Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (96 page)

Her
first thought was to go into the house and talk to Eyrk about the
situation, but she knew, the invite had probably been revoked.
Morgan's second idea was to go back to the house and wait for Eryk to
return to talk to him. Being tossed out, like a rotten potato, was
not something Morgan handled well, but on the other hand, she was not
going to beg. Eryk had already made his side clear and she wouldn't
wait to explain herself. In fact, there was nothing to explain.

Eryk
knew there was something between Morgan and his cousin. What that
extended to, he wasn't sure, but he didn't care. As he had told
Morgan, he hadn't signed up for emotional baggage...that's also the
reason he didn't date in the first place.

Morgan
wiped the last of her tears from her face and took a deep breath,
concluding the pity-party she was throwing herself. “I guess
there is only one thing to do,” she whispered to herself as she
finally turned and quickly began the walk back to Eryk's house.

Her
things were packed up quickly, and a cab was already on the way by
the time she was finished setting her luggage by the door. Boomer
followed her every step, as if he knew something was different. “I'm
sorry, Big Boy. I have to go now.” She gave the large dog a
soft kiss on his forehead, then squat down and wrapped her arms
around his neck. It was comforting for Morgan, and she actually
smiled at the thought that she would miss Boomer more than Eryk.
“You're a good boy.”

Morgan
stood up and dug in her bag for a piece of paper and a pen, then
walked to the kitchen counter. Outside, she heard the horn of a car,
but she needed to write something first.

Eryk,

You're
a good man, and you're right, this isn't what you signed up for. I am
sorry that it ended this way. After I found out who you were, I
thought I could do it. I wanted to be the professional woman you
hired, but...

Morgan
thought for a moment before continuing, and another horn sounded from
outside. She looked toward the window, then back at the paper. “Fuck
it.” She tore off the bottom half and crumpled the part she'd
already written on and stuffed it in her pocket. On the clean piece
of paper, she tried her note again.

I'm
sorry.

There.
Short, sweet and to the point. There was no need to explain herself,
and Eryk didn't need to know anything else. He was the one kicking
her out, and while she deserved it, she was still upset. She set the
note in front of his coffee pot, gave Boomer another kiss on his
head, and headed to the front yard with her luggage. Morgan wasn't
even sure where she would go, but she knew she had to get out of
Poland.

Once
in the cab, she told the driver to take her to the airport, and she
hoped by the time she arrived, she'd figure it out. Buildings,
houses, parks...it all flashed by Morgan quickly and she regretted
not being able to see any of it.
Maybe someday I'll come
back, just to see the beauty of this place.

She
knew Angel wasn't expecting her until the end of the week, and she
wasn't ready to head to Peru. She knew she had time to go to Hawaii,
but that was something she wasn't ready to do, and she didn't want to
do it alone.
Where am I going to go?
Morgan
thought of going home to Ohio and visiting with Julianne, but the
likelihood her boss was even there was slim to none.

It
wasn't until the small car passed by a shop, that Morgan's mind was
made. She didn't know what the sign said, all she knew was that the
words were painted onto a huge sheep, in a sweater. It was obvious
that the store sold sweaters, but that wasn't what grabbed her
attention. The sheep reminded her of her favorite Irishman, and with
any luck, Morgan hoped to spend the rest of her week with Sean.

When
the cab arrived at the airport, Morgan pulled her bags over to the
nearest bench and sat down, then pulled her phone out of her jacket.
“Please be home,” she whispered as she pressed the button
that would call her friend.

“Oi,
if it isn't ma favorite American lass, how've ye been, Morgan?”
His voice immediately brought a smile to her lips. Sean was so
carefree, so happy.

“I'm
great,” she lied. “Sean?”

“Aye?”

“Are...well...what
are you doing?” She didn't know how to ask if she could visit.
She'd done it before, but suddenly, it was a task harder said than
done. Especially for the fact it had been so long since she'd even
taken the time to call him.

“Eh,
I'm watching the telly and having a beer.” Morgan smiled again.
Sean never had
a
beer.

“I
mean...what are you doing this week? Are you busy?” Morgan bit
her bottom lip and looked around the sidewalk. It was much more bare
than when she'd arrived on Friday.

Sean
understood why she asked, and she heard the smile in his voice when
he replied. “Morgan, I'm no' busy at all. Ye get yer sexy arse
here and I'll pick ye up when ye arrive.”

She
nodded silently. “See you soon.”

Morgan
approached the counter, and purchased a seat on the next flight to
Ireland, which was scheduled to depart in two hours from then. With
her ticket secured, she finally released a long breath that felt as
if it had been held for hours.

Tanner,
Eryk, Angel, Finlay, even the crew in Hawaii, had her nerves rattled
to the point of exhaustion. If it hadn't been for her stomach
reminding her that she hadn't enjoyed the party, food and all, then
she might have considered a quick nap on a not-so-comfortable lobby
chair. “Okay, let's see what's open.” She whispered to
her midsection as her feet began to move again.

The
first place she found was a small cafe that offered Polish cuisine.
For the first time in months, Morgan didn't care what she ordered,
and she told the woman exactly that when she approached the counter.
“Anything...just,” she sighed again and dropped her gaze
to the ground, “something filling... I guess.” The
hostess didn't question the order, as a woman, she could see that
Morgan was hurting and simply nodded as she turned to place the order
in the kitchen. “Thank you.” Morgan's words weren't
heard, as they were softly spoken to the floor.

“I
hope your night gets better, Miss.” Morgan had been lost in
thought when the hostess appeared moments later with a white bag that
contained her mystery dinner. Morgan forced a small smile and paid
for her dinner, then nodded slowly.

“Thank
you, have a good night as well.”

A
few moments later, Morgan was placing containers of food on a small
table next to a short row of seats. Nothing smelled familiar, and it
didn't even matter at the moment. “Perogies!” Morgan
smiled at her own outburst as she looked around. Fortunately, no one
was close enough to hear her excitement over a container of food.

The
next container held a stew, of sorts, that contained cabbage, meat
that Morgan couldn't identify, tomatoes, and mushrooms. “Bread.
That one's easy.” Another small smile curved her lips as she
put her plastic fork into the cabbage stew. She wasn't looking
forward to tasting something that smelled so foreign, but her first
bite was past her lips without thinking more about it. “Wow.”
It was different, the taste and texture was unlike anything she had
ever eaten, and she loved it.

Four
bites in, and she was already regretting the fact that she had spent
a few days in Poland and missed out on something wonderful. She was
starting her fifth bite when another thought took hold, “what
else have I been missing?” The question, she knew immediately,
had very little to do with food.

Her
mind unleashed memories of the last few months and showed her that
she had spent most of her time trying to please people to the point
of forgetting to
live like she meant it.
It was a balancing
act that better people could master, but one that she needed to work
on if she intended to get the most out of life.

Eryk
turned her away, and Morgan smiled then as she told herself that it
was alright.
He doesn't have to want me.
Angel would want
her to fly to Brazil that night if he knew she was available.
I'll
do what I can, Angel...but I have a life too.
Finlay would also
want her to fly to Scotland, and certainly not see Sean instead.
Sean's important to me, and I don't have to explain myself to
anyone.
Tanner was beyond upset to find out that she was with
his cousin.
And you, Tanner, have no right to mistreat me just
because I'm doing my job. A job, that you're completely aware of.

Her
cabbage and meat stew was nearly finished when Morgan finally sat in
a nearby chair, and pulled her food next to her. Cabbage. She never
would have thought that something so simple could improve her mood,
and overall outlook that had been so horrible not moments prior.

Life
truly was about choices, and having the ability to recognize if each
choice was right for her. Love, clients, friendships, and even her
every meal, were all things that she could try and keep, or try and
release. The choices belonged to her, and so did the decisions that
followed each. Even the decision to finish every last perogie, even
though she was full.

“Okay,
maybe that wasn't the best idea.” Morgan rubbed her belly, then
placed the rest of her bread into the empty container and tossed it
into a nearby garbage can. The meal was wonderful, and she was glad,
even it it wasn't quite intentional, that she had stepped out of her
comfort zone to discover it.
Cabbage.
She smiled to herself as
she sat back into her chair.

She
still had an hour to wait, and that nap sounded wonderful. Morgan
reached into her pocket and grabbed her phone, ignoring the missed
calls and messages, she went to her timer to set it for forty-five
minutes. As she tapped the icon with her still-polished nail, the
phone rang in her hand. “Eryk,” Morgan sighed, then
answered.

“Morgan...I'm...”
He paused, and Morgan knew what he was trying to do. Apologize.
“Where are you, I'll come get you.”

“Eryk,”
Morgan began. She wasn't sure what to say. Sure, it would have been
easy to say she was at the airport and that he could come and get
her, but things wouldn't be any better. The rest of the week would be
filled with a level of awkward that she wasn't prepared to try and
deal with.

“I'm
sorry, little one.”

“I
appreciate that, Eryk. And I apologize for letting my emotions get in
the way. I should have been more professional, and for that, I'm
sorry.” She wasn't going to apologize for having the emotions,
just for showing them.

“Let
me come get you, and we can go back to the party and we can talk
about it.” His voice held a level of calmness that had not been
there before.

“You're
a wonderful man, and I really enjoyed the time we had together,
but...” Eryk knew what was coming next, she was going to turn
him down, and he was right. Morgan held no hard feelings for the
Tan-Man-Look-Alike, but going back was definitely not a good idea, at
least not right then. “I
found my way to the airport
.”
Her voice held amusement more than anything, as she repeated his
earlier statement. “And I'm going to go visit a friend. Have
fun, Eryk. Live life like you mean it.” With that, using
Tanner's words with Eryk, Morgan ended the call. She didn't want to
explain anything else, or answer questions. All she wanted to do was
see Sean, and get her mind off of everything.

Chapter
Three

Morgan
sighed as she stared out of the window, the plane ascending higher
and higher, until nothing could be seen but a veil of gray clouds.
She didn't even mind the window seats anymore, in fact, she welcomed
them. Flying didn't bother her anymore, especially the mere three
hours it would take to get to Dublin from Warsaw.