Page 90 of The Reluctant Roommate

The run-up to Christmas meant Heidi was busy at work. Robert hadn’t increased her pay despite her extra workload, and he still gave Luis the evening shifts with the better tips—unless Luis suddenly wanted a night off, in which case Heidi would be asked to pull a double shift or cover at the last moment.

She’d dropped her résumé into several bars, and received quite a few calls, but most of them were only offering casual shifts during the busier holiday season. At least the FlyInn was steady work.

There came the day when Morgan went to meet Sally in a coffee shop in Cherry Cheek.

Rather than worry about the outcome, Heidi distracted herself while Morgan was gone by making a lasagna for dinner and then her first attempt at banana muffins. She was spooning the mixture into muffin cases when she heard the front door.

Swiftly, Heidi wiped the splatters from the counter and subdued the flicker of excitement.Please let this be good.

Morgan burst through the door into her kitchen and set down her briefcase. Her smartest business suit was still unwrinkled, although her hair was working loose from its professional pleat.

“She offered me a senior advisor position!” Morgan caught Heidi around the waist and kissed her hard. “She apparently called Mattingley and spoke with my ex-boss, David, who admitted that his hands had been tied—Mattingley’s desire to retain their biggest client trumped keeping one of their best senior advisors. Sally says she encourages a healthy work-life balance in her company. Weekly working hours are capped at forty-five, and if you go over that two weeks in a row, you have to take the time back the next week. There’s four weeks’ vacation time too.”

“Pretty standard in Australia.” Heidi grinned. “Not so much here. Robert told me today I don’t get paid vacation until I’ve lasted a year—and I really hope that doesn’t happen.”

“It’s slightly less money, but that’s okay. It’s still in my range. The position won’t start until the second week of January, though.” Morgan kissed Heidi again, trapping her against the counter and sweeping her tongue around her mouth. “That’s fine with me. More time for kisses.”

“I guess over Christmas is a terrible time to open your doors.” Some of Heidi’s excitement deflated. Christmas. Her first Christmas away from home. First northern hemisphere Christmas, where she’d be in the snow rather than in the heat and humidity. First Christmas away from her family.

“It means, though”—Morgan settled her butt against the counter next to Heidi—“that I can go home for Christmas. For longer than the couple of days I normally take. I can see Linda—see how she’s doing, see my folks.”

Of course she would.Heidi’s excitement ran out of her socked feet and through the floor. Not only would there be no family time for her but no Morgan either. She’d be alone, no doubt working the hours Luis and Robert didn’t want at the FlyInn. She pasted on a smile. “That’s the icing on the cake. I’m really happy for you, Morgan.”

“I’m going to tell my parents about losing my job,” Morgan said. “I’ll tell them face to face. And then I’ll tell them that I have a new, hopefully better, job. I realize I should have shared the difficult news before now, but I wasn’t in the space where I felt ready for that. At least now I’m trying to normalize sharing the bad as well as the good in my life. Maybe then they will feel they can do the same.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. When will you go?”

“That depends.” Morgan took Heidi’s hand. “On you.”

“I’ll be here. I can look after the house. Shovel the snow, take in the mail. I’m sure I’ll have to work some of the holidays, though.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

Then what?

Something in her expression must have warned Morgan. “Oh, no. Nothing bad. At least, I hope you won’t think so. I wondered if you’d like to come with me to New Jersey? Meet my parents, Aunt Linda, and cousins. Join our family lunch. Christmas isn’t as big a deal as Thanksgiving, but we still celebrate. Roast ham and all the trimmings. A family Secret Santa. So, if you wanted to come, when I go would depend on what time you can get off.”

Warmth expanded in Heidi’s chest like the sun. “What would I be going as? Your friend? Would we share a room?”

Morgan bit her lip. “I thought I’d introduce you as my girlfriend. If that’s okay with you. If I’m not presuming. If you want.”

Morgan was doing all that for her? This was a giant step—for both of them.

“I don’t know what my parents will think about the whole sharing-a-room thing. I’ve never brought anyone home to stay before.”

“Are you sure you want to start with me?” Heid asked. “I mean, I’m happy to be a test case, but I thought you might want to save the bring-home-the-girlfriend thing for someone who matters more to you.” The thought of someone else as Morgan’s girlfriend shredded her heart, though. She forced a smile back on her face.

“And why do you assume you don’t matter?” Morgan’s voice was warm honey. “We matter to each other.”

“We do. That is, you do to me. But I didn’t want to assume you felt the same way. We’ve never said the words. We’re just roommates who’ve fallen into this thing that’s now a bit more.”Heidi puffed a breath. “I mean, just now was the first time you’ve mentioned me and ‘girlfriend’ in the same sentence.”

“How would you describe us?”

“You’re asking me? The person who’s never around anyone long enough for the title ‘girlfriend’ to stick? Except for Serena, and we both know how that went.”

Morgan’s lips twitched. “You also said you’ve never stuck with anything. And look at you now—enrolled in a four-year college degree program.”

“That still gives me a nervous tic. But I’m totally committed and so very excited.” She took a deep breath. “Nearly as excited as I am about us. I would love if you were my girlfriend. I want that commitment. I want to look forward to every day I’m with you. I want that undergraduate degree. I want to keep living here with you. I want a different job—a better one. Stability has never sounded so good. And you’re part of that, Morgan. A huge part. The biggest part. The part I want the most.”