“Hardly,” she said. “I was meeting with this summer’s contractor to look at some land we’re going to buy.”
“And yet you smell like a sports bar. How does that work?”
Morgan rolled her eyes and opened the bag of chips. “Yes, well, we went for a drink afterward.” She tried opening the jar of salsa and struggled.
“What’s going on with that guy?” Sawyer asked. He took the jar from her and opened it easily. “River, right? That’s a weird name.”
Morgan frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Nothing is going on. And you’re one to talk, when all of the kids in our family are named after Mark Twain characters.”
“No changing the subject. I know a lot of personal crap has happened since the party, so I didn’t bring it up earlier, but it’s been long enough now. What’s up between you two? When I introduced him to you, there was something going on there.”
She knew there were a couple different ways she could go with this. Outright lie. Lie by omission. Tell the truth. Or tell enough truth to make it believable but still mostly lie. Of her three brothers, Sawyer was the most insightful one. Just like he had noticed something between Morgan and River, he would also be the most likely to know she wasn’t being honest with him.
“We met back in college,” she said. “I hadn’t seen him in years and didn’t know he was involved with this year’s project, so it was a surprise.” There. Just enough truth, but all the salacious details were missing.
“Did you guys date back then or something?” Sawyer was reading between the lines, as she’d feared. “I noticed he looked at you with more than a casual appreciation in his eyes.”
“I looked good that night,” Morgan said in a conceitedly confident tone. “But yes, we did date. Briefly. Nothing came of it. You know Dad wouldn’t have allowed it.”
Sawyer nodded. While he didn’t have the same pressures put on him as Morgan did as the only daughter, he still pursued romance cautiously. All the young Steeles had social-climbing targets on their backs. Sawyer and Tom fought off most of their obvious pursuers, unlike Finn, who jumped into the Charleston dating pool feet first.
“And what about now?” He leaned forward to grab the container of cookies and peeled off the lid. “Snickerdoodles,” he groaned, and inhaled the addictive scent of cinnamon and butter.
Morgan reached out to take one. “What do you mean?” she asked cautiously.
“Oh, come on. There’s still something there. You guys went out for a drink. Do you think anything is going to come of it? I mean, you’re a grown woman now. You don’t have to worry about what Dad thinks of your relationships anymore.”
Morgan wasn’t entirely sure that was true, at least in her case, but it was an interesting thought. A lot had changed in her life since the day her father hauled her out of her honeymoon cabin. While she didn’t entirely trust River’s motivations—this could still all be about money for him, then and now—she could protect herself by knowing that going in.
“I don’t know what it is, Sawyer. Probably nothing more than a little reminiscing. Or maybe he’s just looking for his second shot at landing the Steele heiress.”
“On a point of technicality, you aren’t the Steele heiress anymore.”
Morgan frowned at him. “Am I being disinherited without my knowledge?”
“No, of course not. You know our parents would never even think of such a thing. I meant that with everything that has come to light lately, perhaps you should shake off the mantle of heiress and do what you want with your life for a change. You hold back. You always have. And I get it. Dad watches you closer than any of us. But you’re about to turn thirty. You need to stop worrying about what other people think—especially Dad—and live your life.”
Morgan and Sawyer rarely had time to sit and have real discussions without the rest of the family around. Without Finn to make a joke or Tom changing the subject when things got heavy or unco
mfortable, there was nothing for her to do but seriously think about what her brother had said.
And he was right. She didn’t have to be the perfect Steele daughter any longer. Maybe she could try living her life for a while as Morgan Nolan and see how that worked out.
There was a lot of history between Morgan and River. More than anyone, even River, knew about. A lot of reasons why opening up this Pandora’s box was a bad idea. And yet, all the original reasons why she couldn’t have River were off the table now. And despite how much she didn’t want to be attracted to him, she couldn’t help herself. There was something there—something Morgan couldn’t fight—that drew her to him. And the more time she spent with him, the worse it got. He was a good guy, contrary to the villain her father had painted him to be. Maybe she’d been wrong this whole time.
“I’m not saying you run off and marry the guy,” Sawyer continued, “but what can it hurt to indulge a little? You’re both adults. You’re attracted to one another. Take the proper precautions and do what you want to do. It’s time to live your own life, Morgan.”
She had never expected to have this kind of realization tonight, especially with her brother’s help, but he was right. Regardless of who her parents were or how she’d been raised, she was an adult now. This was Morgan’s life and she was going to live it.
Five
River was pleased with himself. He tried not to be too arrogant, but there were two things he knew better than anything else—construction and Morgan. Since finding a place for her to live combined both those skill sets, he was pretty confident that she would love what he showed her.
He was right.
That’s why he’d suggested that instead of meeting in the office today, they should come here to his latest property instead. He had called that morning to let her know their offer had been accepted on the downtown land purchase. Everything was being finalized. He just needed her to sign a few things before they broke ground and got started building the houses.
She’d agreed to meet him later that afternoon. Now they were in a town house on the peninsula where he’d recently completed the renovations. Originally part of an 1840s warehouse, it had been converted into a row of town houses a hundred years later. This project had been more art than skill, trying to balance historic details like the original brick facade with the sleek quartz and modern bath and kitchen fixtures that buyers wanted.