Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (89 page)

“You're
a perfect puppy, yes you are.” She pulled back and her hands
went to the large black cheeks, and she held his big head right in
front of her face. “We're going to be buddies, right?”
Boomer's tongue caught its target before Morgan could react, and she
had an enormous Mastiff kiss from chin to forehead in an instant.
“Oh!” She turned her head, but was too slow, the kiss
had already been given. “Thank you.” Eryk helped her to
her feet, and Morgan gave the dog a kiss in return on his forehead
before standing.

“Well,
I see that I have some competition this week.” Morgan squinted
her eyes and tilted her head.

“Sorry,
I'm a sucker for big guys and wet kisses.” She shrugged her
shoulders and pretended to end the conversation. He grabbed her by
the waist and turned her around, never letting her feet hit the
floor.

“Then
I'll give the lady what she wants.” His face was less than an
inch from hers and he held the back of her head as his tongue moved
over her cheek, then to the bridge of her nose. Morgan turned away
before he could make it to her forehead, then pushed him away with a
hand on his chest with a string of giggles. “Ah, so Boomer can
lick you, but I can't? Is that it?” He grabbed her around the
waist and pulled her close, then licked the whole length of her face
before she could react.

“
Stop
it!” she laughed and made a weak attempt at getting away,
knowing very well that is she wanted to, she could. “It's cute
when he does it,” she pointed out.

“
Right,
right. I get it.” He held Morgan in his arms, then softly
planted a real kiss on her lips. It was unlike the one outside. It
was slower, sweeter, and stirred more feelings within both of them
than the previous kiss had done. “How's that?”

Morgan
licked her own lips slowly, then nodded. “Perfect.”

He
smiled and was about to kiss Morgan again, when a very large dog
wedged between their legs, forcing the two slightly apart. “Really?”
Eryk looked down at his dog, who was then sitting on both of their
feet, looking up at Eryk as innocently as Eryk had pretended to be
when they were outside.

“
I
think someone is jealous.” Morgan squat down and placed her
hands on Boomer's big cheeks. “You're just a big baby, aren't
ya? Yes, you are.”

“
Well,
if it isn't people coming to my door, it's my dog. Sheesh, can't get
a moment alone, can we?” Eryk smiled down at the duo at his
feet, then Morgan watched him disappear into the other room. A few
moments later, he returned with a can in his hands, featuring a
rather fluffy white dog on the front. He grabbed a bowl off of the
floor along the way, then set it down against the wall. By then,
Boomer saw what he was doing, and left Morgan's side to get dinner.

“
Dumped
that easy!” Morgan laughed as the dog traded her attention for
the contents of the can. “Do you have any other pets?”

“
Nope,”
he responded quickly. “This guy is enough for me.” Eryk
gave the dog another firm pat on his behind, then took a look outside
when he thought he heard a car door. “Are you fuckin' kidding
me?” Another person was getting out of their car. “I
guess this is what happens when I'm gone for a week!”

“Do
you....uh...have a staff, working here?” Morgan looked around
again, noticing the clean home yet lack of people to do the job. The
driver had even left, which was also puzzling. Eryk shook his head
and explained that he only hires people to work when he needs them,
and his cleaning ladies are only needed once a week since he's the
only one there to make a mess.

“
Holy
shit, you are popular!” Eryk's eyes went to Morgan as the
profanity loudly flew from her lips and laughed as his head shook
back and forth.

“
Morgan,
we're going to get along just fine.” Eryk had used Julianne's
service more than once. Actually, he'd probably used her service more
than most. His reasoning was simple. He didn't like commitment and
dating a girl one week at a time worked for him. Most of the women
Julianne sent were the robotic types, the type that Tanner
hated...the type that Eryk hated. Those women worked for some, the
business type of men. The kind of women who knew exactly what to do
with seven forks at her table were perfect for a man like Gio.
Granted, Morgan and Gio had gotten along quite well, those women fit
the bill better. Eryk preferred the Morgans of the business. The
women who loved dogs, cursed and weren't worried about appearances on
the front porch.
“I'll be right back. Uhm...if you go down
this hall, on the left you'll see the stairs. At the top of the
stairs, go left again. I'll take your bags up, but...just go check it
out.” He winked at her, then walked out the front door, leaving
it open as he did so. The sun was beginning to set and the warm
orange glow of the sunset filled his living room.

“
Okay,
and what am I checking out?” Morgan tapped her chin, then
looked down at Boomer for an answer. “You want to go check with
me? I bet you do, Big Boy. Come on.” Morgan slapped her thigh,
then walked down the hallway, checking behind her to make sure Boomer
was following. He was. The two of them made their way up the stairs,
then to the left as was instructed. “Is this the bedroom?”
Morgan smoothed the dog's head, and stepped inside the room. After a
second of struggling to find the light switch, she found it and the
room was lit.

“
Holy
shit.”

Chapter
Nine

“Boomer!
Watch that tail of yours!” Morgan tiptoed into the room and
her mouth fell open at the dozens of intricately designed boats that
sat on rows and rows of shelves in the large room. Yachts, fishing
boats, charter boats, row boats, and even a few kayaks were to be
found on the vast display. “Did your dad make these?”
Her hand absently fell to the dog's head as she took in the beauty of
each and every masterpiece.

“Dad
did make these.” Eryk's kind voice, filled with humor, made
Morgan smile without turning around. “You like?” She
nodded as she walked to the far end of the room, stopping in front of
a large fishing boat that looked just like..

“Lady
Godiva.” The words left her lips in a whisper that Eryk didn't
hear. Seconds later, she felt his large arms wrap around her waist.
Eryk rested his chin on her small shoulder.

“That's
one of my favorites as well. Belongs to a bloke in..,”

“Australia.”
Morgan finished for him, because she would know that boat anywhere.

“Yes.
How did you know?” Eryk turned her around and smiled in
question. “The name is Tanner, he's my cousin.”
Morgan's heart nearly jumped from her chest. The connection had
finally been made. Cousins.

She
tried to speak, but nothing would surface. Not one word, nor sound,
could work their way from her lips. They were cousins, and her
overworked mind showed mercy as it suddenly went blank.

Eryk
watched her face that showed every emotion, then titled his head as
he asked again. “Do you know him, Morgan?” It was a
simple question, and one that she clearly had the answer to. The
words, however, still wouldn't leave her lips. “Okay, I'll
assume that's a yes. The next question,” he stepped back and
Boomer stepped with him. The man and his dog found one spot in the
corner, a few feet from Morgan, where they could both lean against
the wall, “how do you know him?” The meaning behind the
question was obvious.
Was Tanner a client as well?
Morgan
looked down, staring at her fingers as she tried to pick polish from
her pinky. It was useless, Angel had seen to the best manicure that
she'd ever had, and her polish wouldn't budge. Eryk took a deep
breath and ran his hand through his blonde hair.

“I
see. When?” The never-asked question filled the room, and
Morgan shook her head in disbelief at the recent discovery. There
was no way she could have prepared for it all. “Are you still
in contact with him?” Morgan's eyes closed as she silently
gave him yet another answer. “Hmmm my little cousin and the
beautiful, Morgan Holland. I guess that makes this a little awkward
then, huh?” That time, Morgan looked up and met his gaze. The
words, that had been absolutely lost, finally returned.

“No,
of course not.” She was a professional, at least, she felt as
if she were turning into one, and the thought of being dismissed over
something like this was enough to bring strength out in Morgan that
was usually reserved for unsavory situations. “Yes, he was a
client. Yes, we keep in touch. Yes, I care deeply for him.”
That part wasn't necessary, but her renewed determination to make
Julianne proud, and to not allow situations to become bigger than
she, made her announce the total truth.

She
walked to stand in front of Eryk, his eyes locked with hers. “I
had a feeling that the two of you were related. You look...,”

“I
know. We both look like our grandfather.” Eryk pointed to a
photo that was behind a fishing boat on the second shelf to his
right. Morgan's eyes followed, and what she saw was remarkable. A
man, that she was guessing was in his late thirties, stood tall and
proud on the dock next to his boat. It could have been Tanner's
twin, or Eryk's for that matter. “We've heard it all our
lives...how we look like him.” Morgan nodded slowly as she
moved even closer to Eryk.

“Small
fucking world.” The unladylike words left her mouth before she
could stop them, and Eryk laughed loudly. Both were much more
relaxed, even Boomer seemed to let out a sigh of relief. Eryk put
his arm around her shoulder and showed her the rest of the room.

“My
company made all of these. I don't model every vessel that we make,
but I do if it's important to me for one reason or another.”
He pointed to a white and red row boat, explaining that it was the
first boat that he'd ever built. Then a three million dollar yacht
which was the first high dollar boat that he'd ever worked on. Each
boat had a story, and Morgan listened to Eryk's life unfold before
her.

They
eventually moved to a small sofa next to a three foot sailboat and
for two hours, they simply talked. Morgan asked questions about the
boats and Eryk was happy to answer each of them. Not another word was
spoken about Tanner either, and for that, both of them were thankful.

She
watched him talk, more than just listened, and she saw Tanner in
almost everything he did and said. His ease of life, yet a
determination to live it as he chose. It was during their time in
the boat room that she had finally figured out what was different
about the man.
Determination.
She imagined that he went
through the same stages of life as Tanner, and somewhere along the
way, he grew from living life like he meant it, to living life like
he meant it and never stopping until he got what he wanted. Tanner
was alright with not getting what he wanted, as long as he had fun
along the way. He was, as she smiled to herself when remembering
Angel, a grown up Tanner. Neither men were right or wrong, better or
worse, they were perfectly wonderful in their own ways. She did,
however, hope that Tanner never changed, because he was simply
wonderful as he was.

It
wasn't until Morgan was alone that she was able to let the idea of
cousins
sink in, and there was only one person in the world
that she wanted to tell. She lowered her body into a tub of hot water
Eryk had prepared for her, and brought her cell phone in front of
her, and found her best friend's number.

“Angel,”
Morgan whispered into the phone as soon as she knew he'd answered.

“Stick,”
Angel's sarcastic reply came through in the same tone as her.

“I
don't have a lot of time, but I
have
to tell you! They're not
brothers!” Morgan looked over her shoulder, making sure the
bathroom door was still closed.

“We
knew that shit already,” Angel replied, and PoPo echoed the
only bad word of the sentence. “Oh!” He finally
understood, maybe they weren't brothers, but there was obviously
another connection. “Did that Polish sausage make Tan Man! Is
he the baby daddy?” Angel yelled into the phone, his voice
coming through the speaker even louder than Morgan was speaking.

“Did
the wh...NO! Angel, no. His...
sausage
...did not make anybody.
They're cousins! We knew it, we freaking knew it. They were too much
alike!” Morgan sat up in the tub and looked over at the floor
after a wave of water crashed over the edge.