Page 27 of Pretend

“It would have been nice to work on this house together, but I guess now’s not a good time,” Eric said as they made their way downstairs.

“No, it’s not,” Morgan murmured weakly as she found herself glancing over her shoulder at the small hallway that probably led to-

It didn’t matter where it led, Morgan told herself with a firm nod because she couldn’t stay. She couldn’t. She’d already pushed everything back a week and she couldn’t afford to miss any more time. She had several projects waiting for her in Florida, a new apartment that her very considerate boss had been kind enough to rent to her, and the life that she’d always wanted.

She couldn’t wait to leave, Morgan told herself as she forced herself to head towards the front door and kept reminding herself of all the reasons that she couldn’t stay until finally, she had her hand on the doorknob and, after releasing a shaky breath, nodded to herself, and swallowed hard as she struggled not to look back, she turned the doorknob and-

“It would have been nice to restore the house, but I guess some things just aren’t meant to be,” Eric said, sighing heavily as she found herself nodding numbly as she forced herself to open the door, knowing that this was for the best.

She-

“I was hoping to find that secret room,” Eric said as she forced herself to do what needed to be done.

CHAPTER17

“Just give me five more minutes! That’s all I need!” the small woman struggling to crawl back beneath the staircase pleaded, making it really fucking difficult to hold onto her.

“That’s what you said an hour ago,” Eric pointed out, unable to help but chuckle as he tightened his hold around the squirming woman that lost it when he said the magical words that he knew would break her.

Not that he really thought there was a secret room built into this house, but she didn’t need to know that and definitely not now that he knew that he’d been right. She was definitely pulling away from him and he-

“And this time, I mean it!” Morgan promised as she wiggled in his arms, desperate to find a secret room that wasn’t there.

“And you said that last time,” Eric pointed out as he gave up trying to drag her away and threw her over his shoulder.

“Oh, come on!” she said as he turned around and headed back upstairs, only to sadly mumble, “I was so close,” against his back.

“You also said that when you got stuck in the fireplace,” Eric said as he shifted the small bundle hanging over his shoulder as he made his way down the long, dimly lit hallway.

“I know,” came the sad mumble and sniffle that had him smiling as he carried her into the room that had been set up for them and into the bathroom that was going to have to wait to be renovated until after they got to the rest of the house and set her down on her feet.

“I like the tub,” Morgan mumbled absently as her gaze shifted to the large bathtub before it immediately shifted back to the bathroom door and turned calculating.

She was honestly too fucking adorable for words, Eric thought as he reached over and plucked her glasses off her nose and carefully placed them on the small counter near his shaving kit before shifting his attention back to the woman about to make a run for it. With a heartfelt sigh, he plucked her off the floor, ignored her sadly mumbled, “Why are you doing this to me?” and carried her over to the large shower stall in the corner that looked at least twenty years past its prime and set her back down on her feet.

When she opened her mouth, most likely to make promises that they both knew that she wasn’t going to keep, Eric said, “No,” as he reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose, mostly to hide the smile that was threatening to break free as she narrowed her eyes on him. “I’ll remember this.”

“I’m sure you will,” Eric said, gesturing for her to get on with it.

That was followed by Morgan clearing her throat, throwing another calculating look at the bathroom door, and then finally, her shoulders slumped and she began grumbling to herself as she grabbed a large towel off the shelf. Taking that as his cue to leave, Eric headed back to the bedroom and closed the door behind him as his gaze shifted to the bed and-

There was no point in tormenting himself, not tonight, Eric told himself as he headed past the bed and made his way to the sleeping bag that he’d set up against the wall earlier. He had a plan, Eric reminded himself as his gaze shifted back to that bed as he thought about just how fucking badly he wanted to hold Morgan in his arms.

Christ, he would give absolutely-fucking anything to hold her, Eric thought as he forced himself to look away. He had a plan, he reminded himself as he reached back and grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled it off while he toed off his boots. He needed to get things back to the way that they used to be and he needed a miracle because he didn’t think that he would survive if he fucked this up again.

He-

“Don’t even think about it,” Eric said when he heard the soft click of the bathroom door, letting him know that the little pain in the ass was trying to make a run for it.

That was followed by a grumble, the sound of the bathroom door closing again, and the sound of the shower turning on a few seconds later. Chuckling, Eric pulled his belt loose and unsnapped his fly before shoving his pants down and dropped down on the sleeping bag with a sigh as the exhaustion that he’d been trying to ignore for the past week finally caught up with him.

All he wanted to do was pass out, but that wasn’t an option, not with the woman wrapped in a towel grumbling to herself as she stumbled out of the bathroom and headed for her bags, only to stop mid-grumble, perk up, and with a devious look that was honestly too fucking adorable for words, made her way to the bags that Uncle Jared dropped off for him. He watched as she helped herself to one of his tee-shirts before grabbing a pair of panties from her bag and made her way back to the bathroom with a satisfied sigh.

As much as he loved seeing her in a nightgown, and god, she was so fucking beautiful, Eric loved seeing her in one of his shirts more. He missed the days when she used to steal his tee-shirts and sweatshirts. He used to leave his sweatshirts where she could steal them just so that he could watch her do it, simply because she was so fucking bad at it, Eric thought, closing his eyes only to grunt when the little bully shoved his legs out of the way seconds later.

Opening his eyes, Eric watched as Morgan reached over him and grabbed his backpack so that she could help herself to one of the legal pads that he always made sure that he packed for her along with a pen before dropping the bag on the floor next to him. That was followed by Morgan pausing to push her glasses back up her nose, shifting to get comfortable, and then…

“What do we know about the house?” Morgan murmured absently, letting him know that it was time to get to work.

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