She wasn't able to keep it from her father. He was more observant than she gave him credit for and the moment she had changed her routine, Bert knew it was more than a business meeting. Of course, she decided to go with painted-on jeans, instead of a skirt and that helped give her away. Finally, she confessed her plan for the evening—well, part of the plan. Her father didn't need to be privy to everything, after all. To her surprise, he didn't argue with her or demand to accompany her. Instead, he just said to bring him home some pizza.As she stood in the kitchen saying goodbye, she shifted in place, pulling down on the pant legs of her jeans in an attempt to keep them from riding up into her crotch. Her father chuckled from a chair at the kitchen table. She arched an eyebrow at him. "What?""I was wondering why you chose that outfit to begin with, if you were so uncomfortable, and then I remembered who you were going to see.""What does that mean? I wore jeans in case Mr. Brewer need
Morgan stared at her, still wiping his hands on the towel. "What do you mean? I'm fixing your dad's bathroom. What do you think is going on?"The other woman stepped into the kitchen, a soft smile on her face. "I think I know what she thinks is going on," she said. "And you're wrong," the woman added, directing her last statement at Jacqui.Morgan glanced at the other woman—the stranger—and then back at Jacqui. His expression remained confused a moment longer, and then the light bulb went off, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. "Oh…No!" He smiled as he took a step toward her. "Jacqui, I assure you that isn't what's happening here. This is Faith Greer," he said gesturing to the other woman. "We flew her in from the Brevard office to train my new staff. She's just keeping me company instead of being cooped up in her hotel room." He reached for Jacqui, tossing the towel onto the counter and placing his hands on her upper arms. "There's nothing exciting going on here except her handing
A knot formed in Jacqui's stomach as she entered the kitchen and noticed how beautiful the other woman was, her wheaten hair, her slim, yet curvy figure, firm breasts, and a smile that dropped a person's defenses. She looked beautiful—and not angry at Jacqui. Instead, Faith walked around the counter and took her hand. "Hi there. My name's Faith. Morgan's told me so much about you and, for the record, I told him he needed to warn you, but when do men ever listen."Jacqui smiled back, squeezing Faith's hand in greeting. "They don't. And I'm sorry my mind went…"Faith just laughed. "It's Morgan. My mind would've gone there as well. I love the blouse you have on, by the way. It's gorgeous.""It is at that," Morgan said, looking Jacqui up and down for the first time since she arrived. "Not your typical business attire. I'm glad you decided to relax some." His eyes settled on her cleavage and lingered a moment, a grin spreading across his lips. "I like it. Now I wish I would've left Faith a
Allowing her father to wheel himself ahead of her, she passed through the doors of Sharkie's, a small bar off Popp's Ferry with a rustic motif and an ancient feeling about it. Standing there a moment to allow her eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, she tried scanning the faces for Morgan or Lily, or anyone else she knew for that matter. While she had driven past the place a few times, she had never been inside, and unlike the bar she visited out by I-10, this one she could appreciate. The booths were quaint with leather couches and the tables were of an old finish that glistened when they were polished. The clientele was also of a higher caliber and not leftovers from the day labor place. "Jacqui!" Glancing in the direction her name had been shouted from, she spotted Morgan waving as he crossed the room to meet her. Behind him, she noticed Faith, Lily, Kari, Vince, and a few others she had not met yet. Faith's sendoff party had a decent turnout, it seemed. Her stomach did a small curl
Faith began telling Bert about life on the East Coast, Morgan filling in his comments here and there, as Jacqui half-listened. Her mind drifted to her parents, specifically her father at the moment. He just insinuated that he was having sex with Sophia and it wasn't so much that it bothered Jacqui because it was her housekeeper, but because her father had moved on with his life. He lost his wife only a year before she had lost Marc, and yet, here he was joking around about being with another woman. She knew he loved her mother. She witnessed his grief at her passing while she was deep in the throes of her own mourning over the loss of her mother. Yet, here he was getting on with his life while she was struggling with being stuck in the past. She couldn't just up and leave the memory of Marc and all they had shared, even though another great man stood in front of her, wanting to take the next step with her. Truth was, she wanted to take that step as well, but still had bouts of guilt ab
A knock came at Jacqui's office door and before she could give permission to enter, Lily sashayed in, her hands clasped in front of her. "I just thought I'd check on you, see if you needed stronger coffee…some aspirin…an ear to tell how the rest of your night went." Her eyebrows bounced up and down as her tongue grazed over her lips.Jacqui just laughed. "I'm not the one who went home with someone last night. I should be asking you for the dirty details." Lily had taken Faith back to her hotel at the casino before the party at Sharkie's ended. When Jacqui questioned Morgan about it, wondering about Faith being married, his response had been "Describing Faith's relationship is a lot more complicated than just saying she's married." Jacqui wasn't exactly sure what that meant and was afraid to ask for an explanation. However, when Lily arrived at work that morning, the personal assistant was in the best mood she had been in for a while. Of course, she said the same thing about Jacqui that
Morgan stepped out of his office, pulling his keys from his pocket. He was leaving early, but he had promised Jacqui he would have her father's place finished tonight and he still had a few more things to finish up. With the farewell party last night for Faith, he was still a little behind. Kari and the others were still at their desks, working on the inventory that had been delivered to the warehouse earlier. The Maggie Karston Community Center would be breaking ground Monday morning and Rutherford Construction was ready to get to work. Neal would be proud, and Jacqui could finally see that everything he said about his company was true. She'd be proud as well.And she'd be surprised. Neal had agreed to make him in charge of the area as long as he agreed to help branch out all over Mississippi. That was one obstacle hurdled. He'd reach out to Jeannie after the groundbreaking and start the custody discussions. Of course, all of that was centered around Jacqui's reaction to him staying i
One of the things Morgan enjoyed about working with his hands was that it left his mind free to travel its own paths of thought, which was good because there was quite a bit going through his mind at the moment. He role-played the conversation he was going to have with Jacqui about his decision to stay in Biloxi, trying to predict every question or objection that would come up. He wanted to be prepared for every detour of the conversation or reaction she might have. Then, he worried he was making a major mistake. He had been married twice and royally screwed those relationships up. Of course, he wasn't the same man he was back then. He had never ceased chasing skirts before and yet, with Jacqui, he didn't want her love while he was checking out another woman's ass. He wanted Jacqui. Period.Morgan old man, perhaps you've finally grown up.He finished installing the ramp on the back porch, leading down to the yard, and went inside to wash his hands and grab one of the beers he had broug