Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (26 page)

“That
door?” Morgan pointed to the door she'd just walked though.

“No,
the fuckin' door under the sink in the bathroom! Yes, bitch! That
door!” Angel held the card out and Morgan slowly took it in her
own hand. She walked over to Angel's, already perfectly made bed, and
sat down as she set her coffee on the night stand. “Open that
shit!”

“Now
you sound like Cedric,” Morgan laughed nervously as her hand
slid under the opening of the envelope. She stopped and threw the
card beside her, then brought her hands together on her lap. “I
can't, Angel. I can't do it. I swear to God, if this is a joke, I
will kill you! You will wake up dead, do you hear me!?”

“Fuck!
I think this whole damn hotel just heard you” Cedric walked out
from the small hallway, rubbing his eyes.

“What's
going on?”

“This,”
Morgan grabbed the envelope again, but held it as if it were covered
in acid and only a microscopic part of the corner was safe to hold.
“Do you know what this is?”

“Looks
like an envelope,” Cedric mumbled as he walked by, then plucked
a banana from the bunch on the kitchen counter.

“You're
so funny!” Morgan rolled her eyes and sighed. “Seriously...”

“Nope.
Open it,” he nodded toward the mysterious letter.

Morgan
sighed again, then slid her finger under the cover again and ripped
it open with ease. She pulled the plain white card out from within
and opened it slowly. “This....this isn't funny.”

“What
is it?” Both men crowded around her, trying to get a look at
the card. “Oh my god!” Angel clasped his hands over his
mouth. It was another ring.

“Wait...there's
a note...” Morgan opened the folded piece of paper and her hand
went to her mouth with shock. Angel stole the note from her hand and
quickly scanned to the bottom.

He
read it out loud so Cedric would know too. “With all my love..
Finlay.”

*****

Clay's
mood hadn't improved by the time he reached his home, and even Abby
looked as if she were waiting for Morgan to walk in with him. He
already missed her, and there was nothing he could do about it at the
time. “I know girl.... I know.” He scratched her head
and walked through the house to the back door, and let her into the
large back yard. The man was tempted to drink coffee, as he looked
at the kitchen table with memories of Morgan's naked body on top of
it, but he needed to sleep in order to work later that night.

He
decided on water, and started to lean against the counter to wait for
Abby to finish her business, so that she could come back inside
before he slept. The leaning was interrupted with the sound of his
doorbell. “What the hell?” He had no idea who would be
at his house in the morning, but then his pace quickened at the
thought of the possibility of Morgan returning. He opened the door
quickly. “Hey! You....” It wasn't Morgan.

“Hey
right back.” A very tall brunette with a beautifully painted
face walked into his house, followed by a shorter blonde, and large
busted red head. All three were in his living room before he could
figure out what was going on. “Have a seat, we'll take care of
everything.” The brunette winked at Clay, and tried to push
him onto his sofa.

“What...
who are you?” He started to move to door again, to show them
the way out, when the brunette spoke up again.

“We're
a gift. We're here to make sure you have a... hmm... pleasant
morning.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip like a pro.

You
are a pro. Fucking Vegas hookers!
“Alright, who sent
you?” He demanded answers as to who the person was that
clearly didn't know him well at all. Someone who didn't know his
aversion to the Vegas professionals.

“Oh,
a pretty little thing hired us. Her name is Morgan.”

Tahiti

Book
Twenty-Three

Chapter
One

“
Hold
on a second...Finlay? With
love
and shit? Let me see it.”
Cedric reached for the card and Angel turned his back on him so he
could continue reading.

“Wait
one muthafuckin' second!” Angel swirled again and took a swat
at Cedric as he tried again to take the card.

“Guys...I
haven't even re...” Morgan sighed when Angel swatted at her
too. “Tell me he isn't asking me to marry him...” She
hadn't had the chance to read the note with the ring, all she knew
was who it was from but she didn't know why.

“
No,
Stick... listen to this shit. Morgan. No wee guessing shit this time.
You can know I sent the wee fuckin' ring and I want you to wear this
wee shit everyday as a reminder that you carry my wee heart with your
wee self.” Angel brought the paper down to his hip and held his
head high as if he were very proud of himself.

“Angel!
Give me that!” She was giggling at Angel's rendition of the
card, but she still wanted to read it for herself.

“I
don't know, girl. That was some deep stuff right there. You going to
wear it?” Cedric went behind Angel and pulled the card out of
his grasp, then passed it over Angel's shoulder to Morgan. She
grabbed it quickly and joined the bed with her signature cannonball.

“Well..”
Morgan twirled the ring between her thumb and index finger, watching
it glisten in the morning sunlight that was leaking in through a
crack in the blinds. “It's just a gift.” With that, she
slid the beautiful ring onto her ring finger, then observed it while
it was on. With her hand held in front of her face, she smiled at the
sweet act of Finlay Campbell.

“Awwwwww,
you
love
him!” Cedric plopped down next to her on the
bed, then laid across her legs.

“Of
course I do,” Morgan had no problem admitting, at least to her
friends.

“Let
me see this shit,” Angel spoke up and met the duo at the bed,
cramming in next to Morgan. He took her hand in his and brought it
close to his face. It was a thin eternity band with small diamonds
all the way around. Simple, but gorgeous. “I'm going to have to
have a talk with that man.”

“I
heard you already did,” Morgan giggled again, then smashed her
body against his playfully.

“Mhmm.
I'm still mad at you bitches too. Come on...you got Sean and Fin-lay
involved. That's some hardcore sh...”

“Shh...”
Morgan pressed her finger to her lip, then put her hand over Angel's
mouth. “My phone!” She pulled her legs out from under
Cedric and he fell to the bed with a soft thump, then she ran to her
bag and pulled her phone out . “Julianne?” Her boss
rarely ever called her, so she had to question the woman's motive
before answering...
maybe she's just confirming Tahiti.
“Hello?”

“Morgan
Holland! I have been trying to call you for days!”

“Whoa...”
Morgan pulled the phone away from her ear, then brought it back
slowly. “I...I don't think I've received any ca...”

“When
were you going to tell me you were getting married?” Morgan's
eyes grew wide and her heart fell to the pit of her stomach. She
immediately looked to Angel and knew right away that he had something
to do with it.

“I...I'm
not getting married...” Morgan wanted to laugh, but she knew
the situation wouldn't be funny to Julianne. It was supposed to be a
joke between Angel and her clients, but as usual, Angel took it too
far. “It was all a misunderstanding, I'm sorry.” She
tried to be serious, but still, the giggles were floating right
beneath the thin surface.

“A
misunderstanding? That's not what it sounded like when Gio's
assistant, Angel, called me in near hysterics!” Julianne was
at her wits end with the whole confusing situation. She'd received a
call from Angel the day before, he had told Julianne that Morgan was
getting married, and that she needed to stop the wedding. Julianne,
naturally concerned that Morgan was moving far too fast with Finlay,
had booked the first flight to Las Vegas upon hearing the news. To
make matters worse, she was visiting Russia at the time, with Felix.
“One simply cannot
misunderstand
a marriage. Now tell
me, what the hell am I standing in the middle of the Las Vegas
airport for?” Morgan sat slowly in a small chair that she
absentmindedly pulled from underneath the desk.

“You're...
here?” Her gaze slowly moved across the room until landing
square on Angel's face.

“I
got to go... a bitch needs some souvenirs and shit.” Angel
started to stand, but the deadly look on Morgan's face stopped him in
his tracks. “I'll wait.” He dropped back to the bed,
and crossed his legs, then looked to Cedric for a little help.
Cedric shook his head, and took his breakfast to the other room.

Morgan
was so busy staring down the culprit, that she barely heard
Julianne's next words. “Yes, I'm here. I've also called
Mister Campbell, to talk him out of this.... situation... and he too
is on his way here. Were you planning to marry in Vegas? What were
you thinking, Morgan?” She was still stuck on the words,
'Finlay is on his way,' and went silent for several seconds. “Morgan
Holland! Get yourself to this airport so that we can sort this out.
And try not to get engaged on your way here!” Morgan took a
deep breath, and was met with silence after Julianne ended the call.

“No...
no... I was just trying to fix this shit! Don't give me those
I'm
going to kill you and bury you in the desert
eyeballs!”
Angel tried to talk his way out of it, but it was of no use. Morgan
stood from the chair and walked slowly until stopping right in front
of his legs. Her arms crossed over her chest, and she continued to
stare down at the troublemaker.

“Angel,”
she took a deep breath to keep her voice from rising, “you're
going to get dressed, and you're going to go to the airport with me.
Then, you're going to apologize to Julianne for calling her. Do you
understand?” She never took her eyes from his guilty face as
she spoke. Angel nodded quickly, and pushed her back so that he
could stand. She would wait to deal with the part about Finlay,
because the more she thought about, the more she realized that he
probably just told her that he was meeting Morgan to make the ruse
more believable. He had no idea until last night that it had finally
all been revealed.

“I
got this shit! I'll tell Julie Annie that it was all me, and she can
scurry on back to Iowa and let us get on with our vacay.”

“Julianne,
and she's from Ohio.”

“Whatever.
Give a bitch a minute, I can't go out in last night's hair.”
His hair actually looked flawless, and she had to smile at the
thought of how many women would kill for his beautiful natural curls.

“You
have five minutes, I'll get us a cab, meet me out front.” She
started to grab her bag to leave, when he spun around to face her
again.

“I
can't make magic happen in five..,” the look, once again that
Morgan held on her face, changed his mind. “Five minutes.
I'll be there... now go.” He flipped his wrist and dismissed
her, then ran to the bathroom to sort out his perfect hair.

Angel
was true to his word, and in five minutes, he ran through the front
door of the casino, and met Morgan. They slid into the back of the
awaiting cab, and sat silently for most of the drive to the airport.
Morgan's mind was filled with worry about losing her job... again...
and she just wanted to get the whole thing over with as quickly as
possible. She looked over to Angel a few times, in which he smiled
widely right at her, and wondered if bringing Loose Lips to the
airport was such a good idea after all.

Morgan
saw Julianne before the car had even come to a stop. She was standing
outside of passenger pick-up with one piece of luggage and an
oversized purse. Her boss looked exhausted and that earned Angel
another dirty look as they climbed out of the car.

“Julianne..I...”
Morgan walked up to Julianne slowly, not knowing if she should hug
her or run. One thing she did know though, the humor was gone and her
urge to laugh had been extinguished.