Page 56 of Pretend

“It really does,” Morgan said, deciding that perhaps now would be a good time to make a run for it.

“And the moving truck that showed up with orders to move everything that you own and bring it down to Florida? The same one that I was forced to turn away?”Uncle Jared drawled, making her wince.

“Was unfortunate?” Morgan mumbled hollowly.

“And the fact that they came on the day that Eric was supposed to get married?”

For a moment, she stood there, feeling sick to her stomach at the reminder that Eric was supposed to marry another woman and-

“Please don’t tell him,” Morgan said as she pulled a chair out and dropped down on it before her legs gave out.

“He has the right to know,”Uncle Jared said, slowly exhaling.“Does he know that you’re in love with him, Morgan?”

“I don’t know,” Morgan mumbled sadly.

“Are you going to tell him?”Uncle Jared managed to ask the one question that she wasn’t sure about anymore.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Morgan said, really hoping that he would let this go so that she could figure out how she was going to-

“Then, I will.”

CHAPTER30

It was time to take matters into his own hands, Eric decided as he watched the small woman that had barely said two words to him since she let him know that they had to return back to the real world sooner than he’d planned.

They had a week left and he didn’t want to waste a single fucking minute of it.

Never taking his eyes off her, Eric tossed the old thermostat in the cardboard box that he was using as a trashcan as he made his way across the large barn to the old workbench that Morgan had taken over. God, she was fucking beautiful, Eric thought as he ran his eyes over her, taking in the way that she worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she stared down at the sketchbook on her lap, the way that her glasses slowly slid down her nose, and the floral sundress that looked incredible on her before his gaze found its way to the black wedding band on her finger.

A week.

He had one fucking week, Eric reminded himself as he stepped between Morgan’s legs and-

Groaned when he was met with a kiss that made it really fucking difficult to remember why he came in here. He had a plan, Eric reminded himself, one that he’d been forced to adjust to meet this new time frame. They had one week left here before they needed to go back, sign papers to officially make this house theirs, sell Baker House for an indecent amount of money, and move their asses to turn Baker House back into a hotel and finish the projects that they were contracted for and then…

They were walking away and starting over.

When he came up with the plan to work on this house, it was just something that would give him a chance to show Morgan how good it could be between them. He’d planned on spending the next month working on this house while he did everything in his power to make her fall in love with him before it was time to go home. He’d planned on coming back every weekend to work on this house until it was finished, but now…

He wanted that future with her that he’d never allowed himself to hope for. He wanted everything with Morgan, children, a dog, every-fucking thing and he wanted all of those things with her here.

For the next week, he planned on doing everything that he could to sweep Morgan off her feet so that there was absolutely no doubt in her mind that he loved her. He never wanted her to think that she was anything less than the love of his life. They were going to sell their townhouses, give their contracts to Uncle Jared, relocate Bradford Remodeling here, and he was going to marry her so that he could spend the rest of his life showing her just how fucking much he loved her.

Until then…

“You disappeared,” Eric said, brushing his lips against hers one last time before he reluctantly pulled away.

“Because I couldn’t focus in that house,” Morgan murmured absently as her gaze went back to the sketch that she was working on.

“The secret room?” he asked in a teasing tone.

“It taunts me,” Morgan said with a sniffle as he moved to the side so that he could get a better look at what she was working on.

“I bet it does,” Eric murmured, taking in the incredibly beautiful staircase, the hardwood floors, and the double doors that led to the living room and den before he looked up to find Morgan blinking at him.

“Why are you in here instead of making all of my renovation dreams come true?” she asked, pushing her glasses back up.

“Because I’ve been wondering about something,” Eric said, watching as panic slowly started to take over and-

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