by K. A. Linde
“Heidi, stop!”
All three girls looked up at me with wide eyes.
“While I appreciate it, I’m not going on any blind dates. I’ve, um…actually started seeing someone.”
Heidi put down her notebook and looked eager. “Oh my God, who?”
“Uh, you don’t know him,” I lied.
“Where did you meet him?” Emery asked.
I swallowed. Shit. “We were at a party together. We hit it off, and things have been going well so far.”
“That’s so exciting!” Julia cried. “What’s his name?”
Fuck.
“Joe.”
“Joe,” Heidi said in delight. “That’s amazing. We’ll table the list for now. Tell us about Joe. Is he hot? Does he treat you like royalty? When do we get to meet him?”
“Um…it’s still really new. I haven’t told anyone about it yet. So, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t all blab to my brothers.”
Heidi zipped her mouth shut. Emery held up her hands.
Julia promised, “Don’t worry about us.”
Yeah, right. I’d probably have a call by the end of the business day, and that was if I was lucky.
I spent the rest of lunch feeling like a total idiot as I invented my fake boyfriend. I tried to keep everything as true as possible. Lies were better when they were mostly true anyway. Then, you wouldn’t slip up. I’d learned that in business long before I ever had to apply it to a relationship.
By the time I got back from lunch, I was frazzled. I appreciated finally having friends, but, shit, it made everything much more complicated. I just needed to get back to work and piece together how that lunch had gone so wrong.
I was still reeling when I entered my office and found Patrick standing in front of my desk. I cleared my throat. He whirled around and smiled the most adorable lopsided smile. My stomach flipped.
“Hey,” I said.
“Hey.”
We’d spent most of the weekend together, but it was still surreal to see him here, in my office. Part of me kept wondering when the rug would be pulled out. That, all along, maybe I had just imagined this. But he was smiling at me with light in his eyes that said he was remembering everything we’d done all weekend.
“What are you doing here?” I stepped further into the room, toward him.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Here?” I asked, glancing back to the door.
“Where else? Don’t you live here?”
“Austin works on this floor.”
“Yes, well, that will be a convenient excuse.”
I rolled my eyes. “Excuses, excuses.”
“Hey, I’m here to see you,” he said, reaching for my hand and tugging me closer to him. “Why don’t we hold the snark for a minute or two?”
“Not possible.”
“Oh, believe me, I know.”
“So, you just came to see me?” I asked suspiciously.
“No. I obviously have ulterior motives.”
I couldn’t even get the words out to ask what his ulterior motives were before he dropped his lips down onto mine.
Patrick Young was kissing me.
In my office.
At work.
Where anyone could see.
What was my life right now?
Amazing. Just like the taste of him and the way he fit against me and the desire that swept through my body.
I melted into him, delirious from the moment. His hands were on my face. Our breathing ragged and desperate. The kiss unimaginable, raw, and addictive. Just like the man before me.
I didn’t want to pull away. If this was wrong, I didn’t want to be right.
He gently released me and landed a light kiss on the tip of my nose. “That’s why I’m here.”
“I suppose you can visit me in my office anytime then.”
“You suppose?”
I nodded, staring up into his baby blues and feeling my body floating off into the clouds. I could get lost here. It was tempting to forget everything else that I had going on, but I couldn’t do that. Just because I finally had Patrick, it didn’t mean I could slack off.
“Yeah. But…maybe not right now. I’m pretty swamped.”
Patrick grinned. “All right. You free for dinner?”
“I probably should eat here,” I said with a sigh.
“All right. We’ll figure it out. I know how important your job is.”
“Are you coming for Thanksgiving?”
“Can’t. Austin asked me already, but I’m having dinner with the fam. Steph left, and I hate when they have to be alone for the holidays.”
“Probably for the better anyway. The girls are snooping, and I’m not ready for my brothers to suspect something between us is happening anyway.”
“It’ll be fine. They won’t figure it out.” He dropped another kiss on my lips. “But maybe…come over whenever you’re done?”
“Maybe,” I said coyly.
“I like my chances.”
He straightened and then exited my office. I sighed heavily, loving where my life was right now. Probably not the best idea to keep this from everyone or to be sneaking around and lying. It all made me frantic and unsure, but when I was in his arms again, everything else would just slip away.
A knock at the door made me jump. I turned back around, expecting Patrick to stroll back in for one more kiss, but I was disappointed to find Uncle Owen intruding instead. I suppressed a disappointed sigh.
“Owen,” I said in greeting. “Our meeting isn’t for another hour.”
“Considering how you weren’t prepared for our previous meeting, I figured we could use some more time.”
There went the carefully plotted out afternoon I’d scheduled. Instead, I would have to deal with my douche uncle, who seemed to be making it his sole mission to piss me off. All I wanted was for him to go back to Vancouver. I’d much prefer our meetings be about raising Wright Construction into the new age. We were already above the bar for most construction companies, but we wanted to lead the pack in environmental awareness and new digital and technological advancements. Getting caught up on what the Canadian branch was doing and how to bring them closer into the fold was taxing. Owen had good ideas, but being in his presence was repulsive.
“By all means, let’s get started,” I said, gesturing for him to sit.
“I’m just curious. How did the board approve you?”
I wanted to snap back that it was none of his fucking business. Instead, I said, “Jensen recommended me, and I was approved unanimously. Just like Jensen was after our father died.”
“Ethan,” Owen practically hissed. “How charming that the board continues to think his children are as capable as he was.”
There went all my good feelings from my kiss with Patrick. I needed to restrain myself. He was baiting me, and blowing up on him would just give him satisfaction.
“It is charming, isn’t it?” I said with a broad smile.
His smile dropped at my flippancy.
Morgan: 1.
Owen: 0.
“Now, back to numbers…”
Fourteen
Morgan
Thanksgiving had never been a holiday the Wright family cared about.
None of us were particularly good cooks. We didn’t feel the need to sit around a table full of catered food to say what we were thankful for. And, really, the only good thing about the day was football.
I was pretty sure most of that mentality was due to the fact that our father had worked every Thanksgiving that I could remember. Not just upstairs in his home office where he could come down and cheer on the Cowboys when he needed a break. Oh no, he’d actually go into the office from sun up until sundown. He’d leave all five of us to fend for ourselves. Without Jensen, I wasn’t sure we would have even eaten on Thanksgiving, let alone had a real Thanksgiving dinner.
But that had all changed. Since my brothers were dating actual normal women from actual normal families who had actu
al normal Thanksgivings, that meant we got to have one, too. Emery, Heidi, and Julia came over to Jensen’s extra early and started cooking. I offered to help, but since I proved to be inept at even peeling potatoes, I was quickly cast back out to the living room.
By noon, when the Cowboys game started, the house smelled heavenly.
“Ugh, are you guys really watching the Cowgirls?” Julia asked when she wandered into the living room.
Austin shot her a lethal look. “Did you say that with a straight face?”
“Hardly.”
“Don’t mess with my Cowboys.”
“They suck,” she said with a shrug. “They’re definitely going to lose to the Packers today.”
“Don’t you like the Browns?” I asked, butting into the conversation.
Julia gave me a wide-eyed look that said, Whose side are you on?
“That’s right. My Ohio girl,” Austin said. He pulled her into his lap on the chair. “Didn’t they lose every game last year?”
“They won one!” Julia insisted.
“My high school team was better than that,” Landon piped in from the corner.
“Watch it,” Julia said.
“You’re fighting a losing battle. Try college football next time,” I said with a grin.
Julia hopped out of Austin’s lap and pushed his shoulder. “Yeah! Morgan has a point. Ohio State is way better than Tech.”
“Morgan,” Austin groaned.
I shrugged. I was a shit stirrer; what could I say?
It was six o’clock before the girls finally told us it was time to eat. The Cowboys had ended up losing to the Packers, much to Julia’s delight, and all the guys were bickering over what had gone wrong. Sutton was mostly ignoring everyone, except her son, Jason. Though I noticed David, who I’d invited over for the meal, was trying to engage her. A sight that made me internally giggle, considering the doe-eyed look he’d given me when he was talking about Sutton a week ago.
I was just glad to finally eat real food and not snacks and finger food. We had all gotten drinks and were about to sit down when the doorbell rang.
“I got it,” Jensen said.
He hopped up from the table and went to the front door. Curious, I followed him. And, when he opened the door, my stomach dropped.
“Owen,” Jensen said, holding out his hand.
“Jensen, my boy.” Owen shook Jensen’s hand and then pulled him in for a hug.
I just glared. What the fuck was he doing here? Why was he here to ruin my first ever Thanksgiving?
“Thanks for coming.”
My eyes shot to Jensen. Traitor.
“Morgan,” Owen said with the kindest smile I’d ever seen on his face.
When we were alone in my office, he was a mean-spirited dickface. He made me want to shoot fire from my mouth, stab him through the chest a couple of times with a poisoned knife, and stomp on his face with my high heels. And, now, he was smiling at me like he didn’t know how I felt.
He tried to pull me into a hug, too, but I stepped back.
“What are you doing here?”
“Morgan,” Jensen grumbled.
I questioningly arched a brow.
“I invited him.”
“Why?” I couldn’t hide my own distaste.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Owen said. He took a step backward and gave me a sympathetic look. “Am I not welcome anymore?”
I wanted him to stop whatever game he was playing. But one look at Jensen told me that he thought I was the bad guy.
“Of course you’re welcome. Come on in. The dining room is straight through here. Make yourself at home,” Jensen told him.
Owen smiled brightly. “Thank you. I’m so happy to be spending Thanksgiving with family. It’s hard, being away from my boys during the holidays.”
“I bet it is,” Jensen said amicably.
“I bet it is,” I muttered angrily under my breath.
Uncle Owen wandered into the dining room, but Jensen kept me from following.
“What is your problem, Morgan?”
“My problem? He’s a dick. You said so yourself.”
“He’s a handful, and I know he can be a pain with business, but he’s not that bad outside of the office. I invited him here for you anyway.”
“Me?” I gasped.
“I know what he can be like at work. I thought you’d like some time outside of work to get to know him. Maybe to find common ground. I thought this was a good opportunity. You can charm anyone, Morgan.”
I tried not to reach out and strangle my brother for the inconvenience. Apparently, I wasn’t even allowed to have a day off. Always calculated. Always thinking one step ahead. I admired my brother’s tenacity. I just wish that didn’t make him right.
“Okay. I’ll try to be friendly.”
“Good. Now, come on.”
Jensen wrapped an arm around my shoulders and ushered me back into the dining room. I took my seat across from Uncle Owen and watched the way he enchanted the room. If Jensen thought I was any good at this, then he hadn’t really seen Owen work.
By the time we were through with the entrées and ready for dessert, everyone was eating out of his hand.
Everyone, except me.
As soon as dinner was over, I hurried to follow Heidi into the kitchen to help with dessert. I needed some fresh air. I wasn’t sure why no one else could see right through him. I had a radar for shitty, fake people. I’d employed it multiple times for my brothers’ stupid exes. And I knew that Uncle Owen wasn’t what he said he was.
“Do you want pumpkin pie or cherry pie or Kimber’s famous chocolate cake?” Heidi asked.
“One of each?” I said with a laugh.
I was obsessed with Kimber’s chocolate cake. She was Emery’s older sister and had a bakery downtown. Her desserts were to die for.
“Why didn’t you invite Joe?” Heidi asked.
“Joe?” I asked in confusion.
“Your boyfriend?” Heidi asked.
She shot me a weird look, and I immediately recovered.
Imaginary Joe. Right. Fuck.
“He, uh…had a family thing.”
“Because I really want to meet him.”
“Probably not best to bombard him with the entire Wright family for a first meeting.”
Heidi sighed. “You’re probably right. But he’s welcome. I’m speaking for everyone here, of course.”
“Of course you are.”
“So, tell me,” Heidi said, slicing off a piece of cake, “does he really go by Joe? Is his first name really Joseph? Because I might or might not have stalked you on social media, and you’re not following or friends with anyone named Joe.”
“Heidi!” I groaned.
Of course, there was no real Joe. So…she wasn’t going to find anything.
“Who is Joe?” Landon asked, walking into the kitchen.
Heidi’s eyes widened. “Nobody.”
“Are you hiding a guy from me?” Landon joked.
Heidi held up her shiny engagement ring. “What do you think?”
“Austin! Jensen! Do you know anyone named Joe that I should be worried about?”
All three of my brothers stood in the kitchen and looked between me and Heidi. I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. I didn’t want them to know about Patrick, but I didn’t really want them to know about my fake boyfriend Joe either. I’d kind of been prepared for this at least since I thought the girls would spill about it earlier. But they hadn’t…so I’d thought I was home free. No such luck.
“Joe?” Austin asked. “I don’t know a Joe.”
“Me either,” Jensen added.
Heidi fidgeted. “Oh my God, I’m awful under pressure.”
“Pressure about what?” Landon asked. “Wait…is this about Morgan?”
“Morgan has a boyfriend named Joe and I’m not supposed to tell you and I’m a horrible friend. Fuck.”
“Thanks, Heidi,” I said sarcastically.
“You’re dati
ng someone?” Austin asked with a sly grin.
“Weird,” Landon added.
“I just have one question,” Jensen said, holding up a finger. “Where do you find the time?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, we have to meet him,” Austin said. “This should be fun.”
Someone knocked at the door, and I sighed with relief as I bolted from the kitchen. I could hear my brothers discussing my new boyfriend between them.
God, I was not looking forward to that conversation. Nosy jerks.
I swung the door open and gasped. “Patrick?”
“Hey, Mor.”
“I thought you were going to be at your parents’.”
“I was. We already finished. I brought a pie. It’s apple.” He showed it to me.
I moved forward to inspect it and ran my hand up his. He stroked his thumb over my palm and winked.
“Did you make it?” I asked.
“Definitely no. I can’t bake. My mom made it.”
“Wow.”
He chuckled at my reaction and I leaned closer, as if I were going to kiss me.
“Morgan,” he said softly. “Everyone is here. This isn’t the time.”
I wrenched backward, startled at my own boldness. He squeezed my hand as if to apologize for turning me away and then flashed that smile I adored. “Are you going to let me in?”
“Oh, yeah. Uh, sure. Sorry.”
I stepped back to let him pass and took the apple pie out of his hands even though I had no interest in going back into the kitchen to deal with my brothers. I also had no interest in going to the dining room and dealing with my uncle. And, now, Patrick was here.
Great.
Wonderful.
Fifteen
Patrick
Fuck. Morgan had been about to kiss me right there in the middle of the entranceway. What had she been thinking? Anyone could have walked in, and then we would have single-handedly ruined Thanksgiving.
Oh, hey, guys. Yeah, I’m dating your sister.
That’d go over swimmingly.
I closed the door behind me and watched Morgan hustle into the kitchen. I was second-guessing coming over here now. I’d never second-guessed hanging out with the Wrights a day in my life. Everything had always been easy and comfortable with them. I fit in like I was one of the brothers. But, with this one secret looming between us, I automatically felt like the enemy.