“Of course you can!” Blair shouts over the hum of the party. “You’re a pro—literally.”
Her cackles follow me all the way down the corridor and into an oversized stainless wonder that doubles as a kitchen. Thanks to Blair I’m no pro. In fact, I would be lucky to work one of their “parties” but unfortunately tonight I’m the butt of all their jokes. Tears spring to my eyes, and I try to blink them away.
The sting of their words, of Rutger’s unwanted advances, replay again and again. The worst part is that Morgan was front and center to witness the horror.
A heated body appears next to me as I grab onto the long steel handle of the fridge. That woodsy cologne, that shock of dark hair, hovers in the periphery of my vision. He presses his body against my back. I’d know that wall of Sheetrock anywhere—Morgan.
“Hey, beautiful,” he whispers hot in my ear, and a series of shivers runs up my spine. Morgan warms his chest against my back as he dusts my neck with barely there kisses. “Let me get this for you.” He whispers it hot over my skin, and I melt into him.
I twist in his arms and bury my face in the heat of his neck.
“Hey”—he smooths back my hair and a shiver runs through me—“it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. I’m a joke.”
“You’re not a joke, Ally. Not to anybody, least of all me.”
I blink back tears and take him in—tall, dark, and inked beyond handsome. There’s a sincerity in Morgan that I haven’t found in anyone else—for sure not in Rutger.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He latches onto me with a tender gaze. Morgan Jordan exudes an inextinguishable fire from those steel-blue eyes. It makes everything in me quiver to have him.
His mouth edges in, ever so close to mine, and a breath gets caught in my throat at what might come next.
My lips part in anticipation. His granite-like chest presses tight against me as my thigh slips between his legs.
“You’re welcome.” He digs a smile into the side of his cheek.
I turn back around with a new sense of resolve and pluck a few beers from the fridge.
“You don’t have to do that. They’re assholes.”
“It’s not a big deal. It’s just a couple of beers,” I say, handing the bottles to Morgan. Before the oversized stainless door shuts, I spot a few iced coffees in the back. “Looky here,” I say, snapping them up. “Looks like I get to play barista one last time.”
“What do you mean, one last time?” His brows dip down in a V, and my panties beg to fall off in his presence.
“I was fired.” I make a face. “It’s safe to say it’s been a pretty shit day all around.”
Morgan wraps his arms around my waist and presses the sweetest kiss over my lips. He pulls back with his eyes rounding out as if to gauge whether or not it was okay. I pull him down and crash our lips together, and as I swipe my tongue softly over his, my insides ache to have him. A tiny moan gets locked in my throat and he gurgles out a laugh.
“You’ve got the best damn set of lips on the planet, you know that?” he whispers, tracing out my lips with his. “And as for Starbucks, it’s their loss.” He pulls back and his dimples press in deep as the ocean. Morgan has the power to melt me with just a barely there smile.
“You think so?”
“Yes, I think so. I think any employer would be happy to have you. In fact, a little bird told me there’s a brand-new nightclub opening soon and the owner needs a right-hand man, or in your case, woman.”
“Really? That’s so cool!”
“Really.” He presses his lips together and eyes the coffee in my hands. “Now let’s get you some glasses so you can serve those the right way.”
Morgan pours the coffee into tall crystal goblets to better suit the bitch brigade. He carries out the beer, and I have the honor of giving Blair and Erica exactly what they deserve.
We enter the giant room, and I give a private smile over to Kendall.
“Brews for my bros.” Morgan is quick to pass out the longneck bottles.
“Here we go, girls!” Thankfully both Erica and Blair have paired themselves over a leather ottoman. “One for you and one for you!” I say, holding them up in tandem.
“Wow, Ally, you’re so good at this.” Blair openly mocks me. “It’s like you were born to serve coffee.”
Erica holds back a laugh. “You’re impossibly talented.”
“And you’re both impossibly stupid,” I say, dumping the goblets over their heads.
Blair and Erica leap up and scream as if a knifing just took place.
“You bitch!” Blair seethes, extending her arms as milky rivers drip from her fingers. “This is an eight-hundred-dollar dress!”
Erica brings her fingers to her lips. “You got that on sale?”
I don’t wait for the Pretentious Princess to answer. Instead, I stride toward the door. This is the part where I probably should have an exit plan in place. I’m pretty sure walking back to the bed-and-breakfast in a pair of broken heels is a great way to abuse my feet.
“Ally, wait,” Kendall calls after me.
“I’ll get her.” I hear Rutger call out. He appears by my side before I can reach the entry and pulls me back by the elbow. “What the fuck was that little stunt about?” His nostrils flare as he slams me against the wall.
“Let go.” I snatch my arm back. “In the event you didn’t notice, they made me feel like a cheap piece of trash.”
“Way to go,” he snipes. “Because you acted exactly like that.” He slams my shoulders against the wall once again before he’s plucked away rather violently.
Morgan lands his fist hard over Rutger’s jaw, and I hear a distinctive pop over the murmur of the gathering crowd.
I bolt out the door and into the night.
I’m done with Rutger.
I’m done with pretending to be someone I’m not. There’s no point. They saw right through me anyway.
Footsteps dash up from behind—Morgan strides up next to me, beaming that irresistible smile.
“Heard you needed a ride.”
“You going to give it to me?” I give an impish grin. Somehow having Morgan by my side makes everything okay.
He wraps his arms around my waist and brushes a tender kiss just below my ear.
“I’ll give you whatever you need for as long as you want it.”
“Sounds almost too good to be true.” I catch his gaze and hold it.
“Sometimes good things are true, Ally. And sometimes you find them in your own backyard.”
My own backyard. I bite down over my lip at the prospect.
Morgan Jordan owns me in the worst way, and he knows it.
But we could never work.
Could we?
Morgan
We fly through the night, back to the house while Ally looks out the window dazed, most likely reliving the scene that just took place.
I let us in, and Ally is quick to pluck off her heels.
“You okay?” I ask, taking her in. Her gorgeous hair falls over her shoulder in perfect lemony waves; her breasts ripple from the low-cut dress that clings to the curves that bless her body.
“Of course I’m okay.” She gives a sad smile. “You’re with me.” She motions me back toward the bedroom, and I dutifully follow. I’d ask if she’s hungry, but don’t want to throw a wrench in whatever she’s got planned.
Ally tosses her purse in the corner of the room before switching off the lights. I kick the door shut and step in to her as the moonlight bleaches the walls a pale shade of grey.
“Why are you so nice to me?” she asks, picking up my hands and giving them a gentle swing.
“Because you deserve people to be nice to you. And, by the way, you’re nice.” A dark laugh rumbles through me. “The girls you dunked in java ju
ice might beg to differ. But it’s true. Their opinions don’t matter anyway.”
She wraps her hands around my waist and leads us back to the bed.
“Would you hold me tonight, Morgan?” Her voice sounds fragile, like she’s just this side of tears.
“Your wish is my command.” I peel my shirt off, hoping she’ll want more than a quick embrace.
Ally glides up to the pillow and pulls back the sheets. I wrap my arms around her until we’re spooning, and I brush her hair with my lips.
“When I was little”—she says, nestling her bottom into my stomach—“sometimes when things bothered me, my mom would hold me like this until I fell asleep.”
“Mmm.” I try not to let my disappointment shine through. I’m pretty sure putting me in the same category as her mom earned me a fuck-free evening. “That’s nice.”
“She made me feel safe like you do.”
My heart swims when she says it. I want to make Ally feel safe, feel loved. That’s exactly what I’m feeling for her, love. I wonder what Ally would do if she knew how I felt. I wonder if a lecture would follow on how two people like us could never truly experience that emotion together because we don’t have enough dollar bills piled in the bank to back it. I hope what happened tonight opened her eyes—showed her that just because you have a few dollars to your name, doesn’t mean you can buy a heart, empathy, compassion, or class. Who the hell treats someone the way they treated Ally tonight? Rutger is lucky if he didn’t go home with a busted jaw. I might still arrange it if I didn’t break it already.
“I always want to make you feel safe, Ally.” I press a kiss in over her ear. “Tell me about your mom. What’s she up to?”
“Wish I knew. She died when I was fifteen.”
My body goes rigid. Shit. I hadn’t even considered that option.
“I’m sorry.” I tighten my grip around her waist and draw her in.
“No, it’s okay. It was such a long time ago. That’s right around when I let loose and sort of stepped out of my skin for a while. I spent every waking minute in the library up until then, and when she died I hit the party scene and never looked back.” She lets out a sigh, hooking her leg around mine.
“That’s got to be tough.” Tears pool in my eyes, and I blink them away. “Tell me something about her.”
She gives a hard sniff, and for a moment I wonder if I should have said anything.
“She was so wonderful. She had a smile that made you feel special. She had this amazing way to lift you out of any funk. The best part was she always knew the right thing to say.” She jostles my arm. “Kind of like you.”
A dull laugh rolls through me.
“Can I ask what happened?” I’m pretty sure it’s painful to relive, but I get the feeling Ally wants to go there. And so do I. I want to know everything about Ally. I want to make all the hurt go away.
“Cancer. It was late in the game when we found out. She went pretty quickly.” Her back shivers. “I wish you could have met her. She was pretty great.” A ragged breath rattles from her chest. “Her name was Ruby.”
Sadness vibrates through me like a tuning fork.
“Ruby,” I say softly as I touch my cheek to hers.
“Ruby,” she repeats quietly as if her ghost were right here in this room, and she didn’t want to wake her.
“I’m sure she’d be proud of you.” I pull her in until she’s fully adhered to my body. I want to take all of the pain, the hurt, the rejection she’s ever felt and make it go away.
“Maybe,” she whispers before falling asleep in my arms.
I hold Ally all night long thinking of all the different ways I’d like to tell her how I feel. I’m pretty sure we’ve reached that bridge and I’m ready to cross it.
I hope she is too.
The next morning a stream of summer sunshine cuts through the curtains and rouses the two of us at an ungodly hour that actually still has the letters A.M. attached to it.
“You’re still here,” I marvel.
She rolls over and looks up at me with the touch of a sexy smile on her lips, her mascara slightly smeared.
“Was I supposed to go somewhere?” She spreads her warm fingers over my chest like a fan.
“Never.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss it. “You feeling better?”
“Of course I am.” She presses a heated kiss over my mouth. “You always make me feel better. You’re magic that way.”
We cling onto one another for a very long time until Ally decides to hop in the shower, and I head off to make her breakfast.
Kendall is already at the table wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt, her bare legs hiked up on the chair.
“Morning, sis.” I stroll past her and pop open the fridge.
“You’re chipper.” She repositions herself until one of her legs kicks beneath her like a swing. “That was really nice of you to bring Ally home last night.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t like to see people get bullied.” I pluck the eggs and bacon out and rummage through the cabinets for the frying pan.
“That’s what makes you such a great knight in shining armor.” She makes a face as if she is in full agreement with what just flew from her lips.
“What is it? Spill,” I say, cracking egg after egg into the pan.
“Do you have feelings for her?”
“Yes.” I shoot a quick glance down the hall.
“Do you think she has feelings for you?” Kendall looks at me with a level of concern I’ve never seen from her before.
I don’t say anything right away. “Look at this face.” I blink a smile. “How could she resist?”
“Morgan,” she chides as if I should get serious.
“Kenny,” I tease.
“Come on. Do you think she’s just messing with you?” She jumps to her feet and scuttles over.
“Not unless you know something I don’t. Look, we’re pretty much no strings attached. And that’s her thing, not mine.”
Kendall wraps her arms around me and gives a brief hug.
“I just don’t want to see my big brother get hurt, that’s all. Summer will be over soon. School starts in just a few weeks—we both know you need to get back. And I don’t want to see Ally get hurt either. Although, the entire time I’ve known her she hasn’t really taken any guy seriously.” Kendall looks up at me with a wide-eyed expression. “Do you think she’s going to start with you?”
I gaze out the window at the pines that trail down as far as the eye can see and take a deep breath.
“God, I hope she starts with me.”
7
YOU AND ME
Ally
The sun eludes Carrington this afternoon as a strangling mass of charcoal clouds streak across the sky. I stare at my in-box full of rejection letters, feeling like the dumbass I am for even putting myself in front of not-so-corporate America.
Kendall slides a cup of coffee over to me. “Any luck?”
“Three strikes, I’m out.” I give a wry smile.
“Gosh, Ally, I’m so sorry.” She hitches her glossy hair behind her ear, her eyes wide with shock, most likely because she finally sees that dark cloud hovering over my head. It’s the same one that’s been pissing over me since my mother died. “I’d offer you a job at the bed-and-breakfast, but we’re strapped. Cruise is there now, trying to salvage what he can after that plumbing disaster. In fact, I’d better get going and join him.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I flex a grim smile. “Something always seems to come up for me.” Dell’s stripper pole comes to mind like some giant stainless-steel erection. I don’t dare tell Kendall I’ve got something to keep the financial cogs turning just a little bit longer.
“Hey, good looking.” Morgan pops up from behind me and touches down a kiss on my cheek. His hair is still dripping wet from t
he shower, and he holds a strong soapy scent that makes me want to drag him back to the bedroom. There’s nothing like a freshly scrubbed Morgan Jordan to start the day off right.
“Get a room.” Kendall laughs as she heads down the hall.
“I can’t afford a room,” I whisper.
“What’s going on?” Morgan leans over my shoulder and I snap the laptop shut.
“You up for a walk?”
Morgan is kind enough to make me breakfast before we take a stroll on the property. We follow the stream out as far as it’ll let us before we even say a word. I feel good like this with Morgan—safe, comfortable.
“You’re a master chef, you know that? And I’m not being sarcastic,” I say. “You have a real way with bacon.” I slide my shoulder against his, and he wraps an arm around my waist—easy and right.
“Yeah, well, I just did it so I could watch you eat.”
“So that’s what gets you going? The way I chew my food? Boy, you’re easy to please.” I give his chest a playful scratch as we take in the sharp scent of the pines.
“I don’t think you could ever not please me.” He lands a solid kiss on my forehead, and my muscles tense up. Little does Morgan know I specialize in letting people down. That’s one job the universe will never fire me from—the CEO of disappointments. “I’m on tonight,” I whisper. He knows I mean Pretty Girls. “It’s going to be weird not having you there. You want me to talk to Dell?” I’m sure I could convince Tess to do a little persuading of the sexual variety or at least threaten to cut him off—either, or both if needed.
“Don’t worry about it. Dell’s an ass. He’ll probably say no anyway. Besides”—he takes up my hand—“you couldn’t keep me away if you tried.”
His dimples dig in so deep I swear jumping into one would be like taking a cliff-side plunge.
“Good”—I squeeze him tight—“because Tess is giving me some serious pointers on the pole later, and I’d hate for you to miss the acrobatics. I’m sure the moves I’ll be doing will be illegal in ten different states and quite possibly land me in traction.”
Someone Like You Page 14