by Lily LaVae
“Ten minutes.” Dr. Johnson tapped his watch and Morgan headed for the bus.
Eloise sat in a sea of tissues on his leather couch. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her face pink, making her hair bright white.
Normally, he’d have told her to come to him. It was just his way. He’d give attention on his terms, but tonight she needed him to be what he normally wasn’t—thoughtful. He brushed a bunch of the tissues on the floor and sat next to her. Though he wanted to slide his arm around her, he held off.
“I talked to the doctor.” He took a deep breath. Apologies didn’t come easy when he never gave them. “I’m sorry for what I said earlier, about your son. I didn’t know. I thought Ed was the father and that he had custody.”
Eloise stared at him and wiped her nose with a delicate sniffle.
“I don’t want you to go. I had the worst show ever tonight because I couldn’t stop thinking about you—that you were leaving and I hadn’t done anything to prevent it. That all my asshole behavior up until now made you think I’d treat you that way. I know it’s not right, but if I hadn’t gone through all those other assistants and thought I was at the end of my rope, then I never would’ve found you.”
There. That was as mushy as he was going to get.
“I don’t want to leave you, Morgan.”
He held up his hand, because he had to know for sure. “Are you staying because of the money, or because you actually want to stay?”
She stared him in the eyes and he could’ve kissed her for making it so easy to read her. “I want to stay because being with you feels like coming home, but without actually going home.”
He slid his arm around her and tucked her into his side. She rested her head on his shoulder. “I feel like I could face my family, even with the horrible things they said, with you by my side.”
He laughed. “If they didn’t like guy number one, they probably won’t like me, either.”
She laughed as she slid her arm around his stomach and clung to him. He’d felt desired and idolized for much of his life, but never had he felt a sense of love that gave as much as he did—not until Eloise.
“You’ll stay?”
She nodded into his chest.
“Good. Now throw away that book Amanda left behind and quit listening to her.” He leaned over and Eloise released her hold on him. He took his acoustic guitar and strummed, giving it a quick tune. His mother’s song was on his mind and he thrummed the cords, then played it for the first time in years. While his mother had never loved it, Eloise swayed to the music and had tears running down her face by the end.
“I’ve never heard that one. Did you make that up just now?” She wiped her eyes.
He wished he could tell her he had. If it had been another woman, one he didn’t care about, he’d have lied. “I wrote that song for my mother, before I met with a record executive in Nashville. She hated it, and I haven’t played it since.”
He played the chorus one more time and then leaned over and kissed her. “Tonight, I dedicate the song to you.”
She gave him a tremulous smile and bit her lip. “Can we make this work, Morgan?”
He chuckled and set the guitar aside. “We promised each other one year. Let’s give it that and see where we are.” He couldn’t predict the future, but he could try.
Epilogue
One year later, Eloise stood at the patio doors of her parents’ house. Her mother pinned her veil behind her ears.
“I still can’t believe you keep it so short now.”
Her mother had been fussing over her for weeks—what she would wear, where they would have the ceremony, how Morgan would dress. She’d finally told her mother to just let Morgan be who he was and be happy about it.
Her father was outside, putting up a shade tent for the bride, groom, and officiant to stand under. Jordan leaned against a kitchen counter.
“I can’t believe you’re marrying Clyde.”
“Morgan.” She corrected him. He’d already told her many times that he legally changed his name and wanted nothing to do with the one his mother had given him. He’d tried to see her, to make contact, but his mother didn’t even want to see him. Although, they both suspected that would change if she knew how much money he was worth.
“I just want to say I’m sorry, again, squirt.” He ducked his head. “I’m not proud of the fact that it was my fault you ran away. We were all worried about you. The police wouldn’t file a missing person’s report because of your age. They said you were capable of leaving all on your own, but that didn’t make us worry any less.”
Eloise had talked to her parents for hours about it. While it hadn’t been the best decision she ever made, she’d needed a fresh start. She couldn’t have gotten it if her family had known where she was.
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m sorry I worried all of you, but I firmly believed you didn’t care and didn’t want me around.”
Her mother squeezed her shoulders. “Nothing could be farther from the truth, but depression will have you believing anything.”
Morgan came in through the front and though she was turned from him, she knew it immediately. She turned and he gave her one of his rare smiles. It melted her from her head to her weak knees.
“I’ll go make sure everything is ready out there.” Her mother slid the door open and motioned for Jordan to follow.
Eloise held her breath as Morgan strode toward her. He wore black slacks and a white button up shirt, which was about as polished as she was going to get him.
“Would you take a look at you.” He held her waist and instead of actually looking at her dress, his gaze took in her face, enjoying every inch.
“My face hasn’t changed.”
“I would disagree. You have a rosiness to your cheeks today that isn’t usually there.”
He kissed her neck and mumbled, “So I don’t mess up your makeup.”
She laughed. “How thoughtful of you.” He was thoughtful, but not in the way most men were. He’d probably never forget her birthday or her favorite song, but she wouldn’t hear ‘I love you’ every day. He’d actually yet to say it at all. The closest he’d come was on the day he’d proposed, but that just didn’t count.
He took her hand. “Are you ready to do this? It’ll be the biggest gig ever.”
She glanced out at the twenty or so people seating themselves in her yard, most of whom were his bandmates. “Biggest, huh?”
He pulled her close to his side and smiled once more. “Love doesn’t need a big house or lots of fans. It only needs two.”
She cupped his cheeks squealed, laughing as he cringed. “I love you, too, babe.”
“You can squeal all you want, as long as you don’t mind me stopping a few of them.”
She smiled, because she knew just where this was going and she licked her lips. “And just how do plan do that?”
He grinned again. “I’ll show you when I’m not about to walk out in front of everyone. I don’t look good in that shade of lipstick.”
He handed her the bouquet of white roses on the table, picked from her mother’s garden and he held out his arm for her.
“Let’s rock this.”
Eloise laughed as she linked her arm with his. “I do.”
Also by Lily LaVae
Billionaire Bachelor: William
Billionaire Bachelor: Clint
Billionaire Bachelor: Morgan
Other Diamond Bridal Agency Titles
Billionaire Bachelor: Michael
Billionaire Bachelor: Vitali
Billionaire Bachelor: Justin
Billionaire Bachelor: Sean
Billionaire Bachelor: Alex
About the Author
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