Hidden Gifts (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance) (20 page)
Read Hidden Gifts (A Castle Mountain Lodge Romance) Online
Authors: Elena Aitken
Tags: #Romance, #Contemporary romance, #Romantic series
Morgan’s words were lost when Bo leaned forward and sealed his mouth to hers. Before she could think to push him away so she could finish what she needed to say, Morgan lost herself in the kiss. It no longer mattered that she had a list of things she wanted to say to him, explanations she wanted him to give her. Nothing mattered, except the taste of his lips on hers, the heat from his chest as he pressed it closer to her, and the way her body responded to him.
Bo pulled away, breaking their heat. Morgan let out a moan of displeasure and stepped back.
“Morgan,” he started, “before this goes any further, I need to tell you something.”
“I know you didn’t sleep with Taryn.”
His face twisted into a mask of confusion. “Taryn? Of course I didn’t sleep with her. Did you
…
oh, you did.”
She waved her hand, dismissing it. “Only for a minute. Astrid and Jeff sorted it out. But I still don’t understand why you turned to her and why you did what you did.”
“With Ella?” Bo reached for her hand and led her to the couch. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. You deserve an explanation. And something tells me that as much as you like kissing me, that’s the real reason you came here tonight.” He smiled and it was so sexy and playful all at once that Morgan didn’t have a chance to feel embarrassed.
“You’re right,” she said. “And I don’t think I’m the only one who was enjoying the kissing.” She shot him a look and crossed her arms across her chest. “So, talk.”
“I see you’re not going to make this easy on me.”
“Should I?”
Bo shook his head slightly and looked down at his hands. “I got scared,” he said after a moment. “I know I keep saying that but it’s the truth. And really, there’s not a whole lot more I can say. This is all so new to me, Morgan, and just like you, I didn’t plan to fall in love with you. But I did.”
Morgan took in a sharp breath of air and held it. She couldn’t be sure that she’d heard him right. Had he really just told her he loved her? When he looked up, and she saw the emotion shining in his eyes, the truth was in front of her. She had heard him right, and he had meant it. She exhaled the breath she’d been holding.
“But it’s not so simple anymore,” Bo continued. “It’s not just me that I need to think of and when I started to have those feelings, I panicked. What if you didn’t feel the same? What if you did and it worked for a while and then I screwed it up? What about Ella? She doesn’t deserve to go through that.”
“So you sent her away? How is that better? How is that what’s best for her? You’re her father.” Morgan jumped up from the couch and paced to the window again. She stared out into the darkness, searching for something. “Do you have any idea what I would give to have a child?” She whispered the question more to her reflection in the glass than to Bo. She watched his reflection as he came to stand behind her, close but not touching. “All I’ve ever wanted was to be a mom.” Morgan spoke but didn’t turn around. “I wanted to hold a child in my arms, to be her everything and know that she was mine. When I came here, I thought I could never have that, that I’d never know that love.” Morgan turned. Tears streamed down her face as she continued, “And then I met Ella. I think I fell in love with her just as much as I fell in love with you. And then you
…
you—“
“I screwed up,” Bo whispered. With a gentle touch, he used his thumb to wipe a tear off her cheek. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am, Morgan. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to Ella. I got scared and I know that’s not an excuse. But it’s the only explanation I have.”
Her chest ached with emotion for this man and his child. Morgan tipped her head and looked into Bo’s eyes. “You did screw up,” she said with a small smile.
“Morgan, I’m so sorry, I really am. How can I make it up to you?”
A spark lit deep in her core at his suggestion. She could think of more than a few ways he could make amends and she was about to tell him so, when a small voice interrupted them.
“Dad?”
Both Bo and Morgan turned towards Ella, who was standing in the hallway, her hair mussed from sleep, her clay deer clutched in her hand.
“Did she just
…
”
Morgan’s face split into a smile as she looked to Bo’s shocked expression. “I think she did,” she said.
“Dad,” Ella said again; this time her voice was a little stronger, a bit clearer.
“Did we wake you?” Bo walked towards her and crouched so he could look into her eyes. “I’m sorry if we were too loud. I was just telling Morgan how happy I was that you’re back home with me.” Bo smiled and turned so he was facing Morgan, too. “Of course,” he said, “I’m happy you’re both here with me. And I was just going to tell Morgan a secret, but now that you’re awake, I think maybe you should hear it, too.” Bo turned back to Ella. “Do you want to hear my secret?”
Ella nodded frantically and Bo laughed before taking her hand and settling on the couch with her in his lap. Morgan joined them, sitting slightly apart before Bo bridged the gap between them with his hand and pulled her closer.
“So what’s the secret?” Morgan asked.
“Well, we can’t stay in the condo forever,” Bo said. “Carmen’s going to kick us out soon.”
Morgan opened her mouth to protest, to tell him that he could move into staff quarters and share an apartment with her, but he held up his hand and the grin on his face stopped her from speaking.
“But I don’t want to move to the city,” Bo continued. “Besides, there aren’t any horses in the city.” Ella’s eyes grew wide at the mention of horses. “So, we’re going to move into our very own little cabin,” Bo said triumphantly. “You’ll even get your own room, Ella. Maybe we can paint it pink.” Ella frowned. “Or maybe just decorate it with horses,” he added quickly. “It’s pretty run down right now, so we’ll have to put some work into it. But it’s nothing I can’t handle—besides, the end result will be worth it.”
“That sounds great, Bo. I’m so happy for you,” Morgan said.
“Happy for us.” Bo held her other hand and looked at her so intensely Morgan was afraid she might blush. “I want you to move in with us,” he added. “I don’t want to screw it up again, Morgan. And I won’t. I promise.”
The feeling drained from her hands and for a moment, Morgan felt as if she was floating. Only Bo’s hands held her to the couch and to reality. Moving in together was a huge step; she wasn’t sure she was ready. It was a lot to ask and even more for her to take in all at once.
Before she could give her answer, Morgan felt a tap on her shoulder. When she looked over, Ella was standing next to the couch holding the picture she’d been working on in the Cub’s Club a week ago. It was the project where Morgan had the kids collect things from nature to create a scene. At the time, she hadn’t given much thought to Ella’s picture. She’d worked like the rest of the kids, gluing and creating. Now, with it in front of her, tears sprang to her eyes.
“Me,” Ella said, pointing to the little twig girl on the paper. “Dad.” She pointed to the taller figure standing next to it.
Morgan glanced over and saw the smile on Bo’s face at the sound of Ella calling him Dad. Morgan was pretty sure he’d never get sick of hearing the sound of it.
“And you,” Ella said, pulling Morgan’s attention back to the picture. Ella’s finger was pointing at the other figure standing on the other side of the little girl. She had moss for hair, but other than that, it didn’t look any different from the others. When Morgan looked up, Ella was smiling one of the biggest smiles she’d seen.
“I didn’t know you still had this,” Morgan said as she took the picture from Ella.
“It was gonna be a gift,” she said. “I hid it.” Ella glanced toward her father.
“It’s beautiful, Ella,” Bo said.
“Hidden gifts,” Morgan mused, thinking back to what Astrid had said when she’d first arrived.
“They’re the best kind,” Bo said.
Morgan looked first to Ella and then to Bo. “Yes,” she said. “They really are.” Morgan took Ella’s hand and pulled her close so she could scoop her up onto her lap.
“So?” Bo asked. “What do you say? Are you ready for this?”
Balancing Ella on one knee, Morgan leaned forward and put a soft kiss on Bo’s lips before pulling back. “Where do I sign up?”
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Also by Elena Aitken
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Goodbye Gifts - Coming November 2013
The Escape Collection
Please enjoy an excerpt from
With one hand, Eva Andrews navigated the snowy mountain road that led to Castle Mountain Lodge, while she reached for her cell phone and hit the bluetooth button, answering the call. If Andi was with her, she would have lectured her about distracted driving, and yes, Eva knew she should probably focus on the road, but she never could ignore a ringing phone. It could be a client for their Party Hearty business, and making clients wait wasn't good business.
But it wasn't a client's voice that came on the line.
"Hey babe," Liam's confident and slightly cocky voice, boomed over the speaker system of the car. Eva tried not to roll her eyes at the nickname he'd given her, but a small smile tugged at her lips, too. They'd only been dating a little over a month, but as independent as she was, Eva had to admit, she liked the way he took charge of any situation, even if it was with a lame nickname. Sometimes a girl liked to feel taken care of.
"Hey yourself," she said, her voice laced with flirtation. "It's about time you called me back. I still need an answer about next weekend."
"Remind me again," he said. "What's next weekend?"
Eva swallowed her sigh. "My friends are getting married, remember. Andi and Collin? I thought I'd mentioned it." She probably should have been more annoyed, but it was possible in all the planning she'd been doing for the big day, she'd forgotten to mention the fact that she wanted Liam to come up to the Lodge for the weekend and be her date.
It was a big step, but she wasn’t getting any younger and he’d have to meet her friends sooner or later.
"Oh yeah," he said, "you did mention it and you know I’d love to meet your friends, babe. But—"
"But?" She shook her head, thankful he couldn't see her. Eva hated excuses. Everyone knew that. Liam knew that. "It better be a pretty important ‘but’ because it’s a pretty important wedding."
Liam sighed, and started in on how busy he was and how he couldn't just sneak off for a weekend in the mountains whenever he wanted.. Eva tuned Liam's monologue out as she concentrated on the road. The heavy clouds that had been threatening to let go, finally had, and the snow was falling faster and heavier than she would've liked.
"So," she said, interrupting him. "Can you come?"
"Well that's the thing, babe." He paused and the silence was heavy. "I don't think my wife would like it if I skipped out for a whole weekend."
The car swerved and Eva quickly righted it on the road. "Your wife?" she managed to choke out. She’d been expecting bad, but not a wife.
"Yeah, Bridgette. I was going to mention her, but I guess I didn’t have the chance yet."
Eva's mind flew through the conversations they'd had. There hadn't been many, and she did have a tendency to tune him out when he started rambling, but still, she would've remembered a detail like a wife. "You most certainly did not," she said.