Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (106 page)

“I
see,” Julius nodded and Morgan continued.

“I
saw you pull out of the driveway, and...I followed you...here. I
called my boss when I thought something was weird, and she told me
what Mannie had done. Pretty brilliant, actually.” Morgan
giggled, hoping to lighten the mood.

Julius
nodded again, then ran his hands through his wet hair with a long
sigh. “Why didn't you say anything?”

“I
didn't know how...”

“Why
would you agree to even meet me, if you knew all along?” Julius
couldn't understand.

“Julius,
I'm going to be blunt, okay?” He nodded. “I was poor most
of my life. When I was growing up, I lived on oatmeal and hot dogs,
and when I became an adult, I could buy a little better oatmeal, or
ketchup for my hotdogs. I didn't have money, but that's not
who
I
was. Just because you don't live in a mansion, doesn't mean you're
not a good person Julius. Anyone would be lucky to have you in their
life.”

“My
parents don't think so.”

Morgan
started to speak, to tell him that his parents weren't worth the pain
that he was feeling, but a wide smile took hold of her still dripping
face. “Julius...,” she walked to stand in front of him
as the most wicked thoughts to get a man's mind off of his problems
danced through her mind, “could you get me a dry shirt?”
She reached down and pulled her wet top from her body, arching her
back to remove the clinging material. Julius watched her move, then
his eyes went straight to her soaked black bra that was barely
holding her breasts. He nodded, then looked away quickly before
walking away. Morgan smiled as she watched him enter his room, then
removed her bra when she was alone.

He
returned within seconds, but it was enough time for Morgan to cover
herself with her hands. “Here ya go, I hope it's alright.”
Julius' eyes remained on the shirt as he handed it to Morgan. She
moved one hand to cover both breasts as much as she could, and took
the black long sleeved shirt from his hand.

“Thank
you, Julius.” They both turned at the same time, back to back,
as Morgan pulled the shirt over her head. It was long enough to
cover the rest of her
lady
parts, which allowed her to remove
her jeans as well. She turned to face his back and wondered how far
she should take the sexual flirting. Sex wasn't going to happen, it
wasn't safe and Julianne would never forgive her, but it didn't mean
that she couldn't have a little fun. “Julius?” He
turned slowly and let out a very audible sigh of relief at seeing her
mostly covered. He nodded in response and kept his eyes on hers.
“The storm sounds like it's getting worse... do you think we
should get some candles... or something?” She took a step
closer, and he took one back. Morgan wasn't sure how to take his
response, but she too stepped back to give him the room that he
obviously needed.

“Look,”
his hands went through his wet hair once again, a move that very
much reminded her of a large Scot, “this isn't what I meant
when I told Mannie.... I mean.... I'm sorry but I...”

Morgan's
hands went to her mouth as she quietly gasped, “Oh my gosh.”
She started to smile under her hands, and nodded. It all made
sense, his lack of flirting, his distance, his shyness. Julius's
heart belonged to someone. “I see. What's her name?”
Julius looked up quickly, he couldn't understand how a stranger knew
the truth. “Come on,” she raised her hands and looked
around, then pointed upwards as thunder rolled seemingly right over
their heads, “we're not going anywhere anytime soon, so you
might as well tell me.”

“Her
name is Sara,” Julius put his head down as he answered. “I'm
going to find something to change into.” He turned and went
back to a small dresser in the corner and pulled out a couple of
things, then disappeared into the bathroom.
You're a smart girl,
Morgan. If my heart didn't belong to someone else, it would be easy
to be attracted to someone like you.
It was true, he had been
distant, not only for his lack of money, but as attractive as Morgan
was, inside and out, she didn't make him feel anything that his Sara
made him feel.

“Oh,
Julius,” Morgan whispered, “how am I supposed to help if
you don't tell me anything?” She went over to his couch and sat
down, curling her legs under her and pulling the black shirt over her
legs as much as she could. A few minutes later, he returned, wearing
a white tee shirt and a pair of gray sweat pants. The man walked over
to the couch and let his body fall to the cushion below with a heavy
sigh.

“She's
been my one and only love since I was young. We met when I was
thirteen, and things were...great. Different. We were together until
I was twenty-three...” Julius sighed again and when his eyes
met Morgan's, they were filled with sadness.

“What
happened?” Morgan didn't know if she was stepping on any toes,
but at that moment, she didn't care.

Julius
stood again. “Do you want something to drink? I don't have
much, but there's Coke and water. I think I have some juice too.”
He didn't wait for Morgan to answer, and he quickly walked toward the
kitchen.

“I'll
take some Coke, please. Thank you.”

He
brought her a can, and one for himself and sat back on the couch.
“After my mother passed away, things changed. My father married
Eva a month after my mother was buried, and Eva wanted things her
way. Manuel was always the favorite, he already had money, so he was
of use to Eva. I wasn't bad off, not by any means,” Julius took
a drink of his soda and nodded, mostly to himself. “I was
looking at buying a house for Sara and myself, when Eva ruined my
life.”

“How...what
did she do?” Morgan sat up and twisted a long strand of hair
between her fingertips.

“There
was a diamond ring. It was really old, my great grandmother wore it
when she was married.” Julius shook his head again, and bit
down on the inside of his lip, choosing his next words. “It was
supposed to go to me, whenever I got married. I had even planned on
giving it to Sara, after we got our house. But, my father gave it to
Eva.”

“I'm
so sorry,” Morgan reached out and placed a hand over Julius'.

“Oh,
it gets better. Eva saw her way of getting rid of me, from the
family, and from the family business.” His eyes grew distant
as Morgan inched closer to the edge of the couch. “The family,
we....they...own several furniture stores. It's mostly on the
more...well..affordable side.” Morgan nodded, not that he was
paying attention. Cheap furniture stores were one of her favorite
places to shop, so she was even more interested.

“She sold the ring, and told everyone that I stole it. Among a
few other pieces of jewelry, but that was the main one. She put on a
good show, had herself a nice cry and pointed her finger at me.”

“Your
father actually believed her?” Morgan was enraged, knowing how
cruel that woman was.

“He
loves her, of course he did. So, after they accused me of taking it,
and of course I couldn't give it back, he...well, kicked me out. I
was forced to leave the house that day, with nothing but the clothes
on my back.” Morgan reached for his hand, but he moved away
before she made contact.

She
put her hand back around her leg and sat back. “So, you broke
it off with Sara because you felt you couldn't provide for her.
Right?” Julius nodded and looked away as one tear fell down
his cheek. “Well, this one's easy. We get it back.”
Julius wiped his cheek and looked back at Morgan, shaking his head.

“I
heard her on the phone a few weeks later when I stopped by to try and
talk to my dad. She was telling someone that she sold it to an
antique store in town, but I have no idea which one.”

“Julius,
we have to try.”

Julius
stood quickly and shook his head as he went back to the kitchen. He
returned and stopped right in front of Morgan, nearly hovering over
her as he spoke. “Here.” He handed her a small photo of
an elderly woman sitting on a white wooden bench, holding a bouquet
of yellow and blue wild flowers. “This is as close as I'll
ever get to my grandmother's ring.” He leaned in and pointed
at the one piece of jewelry on the woman's frail finger. Morgan
brought the photo closer to her face and nodded again.

Her
mouth opened in an attempt to ask why he would give up so easily, but
he was quick to offer an explanation. “That ring is over one
hundred years old, and every shop in Lima knew of it. They all
wanted it, Morgan, so even if I found it, I would never be able to
afford to buy it back.” He finally sunk to the couch beside
her, keeping several feet between them. With one last long sigh, he
finished. “And no, I would never ask Mannie. Eva would find a
way to disown him as well, and I won't put him through this.”

Morgan
reached out slowly and placed her hand over his. She was relieved
when he didn't pull away from her. Gently, she spoke on the topic
one last time.

“Julius,
please hear what I'm about to say.” She ducked her head low
and raised her eyes as she leaned in, hoping he would at least make
eye contact. He didn't. She sat back up, but kept her voice low and
her hand over his. “If Sara loves you, she doesn't need the
money nor the lifestyle that you used to have. I'm sure all she
wanted, was you.” He closed his eyes, wishing she would stop
speaking of the woman he had to let go. Unfortunately for him, he
didn't know Morgan too well.

Her
fingers squeezed his slightly, and she continued. “I imagine
you just broke it off and left her to deal with the pain.” He
didn't respond, which told her that she was right. Morgan nodded
slightly. “I'm also assuming that you'll let the both of you
live without the other one until you have more to offer her.”
Again, his lack of response answered her inquiry. “You're
wrong, Julius. You're wrong for not allowing her the chance to tell
you if she wanted a life with you or not. You shouldn't have made
that decision for her.” His head snapped in her direction and
he moved his hand from under her grasp. “I get it, you have
pride and you wanted more for her. I also get that this is none of
my business, but I...”

“What
you did, Morgan,” he stood once again, “was over step
your boundaries. I did what was right, even if she or you don't
agree with it.” With that, he stormed out of the room and to
his small bedroom, and ended their evening with a loud slam of his
door.

“Great,
Morgan. You're sleeping on a couch, in the middle of a freaking
storm, in wet underwear.” She yawned loudly and reached behind
her to grab a green coat from the hanger next to the door to cover
her legs with.

Her
eyes closed before she found an almost comfortable spot, but sleep
wouldn't come easy for Morgan Holland. Julius' words played like a
loop that echoed loudly in her mind.
I did what I thought was
right.
Far too many times, Morgan herself had done what she
thought was right, only to have someone interfere and change it all.
Most of the time, it wasn't for the better.

Chapter
Twelve

The
night was filled with bright flashes of lightening, ear splitting
thunder, and a sense of sadness that was just as prominent. Morgan
slept less than two hours and was actually relieved to see the sun
begin to rise through Julius' sheer curtains. It was time for her to
go, to leave Julius to his life, and attempt to get past her need to
help every one in her life's path.

One
long night, suffering a storm and a heavy heart, had shown Morgan
that her heart was in the right place even if her mouth made her look
a fool. She had resigned herself to the fact that she can't help
someone who didn't want it, and she had to stop feeling guilt when
things didn't turn out the way she wanted them to. “I won't
force my heart on you, Julius.” She whispered to herself as
she pulled her wet jeans back over her legs, and stuffed her bra into
her back pocket as much as she could. Her wet shirt and shoes were
next, and she was almost out the front door when she heard him stir
inside his room. “Bye, Julius.” She opened it gently
and winced as it creaked in her hand. It wasn't loud enough to bring
attention, and she was through the small opening that she allowed
herself within seconds.