Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (128 page)

“Yep.
We can't stray too far, or you'll be carrying me back.” She
happily walked beside him, but knew she would be very tired, very
shortly.

“How
about a little shopping?” He knew that would get her attention,
and it would keep them close to the hotel in case the sky opened up
again.

She
looked up at the man and raised a brow. “Have I ever turned
down shopping?” It was something that always made Morgan laugh.
Shopping. It had been a thing in her
old
life that she hadn't
much cared for. The only shopping excursions she ever did before was
venturing to the grocery store. Even then, her cart was always full
of microwaveable dinners and cereal. Every few months, if she was
lucky, she had enough money to buy a new pair of shoes, only because
hers would have holes by that point, and she
needed
them.

“Exactly,”
Tanner agreed. The first store they went in was just three doors down
from the pizza place. It was a souvenir shop, full of shot glasses,
tee shirts with crazy sayings, and goofy sun hats. It was Morgan's
favorite type of store.

She
ended up buying a shirt and a pack of playing cards for her Angel.
Only because both items pictured a blue and gold macaw, just like
PoPo. She also bought Tanner a tiny snow globe with a boat inside and
for Finlay, a silly bumper sticker that said
I love my Irish
Wolfhounds.
She knew he would never put it on his car, but the
big Scot would definitely get a laugh out of it.

Outside
of the store, Morgan handed Tanner his gift and tucked the others
into her bag. “My collection is growing,” Tanner held
the little globe up and gave it a shake. The white specks floated
around the dome for a moment, and fell down around the sailboat
inside. “I love it.” He knew exactly where he'd put it;
right beside the last little ship she had bought him.

“Just
as long as you don't collect sheep.” Morgan shook her head, and
smiled at the thought of Gael.
I'll have to call her soon.

“Who
collects sheep?” Tanner had heard the story from Sean, but he
had probably been too drunk to remember. Before Morgan could reply
though, it came to him. “Ah, it was the Irish lad's mum, wasn't
it?

Both
she and Tanner laughed, as she nodded. They walked into another
store, and Morgan told him all about Gael, and how she had managed to
find a real sheep for the woman to take care of.

“You
have a heart of pure fucking gold, Morgan Holland.”

She stopped outside of a small corner store, looking much like a surf
shop that she'd passed in Hawaii, and hugged Tanner tightly. “I
hate that we have to say goodbye tomorrow.” She loved her few
days with Tanner, but it was never enough. He laughed and buried his
face in her hair above her ear.

“Maybe,
sweet girl, I'll take a holiday and do some fishing.” Morgan
looked up, her eyes wide in question. Fishing is what the man did for
a living, why would he want to do it on vacation. “I hear the
fishing is good this time of year.” His fingers dug into her
ribs and it made her squirm and laugh out loud.

Fishing.
Yes, it was obvious that he planned to find something to do with his
time while she entertained her next client. She just hoped that they
could distance themselves from one another enough to get through the
week without Anthony finding out that she brought a friend along.

“Well,”
she stood on her toes and kissed his chin, “I hope you actually
do decide to stay, fishing or not, because I'd love to see you after
work.” Of course, he knew that she meant at the end of the
week, and he wouldn't miss another opportunity to spend time her.

Chapter
Eight

Friday
morning, Morgan woke early to prepare for her week with Anthony.
Tanner was already gone, which Morgan wasn't happy about, but the
note he left had her hopes high for more time with her Aussie.

Morgan,
went fishing. See ya around, Love. Tanner.

“Love?”
Her lips curled into an easy smile as she folded the note, then slid
it into her scrapbook for later placing. She knew it was probably
silly to keep almost every single thing that her friends wrote on, or
gave her, but a part of her needed to always have them
with
her. “Okay, I seriously need to get back to work-mode.”

She
sent a text to Julianne to verify when she would meet Anthony, and it
was only one minute later that she knew how her morning would play
out. At least, she thought, when and where she would meet her next
client.

At
that exact moment, Carlos was waiting for his one piece of luggage at
the airport. His heart raced at knowing exactly where Morgan was, and
that time, there would be no mix up on her room. He would have her
in only the time it would take to get to her hotel, and that was
almost good enough to make the wretched man smile. Almost.

“Shit!”
It was nearly eight o'clock and Morgan was just putting her last pair
of shoes into her bag. She wasn't sure everything would fit,
especially with the new items she'd purchased, but she managed to zip
the bloated bags and get them to the door. Unfortunately, she didn't
account for the fifteen minutes it would take to organize her things
in a way that would
cram
properly, and she only had a half an
hour to make it to her new hotel. There was no way to know how long
the ride would be, since she only had an address that she gave the
cab company over the phone, but she hoped that she wouldn't be late.
“Way to make an impression, Morgan.”

Carlos
climbed out of the taxi and paid the driver, then carefully stepped
out of the back seat and onto the sidewalk. His
good
leg was
shaking with nerves as he gripped his cane in one hand, and his bag
in the other. It was time. He walked into the air conditioned lobby,
and to the front desk, where he would check into his reserved room.
The last room you'll ever see, pretty girl.

He
knew Morgan was on the tenth floor, room ten-ten to be exact. It was
the top floor of the hotel, and he had made sure to book a room on
the same level. Right across the hall, and he would have Morgan all
to himself.

Morgan
called down to the lobby to have someone help her with her three
overstuffed bags and she was downstairs in just a couple of minutes.

Carlos
was waiting for his key as Morgan walked off of the elevator, pulling
her largest bag behind her. “Thanks so much!” Morgan
tipped the employee and took her other bags from the man's hands. Her
heels clicked across the tiled floor quickly, seeing the taxi already
parked in front of the hotel's front doors.

“Fuck.”
Carlos watched the beautiful blonde cross the lobby, and out the
front doors. His heart pounded in his chest at the sight of her.
Finally, in the flesh. He was so close.
So fucking close.
It
was obvious she wasn't staying in the hotel another night, but he
also knew he couldn't chase after her.

With
some more help from the driver, Morgan's bags were carefully stuffed
into the trunk, and Carlos was forced to watch as she disappeared
into the back seat. “Fuck,” he whispered again. “I
don't need a room.”

Carlos
gripped his luggage tightly and limped across the lobby, and out the
front doors. He watched as the taxi pulled onto the street, and then
turn on the first left. He lost her. Again.

The
fifteen minute ride, which Morgan was grateful it was that short,
landed her in front an older resort. There was one larger nondescript
main building, then several small thatch roof top beach rooms that
dotted a small overgrown path along the water. It was most likely a
quaint place to stay, Morgan thought.
In nineteen seventy-six.
She giggled as she thought the Brady Bunch would have enjoyed it, and
stepped out of the car. Her bags were still being hauled from the
back when a short woman, barely reaching Morgan's shoulder, tapped
her on the back. Morgan turned quickly and immediately looked down.

“Miss
Holland?” The woman's accent made Morgan smile, as much as the
kind eyes and round face that were lifted upwards. Morgan nodded,
and the woman took her arm and led her several feet along the
sidewalk, and to the entrance of the main building. “Please
wait. I'll be just a moment.” Morgan nodded, having no idea
what the woman was doing. It truly didn't matter, because she already
liked the little woman that clearly was meant to assist Morgan with
checking in. “Please,” the woman returned and motioned
behind Morgan.

“Oh!
Wow!” A white stretch limo had pulled up directly behind her,
and the driver was out and had her door open before Morgan could
speak another word.
Okay, I'm not staying at the Brandy Bunch
Inn.

“I'm,
Elena. I apologize that you had to meet me here.” Morgan tried
to listen as she climbed in, and Elena kept speaking as they settled
into the back seat. “I wasn't given much time to prepare for
your....
visit.
”

Morgan's
face began to heat as she instantly knew that Elena had no doubt who
Morgan was, and what her
visit
was going to be.

Elena
noticed her reaction and smiled as she put her hand over Morgan's.
“None of that, I actually used to be one of the best in the
business.” Morgan's eyes widened and the two women laughed. It
was an official ice breaker between the two, and it set the pace for
the rest of the trip to Anthony's home.

Morgan
and Elena talked during the full thirty minute drive to the house.
Morgan learned that Anthony had been out of town until that morning,
and Elena's mother owned the small resort in which Elena had stayed
for the prior two weeks. Morgan also learned that the housekeeper
wasn't thrilled that she didn't have notice that there would be a
house guest.

“I'm
not prepared. I'm so sorry, it won't take me long.” Morgan
laughed and told her that it was perfectly alright, but she could
tell that Elena was much like Angel in the way she took pride in how
she ran the home. She tried to hide her own thoughts at how
ridiculous the scene would be if Gio tried to spring a guest on
Angel, especially if Angel hadn't been at the house for a few weeks.
She was just about to tell Elena about Angel when they turned from
the main road, and onto a white paved driveway.

“Oh...Oh..wow!”
It wasn't lady like, nor professional, and Julianne would have had
something to say about Morgan's verbal reaction, but the home that
was coming into view left Morgan no choice. “It's beautiful!
It's...wow!” Elena smiled and pulled her purse strap over her
shoulder to get ready to exit the limo. She knew, beyond a doubt,
that Morgan was far from a seasoned professional. That information
made Elena like the young American woman even more.

It
wasn't the
typical
mansion Morgan was used to seeing, but it
was gorgeous. The house was an abstract shape, with three sections
that slanted in different directions, and three different colors. On
the right side, there was a bridge that led to another large building
that was half the size of the first. The bridge was over a man-made
creek
that ran in a circle around the house, that connected to
a pool in the back. Palm trees lined the driveway, and covered the
property like a tropical forest.

The
home itself sat on top of a massive hill, and Morgan could see the
oversized covered balcony from the driveway. Already thinking about
the view, she let out a long sigh as she finally climbed out of the
limo. She couldn't wait to see the inside, and she was even more
thankful she wasn't staying at the Brady Bunch hotel.

“Anthony
will be home soon, let's get you settled in before so.” Elena
broke Morgan from her trance and took the bag from her grip. The way
Elena said her client's name made Morgan smile.

“I
thought he was already home?” Morgan followed the woman toward
the front steps, that led to the second floor of the home.

“He
was,” Elena turned and flashed Morgan a smile as she turned the
corner of the steps. “But he stepped out to get dinner.”
The woman took the last few steps and unlocked the door. “Usually,
I go, but he insisted.” Morgan walked in after Elena and shut
the door behind them. Inside the home was more beautiful than she
imagined.

The
first thing she saw was the bay window, and Morgan was drawn to it
immediately. “Holy sh...” Morgan quickly glanced at Elena
over her shoulder, embarrassed of her unladylike vocabulary. “So
sorry. I just...”