by K. A. Linde
“Young,” Travis said in greeting.
“Jones,” he said coolly. Then, he just glared at the pair of us.
“What are you up to tonight?” I said when I realized he wasn’t going to say anything else.
“Just hanging with the guys.”
“No Austin, right?” I asked quickly. The last thing I wanted was for my brother to be at a bar right after rehab.
“Of course not.”
“What’s up with Austin?” Travis asked.
“Nothing,” Patrick and I said at the exact same time.
I bit my lip and glanced down at my empty beer. Smooth.
“Morgan, can I talk to you for a minute?” Patrick asked. “Alone.”
“We’re kind of on a date right now,” Travis told him.
“I noticed that. Thank you for stating the obvious.”
I sighed heavily through my nose. Jesus, these boys. They were going to come to blows in the middle of the bar over something that had happened in high school. And I’d be stuck in the middle as some damn catalyst that really made zero sense. This was not what I’d signed up for.
“Sure. Just for a minute,” I said to Patrick. Then, I turned to Travis. “I’ll be right back. Could you get me another beer?”
Travis looked pissed about the interruption, but the fact that I’d asked for another beer showed I was coming back. He couldn’t be that upset.
I hopped out of the booth and onto wobbly legs. Whoa. I hadn’t stood up for a while. I stumbled a few steps, and Patrick caught me around the waist. I hastily retreated and leaned against the side of the booth until I got my bearings.
“How much have you had to drink?” he asked.
“I don’t know. A couple of beers. Why?” I said as I followed him down a few more booths until we found an empty one for me to lean on.
“You look drunk.”
I rolled my eyes. “What do you want, Patrick? Can’t you see that I’m on a date?”
“Yeah, I see that. But what the fuck are you doing with Travis Jones?”
“I asked him out.”
“Why?” he asked, baffled.
Because you blew me off!
That was what I wanted to shout in his face. But I didn’t.
“He’s cute,” I said instead.
“You know he’s a douche bag.”
So are you!
I ground my teeth together to keep from saying what I wanted. I couldn’t be that drunk!
“That was in high school. People change. I’ve changed.”
“I think this is a bad idea.”
“Thanks for letting me know,” I said with a pointed eye roll. “Next time, I’ll definitely care about your opinion.”
“Morgan,” he muttered.
“What? You’re not one of my brothers. I have three of them, and they’re annoying and nosy enough. I don’t need you to come in here and act like one of them, too. As if you have any right to know or care who I’m dating. So, back off.”
He took a step back at my forcefulness and then shook his head. “I’m just looking out for you.”
“Well, look out for someone else. I’m a big girl. I can do what I want.”
I turned and took a step away from him, but he grabbed my elbow and stopped me.
“I don’t want you to do something that you’ll regret.”
I stared up into his big baby-blue eyes full of concern for me and didn’t hold back the angry voice in my head. “Too late,” I spat.
Nine
Patrick
I saw red.
What the fuck am I supposed to say to that? I’m the person she regrets? Me?
Fucking fuck fuck!
I looked at her hurt expression and then watched her walk away, back to that douche bag.
Fuck! This is ridiculous.
Everything she’d said was true. Completely true. A hundred fifty percent true. But also false. It made me want to rage.
I’d walked into the bar and seen her sitting there with Travis fucking Jones of all people, and something had changed. I didn’t even know what it was. My stomach was in knots. My hands curled into fists. I felt like beating the shit out of this dude. The same dude I’d wanted to beat the shit out of in high school. And, this time, there was no explanation.
I had no claim on Morgan. I’d been purposefully avoiding her all week. There was no reason for me to feel this amount of anger. And yet…I did.
Christ, what the fuck did it even mean?
All I’d known was that I had to get her alone. I’d had to change her mind. I’d had to say something.
And then the whole thing had backfired in my face.
I didn’t stick around to see what was going to happen. I didn’t want to know. Morgan clearly liked to come on to guys when she was drunk. I hadn’t been anything special at the time. I’d made the right move, turning her down last week.
But, still…this twisted, tainted feeling kept swirling through me. It’d been a long time since I felt it. Something I didn’t even like to acknowledge.
Jealousy.
I was jealous of Travis Jones.
I didn’t want him near her. And I couldn’t even put into words why that was. I was going insane, and it was all her fault. No…all my fault. I could have had her. But I’d been the gentleman. I hadn’t wanted her to wake up in the morning and not want what we’d done. Even if my body had said that it very much wanted her.
And, now, I was going crazy.
I needed to calm down and get over it.
It wasn’t like a girl like Morgan Wright would ever actually be interested in me anyway.
The next day was my last at Wright Construction. Steph and Thomas had stayed the week, and I’d promised that I would come over to see them before they left for San Francisco. I slipped out of the office on my last day with a round of congratulations and then left the place behind forever.
When I showed up at my parents’ house, my mom and dad had gone to Market Street to pick up some groceries for dinner. Steph was in the shower, and I knew that it could be an event. Thomas greeted me at the door and offered me a beer.
“Just water is fine with me,” I told him and took one out of the fridge. I leaned back against the counter. “How much has Steph already planned with this wedding?”
Thomas’s eyes rounded. “I’d guess everything.”
“Did you decide on a date yet?”
“She said she needed at least six months to plan this thing, which means May. I’m okay with whatever she chooses. Like today, when she decided she wanted to have it in Lubbock instead of San Francisco.”
“Really? She wants it here? She hasn’t lived here in like a decade.”
Thomas shrugged. “Don’t argue with a woman in wedding-planning mode.”
“Sound advice.”
“Speaking of, would you like to be a groomsman?”
“I’d be honored,” I said, holding my hand out for us to shake.
“Great. Thanks. I think Steph is going to have a bunch of bridesmaids, so I’ll have to find some other friends.”
“That sounds like Steph.”
“What sounds like me?” Stephanie asked, stepping into the kitchen. She was in sweats and had her hair up in a baby-pink towel.
“I heard you’re having a ton of bridesmaids.”
“Whatever. I don’t have a firm head count,” Steph said. “But I am asking Morgan.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, she was, like, my bestie in high school.”
“She seemed surprised that you even invited her to your birthday party.”
“Yeah, well, that’s Morgan. She’s cynical, and she’s always thought that people don’t really like her. But I love her to pieces, and I want her there for my big day. Plus, I can rely on Morgan to crack the whip and get everyone in line.”
I shook my head. “You’re using her to keep anyone from becoming a diva?”
“No, I’m using her because she’ll look pretty in a dress,” Steph drawle
d sarcastically. Then, she gasped. “What if we had a New Year’s Eve wedding? Then, I could make everyone wear sequins and glitter!”
Thomas’s groan was audible. “What happened to six months?”
“But…glitter!”
“I’m not touching that one with a ten-foot pole,” I said, backing away.
“Oh, yeah? Are you going to finally tell me what happened with Morgan last week?” Steph pushed.
“Nothing.”
“Psh…I wasn’t born yesterday.” She poked me in my ribs. Hard. “Did you two hook up?”
“No, we didn’t.”
Steph dramatically blew out her breath. “Well, why the fuck not?”
“Because she’s…Morgan.”
“So?”
“So what?” I snapped.
I was still pissed about last night. I didn’t know what had ended up happening with Morgan and Travis. I didn’t really want to think about it. Add it to a long list of things I didn’t want to think about. Like how badly I’d fucked up.
“She’s a successful woman who is into you. I don’t know why because she’s way too hot for you and way too smart for you and totally out of your league. But you’re telling me that you had someone like that at your place, and you never made a move?”
“For one, it’s Morgan!” I insisted. “Two, she had been drinking. And, anyway, she’s not into me. She’s already dating someone else.”
“Who is she dating?”
“Do you remember Travis Jones?”
Steph laughed. “Of course I remember Travis. You hated him, and he asked Morgan to prom that one time.”
“Yeah. That guy. She’s dating that guy.”
“You’re an idiot. Morgan is not interested in Travis Jones.”
“Well then, explain to me how I saw her on a date with him last night at Flips.”
“If nothing happened last weekend, then I’d guess she’s probably trying to get over you rejecting her.”
I sputtered at the accusation. Of course, I had rejected her in so many words, and Morgan had looked upset about it, but I had never thought that Morgan would date someone else because of that.
“You need to fix this.”
“Fix what?” I asked. “Morgan isn’t into me.”
Steph stopped and stared at me. Then, she burst out laughing and doubled over. She couldn’t seem to get air in.
“What the fuck, Steph?”
She held up her hand, as if to tell me to wait until she could catch her breath. She beat her chest twice and coughed. “You’re so oblivious.”
“To what?”
“Morgan. God, you just need to talk to her. Go make this right with her. If you don’t, you’ll end up regretting it.”
“Steph…”
“I don’t know how much longer she’ll wait for you to wake up, Patrick. If she’s already trying to date someone else, then the clock is ticking. As your sister and her friend, go,” she said, shoving me toward the door. “And tell her about the bridesmaid thing, too.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. “You think she likes me?”
“I think you should ask her yourself, dummy.”
Steph didn’t have to tell me twice. I was out of the house and on my way back to the office in a heartbeat. She was right. I needed to talk this out with Morgan. I didn’t even know what I was fucking feeling, but trying to ignore it obviously wasn’t solving anything.
I parked up front as the five o’clock crowd was leaving the building. Heidi and Julia waved at me as I passed. I cracked a smile and hurried inside.
Most of the building was empty when I took the elevator up to Morgan’s office. I knew she’d still be there. She stayed all night when she could.
I rounded the corner for her office and frowned when I saw it was empty. There was no way she had gone home. I glanced into the conference room where I’d found her last week. Empty.
Well…shit.
I heard voices down the hall. They were coming from Jensen’s office. A lightbulb switched on in my mind. Right. With Jensen gone, she would have moved down the hall.
I walked toward her new office but stalled when I heard her giggle. I knew that giggle. I didn’t really know when I’d become an expert on all of Morgan’s different laughs, but the only time I’d heard that was either when she was drunk or flirting. I’d always thought her flirting with me was her normal goofing off. Wasn’t so sure anymore. And, after what had happened with Austin, I didn’t think that she’d be drunk at work, so…who exactly was she flirting with?
If this was fucking Travis Jones, I was going to lose it. Between last night at Flips and now in her office, I felt like I was losing my mind.
“You’re going to have to tell me about that meeting at least a dozen more times. It gets funnier every time.”
David Calloway.
I clenched my hands into fists. I liked the guy just fine. He made a good CFO. He fit into the Wright family like he’d been there all along. A bit too well honestly.
Morgan giggled again. “I mean, you should have seen the look on his face when he stormed out.”
I didn’t like that he was making Morgan giggle.
“Seriously, Morgan, I’m starving. Let’s go get dinner. We can talk about that issue I have over Thai food.”
Or that he was asking Morgan out for dinner.
“I do love Thai.”
Fuck.
It had only been a few days since we were together, only a night since she’d done who knew what with Travis fucking Jones, and now, she was into David?
This is a mistake.
A huge fucking mistake.
Yet I couldn’t let it go. This uncomfortable feeling settled in my chest, and I knew I was about to make an idiot out of myself. Again.
I stepped forward into the doorway. Morgan’s eyes rounded when she saw me there. David whirled around and grinned.
“Patrick”—he walked over, sticking his hand out, and I shook a little harder than was necessary—“good to see you.”
“Yeah,” I said unconvincingly.
Morgan stood from behind Jensen’s desk. She looked tiny behind the giant thing. But I knew her appearance was deceiving. She was a force to be reckoned with.
“You’re here late,” Morgan said. It came out like an accusation. “Isn’t it your last day?”
“Yeah…it was.”
“Were you looking for Austin?” David asked. “He already left.”
“No, I wanted a word with Morgan.”
“Of course. We’re sorry to see you go.”
I met Morgan’s dark eyes. She seemed confused and guarded. As if she didn’t know what I was going to say. After this past week, how could I blame her?
“Yeah. Tech made me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” I said to David.
“I definitely know what that’s like. Wright Construction was that offer for me,” David said. “Should I give you two a minute?”
“Just wait outside, David. We can go get Thai after this,” Morgan said.
And standing there, between Morgan and her dinner date, I felt like as stupid as I was. Morgan was moving on. She already had two dates this week. Whatever had almost happened last week was like a dream from another lifetime.
“You know what? Never mind,” I said, taking a step backward. “We can do this another time. I’m just going to head out.”
“You sure?” David said. “I really don’t mind.”
“It’s cool,” I said before turning and walking out of the office.
It was official. Morgan Wright made me act like a fool.
Ten
Morgan
I stood, frozen in place, as Patrick walked out of my office. David was giving me a questioning look that I couldn’t answer. I didn’t know why Patrick was here, what he’d come for, or why he’d refused to talk to me when he was the one who asked.
Honestly, I couldn’t even believe he was here. After seeing me last night at Flips, he’d stormed o
ut of the bar, leaving me alone with Travis. I’d felt so twisted up about the exchange that I ended the night shortly after that. After Patrick’s apparent jealousy, I hadn’t had the same gusto that I’d felt when I first started the date. Travis had done his job…maybe a little too well and made me realize that dating wasn’t really for me right now.
“You think he’s okay? He looked kind of pale,” David said.
“I have no idea.”
“Maybe I should check on him?”
I shook my head. “No, let me do it. I’ll be right back. Just…wait here.”
Without waiting for his reply, I hurried down the hallway to the elevator and found Patrick standing there with his arms crossed over his chest. He whirled around as I approached. And seeing his uncertainty infuriated me. I didn’t even know why.
All this time, I’d wanted him to see me…to chase me down…to want me. Now, I’d finally tried to let him go, and he was giving me all the signs that we should be together. And, also, acting so strange—arguing at church, randomly showing up to talk to Austin, blowing up on me at the bar—and, now, this? What the hell?
“What’s your problem?” I snapped.
“My problem?” he demanded.
“Yeah! What are you doing here? Last night might have been an accident, but this isn’t. And, when you came up to see Austin earlier this week…that wasn’t either. So, if you have something to say, why don’t you just spit it out?”
“Yeah, I came here on purpose. I came to see you. I came to talk to you.”
“Then, why did you run out so fast?” I asked in frustration.
“Do you really have to ask that?” He shot me an incredulous look.
“I don’t want to play games, Patrick.”
“You think I’m playing games?” he asked in exasperation. “Two guys in two days, Mor, and I’m the one playing games?”
“Two guys?” I asked, brows furrowed.
“Sorry, don’t let me keep you from your dinner date tonight.”
I shook my head. “I don’t have a date tonight. And, not that it’s any of your business, my date last night basically ended after you left.”
Something like relief crossed his face and then disappeared. “What about David?”
“What about David?”