An Unlikely Match (The Match Series - Book #1) (15 page)

She fought a grin. “Sorry I messed that up for you.”

“Not a problem.” He hoisted her effortlessly into his arms.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

“Fixing the problem.” He carried her across the room to deposit her on the turned-down bed.

The sheets were cool against her skin. A split second later, his big, warm body was in the bed
beside her.

“We still had sex on the desk,” she pointed out.

He reached out to smooth a stray lock of hair from her cheek. “I can live with that.”

He fell silent, his breathing even.

“Are you going to sleep now?” she asked, wishing the night didn’t have to end. She let herself curl against him, resting her head on his chest to listen to the beat of his heart.

“I’m not asleep already?” he asked.
“Because this sure feels like a dream.”

“A good dream?” she had to ask.

“A fantastic dream.”

She trailed her fingertips along his chest, feeling a twinge of guilt for dragging him to Sacramento in the first place. “I’m sorry the reunion didn’t go better for you.”

His arms folded around her, and he burrowed his face against the crook of her neck. “What reunion?”

He kissed his way back to her mouth. His hand closed over her breast. And
the insistent glow of arousal came back to life insider her.

o
o o o

“Morgan!” The panicked sound of
Amelia’s voice jolted him out of a sound sleep.

He sat
straight up, searching the sunny room for the source of her upset. “What’s wrong?”

She was scrambling from the bed. “We missed our plane. It’s
nine o’clock
.”

“
Oh, that. I switched the flight.” He blinked the sleep from his eyes, focusing in on her naked back.

“What?” She turned.
Her naked front was even better.

“I switched our flight. We don’t have to leave until tonight.”

“How did you do that?
When
did you do that?” She truly was the most beautiful woman in the world, deep auburn hair, wide green eyes, slim shoulders, a trim stomach, shapely legs, and the most perfect, pink-tipped breasts imaginable.

“You were asleep,” he answered. “I used my cell phone. We nerds know how to do things like that.”

“But...” She glanced helplessly around.

He rolled to his feet. “Why don’t you
hop in the shower? Give me your room key, and I’ll grab your suitcase. That way we can go get some breakfast.”

“I am hungry,” she ventured.

“I had no doubt whatsoever.”

She rubbed her eyes. “What time did we get to sleep?”

“Maybe four.”

She moved toward him. “And you went to the trouble to change our tickets
before going to sleep?”

“I didn’t want to get up at six.”

She smiled, and her green eyes glowed, all but taking his breath away. Then she put a hand on his shoulder, came up on her toes, and gave him a kiss on the lips. “What would I do without you?”

“Probably take the bus back to Pasadena.”
He resisted the urge to pull her against him and deepen the kiss. It was morning now, and their stolen night had come to an end.

“
A shower sounds like a great idea.” She drew back, turning toward the bathroom.

“Where’s your key?”
he called after her.

“In the little purse on the—
” She glanced around the room. “Ah, there it is. On the brown chair.”

“Got it,” said Morgan.

With the shower running in the bathroom, he stepped into a pair of slacks and tossed on last night’s shirt.  Amelia’s room was directly across the hall, so it took only a moment to get there.

Her suitcase was open on the bed, mostly still packed, with a few items strewn around the room.
The bathroom looked like a storm had been through. He chuckled, suspecting that’s how she’d gotten ready for the party in such a hurry.

He realized that things he found annoying in most people, he found endearing in Amelia. At the same moment, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He wore a stupid, sappy grin, and his eyes were alight with
affection for her.

He knew he was making a big mistake.
Last night couldn’t have possibly meant the same thing to her as it had to him.

For some reason she’d found him attractive, but that was it.
Morgan and Pasadena itself were merely a blip on her radar. She was energetic, exciting and impulsive, barely getting started in her life. She had no idea where she’d end up next month, next week, or even tomorrow. If he didn’t get his feelings in check, it was going to hurt like hell when she moved on.

Even so, the knowledge didn’t put the brakes on his self-destructive pattern. He’d chosen the latest possible flight back to Pasadena, and he fully intended to enjoy the
entire day with Amelia. He packed her things into the suitcase and told his logical brain it would just have to shut up and wait.

Back in his room, Amelia was sitting on the bed, hair wet, bundled in a fluffy, white robe.
The vee neck gaped away from her body, and he could see her cleavage, dewy from the shower.

“
It was a whole lot of fun, Auntie,” she was saying into the phone.

She caught his eye, gave him a grin, and his heart did a double beat in his chest.
It took all of his willpower not to push her back into the mattress again, slip the robe open and kiss his way across her creamy skin.

“
Morgan’s a very good dancer.” She listened for a moment. “We’ve only just met. Well, three weeks.” She gave a pause. “Yes.” Another pause. “I know.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m only twenty-two. Women these days have other aspirations in life.”

Amelia stood and motioned for Morgan to put the suitcase on the bed. Then, while she listened to her aunt, she opened the case, rustled around and retrieved a hairbrush.

Grinning, she gave Morgan a once-over. “He’s quite handsome. A little nerdy around the edges, but he’s working on that.”

Morgan kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned his shirt, intending to take a shower himself.

Amelia followed him into the bathroom, pulling the brush through her thick, wet hair. “I’ll tell him you said so.” Then, she sobered. “No, nothing so far.” She paused, and their gazes met in the mirror. “I guess as long as it takes.”

Morgan retrieved his toothbrush, spreading on some mint paste.

“I will,” said Amelia. “I love you, too.”

As he brushed his teeth, he battled a growing heaviness in his chest.
He knew deep down, this intimate little interlude with Amelia was going to haunt him for a very long time.

“Bye, Auntie.” Amelia disconnected the call.

While Morgan rinsed his mouth and spat out the water, his own cell phone chimed from the bedroom.

“My aunt says to tell you I’
m a great catch,” Amelia laughed.

“
Noted,” he joked back, keeping his tone light as he headed for the phone.

Amelia called from behind him.
“She says in her day twenty-two was rather old to still be single.”

“
Maybe we should have gone with the white dress.”

Before his mind could conjure up a completely inappropriate image of Amelia in a wedding dress, Morgan answered his phone. “Hello?”

“Morgan?” came a rather stilted, male voice.

“Yes?”

“This is JW, your grandfather, calling.”

“Hello, JW.” The rational
part of Morgan’s brain immediately snapped to the fore, pushing aside emotion and humor.

There
was a silence on the other end of the line, and then JW cleared his throat. “I’m sorry to bother you, Morgan.”

“No problem.”

“I was, uh, wondering if you were having a nice weekend.”

The question was so
unexpected, Morgan pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it for a moment.

“What?” Amelia whispered, moving closer.

He returned the phone to his ear. “Uh, yes,” he said to JW.

“That’s good,” JW
said. “Anything, um, well, interesting happening with you?”

Morgan realized that his grandfather was even worse at small talk than he was. Hard to imagine, but there it was. He realized he’d have to help the conversation along. He struggled to remember Amelia’s advice. He knew he was supposed to say something that JW could
follow up on with a question.

“I attended my high school reunion last night,” he tried.

“That’s nice,” said JW. And then he paused again.

Morgan wanted to shout out that he wasn’t doing it right. Instead, he gave it another try. “
It was in Sacramento. So I’m here for the weekend.”

“That’s nice,” said JW. “D
id you take a date to the dance?”

Morgan found
himself letting out a breath of relief. “Yes, I did. My neighbor. Her name is Amelia.” He realized he hadn’t left much for his grandfather, so he added, “She’s trying to get a job as an actress.”

Amelia moved back into the bathroom, continuing to comb her hair in front of the mirror.

“So, in Hollywood then?”

“Yes, in Hollywood.” Morgan scrambled for something else to add. “She’s also working as a waitress in Pasadena.” And then it hit him. “She graduated from U of Arizona this year.” Surely his grandfather could at least ask about her degree.

“Is she pretty?” asked JW.

The question was completely unexpected.

Morgan found his gaze going to Amelia. “Yes, she is.” He realized his tone had gone hushed.

“That’s good,” said JW. “I’m, uh, glad to hear it.” There was some kind of sound in the background at JW’s end. “Did you enjoy dancing with her?”

“Why are you asking?” Since when did a no-nonsense, former Army general give a damn about Morgan’s love life?

“I’m a curious old man.”

“You’re not that old.” And from what Morgan had seen, JW wasn’t that curious, either.

“I won’t bother you anymore,” said JW.

“It’s no—”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“It’s no bother,” said Morgan, knowing he should give a relationship, any kind of a relationship with his biological grandfather, every chance he could. “Thanks for calling.”

“
It was nice to talk to you,” said JW.

“How are things in Florida?”

There was a muffled sound on the other end again.

“Do you have company?” asked Morgan. “Do you need to go?”

“Just the neighbors,” said JW. “Hannah and Daisy are calling me out to the pool.”

Morgan smil
ed as he remembered the two women. “Oh, wait. I forgot to mention that I met Sam in Pasadena last week.”

“Yes, he told me,” said JW.

“His lectures were amazing. Can you tell him how much I enjoyed them?”

“I will. Yes. I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Thanks, JW.”

“You’re welcome, Morgan.”

“Say hi to everyone. And enjoy the pool today.”

JW cleared his throat again. “I will. Enjoy Sacramento.”

Morgan’s gaze went to Amelia again. Now, she was stroking on some makeup. Watching her do that seemed so intimate, like such an incredible privilege.

“I will,” he told his grandfather. “Bye.”

“Goodbye,” JW returned.

Morgan hit the off button, setting his phone on the desk.

Amelia slipped off her robe, and arousal nearly buckled his knees.

o
o o o

Amelia had never had such great sex.
Her brain still hummed a sappy song, and her thighs still tingled with aftershocks as she and Morgan made their way out of the elevator and into the hotel lobby.

“I am truly and completely starving,” she told Morgan, her nose twitching at the scent
s of pancakes and sausage.

He chuckled, wrapping his big hand around hers. “I can’t believe you made it this long.
”

“Pancakes,” she told him. “Definitely pancakes.”

He angled them toward the café. “It looks like they have a brunch buffet.”

“Even better.”
Her stomach rumbled in anticipation.

“Table for two,” he told the hostess.

“Would you like menus?”

“I think we’re going to do the buffet.”

Amelia’s gaze was already locked on the semi-circular stations of silver steamers, chefs at waffle and omelet stations, colorful fruit platters, cheeses and desserts. Oh, the desserts looked like they were to die for.

A female voice called from within the restaurant. “Amelia.”