My stomach swoops, and I look away, my heart racing. Morgan feels something for me. He does. I’d be blind not to see it. And of course I feel something for him, too. Oh lord do I feel things for him.
All I have to do to gain everything I’ve ever wanted is to simply allow it to happen. To let myself believe that I’m worthy of this.
It is right here in front of me. I just need to take it.
Chapter twelve
Morgan
The knock on the door startles me. Ned pokes his head around my study door.
“I’m just about to head off. Do you need anything before I go?”
My gaze flicks down to the corner of my laptop screen. Wow, is that really the time? Where the hell did the day go? And what is the point in working from home so I can keep an eye on Ned, if I completely zone out?
“Are the kids alright?” I ask.
Ned’s smile is beautiful. “All fed, washed and tucked up asleep in bed.”
“You must be exhausted.”
“Yeah, a bit,” Ned chuckles.
He looks fine. He really does. Completely recovered from his wobble. Which isn’t at all surprising. I’ve known him for over a year now, and I had absolutely no idea of the extent of what he had been through.
He is so amazingly strong. And I cannot believe he chooses to spend his days chasing after my children. Though, actually, maybe I do understand it. It is a chanceat a normal life. Domesticity. Family. He did say all of his relatives were dead.
I pull down my laptop screen. “Can I tempt you with a whisky before you go?”
I can’t read the look on Ned’s face, but he nods, so it is all good. He steps quietly inside and I head over to my drinks cabinet. I did not hunt down and bid on this rare whisky, whilst imagining the look on Ned’s face. No, not at all. Nothing like that. It was entirely for my own pleasure.
I carefully pour two drinks and hand one to Ned. He takes it graciously, and I watch him with intense focus as he takes a sip.
The look that flows over his face is beautiful. I was right. I did buy this whisky entirely for my own pleasure. Watching Ned enjoy it, is a joy like no other.
“I don’t know this one,” he admits.
I grin in absolute delight. “Macallan Mizunara 33-Year-Old Komorebi Edition. By the East Asia Whisky Company.”
“A rare one,” comments Ned with a raised eyebrow. He takes another sip. “It is so good.”
I’ll have to take his word for it. I can barely taste mine. I’m too transfixed by Ned and all my senses are caught up in admiring him.
“I’m going to watch The Dam Busters, fancy joining me?” I blurt.
I need him to stay. I can’t stand the thought of him leaving once he has finished his drink, and this is the only excuse I can come up with. A film. An old one, because he likes those.
Ned wrinkles his nose. “I’ve never understood wanting to relive the war. Some things are best left forgotten.”
I blink at him. “Casablanca is a war film.”
Hazel eyes flash at me. “It’s a romance!” he snaps vehemently.
I chuckle and hold my hands up in surrender. “Okay, it is a romance.”
His eyes narrow, but he takes another sip of his whisky and says nothing. Jennifer was feisty like that too. Her eyes used to flash exactly like that when she was annoyed. Clearly I have a type.
“How about, It’s A Wonderful Life?” I suggest.
