The Right Thing (6 page)

“Well, why don’t you then? You can tell me and I won’t have to find out for myself,” Thea said sharply.

“Morgan’s old enough to be my father. If I was going to go for an older man, I’d go for Gerald,” Amy told her, relieved when Thea finally laughed.

“Father, huh?” Thea asked, her mouth turned up on one side in a half grin. “I bet Morgan Reed would love hearing that.”

“Well, he is. I think Gerald said he was over forty. I heard guys that age can’t get it up anymore. Doug can go all night. I like that in my men,” Amy said boldly, knowing she was pushing the boundary of what Thea was comfortable joking about.

“Honey, we all like that in our men,” Thea said without thinking, full out laughing now. “I’m sure Morgan Reed doesn’t need help yet. You can tell.”

“
You can?
How?
” Amy demanded, surprised not because she doubted it, but that Thea had noticed and caught the vibe.

Thea shrugged. “It’s about the level of interest a man shows you. Morgan Reed was checking me out and sizing me up as a potential within seconds of meeting me. I may be old and out of practice, but I haven’t forgotten everything.”

“So are you interested in Morgan? I mean in a date-date kind of way,” Amy asked, thinking it had taken her almost two hours to work up to the real question.

“I don’t know,” Thea said. “We’ll see what happens if he comes by again.”

“Well, if he does, try to catch him staring at your butt,” Amy said. “You’ll see just how interested he is for sure then.”

“I can’t believe I’m getting advice on men from someone younger than my own children,” Thea told her.

“Gerald and I have a lot in common,” Amy said firmly. “We’re both die-hard romantics. If you end up date-dating Morgan, I just want you to promise to tell me how he kisses. I can’t help being a little curious. He has a nice mouth.”

Thea sighed and rolled her eyes. “I do not kiss and tell.”

“If Morgan is as good I think he’s going to be, you won’t be able to keep the truth in,” Amy told her. “You’ll be bragging more than Lydia.”

“Right,” Thea said. “Like that’s going to happen to me. I’m not Lydia, and Morgan isn’t Gerald. There are some things you just accept with age. The calming down of your hormones is one of them. Mine calmed downed almost a decade ago.”

“Some men are inspiring,” Amy declared. “Look at Gerald and Lydia.”

Thea nodded and bit her lip. Lydia hadn’t dated in years either, but had taken up sleeping with Gerald pretty fast once he’d offered.

“Yeah. Okay. You have a point there.”

Amy laughed and walked away, happy that Thea was at least thinking that kissing Morgan Reed was a possibility.

She just hoped Morgan didn’t blow it again when he showed up.

*** *** ***

Morgan waited until a quarter past two before stopping by the restaurant. Despite how empty it had been yesterday at one-thirty, he was still a bit surprised to find it completely empty of customers again today.

Thea was behind the bar cleaning. She straightened when she saw him.

“Don’t stop on my account,” Morgan said, walking to the bar. “I’ll just hop up here if that’s okay.”

“Suit yourself,” Thea said, finding the words came out a little more breathlessly than she would have liked.

It was Amy and all her teasing about Morgan being interested in her.

He’s not all that attractive, Thea decided, watching Morgan Reed slide his body up on the bar stool. He was too slim for his height and had a sharp nose above a mouth that, okay—she agreed with Amy was made for kissing.

Still, his hair needed trimming, and his eyes. . .well, actually he had nice eyes. They reminded her of Gerald’s. It was really the only familial likeness from what she could tell.

“What can I get you to drink?” Thea asked, smiling kindly.

Morgan looked at her and grinned. “You make something better than your iced tea?”

“No,” Thea told him, smiling a little more. “I sell beer and soda though. Got to offer a little variety.”

“Not interested,” Morgan said, his smile spreading to his eyes. “Iced tea. Lots of rocks. Keep it coming until I fall off the chair.”

“No worries. Two glasses of tea sends most customers running to the restroom long before they drink enough to fall off,” Thea told him, mostly just to see how he would react.

When Morgan laughed at her joke, she saw his eyes crinkle and felt her toes curl in happiness at having caused his amusement. Thea looked at her feet in amazement. What was that about? She’d never reacted to a man with her feet before.

Morgan was smiling broadly when her gaze came back to his. “Something wrong with your feet?”

Thea shook her head no. “I’ll get your tea and be right back.”

“Can I have a menu today?” Morgan asked, leaning both arms on the bar. “I’m in the mood to try something new.”

Thea slid a menu over to him from the top of a pile about six inches to his right on the bar.

Following her action, he laughed again. “Uh. . .thanks. I didn’t see them there.”

“No reason you would. I’ll get your tea. Be right back,” Thea said, moving to the swinging doors as fast as her tingling toes would let her walk.

As she blasted through them, it was just too tempting not to look back over her shoulder. Thea blushed though when she saw Morgan’s gaze had indeed followed her butt. It was only made worse when his gaze lifted quickly and caught her looking at him looking at her. His grin was way too knowing, way too pleased with himself, and had her toes curling again.

“Oh for pity’s sake, Thea Carmichael,” she whispered to herself, as she poured him a glass of tea. “You’re fifty-four years old. Act your age.”

Thea marched back out the swinging doors, back to where Morgan perched on the bar stool. Ice cubes jingled in the glass she deposited in front of him with a slightly shaky hand. He glanced at her hand but didn’t comment.

“Have you decided what you want yet?” Thea demanded, more sharply than she’d probably ever spoken to a customer.

Morgan lowered the menu and folded it closed. “I think I decided that the first moment we met, but I’m trying not to rush you.”

So, she thought, he really was interested—or at least he was challenged. Thea knew men chased women for many reasons, not the least of which was sex. Since she wasn’t into improving any man’s scorecard or interested in anything for herself anymore, she just stayed out of the game. It kept things simple in her life.

“You’re wasting good energy. Men flirt with me all the time. I’ve learned never to take it too seriously,” Thea said lightly, pretending a sudden intense interest in the napkins that needed straightening under the bar.

“I’m not good at flirting,” Morgan said firmly. “Dad didn’t pass that talent on to me. I prefer the more direct approach, so here it is. I’m interested in dating you, Althea.”

“Look, if you’re going to use my name, call me Thea,” she said, her own name sticking in a throat suddenly dry as cotton.

“Okay. I’m interested in dating you,
Thea
,” Morgan said, fighting not to grin over her discomfort.

Thea kept her gaze firmly focused on the napkins as she answered. “Sorry, but I don’t date.”

“That’s exactly what Amy said when I asked her about it,” Morgan said, watching the napkin sorting slow to almost a stop and then pick up pace again. So it had really bothered her to think he’d been flirting with Amy. “Why don’t you date?”

Thea shrugged.

“Too old. Not interested enough, I guess,” she told him. “There’s lots of single women in this town. Why do you want to date me?”

“I could tell you it’s because you seem like a nice woman,” Morgan said easily, watching her stop what she was doing and sigh. “But that’s not really it.”

Her gaze went to his and held. One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. Morgan counted to ten, and by that time he was smiling at her disintegrating composure.

Thea didn’t comment. Instead, she turned her back on Morgan to straighten glasses on shelves by the mirror.

“Yeah, okay—
that
would be one major reason. You sure do fill out your jeans nicely,” Morgan said to her back, laughing at her in-drawn breath. “But there’s actually more.”

“Oh, what in hell are you talking about?” Thea demanded, swinging around to glare at Morgan for picking and poking and teasing and likely not meaning a damn word of any of it.

His eyes were laughing more than his mouth. Embarrassment swamped her at losing her temper and showing her frustration to him.

“I’ll have the turkey club with coleslaw and dinner fries,” Morgan recited, purposely ignoring her irritated glare. “Put in my order and come back. I’ll tell you the main reason.”

“Tell me now or I won’t feed you,” Thea told him.

“You’d starve a paying customer? Not likely,” Morgan said calmly, leaning his face on his hand, elbow on the bar. “I’m from Las Vegas, honey. I’ll call that bluff.”

“Fine,” Thea said, knocking Morgan’s elbow out from under his hand as she walked by him.

Morgan laughed and whistled at her swinging backside as she headed through the doors. In under two minutes, she came swinging back, busting through the doors again like a gunslinger entering a western saloon hell-bent on killing someone. He thought it was enormously flattering to be the target of such passion. And he wanted to know if the threat of physical harm was an empty one or not, because that at least meant she’d have to put her hands on him.

“Okay. Now tell me the reason,” Thea said, standing in front of him again. His gaze fell to her chest and came back up. She crossed her arms, and he laughed.

“No, not your breasts, though I’m sure those are nice, too,” Morgan told her, watching her eyes narrow. “It’s because you get flustered when I look at you, and I can’t help wondering if you kiss as well as my father says.”

“Gerald Reed did not tell you how I kiss,” Thea stated firmly, taking the menu from Morgan and smacking his hands now resting on the bar.

“Okay. You’re right. Dad didn’t say a word. I just saw you kissing him and wondered if it was as nice as it
looked
,” Morgan said sincerely, shocking himself a little with his honesty. “I’d like to find out for myself. Dad told me how old you are. So I’d also like to know the reason why you still blush so much.”

Thea uncrossed her arms and walked away sighing.

“There are plenty of women in this town who would be happy to fill whatever kissing needs you have. I’m too old to play those games.”

“Like hell you are,” Morgan said, grinning. “I think you’re afraid to find out you’re not too old. I think you’re afraid to find out you’re more interested in me than you want to be.”

Thea paced to one end of the bar and then back.

“I don’t date because I don’t want to date,” she told him.

Morgan shrugged. “Fine. I’ll just be in here every day watching your attractive ass swing by my table until every customer you have ends up telling you how interested I am. Maybe when enough people confirm it you’ll go out with me. Don’t wait too long though. I’m only here for four months.”

“What can I do to convince you I’m not interested in dating you?” Thea asked. “Because I’m not. I’m uncomfortable with your attention.”

“
Uncomfortable?
That’s the call of the wild between us, honey. Have you seriously forgotten what sexual arousal feels like?” Morgan asked.

“You do not arouse me,” Thea told him firmly. “Your food is up. I’ll be right back.”

Morgan watched her walk quickly through the doors. His effort not to grin about everything was making his face hurt.

When she came back, Thea slid the plate in front of Morgan. He surprised her by grabbing her hand.

“So I don’t arouse you, and you don’t feel anything for me?”

“No,” Thea said firmly, her heart thundering when Morgan used her hand to help pull himself upright enough on the stool to lean over the bar.

“Nothing at all?” he challenged, holding tight and leaning close to her face as he pulled her closer to him.

“No,” she squeaked, then cleared her throat when he smiled.

“I don’t believe you,” Morgan said.

“No. I don’t feel anything,” she said more clearly, hearing Morgan chuckle.

Morgan leaned in and saw her eyelids start to drop as he moved his mouth inches from hers. The temptation to go there was practically killing him, but there were more important things at stake. And as soon as his brain cleared of lust, he was sure he would remember what they were.

For now, he was going with what his father said. Moving his mouth out of reach of hers to protect his sanity, Morgan let his lips brush her cheek on the way to her ear.

“Althea Carmichael, you’re lying to both of us,” he said softly. “Shame on you. While you’re thinking about your sins, I’d like some ketchup for my fries please.”

With her eyes barely open, Thea reached out, snagged the ketchup bottle from the spot next to him, and slid it between their bodies until it hit his plate.