Page 33 of Easy To Lose

“I know you won’t believe me, but I was trying to protect her. My ex was trying to blackmail me, and by extension, Morgan. I didn’t want any of it to touch her, so I tried to deal with it myself.”

“And how did that work out for you?” When I don’t respond, he sighs. “Owen, I know you love her. I know you did what you did to protect her, even though you went about it all wrong.” I roll my eyes and scroll through flight after flight, trying to find the earliest one possible. “But that girl loves you. And if you get here and talk to her, I guarantee that you will be able to work things out.”

“How are you so sure?” I ask, not knowing why he has confidence in me or Morgan’s ability to forgive me.

“Because when I talk to Morgan, I can see she’s hurting. But behind the anger and sadness is still love. She’s torn between wanting to hate you and knowing she loves you. She just needs an explanation for what you did.” God, I hope I get the chance to give her one.

“I found a flight. I’ll be there by tonight,” I mutter, feeling my heart start to race, and my hands begin to clam up.

“Good.” He rattles off his address so I know where to go before he says, “I hope she forgives you. But remember, she has every right not to.” He hangs up before I have a chance to respond. And honestly, what could I have said? He’s right, I just need to find a way to explain everything without fucking everything up—again.

* * *

I get to the gym and open the door to find Matt leaning back in the chair behind the desk, throwing a tennis ball into the air.

“Am I interrupting?” I ask, chuckling as he almost falls over at the sound of my voice.

“Way to scare a guy to death,” he mutters, throwing the ball in my direction. I catch it easily and throw it back. “What are you doing here? I thought you’d still be bothering Morgan’s parents, trying to figure out where she is.”

“I know where she is. That’s why I’m here.” He gets up and walks around the side of the desk, stopping directly in front of me.

“Well? Where is she?” No matter what he says, he’s been worried these last few days, too. He knows how much Morgan means to me, and when everything went down, and he saw how badly I reacted to the whole thing, he became invested.

“New Orleans.” His eyes widen as he leans against the desk.

“Why the hell is she there? That’s like three states away!”

“Yes, thank you, Captain Obvious.”

“Why did she go there?” I remind him Charly lives there and understanding begins to sink in. “Okay, so you’re going after her, right?” he says, absentmindedly playing with the ball in his hands.

“Of course. I just wanted to come in and make sure you were okay with it.” He gives me a look, telling me it’s a stupid question, but I shake it off. “Plus, I needed to go over my schedule for the next couple of days and cancel a few appointments.” Matt shakes his head.

“Don’t cancel anything. I’ll take your clients for the next few days.”

“No way. You’ve been booked solid since we opened. You can’t take on my shit, too.” He waves me off and goes back around the desk, turning on the computer. After a few minutes of silence, he types a few things and then sits back in the chair with his hands behind his head.

“Done. You now have no appointments until next week.” I must not hide my surprise well because he laughs, leaning forward on the desk. “Dude, I love doing this. I know the clients that can change days and times, so I emailed them and asked if they could. Now, no matter what they say, I will make it work. Go get your girl and bring her back here, because I think Becca next door needs a break—or a night out.” I laugh, shaking my head. “Plus, you are not very fun when you’re like this. So, please, get her and come home happy, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

* * *

I pull into the driveway of a cute yellow house that looks like it’s something out of a catalogue. From what little I know about Charly, it suits her. As I step out of my car, the front door opens, and when Simon steps out, my heart drops. I was hoping it would be Morgan, but I know that would have been the best-case scenario. This is reality.

“Where’s Morgan?” I ask, walking up the front steps and onto the porch. Simon puts out his hand, and I grasp it.

“Out for lunch with Charly. They should be back soon. You got here quick,” he says, looking at his watch. I took the first flight I found that got me here as quickly as possible. I didn’t even have time to find a hotel. I just rented a car, punched in this address, and drove, knowing that the faster I got here, the sooner I could see Morgan.

“Yeah, I didn’t really want to chance getting here tomorrow, so I booked the first flight I saw.” He nods, just as a car pulls into the driveway. “That them?” I ask, not turning around. I don’t want to risk Morgan running, or worse, asking Charly to drive away.

“Yeah, you can turn around. She knows it’s you.” His head nods toward the car, and as I turn around and my eyes catch Morgan’s, everything around me stops. Fuck, she looks so beautiful. In her rolled-up blue jeans, flowy white tank top, and her hair in that messy bun that drives me crazy, she looks stunning.

Before I have a chance to say a word, she raises her hand, stopping me from talking. Simon chuckles behind me and whispers, “Good luck, man,” as he and Charly head inside.

“What are you doing here?” Morgan asks, standing a good six feet from me as I desperately try to control my need to take steps toward her.

“Simon called—” I start as her eyes dart to the front window where I know both Simon and Charly are watching. “He just wanted me to know that you were okay, and he told me to come and get you.” Her eyes narrow as if what I just said offends her somehow.

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