He’d wanted to take her out, show her a good time, prove he wasn’t only after the one thing all guys were after… But as fun as it was to spar with her across the dinner table while being entertained by quality music, Morgan couldn’t wait to have her all to himself.
While she watched Owen and Evan, he watched her. He noticed the glow of her expressive face, the way her eyes lit up with pleasure when the guys played a song she loved and how everyone who walked by their table greeted her by name.
She loved it here, was loved by her friends and had established a successful business through years of hard work. It didn’t take long to understand she wouldn’t be happy anywhere else.
The message from Devin weighed heavily on him. Dev and his family had been good to Morgan, supporting his career growth by paying for continuing education as well as giving him regular bonuses and pay increases. His current salary far exceeded his wildest expectations when he’d entered the field. The thought of giving up that level of security and comfort in his work was intimidating, especially as he stared down forty and his future retirement.
But now that he knew Sierra existed in this world, could he be happy or content without her close by, without evenings with her to look forward to after a long day of work?
Two fucking days.
That’s how long it had taken for him to rethink every aspect of what it meant to be happy or content.
Morgan had seen that happen to other people, but it sure as hell had never happened to him. He’d never met anyone who had him rethinking his entire life plan in the span of forty-eight consequential hours.
“You want to get out of here?” he asked her when he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
As they made their way to the exit, everyone wanted a word with Sierra—and a few stopped him to thank him for keeping the gym open.
“I love it there,” Grant McCarthy said. “Best gym I’ve ever belonged to.”
“That’s all thanks to Billy.”
“Absolutely, but you’ve kept up the vibe, and we all appreciate it, especially in light of what you’re dealing with. Just wanted to say thanks.”
“Nice to hear how popular the place is.”
“I know people who started working out because they heard how fun the gym is,” Grant’s wife, Stephanie, said.
“I love that,” Morgan said. “Leave it to Billy.”
“We’re doing that beer tomorrow night, right?” Grant asked.
“That’s the plan.”
Grant shook Morgan’s hand. “Looking forward to it.”
“Me, too.”
“You guys have a nice evening,” Stephanie said.
“You do the same,” Sierra said with a hug for Stephanie.
Stephanie said something to her that made Sierra laugh.
When they got outside, Morgan asked her what Stephanie said.
“I can’t tell you. It was dirty.”
“Then I definitely want to know.”
“She said, and I quote, ‘I hope you’re having your wicked way with that hunk of man.’”
Morgan sputtered with laughter. “Well, all righty, then. Let’s get to that. Right now.”
Holding hands, they ran through the cold to the truck and were on the way to her place in the span of a few minutes. He drove so quickly that the heater didn’t even have time to warm up before he was parking outside her building.
