AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Morgan considered being one of those lovers, if Leigh would accept her, but the thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. That wasn’t what she wanted, for herself or for Leigh. She didn’t want a life of hiding who she was like a shameful secret. Morgan was proud of who she was, and she couldn’t imagine going her whole life pretending otherwise.
She jumped as her phone rang. Morgan snatched it up immediately, her heart pounding in her throat. It could be Leigh. What if Leigh had changed her mind?
It wasn’t Leigh. It was Gray.
Morgan technically didn’t have to answer. She was on leave, after all. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone, but she answered anyway. Gray was more than just her boss. Over the months of working together, they had become friends as well, and Morgan knew that cutting her friends out of her life just after a bad breakup was a recipe for a downward spiral.
Not that she wasn’t in a downward spiral already, but she certainly didn’t need to make it worse.
“Hi, Gray.”
“Hey, Morgan. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, thanks, and yourself?”
“No, that’s not why I’m calling. I don’t want to exchange pleasantries. I want to know how you’re really doing. I haven’t heard anything from you in three weeks. Did something happen on the last job? You’ve never taken leave for this long before. If you just need the rest, that’s absolutely alright, but I just wanted to check in on you, because I’m getting the impression that there’s something wrong.”
Morgan sighed. Gray had always been perceptive. It was one of the things that made her so good at her job. She didn’t really want to talk about Leigh, but maybe she should. Perhaps sharing the burden with someone else would make it easier to bear.
“I messed up, Gray. I… I fell in love with my client.”
“Oh.Well, I know all about that. Tell me what happened.”
So, Morgan told her. She told Gray everything except details of her and Leigh’s sex life. Gray listened attentively, asking only a few short questions, mostly letting Morgan talk. When Morgan was done, Gray was silent for a few moments before speaking.
“Well, you’ve certainly gotten yourself into a pickle.”
Despite everything, Morgan laughed. “Yeah, you could say that. So, what do I do?”
“You fight,” Gray said simply. “You don’t give up on the woman you love.”
“But she doesn’t want me.”
“Yes, she does. Judging by everything you’ve told me, she does. She’d just afraid. You need to show her that you’re willing to fight for her, that you’ll be there for her no matter what. Only when she knows that you’re all in will she feel safe enough to take a chance on you.”
“You earn enough to support two people, with a few lifestyle changes. Leigh is smart enough to get a scholarship to college. You could make it work. Leigh just needs to trust that you’ll be there for her, and to convince her of that after all these weeks of silence, you’ll need some kind of grand gesture.”
A grand gesture. Could Gray be right? If she showed that she would fight for Leigh, would Leigh truly choose Morgan over the life of safety she had clung to ever since she knew she was a lesbian?
“Are you sure it’ll work?”
Gray laughed. “Of course I’m not sure. That’s the thing about love—you’ve got to take a risk. It may pay off, or you may get your heart broken even more than it is now. You need to decide what’s most important to you, Morgan. Is Leigh worth risking rejection for?”
That was a stupid question. Leigh was worth every risk it was possible to take. The only question left was what gesture would be grand enough to make up for Morgan neglecting to fight for her in the first place?
Morgan smiled as an idea came to her. There was really only one thing to do.
Despite being dressed for the part, Morgan felt out of place at the charity ball. If all went well, she wouldn’t be here for long. She wasn’t here to socialize. She was here to win Leigh’s heart… Or have hers shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.
Morgan looked around the room, searching faces. Was Leigh here yet? Jake had assured her that she would be. He didn’t know what Morgan planned to do, but he had promised to keep Morgan’s inquiry from Leigh. Morgan wanted to sweep Leigh off her feet, and she wanted to do so out of nowhere, when Leigh least expected it.
There. Leigh looked resplendent in a dress of shimmering gold, just like Jake had told her. Her red hair was pinned up with loose curls around her face. Morgan fingered the cuffs of her red and gold suit. Her nerves mounted, pinning her to the floor.
Amanda was there, right next to Leigh. Of course, Morgan had known that Amanda was going to be here, but actually seeing her didn’t do anything to settle Morgan’s nerves.
She had to do it now, before she lost her nerve. Morgan forced her numb feet to move. She reached into her pocket, pulling out the red velvet box.
The sea of guests shifted and Leigh caught sight of her. Her mouth fell open, a million questions in her eyes as she watched Morgan approach.
