Page 70 of A Whole New Trick

It’s too late.

“Oh, yeah?” Mom’s eyes sparkle. “Do tell.”

I sigh. There’s no avoiding this now.

I do my best to paint a favorable picture of Morgan and me when I tell my mom how I first saw Morgan at Carter’s party and regretted not talking to her. Then, I tell her about seeing Morgan again at the club.

Eli snorts when I gloss over us making out on the dance floor, and Mom gasps when I tell her about the misunderstanding that led to us not speaking for months.

“But now you’re together?” she asks after I finish telling her about our fake dating arrangement to deter her asshole ex from giving her a hard time.

“Now we’re together,” I say with a smile.

“See, Mom?” Eli chuckles. “See that grin? The guy’s been smiling nonstop since Morgan waltzed back into his life. He’s got it bad.”

I don’t deny it. There’s no point.

I do have it bad for Morgan Caldwell—so bad that I’m just as eager to get back to Dallas for her as I am for the playoff game that will take me one step closer to achieving a lifelong goal.

“Hm.” Mom’s gaze is soft. “I can see that.”

I rub the back of my neck. “Yeah. Morgan is special.”

“I can’t wait to meet her. Maybe you can bring her to Minnesota when the season ends.”

The thought of bringing Morgan back to my hometown—opening myself up to her in a way I haven’t done since Chelsea—should make me nervous. We haven’t dated long. We should take things slow.

But I’ve never been interested in doing what I should with Morgan Caldwell, and I’m not about to start now.

“Yeah, Mom. That would be great.”

22

MORGAN

“Wait.Wait. Wait. You’re sleeping with Dane Larson. And you’re justnowtelling us?” Valerie squeals.

I duck my head to avoid the interested smirks of the young professionals sitting at the bar table next to us. “Yes. Not so loud.”

The young woman shimmies in her chair. “I knew that whole fake relationship thing would lead to this. How could it not? You’re both hot, and the sparks between you are…whew.” Valerie fans herself.

I shake my head but can’t fight off my smile. “I never should have told you.”

“Why not?” She feigns offense. “I’m a steel trap.”

“Yeah, she kept her feelings for Carter so secret she didn’t even know about them,” Carlee chimes in, teasing his brother’s girlfriend.

Valerie flushes. “That’s not true. I always knew. I just fought the feelings because, well, you know, he was myboss.”

Valerie was Carter’s nanny, but when their relationship hit a roadblock, she moved to California to work as the CFO for a friend who started a company. By all accounts, she’s kicking ass out there, but I’m ready for her to move back to Dallas. Havinganother girl in the group is nice—someone who is no-drama and cool as hell. And who makes my best friend’s brother so happy.

“But we’re not talking about me,” Valerie clips. Dark eyes narrow with determination as they focus on me once more. “You still haven’t told us how it happened. When did you and Dane decide to make things official?”

I squirm in my chair.

Carlee watches me with just as much interest as Valerie. I’ve been so busy with work and spending time with Dane that I haven’t even shared this story with my best friend, mostly because I never admitted to running into him at the club that night.

“Well, actually… you see… that’s kind of a long story.” I take a deep breath, preparing myself for their inevitable shock and dismay when I finally confess what happened between me and Dane all those months ago.

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