Chapter 19

CHAPTER19

She was about to break, Eric thought, taking a sip of his beer to hide his smile as he watched the woman that had been struggling to find a way around his rules since this morning drop down on the chair across from him.

He watched as Morgan narrowed her eyes on him, shifted to get comfortable, crossed her arms over her chest, only to rethink the move and settled for drumming her fingertips against the antique table that she still hadn’t figured out that his great-grandfather built and settled for trying to intimidate him with a glare. God, she was so fucking cute, Eric thought as he waited for her next move.

She didn’t say anything, but then again, he didn’t expect her to.

Morgan had a system, one that never worked but that never stopped her from trying. For whatever reason, she thought that she could break him with silence, glares, and when that didn’t work, she moved onto the interrogation stage. The only thing stopping her from moving onto the interrogation stage this time was his rules.

She couldn’t bring up Baker House and he knew that she desperately wanted to bring it up, which meant…

“Start talking,” Morgan said, and when he didn’t say anything, she gestured for him to get on with it, hoping that it would be enough to get him to talk and letting him know everything that he needed to know.

It was his turn.

“We could always talk about all of those things that you’ve been hiding from me,” Eric suggested, watching as she went still seconds before the panicked look that he’d been waiting for all day took over, confirming his suspicions.

“What makes you think that I’m hiding something?” Morgan asked, not quite able to meet his gaze as she noticeably struggled not to shift in her seat, knowing that it would give her away.

“Because I know you,” Eric said, watching her closely as he debated how he wanted to do this, but then again, that depended on her next move.

“What are you hiding?” Morgan countered, deciding to go on the defensive, which worked for him.

“Many things,” Eric murmured as he watched her, thinking about all of those things that he’d been wondering about over the past year, the long hours she put in, the way that she’d started avoiding him, and the way that she shut her office door when she was on the phone.

She never used to do that.

Then again, she never used to do a lot of things.

“I’ve missed you, Morgan,” Eric admitted softly.

“I didn’t go anywhere,” she said, swallowing hard.

“Yes, you did. You’ve been distant for a long time,” Eric said, absently running his thumb over his wedding band as he watched her.

“I’ve been busy,” Morgan said, trying to shrug it off.

With a nod, he said, “We both have, which is why I think we needed this vacation.”

“That, and you weren’t about to let Amber take it, although I don’t think that we can really call this a vacation anymore,” she said, looking thoughtful.

“There is that,” Eric said, chuckling.

“Is she still texting you?”

Taking a sip of his beer, Eric pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up for her and-

“Wow, she is really pissed,” Morgan said with a sympathetic wince.

“For good reason,” Eric said, knowing that he’d fucked up by asking her to marry him when he knew that he didn’t love her.

Nodding, Morgan said, “Start talking,” as she reached over and stole his beer.

“What should we talk about?” Eric murmured, watching her closely as he debated how he wanted to do this.

Really fucking carefully, Eric thought as he watched Morgan’s expression turn calculating as she considered him. He’d hoped that he could buy himself some time with the house so that he could take his time showing her just how good it could be between them, but he’d realized something important this morning.

That was never going to happen.

“That depends,” Morgan said casually as she reached up to push her glasses back up her nose.

“On?” Eric asked, reaching over to pluck his beer out of her hand.

“On whether or not you answer my questions,” Morgan said, keeping her eyes locked with his.

“Fair enough,” Eric murmured before adding, “just as long as you answer mine.”

Nodding, Morgan asked, “And if I decide that I don’t want to answer your questions?”

“We get two skips each,” Eric said, watching as her gaze turned calculating.

“Five,” Morgan said, making his lips twitch.

“Three.”

“Five,” Morgan said with a firm nod.

“I don’t think that’s how negotiating works,” Eric said, taking a sip of his beer.

“That’s because I’m not negotiating,” Morgan said, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to stare him down. “Five.”

“One,” Eric said, finishing off his beer as he watched Morgan’s eyes narrow dangerously on him.

“Fine. Four,” Morgan said as she paused in her attempt to intimidate him to push her glasses back up her nose.

“Three,” Eric said, getting up to place his empty bottle on the kitchen counter.

“Five,” came the reply that had him turning around to grab a Coke out of the fridge to hide his smile.

So. Fucking. Adorable.

“And if I let you have five skips?” Eric asked as he closed the refrigerator door and focused on the woman watching his every move.

“I’ll let you live,” Morgan said, gesturing for him to get on with it.

“That’s very generous of you,” Eric said, opening his Coke as his eyes flickered to Morgan’s lips, only to force himself to look away, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to think straight if he thought about just how good it felt when she kissed him today.

He wanted to kiss her again.

“I know,” Morgan said, nodding as she once again gestured for him to start talking.

“Five, it is,” Eric said as he sat back down while he debated where to start. “What are you hiding?” he asked, deciding to start from there.

“Many things,” Morgan drawled, making his lips twitch as she gestured for him to hand over the Coke. “You need to be specific with your questions and no lying.”

“Fair enough,” Eric said, handing over his Coke. “Why did you do shots with the asshole?” he asked, watching as her expression turned panicked before she managed to pull it back.

Clearing her throat, Morgan said, “You already asked me that question.”

“And you never answered it,” he pointed out.

Nodding, Morgan said, “Skip,” as she took a sip of Coke.

“Interesting,” Eric murmured as he thought about that before asking, “Why did you lie about having a migraine that night?”

“I believe it’s my turn to ask a question,” Morgan said as he gestured for her to hand the Coke back over.

“What do you want to know?” Eric asked, taking a sip as he watched her.

“Why did you give Baker House to Uncle Jared?” came the question that he debated skipping, but…

Fuck it.

“Because I wanted this house,” Eric said as he watched her closely.

“You love Baker House,” Morgan said, sighing heavily as she reached over and stole the soda out of his hand.

“I love you more,” he admitted quietly, watching her go still.

“Why are you toying with me?” she asked hollowly.

“Why did you lie about having a migraine that night?” he asked, ignoring her question and asked one of his own.

“Because I didn’t want to go,” Morgan said, only to follow that up with, “Tell me why you’re toying with me, Eric.”

“I’m not,” he promised her as something occurred to him. “Were you planning on coming to the wedding?”

“No,” Morgan said, taking him by surprise as she finished off his soda and placed it on the table.

“Why not?”

“Would you have married Amber?” she asked after a slight hesitation.

“No,” Eric said, watching as she slowly exhaled, making him realize that she’d been holding her breath. “Why weren’t you planning on coming to the wedding?”

“Skip,” Morgan said, gesturing for him to move on.

“Why do you think I’m toying with you?” Eric asked, noting that she had three more skips left before they stopped playing this game.

“Why are we still pretending to be married?” she countered.

“Because I want to spend time with you.”

“And you had to give away Baker House to do that? Eric, you’ve been dreaming of working on that damn building for five years. Why the hell would you give it away?” Morgan demanded.

“I’ll still get to work on Baker House,” Eric promised her as he carefully pushed the kitchen table out of the way and reached over and grabbed hold of her chair. “Why have you been pushing me away, Morgan?”

“Skip,” Morgan said, swallowing hard as he used his hold on her chair to pull her closer.

“That’s three,” Eric said, watching her as he asked, “Did you want me to marry Amber?”

“No,” Morgan admitted. “Why did you agree to go on a cruise for your honeymoon?”

“Because I didn’t care about the honeymoon,” Eric said, pulling her closer until her knees were touching his thighs. “Why didn’t you want me to marry Amber?”

“Skip.”

That was four.

“Why have you been pushing me away, Morgan?” Eric asked softly as he reached up and cupped her face in his hands. “Why the hell are you trying to break my heart?”