet he was. It was nearly a twenty minute drive before they got to
the place that had
everything.

“Oh, a buffet!”
Morgan exclaimed when she read the sign.

“You said you wanted
everything. They have ice cream too,” Michael said before
climbing out of the car. Again, he opened her door and helped her
out.

The restaurant was packed, but
there was one table for two available so they got to sit before the
crowded groups of people lined up at the door. “This is what
VIP feels like,” Morgan joked and took her seat at the table.
Immediately after sitting down, a waitress approached the table,
asking them what they'd like to drink and if they'll have the buffet.
“Uhm...no, I think I'll just take water and a small salad.”

Michael and the waitress both
laughed and Morgan said that she would of course be having the buffet
and a glass of sweet tea. Michael said the same, only he chose a
soda.

“Are you going to
actually eat anything?” Michael asked after watching Morgan
pick the batter from her chicken, shrimp and fish.

“I like the crunchies
more than what's inside,” she told him, then pulled off a large
crunchie
from her fried chicken.

“Fair enough,” he
told her then reached across the table, taking a naked shrimp from
her plate and popping it into his mouth. “Saves me the
trouble.”

Morgan gasped as she noticed
what he'd done to his own plate. There was a mountain of delicious
discarded crunchies everywhere. “That's so wrong!” She
reached over and slid his whole plate closer to her, then plopped
her dismantled chicken and shrimp on his plate, trading it for his
fried crispy pieces.

When both of them had their
fill of food, they joked about still having room for ice cream as
they each piled it high into a little bowl. Morgan opted for
chocolate fudge topping, Micheal got cherry, which gave them
something else to argue about who had the better choice.

“I don't think I'll eat
until next month!” Morgan held her stomach as they walked out
of the restaurant. “Thank you, by the way. Amazing choice!”

“I hadn't been there in
years. What do you say we walk it off? Want to go down to the beach,
watch the sunset?”

“I'd love that,”
Morgan leaned onto his shoulder as they made their way back through
the parking lot. Another fifteen minute drive, taking them near her
hotel, they were pulling into a small parking lot in front of a
beautiful beach.

When they got out of the car,
he wrapped his arm around her back and she did the same, hugging him
around the waist. Morgan laid her head back on his shoulder when they
found an empty bench and together, they watched one of the most
beautiful sunsets either one of them had ever seen in their lives.
The sky had been like that of a mural, one that had been painted
right before their eyes. Just as the sun was going behind the
horizon, they shared another passionate kiss.

Michael had listened to
everything that she had said throughout the day, and he knew that
Morgan had no idea that she had slowly revealed what was troubling
her. He took that moment to offer her some insight. “Morgan,
this may seem out of the blue, but I'm pretty good at reading people.
I know you've been a little sidetracked with something, and I'd like
to help.” Morgan's happy kiss-filled sunset moment crashed
around her, and she sighed at the offer of yet more advice. Did she
eat too much? Talk too much? She nodded without looking at him, and
waited for it. “Look at me, please.” Reluctantly, she
met his gaze, but her smile was still absent. “When we work
too much, and have too many things hit us at once, we get burnt out.
Severely.. entirely.. burnt out. It feels like everything is wrong,
and we can't do anything right. I know that you were worried about
Tanner, and that probably started the whole thing, and I don't know
what happened recently, but you probably just need a mental break.”
Morgan's eyes started to tear, but he placed his hand under chin.
“You're a wonderful woman, and you just need a break from
everything. That's all.” He kissed her forehead and let her
go.