Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (19 page)

“
You just haven't learned the secret.”
Amusement danced in her warm hazel eyes, and he asked what her secret
was as he planted a half a dozen kisses on her cheeks. “Perception.”
He kissed her neck, and smiled as he felt her laugh against his lips.
He urged her on, to spill the big mystery to life. “Things are
only bad, negative, or difficult....if that's how we view them. I
just like to flip the coin, see life from a different angle.”
She took his face in her hands and leaned her cheek against his lips.
“No matter what life brings us, Gabriel... roll the coin and
find the good side.”

Morgan walked through the empty hotel room and organized
her bags against the wall close to the door. She laughed at herself
as she continued to turn into Angel. There was a time, not long
before then, that she would have thrown her bags in the middle of the
room and stepped over them for days. “You'd be proud of me, my
Angel.”

Morgan changed into something a little more comfortable,
yet still cute in a fresh pair of dark jeans and simple black tank,
and explored her room for the week. It was those first few moments in
a hotel that she loved. Looking in drawers, even though they're
always empty, opening the drapes to see what kind of view there is,
and hanging something in the closet so it's not so empty...it was her
routine. This time, however, Gabriel's clothes were already neatly
placed in drawers and in the closet.

“
Sweet baby Jesus.” She opened the shower
curtain, revealing a tub large enough for six people. Julianne's
hotel had a decent sized garden tub, but it didn't compare and
neither did the hotel she'd stayed in while in Australia. “You
and I are going to be very, very, good friends.” Morgan ran her
fingers across the beautiful tile. “In fact, I think I love you
already.”

“
That's a bit sudden, but...” Gabe's voice
startled Morgan and she jumped as he came into view in the bathroom
mirror. His eyes were red and swollen, and Morgan assumed he had
either been crying or had allergies, but she was willing to bet on
the first guess.

“
Sorry,” Morgan giggled. “I just...the
tub. It's nice.”

“
You were talking to the bathtub?” Gabe
smiled, and there was humor in his voice. He knew she hadn't been
talking to him, but giving her some hell for her bathroom
conversation was amusing.

“
Yes. Yes, I was.” Morgan shook her head,
and covered her cheeks with her hands, suddenly feeling them burn
with embarrassment.

“
Are you hungry?”

Morgan laughed again at the abrupt change in topic and
nodded as she followed him back into the bedroom. The glazed donut
and cannoli had been delicious, but wasn't much of a dinner.
“Starving, actually.”

“
Do you like Mexican food? I'm craving a burrito.”
Gabe walked over to the dresser across from the bed and pulled a tee
shirt out of the top drawer and threw it on the bed. His fingers
slowly unfastened each button on his shirt as Morgan tried to find
the words to answer.

“
Uh, yeah. I...” His shirt was pulled apart,
revealing his rippled abdomen. He pulled it from his shoulders, and
threw it on the bed and grabbed the tee. “I like burritos.”
Morgan nodded and licked her lips that suddenly felt very dry. She
almost smiled at the fact that she was feeling like her old self
again.

“
Good. I know a place you'll love. At least I hope
so. If you don't like it, we can go somewhere else.” There it
was, the shyness. For a moment, Morgan watched as he came out of his
shell, letting down his defenses. He'd easily taken off his shirt,
but he was still reserved about making sure he could please Morgan.
Even if it was just a burrito.

“
I'm sure I'll love it.”

*****

“
Okay, this is the best burrito I've ever had!”
Morgan's eyes closed as she enjoyed the very last bite of her food,
and leaned back in her chair as she moaned in complete food
satisfaction. Gabriel wiped his mouth as he laughed.

Gabriel didn't wait for Ida's call to tell him where she
had taken Morgan. He was the one that arranged the room, in the same
hotel that he would use when he worked late and didn't want to make
the drive home. He was already on the elevator when Ida's call came
through, and had decided that he would do the very best he could to
enjoy his week with Morgan.

He had felt almost every emotion in the past few days;
regret, arousal, happiness, guilt, curiosity, and even anger. He was
also timid when it came to new situations over the last year, which
made matters that much worse, but not so much that he couldn't
realize that moving on was the best thing for him. However, Morgan
had no idea what he expected of her, especially since sex wasn't a
priority.

“
If I had known that a simple meal could make you
this happy, I would have brought you here sooner.” Morgan
smiled, but it faded quickly.

“
Why did Ida pick me up?” She knew that
something had happened for Ida to rush into the airport and attempt
to haul her off in the way that she did. Also, she knew that Gabriel
was at the bakery, seemingly doing nothing of importance to prevent
him from picking her up. None of it made sense, and she suddenly
needed answers.
No more secrets. No. Fucking. More.
Morgan
knew that she might have been unfair, but it didn't matter. She
wasn't in a mental place to be kept in the dark by anyone. Gabriel
nodded slowly before leaning back for the server to remove their
plates. Alone once more, he answered her in the best way that he
could.

His gaze drifted beyond Morgan, to a a place that only
he could see, and began. “I'm sure Ida told you that I lost my
wife.” Morgan nodded, but he didn't notice. “I've been
alone ever since. I just couldn't...,” he searched for the
right word, one that Morgan found for him.

“
Betray her.” His eyes darted to hers, and
the sadness she saw was heart breaking. Yet, he nodded and agreed
that betrayal of his marriage, mixed with the horrendous loss of his
true love, was enough to keep him alone since that tragic day.

His hands moved to the top of the table, and that's
where he kept his gaze, on his fingers that interlocked in a tightly
woven mess of frustration. “I know that I'll need to move on.
Someday. But I don't know if I can. I just... I just want to find out
if I can enjoy a woman again. To laugh, touch, talk....do you
understand what I mean?” Morgan began to nod, but something was
missing.

“
So, you want to see if you're good relationship
material? Or.... if you can....perform with a woman?” Gabriel
finally looked up and she saw a hint of a smile begin to show.

“
Perform? Yes, I'm sure I could do that.”
Morgan smiled in return. “I guess to answer your question, yes,
I need to know if I'm good relationship material, or at least dating
material.” Morgan finally understood, and that opened a whole
new line of questions that she chose to keep to herself for right
then.

The waitress approached the table, and the two remained
quiet as the rest of the plates were cleared and their water
refilled. When the young woman was out of ear shot, Morgan leaned in
closer to speak. “I have an idea.” She thought of
Anthony, and mentally thanked him for teaching her a trick that made
things easier. “Let's pretend we're a couple.” She hadn't
had the chance to really
pretend
much with Anthony, but his
idea had definitely helped break the ice, and it would be good for
Gabriel.

“
What do you mean?” Gabriel took a sip of
his water. Pretend to be a couple? That sounded too serious, even if
it wasn't real.

Morgan placed her chin on her hands and smiled. It was
the kind of smile someone wore when they recall a special memory. “Do
you remember those burritos we had in Cozumel? Then we went
snorkeling?”

Gabriel narrowed his eyes and placed his own chin on a
fist. His brows came together briefly, then finally, Morgan saw the
sparkle in his eyes. He nodded slowly. “And we proved there is
a reason they say wait an hour before you swim.” He gave her a
small smile, that told her he was in support of her idea.

“
I don't think we ate another burrito for a year!”
Morgan giggled and took a drink.

“
We should go snorkeling again.” Gabriel was
continuing on with their pretend relationship, but he was also very
serious. “Let's go.”

“
Like, right now?” Morgan was tired, and
while snorkeling sounded fun, she wasn't really prepared to swim with
the fish right that minute.

“
No, not right now. I know you're probably
exhausted from your trip, but maybe sometime this week.” He
smiled at her and Morgan let out a small sigh of relief. “But,
you know what I was thinking?”

“
What's that?”

“
I don't want to stay in that damn hotel. I've
been there all week. ” He stood and walked to Morgan's side and
held his hand out and helped her up. “I think we should go
home.” He smiled, feeling good about himself.
I can do this.

Morgan laughed but refused to follow suit with his
request. He stopped walking when he noticed she wasn't with him, and
turned to face her with a look of confusion.

“
I'd love to see your home, Gabriel. And I hope
that I get the chance...but you brought me here with a plan in mind,
and I think that for now, you should stick with it.” She
thought of Ida, and what she'd been told. Morgan had been right, and
she had to stand her ground if she expected to help the man at all.
He started to protest, but she added quickly, “I'll be here all
week. Let's just...slow down.” They had made progress, and even
if he thought he could handle it, she wasn't going to take a chance
in driving him right back into his shell, especially on day one.
Finally, after watching Morgan's eyes for several moments for any
sign of change, he agreed.

“
For now. We'll just..,”

“
We'll have fun, Gabriel. That's all we need to do
for now.” For the first time in months, Morgan actually felt as
if she could give something to the world around her instead of being
a victim who needed help. She felt as if she mattered, and he had
just handed her a gift that could never be spoken of. “Let's go
to the hotel.”

Twenty minutes later, the two of them were back at the
hotel, but no sooner than closing the door to their room behind him,
Gabriel left the room again.
You don't sit still, do you?

Morgan walked to the side of the bed and took off her
boots, and was digging through her luggage when he returned. In his
hand was a bottle of expensive scotch, and a container full of ice.
He flashed her a smile as he crossed the room, toward the dresser.

“
Scotch, huh?” Morgan made a face of
disapproval that made Gabe laugh. Her mind took her to Finlay, and
for a moment the memory of the handsome Scot made her smile, but then
she remembered the truth.
I'm mad at you, Finlay Campbell.

“
Not a fan?” Gabriel flipped two glasses
upright and dropped a few ice cubes in each one. Morgan shook her
head back and forth.

“
Not particularly.” She walked the few steps
that closed the distance between them, and put her hand gently on his
shoulder. “Remember what happened the last time I drank
scotch?”

He reached across his chest and placed his hand on
hers. “Yes, I remember. I've never heard better karaoke.”

“
Hey, I have to stop you there. I happen to be
very good at karaoke!” Morgan laughed and moved to his side to
watch him pour himself a drink. That time, her mind went to Sean, and
she quickly brought herself back to the present.
Stop thinking
about all of them.
He laughed too and Morgan gave him a small
shove. “Okay, I'm not. At all.” He started pouring the
golden liquid into the second glass and Morgan shook her head. “Oh,
really. I can't.”

“
Try it.” He handed her the glass and she
was still shaking her head as she brought it to her nose.

“
That smells terrible.”

“
It does not! Just try it!” Gabriel placed
his hand under hers and persuaded the glass to her lips. Morgan
reluctantly took a small sip

“
That's disgusting.” She brought it away
from her face and took a few steps backwards from Gabriel. “So
terrible.” Morgan took another sip. “Really, really,
really...” Another small drink. “Awful.” Gabriel's
head fell back in laughter as Morgan took another drink, that time a
large gulp. “Oh shit!” She bent forward as she began to
cough and Gabriel was at her side in seconds, rubbing her back to
calm her down. “Thanks. It really is pretty bad.” Both of
them began to laugh again, which brought Morgan into another coughing
fit. As she bent over to cough, a surge of pain shot through her
side, that reminded her to take it easy. She grit her teeth as
another jolt of pain hit her ribs, and walked over to the bed to sit
down.

“
Are you okay?” Morgan nodded and set the
glass down on the bedside table and sat down on the bed. Sometimes,
allowing her body to stretch out helped with the pain, but she didn't
want him to know.
Fight through it. You're not weak.
“What's
wrong?”

“
I...” Morgan stood again as the pain began
to subside. “I just needed to catch my breath. I haven't
laughed that hard in a while.”