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  “So happy you could make it,” Vivian said in a clipped tone.

  “Of course I would. You sent me twenty-four reminder emails.”

  “I wouldn’t have to email you if you answered my calls.”

  Seth took a deep breath and exhaled. He was not in the mood for Vivian’s theatrics today.

  “Why didn’t you return my calls?” she repeated.

  “You know I don’t answer calls when I’m at the ranch.”

  “And I suppose doing damage control to salvage your reputation isn’t a priority?”

  “There’s nothing to salvage. I told you Morgan’s ex-boyfriend and cousin were behind that story and it was no truer than Big Foot being spotted by the Liberty Bell.”

  “And what about Melanie?”

  Melanie? They hadn’t dated in months. Seth rolled his eyes. He had known right from the start that Melanie and Vivian were friends, but he hadn’t cared at the time.

  “Melanie is in love with some European banker who is more than delighted to fork over his fortune to her. When I saw her at that fundraiser she looked happy. We wished each other well.”

  “Are you sure you know what you’re doing? You know I’m just looking out for you, gorgeous. Four months ago you were dating models. I never thought when you finally got married you’d be settling for something a little more…home grown.”

  Seth’s face burned and he clenched his hands into fist. “Home grown?”

  “Don’t get me wrong, she’s not an unattractive girl but she’s hardly worth a second look. You need somebody who’s suited to your glamorous lifestyle. You need someone who is worthy of your image, not some common nobody who runs a small bookstore.”

  “Vivian, you’re fired.”

  Everyone around him stopped what they were doing and stared. He and Vivian had been together for many years. They’d had their fair share of disagreements in the past and they’d always patched things up. But Vivian’s remark about Morgan hit a nerve.

  Vivian clutched her pearl necklace. “Seth! You’d pick some woman you just met over me?”

  “Save it, Vivian. You don’t tell me who to love or who to marry. That’s not what I pay you for.”

  Vivian stalked off in a fury. Seth looked at his entourage and decided it was time some boundaries were set.

  “Everybody listen up, because I am only saying this once. Anybody who has a problem with my wife or how I live my life, I am happy to accept your letter of resignation right now. If I find anyone is responsible for spreading hurtful gossip about her, you will be terminated immediately.”

  * * *

  Morgan arrived at her appointment with Dana Schmidt early, eager to have no reason for the woman to reschedule. The Reading Rainbow Initiative had a far reaching hand in the community and would help tremendously to get the ball rolling again on the reading hour at the library. With funding getting cut left and right for city programs, Morgan prayed that the library would be spared and it had suffered several near misses in the past two years. But now, the reading hour for the toddlers and the book club for the young adult readers were on the chopping block.

  She smiled, remembering the look on Seth’s face when she had emerged from the walk in closet in her power suit. Her best effort to look professional was met by a horny football player who wanted to play hide and seek before she left this morning. After promising to pick up where they left off, he had wished her luck and told her he loved her.

  “Ms. Schmidt will see you now,” the receptionist said.

  She escorted Morgan down a long corridor, the clicking of Morgan’s heels echoing through the sparsely decorated hall.

  Dana waved them in when they reached the open door of her office. “Morgan, come in!”

  “Thank you for meeting with me, Dana.”

  “Thank you for being so committed. My goodness you’re not a teacher and you have this tenacious drive about the library’s programs.”

  Morgan tried to hide a smile. “As a bookstore owner, I am still vested in education. Just like I am vested in this community.”

  “Of course. I think it’s admirable that you want to keep programs going for our youth.”

  Morgan handed her a proposal. “Not just our youth readers. Although, I do think it’s crucial to get them interested at a young age. My youngest attendee at the reading hour is two years old. But there are still a number of adults who do not know how to read because of things like learning disabilities that weren’t detected when they were younger and they’re too ashamed to admit it. And people who are new to this country that have difficulty learning English. There should be an outreach to people of all ages who want to read.”

  “So what do you propose?” Dana flipped through the file.

  “Keeping those programs funded at the library is a start. Then we could have other outreach organizations build a small platform within their community.”

  “We need something to spark an interest. How would you feel about incorporating a celebrity to endorse this?”

  “That would be great. It definitely wouldn’t hurt.”

  “You’re married to Seth Blake aren’t you? Do you think he would consider being our celebrity endorser?”

  Morgan shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “My husband and I don’t get involved in each other’s work lives.”

  “But surely he would do it for you. The two of you being married must have been the best kept secret in this city. I met him a few years ago at a charity event, and he is off the charts gorgeous. He said hello and I got heart palpitations.”

  Morgan’s fingers itched to grab the proposal out of Dana’s hand and cram it down her throat. She didn’t know what enraged her more, the fact that Dana talked about Seth like he was a piece of meat or that he would readily be the poster boy just because she was married to him. And Dana’s transition to girlfriend mode so swiftly while Morgan was trying to achieve something good was unprofessional.

  “I’m afraid coming here was a mistake, Dana. I had assumed after many months of trying to contact you that you wanted to talk about something more worthwhile than my personal life.” Morgan jabbed her proposal back into her briefcase and walked out.

  * * *

  Seth wanted to be in a better mood before he went home to Morgan after the commercial shoot, so he dropped by to see his friend Patton. Seth was still seething from Vivian’s remarks. When did he hand over control of his life to people like Vivian? Between pushy publicists and old flames popping out of the woodwork, he was praying none of it scared Morgan away.

  “Thanks, man.” Seth took a swig of the beer Patton had handed to him.

  Patton gave him a friendly punch in the arm. “You know Vivian is crazy. She was always pimping girls to you.”

  Seth chuckled. “You would think that.”

  “It’s not like you can’t pull the ladies by yourself. But she pretty much wrapped Melanie up in a bow and handed her to you.”

  Seth nodded in agreement. One day Melanie had appeared at his front door wearing a slinky black mini dress, with a bottle of champagne in her hand. “Yeah that was creepy.”

  “But you hit that anyway.”

  “I said it was creepy but it worked.”

  Seth and Patton both erupted in laughter.

  “Now, look at you a year later.” Patton took a sip of his own beer. “Married.”

  Seth smiled. “Yeah. I didn’t see that one coming.”

  “I think you did. One minute you’re trying to sneak off the island, the next I see you two parasailing.”

  “The minute I laid eyes on her getting off that plane I knew…”

  “I’m happy for you man. When you were with Melanie, you did not look as content as you are right now. I hope you and Morgan have a great life together.”

  “Thanks, man.”

  Patton nodded and took a swig of beer. “Did she like the ranch?”

  “She loved it, especially the horse I bought her. I think she loves him more than me.” He laughed. “So where
is the lovely Nina?”

  “She’s out shopping. Retail therapy is her way of dealing with the baby thing.” Patton sighed.

  “Still having a hard time?”

  “Yeah, that last miscarriage just before the Super Bowl took her over the edge. She refused to go on the team vacation. She couldn’t possibly redecorate one more inch of this house, and she’s booking party planning events every week.”

  “It’ll happen soon for you two. She just needs some time to grieve.”

  Patton took another swig. “What about you? Plan on making me a godfather any time soon?”

  “I can’t wait. As soon as Morgan says the word, I’m ready. In the meantime we’re getting in a lot of practice.” Seth smirked and waggled his eyebrows.

  Patton spit out his beer. “Oh shit!”

  “What?”

  “You play like my grandmother when you get laid on a regular basis.”

  “That’s a damn lie, Pat.”

  “Why do you think we’ve won two Super Bowls?”

  Seth thought for a moment. “Shit. Very hard work and determination?”

  “And…you always break up with a woman just before the playoffs! Think about it. We’ve won two Super Bowls because you be all twirped up over not getting any and you funnel all that energy into the game.”

  He ran his hand over his face. Was Patton right?

  “Don’t worry about it man, just tell Morgan you can’t have sex during the season.” Patton chuckled.

  Keys jingled in the lock, and he turned to see Patton’s wife, Nina, come in the door with ten bags in her hand.

  “Seth!”

  “Hey, Nina.” He climbed off his seat to hug her.

  “Congratulations on the wedding.” She gave him a leering look.

  “I know.”

  “You know what?”

  “I am in the dog house with you and most of the planet about my marriage. But I do want all of us to get together for dinner. Soon.”

  Nina set down her purse. “I’d love to meet the woman who could snag the bachelor of the century.”

  “Morgan’s a sweetheart,” Patton said.

  “You two look good together. Patton showed me that picture of you and Morgan at the festival. She owns a bookstore?”

  Seth grinned. “She does. She’s very dedicated to literacy and is even involved in some community programs.”

  “Like what?” Nina removed her high heeled shoes and took a seat next to her husband.

  “She does story hour at the public library for the kids a couple of times a month.”

  “Wow, that sounds cool.”

  “She’s looking into organizing programs to raise literacy awareness. When Morgan gets something in her head, nothing stops her.”

  “Sounds like you two have a lot in common.” Nina smiled.

  Seth scratched at the label on his beer. “Yeah, she worries we don’t. I try to reassure her that this limelight on our lives is just temporary. Another story will come along and people will lose interest in us.”

  “Seth Blake, you’ve been voted sexiest man alive twice, bachelor of the year four times, and harder to hog tie than a bull at a rodeo. Whatever the hell that last one means. Your singleness is legendary. People are going to want to know what exactly Morgan has that persuaded you to give all that up.”

  “What are you, keeping a scrap book on him?” Patton huffed a laugh.

  “No, but I have some friends that have one. You know how many times some desperate chick has played nice with me because they knew you and Patton were friends?”

  Seth’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be. I am good at putting bitches in their place. Tell him, baby.”

  Patton took a swig of his beer. “Yeah, man. Nina has a talent for insulting a large group of people at one time.”

  Seth couldn’t help but laugh. “Damn, Nina.”

  Patton nodded his head in her direction. “Maybe Nina can help Morgan through the viper pit.”

  Seth and Patton looked at Nina.

  Nina shook her head. “You two don’t even know if Morgan and I will get along. That’s wishful thinking that we’d hit it off like best buds because you two are friends.”

  Seth chuckled. “I have no doubt you two would get along. You both have that brutal honesty thing going on but you carry it off in a classy way.”

  “It couldn’t hurt to pay her a welcome,” Patton said.

  Nina bit her lip. “OK, I’ll do it. Partly because I’m nosey and partly because you’re family, Seth.”

  “Thanks, Nina.”

  * * *

  By the time Morgan reached her father’s house, some of the disappointment from the disastrous episode with Dana had faded away.

  “Hey, Dad.” Morgan kissed her father on the cheek.

  “How’s that husband of yours?”

  “Good. We had a great time on his ranch. He bought me a horse.”

  Her dad’s eyes widened in awe. “The Twelve Horse Shoes is an impressive ranch. That journalist lady did an interview with him on his property last year.”

  “Why is it that everyone in this family knows more about that man than me?”

  “Defiance.”

  “What?”

  “How many times did I try to teach you about football?”

  She grinned. “Too many.”

  “And you end up marrying a football player. Do you see the irony in that? Because I do.”

  Sydney entered the room. “Hi, Morgan. Is that my book?”

  “Yes.” Morgan smiled and handed it to her.

  “How was your meeting today?”

  “How did you know I had a meeting today?”

  “I called the bookstore and Michelle said you were out wheeling and dealing. So how did it go?”

  “No dealing, but I wish I’d had a wheel to roll over her neck.”

  Sydney sucked in air between her teeth. “That bad?”

  Morgan shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “I still keep in touch with a few of my sorority sisters who are pretty active in the community center. I could shake a few trees—”

  “Thanks, but I’d rather do it on my own,” Morgan said quietly.

  Sydney smiled. “OK.”

  Morgan was having a hell of a day. She immediately regretted how curtly she answered Sydney. Here the woman was trying to help her cause, and she slipped back into treating Sydney like an enemy. She’d just left the office of a woman whose help she needed but was ambushed by a hidden agenda. What she needed was a dose of the past to soothe her. The box in her father’s attic usually did the trick. She’d moved all her things from her place into Seth’s penthouse. Maybe it was time to take her box of memories to her new home too.

  “Dad, I have to go into the attic and get a box I left up there.” Morgan excused herself and headed upstairs. She didn’t have a lot of stuff left at her dad’s house but there were still a few boxes that remained. She spotted the taped up box nestled in the corner. It had been moved from her secret hiding spot but it hadn’t been opened. Taking her keys out of her pocket, she used one to cut through the layers of tape.

  A floorboard creaked behind her.

  Her brother Robert had walked into the attic. “Hey Squirt, Dad told me to come up here and help you look for a box.”

  “Hey, it’s my husband’s new best friend. You two going steady yet?” Morgan stuck out her tongue at Robert.

  “You’re jealous I want to spend time with your husband?” Robert kissed her on the cheek.

  Morgan pushed him out of her way. “No, curious though. Why do you want to spend time with Seth?”

  Robert parked himself on a chair. Morgan looked over at her brother and tried not to smile. They’d been bickering all their lives. It was more off putting when they were getting along.

  “He’s a nice guy and my brother-in-law. Besides, I know you can’t wait to get away from all of us. Like it or not we’re still your family. Som
etimes I think you forget. But Seth won’t let you forget about us. Family is important to him.”

  “What do you mean forget about you?” She scowled at him.

  “I think you want to be part of Seth’s life and distance yourself from us.”

  She couldn’t pretend they had a lot in common or that she visited them on a regular basis. All her brothers were married and had lives of their own, but they all seemed to make time to butt into her life.

  “I’m not trying to forget anything. As a matter of fact, I’m trying to remember.” Morgan pulled a picture of their mother out of the box.

  “You look like her, you know.”

  “Do you think so?” She scrunched her nose.

  “Yep. I’ve always treated you like a child and you’re now closer to middle aged than an adolescent—”

  “Watch it.”

  “But occasionally I spend time with my baby sister and, for a little while, I get to see my mother’s face again.”

  “So all that bossing me around and never letting me do anything was out of love?”

  Robert grinned. “I have to admit we were obnoxious about it. But it was all in the name of looking out for you.”

  She smiled back. “I do admit you did teach me some great self-defense moves.”

  “Self-defense? You could be a street brawler. You got Jason good in the chestnuts after he dumped you in front of everyone. I was almost hoping Charisma would do something stupid so you could kick her ass. Did you tell Seth you know how to shoot a gun?”

  “No. I was saving that for later. You should see his gun collection at his ranch.”

  He laughed. “I want to tell you he’s not good enough for you but he’s my idol. So I’m a little conflicted.”

  “Can you take the box downstairs for me?” She batted her eyes at her brother.

  Robert sighed but picked up the box. “No problem.”

  She kissed her brother on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Looking out for me. I couldn’t imagine your intrusive ass being out of my life.”

  “Good, because Seth invited us to dinner next Sunday.” Robert gave her a cheesy grin.

  “Yay,” Morgan said in a droll tone.