No Other Love (A Walker Island Romance, Book 2) Read online

  She still did.

  They talked about an email he'd gotten from his mom about a man she was dating, about his work at the high school, about her sisters and grandmother, and then, before Morgan knew it, their appetizers were removed and their main courses were being set down. The meal seemed to be passing by in the blink of an eye. Just her and Brian sitting close to one another while she listened to his voice in the soft twilight of the restaurant, never wanting the perfect evening to end.

  She was getting sucked in again. Wanting to be with him all the time. Wanting to feel his arms around her. Wanting to be able to lean in to kiss him without ever having to stop.

  “Ms. Walker, Mr. Russell, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to be sure to give you the check for both of your tables.”

  Morgan looked up at the waiter in surprise. “But we haven't even finished our main courses.”

  “I’m sorry, but I thought you might be in a hurry to get out of here.”

  That was when she looked up and realized all of the other diners were either standing up and putting on their coats to leave or had already left. “Why is everyone going so fast?”

  He pointed out the window at the heavy rain that was blowing against the windows. “The fire department has issued a storm warning to all local businesses and residents. They're concerned about flash floods and would like everyone to get home safely as soon as possible.”

  When, Morgan wondered, had the faint drizzle turned into such a heavy, repetitive drumroll of water, sending water flooding down the glass? She'd been so engrossed in the storm of emotions that Brian had sent spinning inside of her that she'd never even noticed there was a storm raging outside, too.

  “We should get the kids home before it gets worse,” Brian said as he got up from the table then held out her chair for her to stand, too.

  Morgan knew that she should have been terrified about what a storm like this would do to her newly planted garden and the damage it would surely do to the dream she had worked so hard to build up. But even after they'd dropped off the kids and Brian took her home, hugged her tight then told her everything was going to be okay before he went back to his own house, all she could think about was him.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  At the first sign that the storm was letting up the next morning, Morgan headed for her garden. Emily had been in her element the previous night as the whole family had hunkered down in the house. She’d made soup for everyone while Michael had put on the storm shutters. Paige had worked on the choreography for a new student ballet in a section of the living room, while Rachel quoted the insurance statistics on storm damage. Fortunately, Charlotte hadn't been the least bit frightened of the storm as she had clapped her hands in excitement every time lightning flashed.

  Morgan wished that she could feel even a tiny bit of the excitement from just days before. Instead, there was only a growing emptiness as she looked around the garden. The well-established berries had suffered some damage, but their roots and branches had been strong enough to withstand the storm. The newly planted garden, on the other hand, was a complete wreck. Plants had been uprooted by the wind and soil had been washed away by the rain so that it was barely more than a soupy mess of mud this morning.

  Even worse? The reporters were coming tomorrow.

  Morgan could only imagine the stories that they would come out with once they saw this. Walker’s Makeup Garden Fantasy Ends in Disaster. She would look like a celebrity idiot who didn’t know what she was doing, and it could potentially end this new phase of her career before it had even really begun.

  There were a dozen soil and planting specialists she could have called to come consult with her on what could possibly be done, but the only person she wanted to call was Brian.

  Yes, she knew her family would be there for her in a heartbeat, but right then he was the only one she wanted to see, the only one she needed to hold her tight and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

  She had just pulled out her phone when she saw a big yellow school bus roll into view and park next to her red convertible. The doors opened, and she was shocked when Brian got off the bus. Natalie and Tad followed him…along with what looked like the entire high school football team. One by one, the teenage boys filed off the bus with tools and began working to put right the damage that the storm had inflicted.

  Morgan couldn’t believe her eyes as she turned from the huge group of working boys to Brian's gorgeous face. “You convinced the entire football team to help repair my garden?”

  “Good morning, beautiful.” Brian reached up to brush the back of his hand gently over her cheek. “Once I told them what happened, they were eager to help.”

  When she could finally manage to tear her gaze away from him, she was amazed by how quickly they were actually making progress. Not only were they all young men in good shape and eager to work hard, but there were so many of them, too! What had looked impossible just a few short minutes ago was already starting to take shape before Morgan’s eyes, and suddenly she believed that they might actually succeed at repairing the garden in time for the reporters’ visit.

  Natalie moved up and down the lines of the football team like a general inspecting her troops, helping out occasionally with some of the work, but mostly issuing instructions on what each person needed to do to get the garden back in shape.

  As Brian moved to help deal with a patch where several brambles had blown together and created a wall of thorns, Natalie came to stand beside Morgan. “Jocks aren’t all bad, are they?”

  “If you ask me,” Morgan said, her eyes overflowing with grateful tears as she watched Brian and his team work so hard to save her dream, “they're absolutely amazing.”

  * * *

  After a lifetime of football practices and games, Brian was used to spending plenty of time in the mud, but today had taken dirty to a new level. He felt as if the mud had dug its way so deep into his skin that the scalding heat of the shower was barely enough to wash it away.

  And he'd do it all over again tomorrow, just for the pleasure of seeing the look on Morgan’s face when he’d shown up with the team.

  He’d been so impressed with the way his team had risen to the occasion. He’d expected some of them to complain or refuse, to say that they were there for football practice rather than gardening. Yet none of them had. It felt good knowing that they trusted him enough to help just because he'd asked. It felt even better knowing that he’d been able to help Morgan with something that meant so much to her.

  After drying off and putting on a pair of sweatpants, Brian had just settled down to work through the video from last weekend's game when he heard a knock on the door. He looked around for a T-shirt to throw on, but when he heard a familiar voice say his name, he forgot all about needing to put on more clothes and hurried over to open up the door.

  Morgan looked so beautiful standing on his front step in a colorful summer dress that he actually lost his breath.

  “Can I come in?” she asked. Brian caught the flicker of her eyes over his body...and the heat that immediately flared in them. “I didn’t catch you at a bad time, did I?”

  Since when did they have to ask one another things like that, he thought as he stepped aside to let her in. With her, there was no bad time.

  “I wanted to come by and say thank you.” She sounded a little nervous, though, more nervous than someone would have been if they really were there only to say thanks. “What you did for me today...I’m just so grateful. You completely saved my makeup line, because now when the reporters come tomorrow, they won't have any reason to crucify me and my big dreams.”

  “It wasn’t just me,” Brian said, even though a part of him would have loved to take all of the credit and make it just about him and Morgan. “Your family would have done the same. Most people on the island would have.”

  “But they didn't. You did.” Morgan started to move closer to him, before stopping her progress. “Being back here on the island, being a
round you so much, and then after what you did for me today...” She shook her head, and he could read the confusion on her face. “There have been so many emotions going around and around in my head that I haven't known what to think.”

  “Are you sure you haven't known what to think?” Brian asked, closing the final distance between them. “Tell me, how have you felt since you’ve been back? Since we've gotten to see each other again every day?”

  “Happy.” She looked more than a little surprised by the one short word that she'd blurted out, but a few seconds later she was saying, “I’ve been really, really happy. You, my family, the island…everything has been so good since I got back here.” But then she frowned and added, “It’s just—”

  Brian put a finger to her lips. “You don’t have to make things complicated, Morgan.”

  “Things are complicated. We both know that,” she insisted, but she fortunately didn’t move away from him.

  And as she met his gaze straight on and let him see into her extraordinarily beautiful blue eyes, he asked her, “Do you want to kiss me, Morgan?”

  She didn't hesitate, didn't look confused at all anymore, as she said, “Yes.”

  “Then take what you want, Morgan. Don't you know it's one of the things I've always loved most about you?”

  Each word from his lips was husky and full of not only need but love. So much love that when she moved fully into the circle of his arms and lifted hers to twine around his neck, he nearly fell to his knees in gratitude.

  And then, thank God, her lips were pressing against his. Oh, how he loved the sweet press of her curves against him, the passion that grew as he kissed her back, holding her tightly against him while her hands roamed over him and she made little sounds of soul-deep pleasure.

  Morgan pulled back briefly, looking at him as though searching for something, and for a moment he thought she might have changed her mind about being with him. But then, thankfully, she smiled and said, “I’ve just realized I don’t know the way to your bedroom.”

  He kissed her again then, over and over and over, until it didn't matter where his bedroom was because neither of them could make it any farther than the living room couch to strip away each other's clothes and love each other.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  For a few moments after she woke, Morgan couldn’t place where she was. Not at her family’s home on the island. Not in New York, either, or one of the innumerable hotels she was always staying in. But then the scent of French toast floated to her from the kitchen, and she finally remembered.

  Brian. He’d always made the most delicious French toast.

  She hugged his pillow to her, loving the way it smelled like him, a clean masculine scent that shot all of her hormones to rising again. Last night had been amazing. She'd thought she'd remembered how good it had been between them in high school but...oh my...the way he'd touched her, the way he'd kissed her, the way he'd loved her last night! It had been so good that she could still hardly believe it was possible to feel that much pleasure. That much bliss. Joy that seemed to go on and on forever and ever.

  The previous morning, standing in her ruined garden after the storm, she’d felt devastated, as it had seemed that her plans for her makeup line had all washed away. But then Brian had come to help with his students like a white knight with an army of squires. All for her, to support her dreams, just the way he always had.

  It had been so natural, so obvious, to go to Brian after that. To stop denying the attraction that had only grown bigger and bigger between them since she'd returned to the island. To push away her doubts for a little while and give in to hours of loving and being loved by the most wonderful, beautiful man in the world.

  When the smell of bacon mingled with the French toast, her growling stomach insisted she get out of the bed. A short while later she found Brian in the kitchen with the sunlight from the window spilling over him. Morgan stood in the doorway for a moment or two, before she stepped close enough to wrap her arms around him from the back. Laying her head against him, she loved listening to the steady beat of his heart.

  “I thought French toast might be enough to wake even you up,” Brian said as he turned and kissed her, his mouth sweet and gentle—and utterly delicious—against hers. He popped a piece into her mouth, and when she moaned her pleasure, he said, “Would you like more?”

  “Of the toast or of you?”

  “How about both?”

  Brian looked so tempting that it was almost impossible not to drag him back into the bedroom. Yet a quick glance at the clock on the wall told Morgan that, unfortunately, she couldn’t.

  “I actually have to skip both,” she said with palpable regret. “I’m running late already.”

  “Are you sure whatever it is can't wait just a little while?” Brian asked as he pressed a kiss below her earlobe

  Morgan shivered at the sensual pleasure of his mouth on one of her most sensitive spots. “I think we both know that if we go there, neither one of us will get anything else done today.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  His teeth scraped across her earlobe, and she let out a little gasp at how good it felt. More. She wanted more. Which was why she needed to remind them both that, “I need to meet with Natalie this morning and then I've got all those interviews with the reporters at the garden this afternoon.” She tilted her head to smile up at him. “After all the work you put in yesterday, I want to make sure they know who made it all possible.”

  Brian brushed his fingertips lightly across her lower lip. “I didn’t do it for them.”

  No, he’d done it to make her happy. And that was exactly how she felt when she'd been with him last night. Happy. Safe. And calm for the first time in a very long time, like she didn’t have to keep running as fast as she could just to keep up.

  “What do you have planned with Natalie?” Brian asked.

  “She’d like to tour some universities in New York, and I was going to give her a few tips on places to stay, along with some activities and groups to check out while she’s there. After all she’s done here for me, the least I can do is help her plan properly so that she can get the most out of the experience.”

  “She’s lucky that she's got you to help her.”

  “And you as her teacher. Although,” Morgan added, “since I still don't have anywhere near all the answers, a part of me wonders how much I can really help.”

  “A lot,” Brian said, with utter certainty. “Besides, lately I've been thinking that maybe we don’t have to have everything planned. Maybe sometimes it’s enough to just go with what we feel.”

  She knew he was waiting for her to agree, but when she remained silent, instead of pushing her, he simply said, “How about I make you dinner tonight to celebrate your successful press interviews and the official public launch of your new venture?”

  “I’d love that, and if you wanted to make me breakfast-for-dinner so that I can really enjoy your French toast and bacon, I probably wouldn’t complain.”

  “With all the naps you take,” Brian said with a smile as he continued to hold her close, “it’s no surprise that breakfast is the only meal that you're ever in the mood for considering you’ve always just woken up.”

  He had a point. Especially since as she stood there in Brian’s kitchen, on the island where she’d been born and raised, Morgan suddenly felt like a part of her that she hadn’t known about before had finally woken up, too.

  * * *

  Morgan barely had time to shower and change before Natalie came by her house. From the extremely curious and speculative way that Emily and Paige looked at Morgan when she walked into the living room, it was obvious that Natalie’s presence was the only thing stopping them from asking for all the juicy details. She'd texted the night before to let them know that she wouldn't be coming home because she was staying with Brian, but had left the rest of it up to their imaginations.

  Morgan showed Natalie through to the living room whe
re she opened her laptop and pulled a map of New York out of her bag. Emily came in just long enough to ask if they wanted coffee, and it seemed to catch Natalie a little by surprise, realizing that her school guidance counselor was a normal person like anyone else.

  “What we need for you,” Morgan said, “are hotels that are going to be affordable for your family while still being in a nice part of town.”

  “Is New York that dangerous?” Natalie asked, and Morgan realized that since the biggest city Natalie had ever been to was Seattle, as exciting as all the opportunities in front of her seemed, they were also pretty frightening, too.

  “There are some dangerous parts, but where you'll be touring, you really just need to know where you’re going and pay attention. Somewhere in Prospect Heights might work for a place to use as your home base.” Morgan drew a circle on the map. “I’m just sorry I don’t have the room to put you up when you come to visit.” As nice as her apartment was back in New York, it was still only a one-bedroom walkup.

  So different from this house on the island, Morgan thought as she heard the door open and Rachel come in with Charlotte. Her cute little niece would no doubt demand to be allowed to help her aunt once she saw that she was drawing on maps. Morgan could also hear the faint sounds of Emily debating something with Michael, which meant that he must have come around to fix something again. Paige chimed in every once in a while, and Grams was probably down at the dance studio. Yet, the house still seemed to have enough room in it for everyone to have their own space when they wanted it.

  Until she’d come back this summer, Morgan hadn’t realized how much she missed having her family around her while still having the space to do all that she needed to do. When Morgan had been younger, she’d worried that returning to the island would feel like being trapped. However, now that she'd spent several weeks here, she realized it hadn’t been like that at all. The others weren’t trying to trap her, they were supporting her. Especially Brian.