Part of him ached to touch her, kiss her, and know more about her.
But the other part of him wanted to run in the other direction and never see her again—he understood that as pure self-protection mode.
All of his life, he’d been left alone. His father left him in a boardingschool, even at Christmas, and his older brother was the only family he saw regularly. His sister Elizabeth had been treated even worse as she was completely alone, and could only talk to them on the phone.
Sure he had a huge family, now, but acting was always his way of disappearing into someone else’s skin for a while and living a different life.
If he lost the ability to disappearinto someone else, would he lose his acting chops or even worse, his drive to succeed?
Every other Morgan these days swore love was the cure he needed but he didn’t think there was anything wrong.
He was probably better off… alone. Bare-chested and wearing sleep sweats, he grabbed his phone, left his bedroom and headed downstairs to get a cup of coffee.
As he made the bottomstep, he flipped on the lights to the foyer.
Maybe he should find out more about Ashley from the people who understood him best… his family. He stepped out on his stoop from the front door and picked up his newspaper as he dialed.
No neighbors were up yet. The morning dew was still on the grass. And the landscapers weren’t here today. On the second ring he went back inside and closedhis door. His brother answered. He said, “Hey, Peter.”
“It’s not Peter,” Belle said fast.
His brother’s ex and future wife. His stomach tightened. Belle was nice and perfect for Peter, but her military, no-nonsense attitude reminded him of the teachers in boarding school.
His “avoid’ the school marm” instinct always kicked in. He tugged his ear and asked, “Is Peter there,Belle?”
She didn’t answer the question but asked one of her own. “Matt, is something going on with Jennifer again?”
Goosebumps of alarm grew on his arms like when he’d been caught walking the halls with a fake gun he’d had for the school play. Security hadn’t bought that excuse and had tackled him. The memory wasn’t pleasant but the principal had let him go with no consequence. Hisbelly had been in knots, just like now. “No, not exactly. But I wanted to talk to Peter and you about the surrogate you had, Ashley Romero.”
Belle’s footsteps clipped against the marble floors of his brother’s house as she walked. “Ashley? She cooperated with us entirely. I was happy with her. Let me get you Peter.”
Unlike Jennifer, Ashley at least hadn’t caused problems.
The family conversation over his contract so that he could work with Jennifer again wasn’t something he wanted to repeat.
He tossed the newspaper on the kitchen table and headed toward his coffee machine. “That’s good to hear, Belle.”
“No problem,” Belle said. Matt filled the carafe with water from the sink while he listened to Belle tell his brother on the phone, “Peter. Matt wantsto talk about your ex-wife.”
Matt froze. He’d forgotten that Ashley had married Peter to fix the custody situation and that Peter had been quick to pay her off. Everything had been handled through lawyers, and Matt wasn’t sure Peter and Ashley had spoken more than a few words beyond the contracts.
His gut twisted as Peter told Belle, “I don’t want to ever mention Jennifer.”
Belle’s foot clap on the ground reminded him of his teachers and Matt paused as Belle said, “Wait. You didn’t actually marry Jennifer.”
Peter asked, “Then who are you talking about?”
“Ashley,” Belle answered.
Matt’s skin buzzed. They knew more about her than he had. They’d have opinions and probably think his plan for a fake girlfriend to win a part in a movie… well, stupid.
The water splashing on his arm brought him back to the present. He turned off the sink and dumped the excess.
Those two were solid and they didn’t have his need to hide while in public. The rest of his family remained themselves even in the spotlight.
Peter asked his wife, “Oh. The surrogate?”
Belle chuckled, “You need a better sense of humor.”
