Chapter 29

CHAPTER29

He was still a bed hog, Morgan realized, unable to help but smile as she gave up trying to push the large arm wrapped around her out of the way and turned around so that she was facing the man she loved more than anything.

“No,” Eric said before she could say anything, not bothering to open his eyes as he tightened his hold around her and brought her closer as a cool breeze swept over them.

“I need to get up,” she said, smiling as she leaned in and brushed her lips against his, enjoying the way that his early morning whiskers teased her skin.

“You need to stay in bed,” Eric mumbled sleepily.

“We have work to do,” Morgan reminded him as she ran her fingertips over his jaw.

“It can wait,” Eric said, kissing her forehead.

“Did I mention that I have to use the bathroom?” she asked, watching as the large man that made her realize something important last night reluctantly let her go with a grumble and another kiss.

For a moment, she lay there, tempted to stay where she was, but…

There was no point in putting this off any longer, Morgan told herself as she put her glasses on before she reluctantly crawled off the comfy pallet Eric made last night and grabbed her backpack. Telling herself that she wasn’t making a mistake, she pushed the plastic tarp aside and walked into the master bedroom that Eric started gutting yesterday.

As she made her way to the bathroom, Morgan thought about all the reasons why staying here was a mistake. She had a plan, a good plan, one that she’d been working on for the past year, one that would give her a chance to get over Eric and…

She didn’t want to get over him.

She wanted to spend the next month working on this incredibly beautiful house and find out if this thing between them was real and if it wasn’t…

She didn’t want to think about that right now.

Besides, right now, she had other things to worry about. With that in mind, Morgan made a quick stop in the small bedroom they moved their stuff into, went to grab her usual, a Bradford Remodeling tee-shirt and jeans, only to hesitate when her gaze shifted to the bag that held all of her new clothes.

Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, Morgan’s gaze flickered back to the small stack of tee-shirts in front of her and-

“Screw it,” Morgan muttered as she finally gave into the urge to get her hands on the incredibly beautiful floral sundress that Eric bought for her, a pair of panties, and the cute sandals that she’d been eying and made her way across the hallway. As soon as she stepped inside the bathroom, she was kicking the door shut behind her and hanging the dress on the back of the door before she focused on her backpack.

She could do this, Morgan told herself with a firm nod as she placed her panties on the counter along with her sandals, slowly exhaled, and when she couldn’t think of a reason to put this off any longer, she searched through her bag for her phone. Once she found it, Morgan dropped her bag on the floor and found herself slowly exhaling when she saw the text message waiting for her.

How long do you need?

She was tempted to quit, but she needed to be sure that this was real and that this wasn’t just Eric panicking. No matter what he told her, she just…

She needed to be sure.

Slowly exhaling, Morgan let Nathan know that she was going to need a month before she went to place her phone down on the bathroom counter when a new text message popped up and-

You really could have done better.

Still wondering why Eric’s father was sending her weird messages, Morgan placed her phone on the counter, deciding that for the next month, she was going to pretend that Florida and everything waiting for her down there didn’t exist. Decision made, Morgan pulled off the tee-shirt that she’d stolen from Eric last night after their bath, took a quick shower, and put on that beautiful dress and made her way downstairs, determined to take care of her other problem.

After getting distracted by the bookshelves in the den and grumbling when Eric’s theory of “five” didn’t work, she made her way into the kitchen and quietly slipped outside and after she took a quick peek at the second-floor balcony to make sure that Eric was still passed out, she made her way back inside, put her game face on, and called the man that should have known better than to piss her off.

As soon as she heard the phone click, she opened her mouth and-

“You are just too goddamn adorable for words,”Uncle Jared said with a heartfelt sigh that had her eyes narrowing as she pushed her glasses back up her nose.

“I see that you’ve been expecting my call,” Morgan said, knowing that she had him right where she wanted him.

“I was actually expecting your call sooner.”

“Then, you know why I’m calling,” Morgan said as she began to pace the large kitchen, only to find her gaze drawn to the antique kitchen table that she spent an hour inspecting yesterday and-

Damn it!

“I do,”Uncle Jared said with a heartfelt sigh.

“Good. Then, that will save time,” Morgan mumbled absently as she ran her eyes over the kitchen table, noting that the top was made of a solid piece of wood, it had four legs, one small drawer for napkins and…that was it.

“You love the house.”

“You know I do,” Morgan said, sighing heavily as she knelt down so that she could take a peek beneath the table and…nothing.

“Then, what’s the problem?”

“Baker House,” Morgan mumbled absently as she ran her eyes over each table leg, taking in the lines and circles, looking for anything that stood out, only to sigh when she didn’t find anything.

“You know, I thought you’d have a problem with that, which is why I traded that lovely house that you’re in love with for half of Baker House,”Uncle Jared drawled, making her frown.

“Half? I thought you did an even trade?”

“That’s what Eric suggested, but that wasn’t going to work for me. We’re selling Baker House next week to a buyer who’s willing to pay twice what Eric paid for it as well as pay Bradford Construction and Bradford Remodeling an obscene amount of money to turn it back into a hotel,”he announced with a satisfied sigh that left her…confused.

“Really?”

“I don’t make it a habit of fucking over my nephews,”Uncle Jared said. “We’re partners on this deal.”

“Fair enough,” Morgan said with a disappointed sigh because she’d kind of been hoping to haggle with Uncle Jared.

God, she loved a good haggle…

“I’ve actually been meaning to talk to you about something,”Uncle Jared said, sounding thoughtful.

“What’s that?” Morgan asked as her gaze shifted from the kitchen table to the built-in shelves by the pantry door and-

“When were you planning on telling my nephew that you were leaving?” came the question that left her struggling to remember how to breathe.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Morgan managed to get out, knowing better than to admit to anything when she was dealing with a Bradford.

“And the fact that everything that you own is packed in boxes?”Uncle Jared asked, looking for an answer that she’d really rather not have to give him at the moment.

“It’s the best way to ensure a clean house?” Morgan said, nodding solemnly even as she couldn’t help but hope that he would be willing to drop this line of questioning for her sake.

“That does make sense,”Uncle Jared murmured, sounding thoughtful as she threw a panicked look at the kitchen door.

“It really does,” Morgan said, deciding that perhaps now would be a good time to make a run for it.

“And the moving truck that showed up with orders to move everything that you own and bring it down to Florida? The same one that I was forced to turn away?”Uncle Jared drawled, making her wince.

“Was unfortunate?” Morgan mumbled hollowly.

“And the fact that they came on the day that Eric was supposed to get married?”

For a moment, she stood there, feeling sick to her stomach at the reminder that Eric was supposed to marry another woman and-

“Please don’t tell him,” Morgan said as she pulled a chair out and dropped down on it before her legs gave out.

“He has the right to know,”Uncle Jared said, slowly exhaling. “Does he know that you’re in love with him, Morgan?”

“I don’t know,” Morgan mumbled sadly.

“Are you going to tell him?”Uncle Jared managed to ask the one question that she wasn’t sure about anymore.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Morgan said, really hoping that he would let this go so that she could figure out how she was going to-

“Then, I will.”