He rubbed his jaw. “I don’t normally have this talk until after the first couple of dates, but I want to be up front with you right away, because you’re different to me for some reason.”
Ugh, she’d thought he was different. “Look—”
“Wait.” He held a hand up as if he was worried she would start babbling or something. “Don’t read into that. It’s nothing. All you need to know is I’m not looking for a relationship. Not looking for anyone to try and tie me down. It’s not you—it’s me. I just don’t want to get married. Ever.”
The breath she’d been holding whooshed from her lungs.
Oh. My. God.
…
Mike braced himself for the tears. Or the babbling. Maybe both. Of course, she could always just get up and walk away from him, taking that sweet body with her. Why had he decided to tell her his stance on marriage so soon? They were still in the green zone. Not even close to the yellow zone.
Why did he have to go and f**k everything up?
She opened her mouth, her face a little bit red, and he braced himself. Oh, God, it’s going to be tears. Then she…laughed.
She f**king laughed.
“Oh my God.” She clutched her stomach and laughed even harder. So hard he thought she might fall off the barstool. “This is priceless.”
He arched a brow and grabbed her—just in case she toppled over. “I’ve never had a girl laugh at my speech before.”
She swiped at the tears in her eyes, but they weren’t tears of sorrow.
It was a first for Mike.
“Thank God.”
He stiffened. “What the…?”
“I don’t want to get married either. I’m already married…to dancing. And men are always begging me for more.” She looked at him, her bright blue eyes shining. “You have no idea how nice it is to not have to give this speech myself. Why do you think I keep leaving you? It’s because I’m worried you’re going to ask for more.”
“Never,” he said out loud. But inside? He didn’t have a clue what was going on. Why didn’t this make him happy? Knowing she wasn’t husband hunting should be a good thing but he felt hollow inside. “I don’t want that any more than you do.”
“I know!” She sidled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. His heart did a weird stumble at her brilliant smile. “And now I’m all yours. No more running. I can just have fun without worrying you’ll fall in love and want babies.”
“Babies?” A vision of little redheaded babies with bright blue eyes flashed before him. Why didn’t that make him panic? What the f**k? “Hell no.”
She wriggled her ass against his cock. “Thank freaking God for that.”
“Yeah.” He wrapped his arms around her and smiled, despite his inner turmoil. He’d delve into his state of mind at a later date. A much later date. Maybe once he was six feet under. There’d be plenty of time for thinking when he was dead. And he was quite certain this woman might kill him. “Then let’s do a few more shots and hit the town, Vegas style.”
She shrugged. “Why not? I’m celebrating anyway.”
Mike motioned the bartender over and then turned his attention back to Morgan. Her sapphire eyes glowed with excitement. Who would have thought his telling her he didn’t want to be with her forever would make her so f**king happy? And who would’ve thought that her being so f**king happy would make him so f**king mad? “Why are we celebrating?” he barked, the words coming out harsher than he intended.
Ignoring him, she smiled at the bartender—who had just placed their drinks on the bar in front of them—a bit too warmly for his liking. Some country song twanging all about protecting your woman from ass**le losers came out of the speakers. For once, he could identify with the damn song. “Thanks, Hugh. You working with me tomorrow night?”
“Yep.” Hugh said, cleaning the bar directly in front of Morgan with a white rag. The bar looked perfectly clean to Mike. “Wanna ride home with me again?”
“Sure, if you—”
“I’ll get you,” Mike said quickly. When Hugh shot him a dark look, Mike leveled a back off or die stare at the fool. Then he smiled at Morgan, letting his left hand skim over her lower back. “I’ll be here to see Brianna anyway.”
“Uh, sure.” She shot him a weird look and pulled away from his hold. She tried to hop off of his lap but he gripped her hips too tightly. “Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks.” Hugh gave him one last look and then stomped away.
“No problem.” He picked up the shot glass and tried to ignore his motivations for offering her a ride. It wasn’t because he didn’t want her alone with Hugh. It was so he could get laid. That was all.
Morgan traced the wood particles engrained in the bar top. “So…why are you coming tomorrow? And what is Brianna to you?”
Was that a hint of jealousy he detected in her voice? Nah. Couldn’t be. “She’s my sister.”
“Oh.” She relaxed against his chest again. “I didn’t know you were her brother. You’re the oldest, right?”
“Right. One other sister…living, that is.”
“Yeah, Brianna had mentioned that she had a sister who was killed in a car wreck about thirteen or fourteen years ago. Your other sister took in her baby, right?”
“Right.” Kiersten had done a fantastic job raising Chris.
She hugged him, her sweet fragrance washing over him. Calming him. He held her close and wanted to punch himself for the feelings sweeping through him. Since when did he want comfort from a woman? “I’m sorry. And I know about Brianna’s husband, too. Well, the first one. But now she’s married again and so happy. So in love.”
He didn’t know what to say to that. Brianna definitely loved Thomas. So much that sometimes, on a rare occasion, Mike wondered if he was being an idiot to avoid love. Then he remembered he wasn’t and went back to his ways. As he damn well should anytime the thought of settling down occurred.
Morgan didn’t seem to notice his silence. “Isn’t your other sister getting married soon?”
“Yeah. To my best friend.” He played with her hair. He liked the way it curled over his fingers. “That’s the party I was at when we met.”
“You mean the night you stole my seat and called me a stripper?”