Page 14 of Easy To Lose

“Yup. Seems to work for both of us.” She nods her head as she gathers her bag and heads for the front door.

“Hey, wait. Let me walk you to your car.”

“You don’t have to do that,” she says, but I just give her a look that says I’m doing it anyway and that she should accept it.

When the cold air hits me, I take a deep breath as Morgan leads me towards her car that’s parked directly in front of Head Over Heels. Before she gets in, I take her arm and spin her to face me.

“What are you doing?” she asks as she leans against the car. It takes every ounce of my control not to take her lips right here like I wanted to in the gym, back before Bailey ruined everything.

“I want to let you know that I’m proud of you.” That’s not what I wanted to say exactly. What I want to say is that I think she’s the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, and that the idea of not kissing her is driving me crazy. But I hold back.

“Proud of me for sweating through this shirt and making a fool of myself?” she says jokingly, but I see a sliver of truth in her gaze. I shake my head.

“M, what you did tonight was amazing. You gave 100% on everything I threw at you, and that is something to be proud of.” She rolls her eyes, and I realize I can’t handle being this far away from her anymore. I take a step toward her and cup her face in my hands. “Nothing happens overnight. Take today as a win, okay?” She nods, but I also see desire flare in her eyes. Before I do something really stupid like tell her how perfect I think she is, or how sexy she looks all flushed and leaning her head back to meet my eyes, I lean forward and place a soft kiss on her forehead. Her intake of breath and shuddering exhale tells me everything I need to know. So I lean in and whisper one last thing in her ear. “I’ll see you later, superstar.”

I don’t wait for a response before giving her one last smile and making my way back to the gym. Just as I’m about to head inside, Morgan calls my name. When I turn, she’s standing in the exact spot I left her in.

“Thank you,” she says so softly I barely hear her. I nod and give her one last wink.

“Anytime, gorgeous.” And with that, I head back inside and hope that this is the start of Morgan realizing that she is enough.

Chapter 12

Morgan

“So, you’re telling me that man put his hands on you, told you he thinks you’re sexy, and almost kissed you…and you haven’t jumped his bones yet?” Charly has been sitting on my couch for the last twenty minutes, listening as I explain everything that’s happened over the last few weeks. Her flight came in right on time, and even though she insisted on staying at a hotel, I made her use one of my spare bedrooms. I mean, the girl did give me a job, and she’s one of my best friends.

“It’s more complicated than that, and you know it.” She pulls her dark hair into a messy bun on the top of her head and crosses her legs on the couch.

“Morgan, you need to stop letting the past cloud what could happen in your future. You know I can get Simon on the phone right now, and he’ll talk your ear off about knowing your worth…” I don’t answer her, just throw a pillow at her head. “Hey! That was uncalled for,” she says through laughter as I join her.

“I know you love your husband, but do not bring him into this!” I point my finger as I head into the kitchen to get another bottle of wine. As I make my way back into the room, she gives me a sad smile.

“What’s this really about?” Fuck. She’s way too good at reading me, and I know I won’t get out of this until I spill it.

“I went on a date,” I blurt out. Charly’s eyes bulge as she sits up straight and gets a giddy look on her face.

“What? Why is this the first time I’m hearing of this?” I shake my head, taking a swig of wine before settling and bracing myself for the onslaught of questions.

“I was set up, it wasn’t my idea,” I point out, but she just motions for me to continue as if that part of the story doesn’t matter. “Fine. So, I went out with him, and he decided to spend the entire night commenting on the amount of food I ate and telling me I should lose weight.”

“Shit…” she groans as she gets up, puts down her glass on the coffee table in front of us, and sits beside me. “That’s shitty, sweetie, but you know it’s not true, right?” I give her the side-eye, and she lightly smacks my leg. “Morgan, you are gorgeous just the way you are. And from what you’ve told me, Owen thinks so, too.” I roll my eyes because even though Owen has expressed interest, more than once, the idea still doesn’t seem plausible.

“You’re insane,” I murmur, hoping she lets up. But she doesn’t.

“Morgan, look at me.” I do, and she gives me those big hazel eyes that, in college, got us so many free drinks. “I know I won’t be able to change your mind right now. And as much as I would love to just send you to one of Simon’s retreats,”—I give her a contrite look that makes her laugh—“I know it won’t work. The only way for you to get past this is to accept yourself. And if that means working out and losing weight? Then I’m here for it. Whatever you need.”

“You know, despite how much you try and push your husband on me, you’re a great friend.” I stick out my tongue as we both laugh until we can’t anymore.

“I love you. You know that, right? No matter what you look like.” A small, shy smile crosses my lips as I lean my head on her shoulder and feel her arm wrap around me.

“And I love you despite how good you always look,” I joke, sending us both into another fit of laughter. I don’t know what I would do without her in my life.

* * *

“Morgan, this place looks amazing,” Charly says in awe as her eyes scan the room, taking in my displays. And just like I thought she would, she goes straight to the shoe display. “God, every time I see these shoes, they call to me.” She holds one of the new Louboutins I brought in last week. They are velvet with small gunmetal spikes all around the edge—and, of course, the signature red sole.

“They are amazing.” Charly takes the display and holds it in front of her face and then glances at the price tag. I start to laugh. “Charly, I know you know how much those shoes cost.” She starts to shake her head and then laughs.

---