Page 12 of Pretend

He watched as she cleared her throat and tried for a hopeful smile for the driver, only to have the man that hadn’t been happy about stopping here in the first place send her a glare that had her following that up by clearing her throat again, shifting, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she looked from the mess in the front seat, to him and-

Grumbled when Eric reached over and grabbed her hand, giving her no choice but to come closer and, after one last grumble, she climbed into the backseat. He watched as she reluctantly sat down on his lap, only to shift forward until she was sitting on his knees and was forced to grab onto the back of the front passenger seat with a startled grunt when the driver pulled into the lane only to slam on the breaks when another car cut them off seconds later.

She really was a pain in the ass, Eric thought with a heartfelt sigh as he wrapped his arms around Morgan and pulled her back against him. When he felt her go still, he had to bite back another sigh as he thought about the last time that she sat on his lap. They’d been eleven years old, maybe ten? His father picked them up from detention after an unfortunate incident that occurred in the cafeteria after they ran out of chicken nuggets and he was forced to take matters into his own hands, and only had enough room in front for one of them.

When Morgan tried to climb into the back of the truck filled with debris from the house that his father had been renovating, Eric had been forced to drag her out from beneath the pile of rubble and pull her onto his lap, where she sat rigid the entire ride home. She’d never been big on PDA. Hell, he couldn’t even remember the last time that she hugged him.

Morgan liked her personal space, had since they were kids, which meant that Eric, of course, went out of his way to torment her every chance he got. If she was sitting on the couch, he’d drop down next to her, throw his arm over her shoulders and take pleasure in her glaring. When he used to sleep over at her house, not that she’d invited him, he hogged her bed, forcing her to either sleep somewhere else or shove him off the bed. God, she was the cutest fucking thing trying to roll him off the bed at two in the morning, Eric thought on a wistful sigh as he used his hold around her to pull her closer.

When she shot a pointed look at his arm, Eric ignored it as he savored the feel of finally having Morgan back in his arms. She was small, soft in all the right places, and, god, she felt so fucking good in his arms, Eric thought as he closed his eyes and dropped his head back, beyond fucking exhausted. It had been a long fucking time since either one of them had taken a real vacation. It had also been way too long since they’d been able to relax, Eric thought as he gently ran his thumb over Morgan’s arm, absently noting just how soft her skin was.

“Just so you know, I hate you,” Morgan mumbled, shifting on his lap to get comfortable, only to go still when he reached up and patted her on the head.

“You adore me,” Eric reminded her, chuckling when she swatted his hand away. She grumbled something else, shifted, and released a long-suffering sigh that had him smiling as he slowly exhaled, telling himself that this trip was exactly what he needed.

CHAPTER8

“There’s a problem with the room,” came the angrily muttered announcement that had Morgan quickly closing her sketchbook and shoving it back in her backpack, clearing her throat, and doing her best to look innocent as she looked up at Eric and found him glaring down at her.

“What was that?” Eric demanded as he folded his obscenely large arms over his chest.

“What was what?” Morgan asked, blinking up at him as she dropped her backpack on the floor and casually kicked it back, knowing better than to answer that question.

For a moment, Eric stood there, his gaze flickering from her to the bag hidden behind her legs several times before his eyes narrowed dangerously on her. Since she knew that she was seconds away from an interrogation, one that wouldn’t end well for her, Morgan cleared her throat and murmured, “What were you saying about a problem with the room?” hoping that it would be enough to distract him for now.

Morgan watched as a small muscle in his jaw twitched as he bit out, “She canceled the room.”

“Who?” Morgan asked, unable to help but frown as she tried to figure out what he was talking about.

“Amber,”Eric bit out, but then again, that’s really all he needed to say.

Sighing heavily, because really, they should have seen this one coming, Morgan stood up and moved to handle this, only to pause long enough to kick her bag behind all the shopping bags that she’d been struggling to ignore before she made her way to the front desk. When the admittedly nervous-looking desk clerk looked up at her, Morgan went with the warm smile that she reserved for when it was time to give clients their bills.

“I’m very sorry, Mr. Bradford, but there’s nothing that I can do,” the clerk said when Eric joined them.

When Eric opened his mouth, most likely to let the small woman shifting nervously behind the counter know exactly what he thought about this situation, Morgan released a heartfelt sigh along with a sad shake of her head as she discreetly raised her foot and-

Was forced to bite back a smile when Eric released a pained grunt and forced herself to focus on the problem at hand. With that in mind, Morgan said, “I should have known that she wasn’t going to take this well.”

At the clerk’s questioning look, Morgan said, “My best friend,” only to pause so that she could worry her bottom lip between her teeth before adding, “I guess ex-best friend now that Eric had to let her down after she professed her undying love for him during the ceremony.”

That was followed by a well-placed sniffle and a sadly mumbled, “She was like a sister to me.”

“Jesus Christ,” Eric muttered at the same time that the clerk mumbled, “Oh, my God, that’s horrible,” as her expression softened.

Nodding solemnly, Morgan said, “I’m afraid that she didn’t take it well, bless her heart,” while she watched the clerk looking really torn as she glanced over her shoulder at the door behind her before once again glancing back at her computer and, after one last look and a nod that looked promising, she picked up the phone.

“Let me talk to the manager and see if there’s anything that we can do,” she said, giving them a reassuring smile.

“What the hell are you doing?” Eric whispered in her ear, his warm breath teasing the back of her neck, sending goosebumps racing across her skin.

“Shut up and look at me adoringly!” Morgan hissed softly as she did her best to look heartbroken when the clerk’s gaze flickered in their direction.

There was a long-suffering sigh, and then, Eric was wrapping his arm around her and pulling her against his side as he leaned down and pressed his lips against the top of her head with a murmured, “It’s a curse being this irresistible,” while Morgan did her best not to roll her eyes.

“The manager is going to see if there’s anything that he can do,” the clerk said with a sympathetic smile as she hung up the phone seconds before the door behind her opened and an older man wearing a black suit and a silver nametag with the name “Manchester” engraved on it joined them.

“I understand there’s been a mix-up with your room,” the man that Morgan was assuming was the manager said with a warm smile.

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