Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (31 page)

“Hey,
how are you?” he replied with a smile. She got an idea.
Test
the water first.

“I'm
doing great. Could use a coffee though, you know of any good shops
around? Maybe you could take me?” She twirled her hair
playfully, hoping her bait was good enough,waiting to hear his
response.
C'mon, I'm sure you have something brilliant to say.
“I'm staying with my sick grandmother, maybe I can take you
next week?”

“Ah,
there is a pretty good coffee shop 'round the way. If you get a cab,
tell him to take you to Red Roof. He'll know of it,” the man
replied.
That's it? I have to try again.

“Aw,
I was hoping you'd show me, this is my first time here...” She
looked back to the belt and saw her pink bags coming around.

“Sorry,
I'm meeting a woman that I plan on taking out for a nice evening.
Then again, she'll probably be knackered...I'll probably let her
sleep...”
Aww, he wants to take me out, and he'd let me
sleep...and oh my god, he rambles, just like me!

“Well,
Lucas, I am tired, but I'd still love to get a coffee with you,”
she told him with a wide smile and outstretched her hand, introducing
herself. The look of surprise on his face was enough to make Morgan
laugh, breaking her grumpy, tired, caffeine-deprived mood.

Chapter
Six

“London
is so beautiful! I never imagined it would be this...beautiful!”
Morgan's entire body was turned toward the window as she watched the
ancient buildings pass before her eyes. She was already fifteen
minutes into their drive before she remembered to dig her camera out
of her bag.

“Stop
here.” Lucas told the driver that they would only be a few
moments, and he got out then ran to Morgan's side, opening the door
for her to join him. “If the lady want's photos, then the lady
shall have them.” He waved his arm in a grand gesture, and
walked her to a large black wrought iron fence along the walkway.
Morgan laughed at his theatrical walk, and managed a clumsy curtsey
before turning around. It was a sweet gesture, one that she promised
herself to write in the scrapbook when she left.

“Oh
my God! It's....it's Big Bill! It's...wow! Holy shit!” Morgan
hadn't even noticed the huge clock in front of her until she turned
around. She had already snapped two pictures of the building before
Lucas could correct her.

“No,
love. It's Big Ben,” he spoke as he came behind her and took
the camera from her little fingers, then gestured for her to turn
around so he could get a picture of her in front of the large tower.
“Big Ben is just the nickname for the clock, but the whole
thing,” he gestured toward the buildings after snapping the
photo, “are the Houses of Parliament.”

“Wow.”
She hadn't even heard a word he had just said. All she knew was that
it was beautiful and she watched for a few moments, being mesmerized
by its beauty. She took a few more pictures of the park across the
street and the few shops behind her, then they got back into the
taxi.

“Don't
worry, I'll bring you back when you're rested and we'll spend the
whole day getting pictures of whatever you like,” Lucas told
her when they were moving again.

“Oh,
if I didn't get to see anything else, I'd be happy. Big Bill, I can't
believe it!” She shook her head, still in disbelief. Lucas
smiled at her mistake again, but didn't offer another correction.

She
managed to snag a few more photos through the window of the car, some
of the old fashioned red phone booths that she found to be just the
cutest things in the world, and some of the statues and even pictures
of the doors of the apartments. She didn't understand why the knobs
were in the middle of the door, or how that even worked, but it made
for a set of neat pictures.

When
Lucas asked her if she still wanted the coffee or would rather he
call ahead and have some ready for when they arrived at his home, she
opted for the latter of the choices. She also hoped he had a
fireplace because it was cold and she didn't have nearly enough
clothing on.

Pulling
into the large cobblestone circular drive, Morgan was just as amazed
as she was in the center of town.
Class two? Two and a half?
His home was old, very old, and held a regal feel that she had
experienced in some of the places during her long drives with Finlay.

She
had a feeling what she would find inside, and she wasn't
disappointed. The entire brick home held antique furniture and
artifacts that would rival any museum in England. There wasn't a
chair in sight that she would be willing to sit on, nor a wall
hanging that she wanted to step too close to. “This is
amazing.” Her words traveled across the large front room and
brought a smile to her client's face.

“Will!”
Lucas called for a man that stepped out of the kitchen, and asked
him to take her bags to the bedroom. Morgan was about to tell them
both that she could handle it herself, seeing that the butler looked
to be too old and frail to even handle her carry on, but the little
man grabbed the luggage from the floor, and easily carried it all
away in one trip. “Don't worry, Will wouldn't have it any
other way.” Morgan's face heated and she nodded, knowing that
she still had to work on showing her every thought.

Lucas
just laughed quietly then helped her with her coat, then led her to
the large kitchen in the back of the house. The first thing Morgan
noticed was the large brick fireplace, still functional, that took up
half of the right side of the room. Obviously, she thought, it was
the only place that food had been cooked in earlier years. It was
almost as if she could picture how the room would have been back when
the home was first built. The rest of the kitchen was more modern,
but not by much, as it still held the look and feel of antiquity that
she found completely charming. However, she still planned to stay
away from everything as much as possible, she was still Morgan, after
all.

There
was a small table for two in a sunlit breakfast nook that already had
their tea and coffee ready for them. There were also biscuits, as
far as Morgan could tell, and a few other things that she didn't
recognize. Lucas helped her in her chair, then took his seat across
from her. He was the perfect gentleman, yet still friendly enough to
make the situation comfortable.

“I
guess you're curious as to why you're here?” He pushed her
coffee closer to her hands, and leaned back in his chair with his
tea. It was true, she always wanted to know the answer to that
question, but she wasn't one to pry. The main reason for her company
was obvious, but the reason behind it was always something that she
wondered about.

“Well,
yeah...I am curious. But, you don't have to tell me if you don't
want to.” Her smile said something different, and she took a
sip and settled in comfortably as she waited for his reason. It was
also the perfect opportunity to just relax and look at the man.
Hmm
I thought your eyes were blue...
She liked that he smiled so
much, but she hoped it wasn't just nervous tension, because the man
was clearly still a little uptight.
Green, dark green. Nice.
Kennedy jaw, that's what Gran would have called it.
His squared
jawline made his smile even more attractive, and she almost laughed
as she wondered if he had family somewhere in the prior President's
family line. His hair was light brown, and very short on the sides,
but the top was longer and would offer just enough length to run her
hands through..

“I
travel quite a bit, date when I can, but sometimes I just want
someone to....well....be with. I'm not usually in a place long
enough to form any sort of relationship, so...”

“I
get it.” She smiled and nodded, letting the man know that if
he had any guilt for hiring her, it was unnecessary. “You want
some fun, sex, and a few days with no commitments. There's nothing
wrong with that, Lucas.” For Morgan, it was the reason that
most men had for using her services, but there were exceptions along
the way. “This coffee is really good, by the way,” she
added, hoping to change the awkward subject.

“Glad
to hear it. It's not as good as Red Roof though. I'll take you
there.” Morgan let out a soft, inaudible sigh. It seemed as if
her turmoil from the week prior was finally behind her and she looked
forward to spending the week with such a sweet man.

“That
would be nice. I'm kind of a coff...oh!” The massive sheepdog
had found Morgan, and in an ungraceful manner. His big head plopped
onto her lap, his snout held evidence that he had just drank water,
as his wet beard soaked through her jeans. “Well, hello!”
She pushed the long hair from his eyes and his head raised up and
leaned in toward her hands, urging her to get the sweet spot behind
his ear.

“Maxwell,
down!” Lucas pointed at the dog who has just taken his greeting
a step further and jumped up to where both of his front paws were on
Morgan's legs. Max cocked his head to the side and jumped all of the
way onto Morgan's lap. “Max!”

“Oh,
it's alright! You're just a big baby, aren't you?” Morgan blew
the hair from the dogs shoulder away from her face and wrapped her
arms around his big body. “You're a cuddle bug!” His head
towered over Morgan's and Lucas laughed at the scene of the seventy
pound dog sitting on Morgan's small lap. “Okay Max, down boy.
Gotta drink my coffee,” she told him and he was happy to jump
down, nearly knocking her down in the process, but she caught herself
in time.
Yep, nobody with a sheepdog could be a mean person.

The
two of them sat in silence for a few moments at the table, then
Morgan, thinking of anything to break the silence, asked him what he
did for a living.

“Did
you happen to see the black and white double-deckers today?” he
asked her, taking a sip of his tea.

Morgan
assumed he was talking about the numerous two-story buses that had
been traveling all over town that morning and nodded, then
remembered. “That's right, they all said Andrews on the side!”
Lucas nodded and they both laughed.

“Yep,
those are mine. I also have a few properties that I manage,” he
added. Morgan figured he was being modest about that part. A few
properties could mean anything. She nodded and took a drink of her
own beverage.

“Well,
Mr. Bus Guy, would I be able to take one of your tours?” Lucas
was surprised she would even want to, but he nodded enthusiastically,
saying he'd take her on her own private tour of the city, but they
both agreed it would be better if done in a smaller vehicle.

“We
can do whatever you want, the week is yours! I leave everything up to
you,” he told her when they had their tour agreed upon. Morgan
thought to correct him, to tell him that the week was in fact his,
but she liked the idea of being the planner. “So, what is it
you want to do today? Get dinner? Go shopping? Sleep?”

“Oh,
eat...then sleep. Then shop tomorrow?” She was too exhausted to
go anywhere else for the day. The most she wanted to do with her
evening was get some food in her stomach, take a bath and get some
rest. Lucas nodded and asked her what she wanted for dinner. When she
said steak, she even surprised herself, as she usually chose the bare
minimum of entrees. To another surprise, the man pulled two very
large streaks from his refrigerator, then added a few potatoes as the
sides. He asked her if she'd like a glass of wine while she waited,
but she politely declined the offer. She wouldn't get drunk off of
one glass, but the hangover from the day before still lingered in her
thoughts.

They
talked while the food cooked and Morgan got to know her client
better. He was thirty, nearly to the day. Morgan told him a week
belated birthday wish, but when she realized the man had celebrated
the occasion much like she normally celebrated her own holidays, it
broke her heart. She also found out that he was an only child of a
line of wealthy ancestors, which was how he started up the bus
business and reaffirmed her 'few properties' notion. Most of his
family lived spread out over Europe, mostly in Wales and Sweden, so
that explained why he was alone for his birthday as well.

When
the food was finished, Morgan helped him set the little table, and
the two enjoyed a candlelit meal together. It wasn't exactly
'romantic', just...nice. She also enjoyed the opportunity to get
peeks of him when he wasn't looking. Since he had taken his suit
jacket off to cook, Morgan got to see a preview of what was
underneath. The stark white sleeves of his shirt hugged his arms
tightly, showing her a nice tight line of muscles. He was fairly
big, not Finlay big, but still on the muscular side.
I wonder
what else is big?
Morgan smiled down at her food, hoping that
there wouldn't be another pinky-toe surprise for her.