Page 19 of Chasing the Dream
“Do you miss home?”
“Somewhat, but I’m enjoying it here. You and Maria have been very welcoming.”
He pulled into a driveway and clicked a remote to open the garage door. His home was a neat, sprawling ranch with a red-tiled roof and an architectural style typical of homes in the Southwest.
She followed him inside and into a bright, open kitchen/dining area. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she hadn’t expected this. Glancing around, she noticed how neat everything was, and she couldn’t help but comment on it.
“You weren’t this neat as a teenager!”
He chuckled. “I have a housekeeper.”
“Ah.”
“But even without that, I’m neater than I used to be.”
“I’d say so. I remember what a disaster your bedroom was!”
“When were you in my bedroom?”
“Maria took me in there a few times, but I don’t remember what for.” What she did recall was how excited she’d been to be in his room. While Maria had looked for something, Morgan had walked around, touching some of his things and inhaling his teenaged-boy scent. At one point, she’d sat on the edge of his bed and had to suppress the urge to bury her nose in his pillow.
His was a typical boy’s room with sports equipment propped up against the walls, clothes strewn on the floor, and a poster of a bikini model tacked up on his closet door. She’d been jealous of that poster, thinking that he probably stared at it from his bed at night.
“Speaking of bedrooms, would you like a tour of the house?”
Her eyes went wide, and he laughed. “Just so you can see that I’m really not a slob anymore.”
She followed him through the rooms, admiring the arched doorways, tasteful furniture, and casual décor. “Did you hire someone to do the decorating?”
“Nope. I did it myself with a little help from Maria.”
“I like it. It’s a lot…cozier than I would have imagined.”
“What were you expecting, a man cave? Dark colors, leather furniture, a red room?”
She went still, feeling a flash of heat surge through her body. They were in the hallway leading to the bedrooms, and the space suddenly felt too tight.
He must have realized she wasn’t behind him, and he turned around to face her. “I was kidding, Morgan.”
“I know.”
“Are you hot?”
“Why?”
“Your face looks flushed.”
“Never mind. Just finish the tour.”
He grinned at her and then walked through a doorway. She followed him inside, and he said, “This is my bedroom.”
She glanced around, but unlike when she was a teen, she couldn’t touch his things, sit on his bed, or daydream about what it would be like to lie there with him.
“It’s a lot different than when I lived with my parents, huh?”
She nodded. “Unless you still have a poster of a half-naked woman on your closet door.”
He tipped his head back and laughed. “You remember that?”
