Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (93 page)

It
was nearly five in the morning before either of them had realized the
time. Of course, nearly three hours of early morning fun made the
time pass more quickly. Morgan had taken her shower, and as Diego was
enjoying his, she took the time to pack up her bags.

“You
about ready?”

“Oh,
you scared me!” She nearly zipped her finger into the bag.
“Uhm, yeah. I've just finished.” Her flight was scheduled
for seven-thirty, only an hour and a half away. After another look
around the room, she nodded when he offered to grab her bags, and
followed him down the hallway. “You're not going are you?”
She saw Tomas and Evita at the kitchen table, then looked back to
Diego. He shook his head back and forth.

“I
don't do well with...”

“Goodbyes...”
she finished for him and he nodded. “It's okay.” She
wrapped her arms around his neck, then pulled him in for a kiss.
“I've had a wonderful time, thanks to all of you.” She
turned and smiled at her new friends, and Evita stood and pulled her
in for a long hug. They promised to keep in touch, and they hugged
again. It took several more minutes to get all of her appreciation
out for the three of them, but when she was finally ready to leave,
she hugged Diego one last time. Before letting go, she whispered in
his ear. “Don't forget to dance.”

Epilogue

“
That
was such a fun night,” Morgan was talking to herself as she put
one of the many pictures of Diego into her scrapbook. It was a
picture of him with a very tall, silly glass with an oversized straw,
huge goofy sunglasses and more beaded necklaces around his neck than
he could count. He was even making a dumb face, but it was perfect
for her message.

Diego,

I'm
glad I got to see this side of you. Inside of that grumpy man who
hates dogs, you're a happy guy whose always wanted a dog. Just take a
little more time, remember who you are.

Morgan
closed her scrapbook and slid it into her bag. She only had twenty
more minutes before her flight,t and on the plus side, it wasn't
delayed. She took a long cleansing breath. Life was getting back on
track and she was on her own road to happiness. Finlay wasn't mad at
her, she was on her way to see her best friend, then she'd meet Mr.
I-Bench-Press-Refrigerators-While-Watching-TV. “And then off to
see Fin!”

She
took a long sip of her vanilla-caramel coffee and picked a blueberry
out of one of the muffins she'd bought at the airport, but her phone
rang out and she missed her mouth. “Dammit.” She brushed
the wasted bite from her lap, then dug through her bag to retrieve
her phone.

“I
hope you're ready! I'm at the airport!'

“I'm
fuckin' ready Boo Boo! I told GiGi you're coming, he's excited to see
your bitch ass too! But oh! I'm going to call Finny-Fin!”

“No,
Angel, don't. No more. He and I are good, we've worked things
out...I'm serious, no more phone calls!”

“I
just need to apologize to him. That's all, just an apology. I'm
mothafuckin' sorry. Bam. End of conversation.”

Morgan
laughed, then told him if he was only calling to apologize, that she
still wished he wouldn't, but if he
had
to, then it should be
alright. Angel said he'd call her back, then he hung up. “Please
don't say anything stupid.” Worry took over again, but she
shook it quickly.
It's just an apology. Finlay won't be mad about
that.

With
five minutes left before boarding time, her phone rang again. “Well?”

“I
apologized. Oh, and I've got a surprise for you, Boo!”

“What
is it?” She didn't know how they could go from an apology to
Finlay to a surprise. Normally, she liked surprises, but when it came
to Angel, she had to worry.

“Not
what, Sticky. Who.”

“No!
No, no, no! You didn't! Angel, if you invited Finlay, you
better....uninvite him!”
“Easy Honey Tits,”
Angel was smiling into his phone.

“Angel,
I'm not kidding, I don't want him there. Promise me he's not going to
be there.”

“Alright,
alright, I promise Finny-Fin ain't gonna be here.” As he spoke,
the first boarding announcement rang out in the terminal.

“I've
got to go, but I mean it!” Morgan threw her carry on over her
shoulder and began walking to the forming line.

“Alright
Boo. Call me when you get in.” Angel hung up and his smile grew
wider. He set his phone on the dresser, then walked over to his
beautiful blue and yellow bird. “Well, Fin-lay-me-down won't be
there, but she didn't say anything about the Tan-Man. She'll be
surprised, PoPo..... mothafucka from down unda' will make her feel
better.”

Romania

Book
Nineteen

Chapter
One

“
Oh,
Boo, don't call her...no, of course I didn't tell her!...No, baby,
she wants to see you, trust me...just call me when you get into
town.” Angel pressed the end-call button on his phone and
shoved it into his pocket. Tanner had just called, confirming his
flight, and he was set to be in Brazil the next day. He planned on
staying for the whole week, so Angel really hoped his Sticky Buns
wouldn't be too pissed about the unexpected invite.

“
No,
don't look at me like that, bitch. Was she mad when I invited Fin for
Christmas?” Angel grabbed PoPo by his beak, teasing him, then
took the bird off his shoulder and set him on his perch. “I'll
be right back!” Angel yelled as he ran out of the bedroom, in
which PoPo returned a few kissing sounds, followed by a few loving
insults he'd learned from Angel.

“
G,
Sticky Buns is going to be here in, uh...” Angel popped his
head into Gio's office to make the announcement, but Gio wasn't
there. “Muthafucka. Where are...” Angel realized where
his boss probably was. “Son of a crack whore. I didn't make the
princess breakfast!” His feet carried him quickly down the long
staircase and toward the kitchen. As he reached his destination, he
made his arrival in typical Angel fashion; sliding across the floor
in his socks. His hands caught the edge of the island counter top and
his sock slide came to a halt right as Gio turned around, with a
not-so-pleasant look on his face. “I'm here, you don't have to
look at me like that!” Angel snapped his fingers, then slowly
walked over to his boss' side of the kitchen. “Give me that
shit,” he told him, taking the frying pan away from Gio.

“
Obviously
I have to make my own food since you're so busy.” Gio took the
pan away from Angel and clicked his expensive boots across the tiled
floor toward the stove.

“
You
don't understand,” Angel sighed loudly, then propped his chin
in his hands as if her were in deep thought. “We're talking
about Morgan, G. Remember? Morgan? The sexy little blonde that I
heard you...”

“
Angel,
breakfast!” Gio slammed his hand down on the stove, then
stormed out of the kitchen. Angel thought to mention that Gio had
just stated he was going to make his own food, but he didn't want to
push his luck. “Although, I
am
busy!” he mumbled
under his breath. He really wasn't busy with much, but straightening
his hair had been on his agenda and if GiGi wanted breakfast, that
seriously cut into his hair time.

After
nearly half an hour of preparing a meal, Angel practically threw the
plate of food down in front of his boss, then made a beeline straight
back to his room. Morgan was to arrive in less than two hours, and he
had to get himself ready, pack a bag, then get himself to the
airport. He'd already worked out things with Gio, who'd given him the
week off...with the exception of a daily check in. Really, only to
make sure G's socks were laid out for him and the bird was fed.
Otherwise, Angel would be spending the whole week with his Sticky
Buns...and Tan-Man.

*****

Angel,
I really, really hope Fin isn't there....
Morgan sighed and stared
out the window as the plane descended upon the runway. It was a short
flight from Argentina to Brazil, something she was thankful for
because her cramps had kicked into full throttle about half way
through the flight. Unfortunately, her pain pills were in her zebra
bag, so she'd have to wait it out.

She'd
spent most of the flight thinking about what Angel had told her. A
surprise guest? If it wasn't Finlay, she had no idea who it could be.
Perhaps Gio would come with Angel to pick her up...
yeah, that's
probably the surprise.
When the passengers were free to leave,
she wasn't taking her time like she normally did and was one of the
first people off of the plane.

“No,
it's cool, just trample...ow. That's why I....wait!” Morgan got
pushed through the crowd of people, one shoulder check at a time. One
of them nearly knocked her down in the process of trying to get to a
safer place to make a phone call. “Jerks.” She also made
the decision to never try to be one of the first ones off the plane
again. With her back leaned against the wall, she dug her cellphone
from her bag and found Angel's name, then clicked it.

“I'm
here!”

“Sticky
Buns! Where? I'm waiting, bitch!”

“I'm
headed to baggage claim now...are you there?” Angel told her he
was and Morgan talked to him the whole way there, giving him
play-by-plays of her walking.

“Okay,
I'm going down the escalator now...I think this is...Angel!”
Morgan turned her phone off and shoved it in her pocket, then ran
over to greet the man.

“My
bitch is here!” All eyes were on the hyper man as he pushed
his way through the crowd and picked Morgan up in a bear hug that
made her giggle out loud. She was still in his arms when she was
finally able to put a few words together.

“I
freaking love you!” She grabbed his flawless face and
smothered him in pink lip gloss kisses from his forehead to his chin
until he finally had to put her down. He happily wore the kisses all
the way through the airport.

They
pulled Morgan's luggage, Angel even took the carry on over his
shoulder, and walked hand in hand to the parking lot. Their tearful
chatter covered everything from Gio-isms, all the way to the new love
affair between Tomas and Evita.

Morgan
was going to ask who the mystery guest was, but after seeing her best
friend, all she wanted to do was catch up with the man. Once they
reached Gio's limo, which Angel borrowed without even asking, Morgan
had forgotten all about the conversation she'd had with Angel about
the 'who' in question.

“Alright,
where to first?” Morgan helped put her bags in the back, and
the two were climbing into the front when she asked. Angel smiled.

“We're
getting a room, Stick. A kick ass bitchin' room with all the fuckin'
little chocolates you can stuff in your face.” Morgan laughed
as they pulled out of the lot, loving how the man remembered her
taking the little sweets from the bed when he stayed with her in
London. She didn't even realize that he'd noticed her stealing his
share as well.

“Oh,
we need a hot tub! And those extra fluffy robes! And...”

“Baby
girl, we'll have all that shit!” Angel navigated through the
thick traffic until they were cruising along the white sand beaches
of the beautiful city. “Here! This one is perfect!” He
pulled quickly into a large parking lot and Morgan's body slammed
against her door as he made the turn. “Sorry Boo.”

“Wait?
You didn't make reservations yet?” Morgan thought of doing it
for them before she left, but she still wasn't sure if Angel wanted
her to stay at Gio's house or not. “Typical.” She shook
her head and laughed at the man as he just shrugged as he parked the
limo.

Morgan
suddenly realized that the man had no way of paying for a hotel room,
of any price, and she took off running to get to the front desk
first. Angel knew exactly what she was doing, and he took off after
her. Morgan found out quickly that Angel should have tried out for
the Olympics, because he could have lapped her at least five times on
his way to the door.