Chapter 21

CHAPTER21

“That’s not funny, Eric,” Morgan whispered hollowly.

“I’m not laughing,” Eric said softly.

Nodding slowly, Morgan said, “We’re done here,” as she pushed him out of her way so that she could climb off the bureau and-

She was done.

She never should have come here, never should have gone to that rehearsal dinner, and she never should have-

“Wait,” Eric said, picking her up and placed her back on the bureau as he slowly exhaled. “I’m fucking this up.”

“I’m not interested in being your rebound,” Morgan bit out, moving to climb back off the bureau so that she could kick him, grab her bags, kick him again, and get in the truck and drive to Florida, where she would spend the rest of her life struggling against the urge to get back in that damn truck and drive back up here so that she could kick him again. She-

“You’re not a rebound,” Eric said softly as he leaned in and kissed her forehead. “I just…I just need a minute to figure this out.”

He’d definitely lost his mind.

That was the only thing that could explain why he’d dragged her along on this trip, only to mope, pout, and go into a catatonic stage before dragging her back here so that he could trade Baker House for this incredibly beautiful house that she loved more than anything and then do…whatever it was that this was.

She opened her mouth, only to close it, clear her throat and decide to stay where she was when he pushed away from the bureau with a muttered, “Fucking Theo,” and began pacing back and forth and-

“Fuck!”

-decided that it was probably for the best to stay where she was until after he finished his nervous breakdown.

“You’re not a rebound,” Eric said, reaching up to rub his hands roughly down his face before dropping his hands away. “Just…fuck. You’re not a rebound.”

“Eric,” Morgan began, pausing to slowly exhale so that she could force the words out, “you were engaged to another woman less than a week ago, and now, you’re scared.”

“I’m fucking terrified,” he admitted with a humorless chuckle, “but it’s not what you think.”

“Eric, I-”

“Fuck it,” Eric said as he stopped pacing and found his way back to her. “You’re not a rebound and I’m not afraid that I’ve fucked up my life. I know what I want, Morgan. I want to spend the next month fixing this incredibly beautiful house that my great-grandfather built with you and while we’re doing that, I want to forget that the rest of the world exists and find out just how good this thing between us could be.”

When she opened her mouth to argue, Eric stopped her with another achingly sweet brush of his lips that left her struggling to focus. “If you can honestly tell me that you’ve never thought about us, never wondered what it would be like between us, then I’ll drop it, and we’ll fix this house and move on, but the choice is up to you, Morgan.”

“You can believe that I’m just looking for a rebound and that you’re the most convenient target or you can believe me when I tell you that I want you,” Eric murmured as he pressed a kiss against her forehead before he stepped away, and left her sitting there more confused than ever as she watched him walk into the bathroom and-

Made her realize just how badly she wanted to believe him.

* * *

“God, I’m a fucking idiot,”Eric said as he dropped his head beneath the spray of hot water and prayed that he didn’t just fuck this up.

For the first time in his life, he had no idea how Morgan was going to react and that scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t lose her. He just needed to-

Bite back a smile when the towel landed on top of his head. So fucking adorable, Eric thought with a heartfelt sigh as he reached up and grabbed the towel off his head and wrapped it around his waist before turning the shower off and turning around to face the small woman leaning back against the bathroom wall.

“I have questions,” Morgan said, sounding bored as she made a show of inspecting her nails.

“And they are?” Eric asked as he adjusted the wet towel wrapped around his waist and pushed the shower door open.

“When did you decide that you adored the ground that I walk on?” Morgan asked, making his lips twitch as he leaned his shoulder against the shower wall.

“The day that I met you,” Eric admitted, deciding that there was no point in lying to her anymore.

At least, not about this.

“I see…” Morgan murmured, sounding thoughtful as her gaze flickered to him before returning to her nails.

“What else?” Eric asked, watching her closely.

“Why now?” Morgan asked as he ran his gaze over her, taking in everything from the way that she worried her bottom lip between her teeth to the way that she nervously wiggled her little toes.

“Because there’s nothing standing in my way now,” Eric said as he looked back up and met calculating baby blue eyes.

“What was standing in your way before?” Morgan asked as he watched those beautiful eyes narrow on him.

“I thought you were talking about me.”

Blinking, Morgan said, “I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean.”

“I thought you saw me as a brother,” Eric said, only to add, “Jason,” at her questioning look.

When she didn’t say anything else, Eric wondered if he’d already fucked this up and-

“So, what’s the plan?” Morgan asked casually as she folded her arms over her chest.

“I plan on wooing you,” he drawled, watching that calculating look turn into a frown.

“Did you just say wooing?” she asked as the soft lips that felt incredible against his twitched.

“I’m going to do everything in my power to make you fall in love with me,” Eric admitted, watching as Morgan slowly nodded with a murmured, “Then, I guess this would be a good time to go over the rules.”

“The rules?” he asked, feeling his lips twitch.

Releasing a heartfelt sigh, Morgan said, “It would really make this easier.”

“Easier?” Eric murmured as he pushed away from the wall.

“For you to adore me,” she said with a solemn nod.

“I’m pretty sure that I can adore you without rules,” he promised her as he stepped out of the shower.

“That’s not a risk that I’m willing to take,” Morgan said with a sad shake of her head.

“What are these rules?” Eric asked as he grabbed another towel.

“To start, I’m going to need you to look at me adoringly and every so often release heartfelt sighs as though my adorableness is just too much for you to bare,” she said with a sniffle as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.

“I’m sure I can handle that,” Eric said, feeling his lips twitch. “What else?”

“I get veto powers on the house’s renovation,” Morgan said, making him sigh heavily because this was just fucking sad.

“That just went without saying,” Eric said, gesturing for her to continue before he rubbed his face dry.

“Did we go over the part where you adore me?” came the question that had him smiling.

“I believe we went over that,” Eric murmured, watching her as she thought that over.

Slowly nodding, Morgan said, “I’d like to reserve the right to make up rules as we go.”

“I suppose we could do that,” Eric said, mostly because that could work in his favor. “What else?”

“What happens when this is all over?” Morgan asked after a slight pause.

“Meaning, if you don’t end up falling head over heels in love with me?” Eric asked as his gaze dropped back down to her little toes, watching as they started wiggling again, letting him know just how nervous she was.

For a moment, he considered telling her that wasn’t an option, but…

“Then, we pretend that this never happened and we go back to the way things used to be,” Eric said, lying to her one last time, knowing that he was never going to be able to let her go.