Page 45 of Chasing the Dream

“Maria’s not home. She sent me a text that she’s going out with some friends after work.”

“Oh. I wonder why she didn’t text me?”

He shrugged and averted his eyes.

“Gabe?”

He’d already climbed out of the car, and he waited for her to get out too. Then he followed her up to the door and waited for her to unlock it.

After she’d set her purse and keys on a table inside the door, she turned to him and said, “Talk.”

“How about a drink first?”

She huffed and headed off to the kitchen. He trailed behind, enjoying the view until he remembered that Bryan had looked at her the same way. Why was it okay for him and not Bryan? He had several answers at the ready if anyone were to ask, but nobody needed to know, especially not Morgan.

“What would you like to drink? Maria stocked every type of beverage imaginable. She acts like she’s hosting a houseful of people instead of just me.”

He chuckled at that, very familiar with Maria’s propensity for going overboard. “I’ll take a beer.”

She plucked two beers from the fridge and handed him one. “So talk,” she demanded.

“Can we sit down first?”

Instead of waiting for her reply, he walked through the kitchen/dining area and into the living room. Maria had insisted on buying a place with an open floor plan for “entertaining purposes.” He often pointed out that she rarely hosted parties and hated cooking, but she did have a great place.

He plunked down on the couch, twisted off the bottle cap, and took a long, welcome drink of the cold beer. It had been a helluva day, and he relished the peace and quiet of home, even if it wasn’t his.

Surprisingly, Morgan sat on the couch too, although she sat as far away from him as possible. He didn’t blame her. If only he hadn’t had such a jealous reaction toward Bryan. Then things would be fine between them. If only he hadn’t been thinking about her in inappropriate ways and feeling things he shouldn’t be feeling. If only they weren’t about to spend an entire weekend together away from the office. At least his family would be there too. He and Morgan probably wouldn’t have a moment alone, which would be for the best. Never mind that they were alone right now.

She took a long drink too, and he stared at her lips as they covered the opening of the bottle. Had they always been so full and cushiony? They looked perfect for kissing…

“Okay. You have your drink, and we’re sitting down. Now talk!”

He took another fortifying swig of beer while debating how to proceed. Since Morgan would see through any bullshit, he decided to be as direct as possible without divulging too much.

“It’s clear that I don’t trust the guy.”

“Crystal.”

“But I do trust you. If you’re dead set on working with him, then I’ll approve it. However, I still don’t like it.”

She smiled at him for the first time that day, and he felt like a weight had been lifted from him.

“Thank you. I appreciate your faith in me.”

“I’ll draft a new contract tomorrow and have my lawyer review it. You and I can meet to discuss the details before we present it to Bryan.”

“Sounds good.”

He took another drink and thought about leaving, but now that they’d reached an agreement, he wasn’t in any hurry to go.

“So, what did Maria’s text say, exactly?”

He’d been hoping she’d forgotten about that. “Just that she was going out after work and it would be nice if I took you out to dinner or something.”

“I’m sorry she keeps doing that.”

“Doing what?”