One Christmas Night, page 6
“Is Heath going to be at your sister’s wedding?” she asked.
“I would assume so,” Morgan replied, taking a delicate gold chain from a display. “He is the brother of Chelsea’s fiancée.”
“I would just think he wouldn’t want to be at an event filled with Grandins and Lattimores.”
Yeah, Heath Thurston probably wasn’t thrilled, but Nolan was his twin and he wouldn’t let him down.
Morgan was all for family ties. She just hoped no animosity spilled over into Chelsea’s life once she and Nolan were married.
“I’m sure he’ll be on his best behavior at the wedding,” Morgan assured Sylvia.
She made a few trips to the desk with boxes of shoes and any accessory she could think of that would go with the chosen dresses.
“Let me bag all of this up for you and then I’ll help you to your car. I’ll wrap the jewelry and place it inside the shoe box that I believe will be the best pairing.”
Sylvia beamed. “You are so good to me. I’ll be sure to let you know something by tomorrow. You still have my credit information?”
Morgan nodded. “I do.”
“Wonderful. And, for what it’s worth, Ryan is quite a catch. You two would be a lovely couple.”
Great. Just what Morgan needed, the validation of Sylvia. Morgan wondered just how long it would take for word to get out that Ryan’s watch was on the floor of her boutique.
Seven
Ryan stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He’d worked damn hard today on the ranch, but no amount of manual labor could remove last night from his head.
Several times throughout the day he’d wanted to text Morgan, but he didn’t want to appear clingy. The last thing he’d ever want anyone to believe was that he was desperate. He wasn’t. But he did have every intention of getting what he wanted. There was no way he’d ever let a chance at having a family pass him by for a second time. He had a legacy to protect and an estate he wanted to leave to his namesake.
Maybe that made him sound old-fashioned like Morgan claimed, but he didn’t care. He wanted his child close and Morgan with him. Love didn’t have to enter the equation. Not all marriages were based on such fairy-tale ideals. He wasn’t looking for love and he knew she wasn’t, either, so why couldn’t they make this work?
He’d gone to her shop with every intention of talking her into marrying him, and they’d ended up naked again. Clearly they needed a chaperone because they couldn’t even have a conversation without getting intimate these days.
Ryan padded through to his adjoining walk-in closet. One side was completely bare and he had no idea why he even used this bedroom. The massive closet seemed a bit over-the-top when it only housed a few boots, hats, tees and jeans.
The doorbell echoed up to the second floor and he stilled. He wasn’t expecting anybody and he’d sent his chef home. Maybe a stable hand needed something, but they usually called or texted.
He could look at his cameras, but he’d answer the door regardless. Ryan hurriedly pulled on a pair of jeans and fastened them as he headed out of his room and down the steps leading to the foyer. He crossed the cool tile floor and reached the double doors as the doorbell chimed once again.
Ryan opened one side and Morgan jolted back, her hand going to her chest.
“Sorry. I didn’t know if you heard the first bell.”
Ryan rested his forearm on the edge of the door and leaned in as he took in her pretty little polished outfit. She’d put her hair up on top of her head and had minimal makeup, yet she looked like the sexiest woman ever. Perhaps that was because he knew exactly how she looked beneath those wide-legged pants and fitted sweater.
“I just got out of the shower.”
Her gaze traveled down his bare torso, then back up, and she attempted to square her shoulders and compose herself. Too late. That familiar hunger had already flashed in her eyes and revealed her true thoughts. Apparently they weren’t done with that aspect of their relationship...good to know.
“Sorry about that.” She cleared her throat and went on. “I thought I could swing by on my way home and drop off the watch.”
“Watch?”
She pulled a watch with a leather band from her pocket and handed it over.
“You had it?” he asked, taking the piece. “I thought I lost it in the barn or out in the field.”
Morgan pursed her lips. “I didn’t exactly find it. Sylvia Stewart found it. On the floor of my shop. I’m sure the entire town now knows that you were in my boutique and since you’re not married, everyone will think you were there to see me.”
“I was there to see you,” he defended himself, dropping his arm to his side. He took a step forward and pulled in a deep breath. “And I don’t care what Sylvia or her gossip monger friends think. We’re allowed to see each other or anything else we feel like doing.”
Morgan offered a soft smile. “That may be, but I do have a reputation as a woman and as a small business owner.”
“I understand that,” he told her, taking another step forward. “Your reputation isn’t tarnished simply because I lost my watch in your shop. What did you tell her?”
“A portion of the truth,” she stated with a shrug. “That you stopped by to help me do the heavy lifting because she had noticed that I rearranged, so it was an easy way to skirt around the rest of the story.”
The rest of the story. That made it sound like there was an ending to what they had going on, but Ryan knew they’d just gotten started. There wouldn’t be an ending, not as long as they were parents together.
Which only reminded him of another thing.
“Why don’t you come inside and we can talk.”
Morgan stared for a minute, then let out a burst of sweet laughter. “You’re kidding, right? You’re half-dressed and if I come inside, we both know what will happen.”
“You’re damn good for my ego.”
“Oh, please.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Your ego doesn’t need inflating any more. I’m just stating a fact.”
Yeah, he knew that, but he also knew they had to have some serious conversations.
“We need to talk,” he informed her. “And it’s dinnertime so stop stalling.”
Her eyes darted away and he knew he had her.
“Come in, we’ll eat in the kitchen, I’ll even put a shirt on if the sight of my mere naked chest is too much for you.”
“Wow. You really are full of yourself.” She threw up her hands and motioned for him to go inside. “I’ll come in, but we are just talking...and not about this marriage nonsense. We can discuss the baby.”
Considering the baby went hand-in-hand with the “marriage nonsense,” he would have to be careful how he wove those conversations together.
As much as he wanted her physically, that would have to wait. There had to be more to them than sex and he would have to prove to both of them that they could be more than just bedmates.
* * *
Morgan took a seat on the leather stool tucked beneath the large island in Ryan’s kitchen. As promised, he’d put a shirt on and now stood at the stove preparing...she really didn’t know what.
“I didn’t know you could cook.”
He flashed that sexy grin over his shoulder and she silently cursed the nerves that danced in her belly.
That was just hunger pains. Had to be. She wouldn’t still get all giddy over a smile after all they’d done—would she?
“I can cook,” he informed her. “You can’t live on a ranch and not know how to prepare food. There are too many mouths to feed. But I do also have a chef that comes in four days a week. He is phenomenal and you’ll weep when you try his homemade stew.”
Her stomach growled at the thought of anything homemade. It wasn’t often she had time to do much cooking or go out to a nice restaurant. Even though she’d grown up in a home with a chef, she was typically out late or working and never sat down with the rest of the family.
“Nelson also baked homemade rosemary bread this morning, so it’s fresh,” Ryan added. “Perfect timing.”
“I didn’t mean to actually come for dinner. I’m returning your watch.”
“You could have called and I would have picked it up at the shop.” He reached over and pulled out two large bowls. “But I assume you wanted to see the ranch again and I had invited you today anyway. Remember?”
Oh, she remembered.
Morgan rested her elbows on the granite and didn’t reply. While the Yellow Rose Ranch was certainly impressive, she’d grown up on a ranch herself. With her siblings and their staff, there were definitely those mouths to feed like Ryan had mentioned. But she’d never learned to cook well or for a crowd. There were always people in and out of her home, but their live-in chef had taken care of all of those needs.
Morgan didn’t hang too much with the ranch hands and once she was old enough to make her own decisions, she distanced herself from that lifestyle. Vic never understood. Neither did Chelsea, Layla, or the rest of the family. Morgan had always had a different vision than working on a ranch. She understood the legacy and the importance of it, but at the same time, that didn’t mean she had to follow in the footsteps of her family simply because it was expected of her.
And she’d keep making her own decisions now, too.
Ryan’s log-and-stone three-story house with porches all around was something to behold. It sat right in the center of Yellow Rose as if he wanted to see all of his land from anywhere inside. The man might be a working rancher, but he was still a billionaire and certainly lived like one.
She’d been around this lifestyle her entire life and wanted nothing to do with living on a ranch. But now her world would be tied to his forever.
Perhaps she could have just called and he would have come by her store to pick up his watch. Ryan had been right in saying they needed to talk, but she honestly had no clue where to start.
“Can I do something to help?”
“Just relax.” He busied himself getting drinks and setting everything on the island. “Were you busy at the store today?”
Morgan reached for her tea and stared across the counter. Ryan stared back, legit waiting on her reply and she couldn’t help but snort.
“Is that what we’re doing now?” she asked. “Pretending this is a relationship?”
Ryan took a seat across from her and reached for his fork. “I’m not pretending anything. Just asking a question. I was busy riding more fence lines today and we have one mare that’s about to deliver any day so we’ve been keeping an eye on her. One ranch hand didn’t show up for work and decided halfway through the day to text that he wasn’t coming back.”
Morgan listened to him discuss his day and knew he worked hard. Her entire family were ranchers and the amount of work that went into running a successful operation could be exhausting.
There was something to be said about a hardworking man. They were loyal and very likely trustworthy. But she didn’t know him well enough to fully trust. How could she? Before they’d fallen into bed together, all they managed to do was snipe at each other. How could she even consider a marriage of any kind if they didn’t have a foundation of trust?
Ryan had always been Vic’s friend, never hers. Until now. But were they friends? She had no idea what label to put on this unusual relationship.
Morgan pushed away the worry as she took her first bite of stew. The groan escaped her before she even realized. Then she took another and came to the conclusion Ryan’s chef was a gift from heaven.
“Good, right?” he asked with a smile.
“I don’t have the right adjective. I haven’t even tried the bread yet.”
“Nelson can turn a pile of ingredients into something magical and make it look so easy.”
“He should open a restaurant if he can cook everything this good,” she told him.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Ryan replied. “I overpay him for just that reason. I never want him to leave.”
Morgan tore off a piece of the rosemary bread and dipped it into the stew. Oh my word, how could anyone be this masterful in the kitchen?
“Is Nelson’s cooking reason enough for you to move in here and marry me?”
Morgan nearly choked on her bread. She reached for her tea and took a long drink, mostly to gather her thoughts.
“Well, you went a whole twenty minutes without bringing up your favorite topic.” She took another drink, then set her glass back down. “I can visit, but I’m not living here or marrying you.”
“I see no reason not to.” He kept his head down and focused on his dinner like this was a done deal. “A child needs both parents and as I told you yesterday, I want to not only help the baby, I want to be there for you.”
Morgan set her fork down and opened her mouth, but Ryan held his hand up.
“We’ve been through this, I know. Just hear me out.”
Nothing would change her mind, but she would let him speak before she shot down his proposal once again. She’d been raised to be respectful, so she’d let Ryan say anything he wanted while she enjoyed the most delicious meal she’d had in a long time.
“I spent the entire day thinking of a solution,” he started. “Being selfish or controlling is not my main goal here. My goal is to have my family all together and be one unit. I want my child to grow up on the ranch and learn what real work is.”
“On that we can agree,” she replied. “I don’t want my child believing he or she would always get money simply because we have it. I want them to work for it.”
“So marry me and we can build this life with the same vision.”
Morgan sighed and sat back in her leather bar stool. “A life? What kind of life is being trapped in a loveless marriage? You think you’d never want to date again or maybe find a woman you actually want to spend your life with?”
Ryan pushed away from his side of the island and came around to stand next to her. He placed a hand on the back of her stool and turned her to face him fully. Morgan swallowed at the intensity of his gaze. Ryan was completely serious about this situation and her words were not cutting through his hard head.
“I tried love once,” he explained through gritted teeth. “I still have the internal scars to prove it. I’m here for the family and the legacy, that’s it. You and I have chemistry, so why shouldn’t we try? Live here for one month. That’s all I’m asking. I know you want to challenge me at every point, but just give this idea a try and then decide.”
There was no desperation in his voice, but an underlying command. He wanted this to happen. He wanted her in his home and very likely in his bed.
“You think I’ll change my mind after a month?” she finally asked. “My stance will be the same. Neither of us deserves to be trapped in a marriage.”
“I’m not trying to trap you. I’m telling you this is for the best and once you stay here and see that, you’ll agree.”
Ryan rested his big, strong hands on her upper thighs. The man was wearing her down with his home and hearth vision and that sexy bedroom stare. She could do much worse than having Ryan Carter demand she move in and marry him. The attraction alone tempted her. The idea of spending all of her nights with Ryan heated her body and stirred her desires. Maybe she should consider being with the father of her child. They could learn to make a unit, a family.
Morgan chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought of how to answer. He didn’t lay out a bad option for the both of them to try this arrangement for a month. Perhaps if she stayed, he’d see that playing house wasn’t all that fun. If she left a towel on the floor or snored too loudly or cluttered his bathroom vanity with her beauty bottles, maybe then he’d be ready to coparent while living apart.
“One month,” she agreed. “At the end of that month, you’ll have to respect my decision to remain single and we can go back to our bickering like we’re used to.”
A corner of Ryan’s mouth kicked up. “That won’t happen, but challenge accepted.”
He covered her lips with his and Morgan’s belly quivered at the prospect of living with this potent, captivating man.
Without a doubt, the next month would prove to be memorable.
Eight
“You’re doing what?”
Vic’s voice boomed through the cell speaker and echoed in the boutique as Morgan continued to scroll through the new maternity line she’d been considering. She knew her older brother would be shocked at this news, but she couldn’t exactly keep it from him.
“You heard me,” she told him. “I’m moving in with Ryan.”
“I get that, but what the hell for?”
Yeah, that was part of the story she really didn’t want to share, but yet another aspect of her life she couldn’t exactly hide for much longer.
“Well, that’s something I’d like to discuss in person. Do you have time to run by the store? I don’t open for another thirty minutes.”
“Why do I have a feeling I’m not going to like this?” Vic asked.
Morgan clicked on an adorable A-line dress with pockets. “I don’t know if you’ll like it or not, but I’d rather not get into my personal affairs over the phone.”
“I’m on my way.”
He disconnected the call and Morgan went to unlock the front door. Vic was just down the street getting some supplies for the Grandin ranch when he called and Morgan had dropped the bomb. She didn’t want him to hear about her living situation or pregnancy from anyone else and this would be news that would blast through town faster than a wildfire.
And as far as the baby news, she had to tell him. Out of all of her siblings, she had always been closest to Vic and she knew he would support her and be there for her no matter what. Besides, Chelsea already knew so this would only be fair.
