her lack of kissing partners in the past.
"Patrick kissed me the other night. And my pint levitated and dumped all over my lap," Morgan said morosely, rubbing her hands up her arms.
A snort from Aislinn popped Morgan's eyes open and she turned to glare at her boss.
Aislinn slapped her hand over her mouth, but the riot of curls shaking around her head gave away her laughter. Morgan narrowed her eyes at her boss.
"You think this is funny?"
"Oh, God, yes. I'm so sorry, but yes, I do," Aislinn wheezed, another undignified snort coming from her pretty nose.
Morgan found herself relaxing. There was something about Aislinn's laughter that whispered of Morgan taking herself too seriously. She said as much to Aislinn.
"Oh, Morgan, I know that our abilities are a huge deal. Truly, I get it. But, sometimes you just have to laugh at the awkward moments," Aislinn said. She came to lean against the wall next to Morgan, a smile still on her face.
"It was my first kiss," Morgan said stiffly.
"I know, I know. And, I know how you feel about it since your incident in the past," Aislinn said.
The incident she spoke of was something that Morgan didn't care to remember. It had happened at the last foster home she'd been staying in. Things had actually been going along quite well and Morgan thought that she would be able to stay there until she finished school and maybe went on to university. Unfortunately, she'd developed a desperate crush on their oldest son, a year older than her at school. He must have discovered her diary because one day he had snuck her outside of school. Morgan rolled her eyes as she thought about how stupid she'd been. Here she'd thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, as soon as she'd closed her eyes, he'd pulled her skirt down in front of a yard full of other kids. It was stupid and immature, but the other kids' jeers and taunting had left a mark on her. Morgan had packed up her bag and left that night, hitting the road. It was the final straw in a life full of insults. She'd made it on her own ever since.
"You know then why this job is so important to me," Morgan said.
"I know. But you can't always live like you are on the edge. Just because everyone in your past was awful to you, doesn’t mean that everyone in your future will be."
"I like it here. I want to stay," Morgan whispered.
"We want you to stay. Trust me, you're doing a fantastic job. A kiss from Patrick at the store is not going to ruin that for you," Aislinn said and squeezed her arm. "Now, let's get back in there and finish those orders."
"Yes, ma'am," Morgan said, feeling lighter. She stopped at the back door and looked up at Aislinn in the back hallway.
"I owe him an apology, don't I?"
"He's a good guy," Aislinn said softly before going into the gallery. Morgan's shoulders slumped as she thought about how she would apologize to Patrick. She hated emotional stuff, which is why she strayed away from relationships. Feelings get hurt, things get sticky. Best to keep it to the friends path, then. Satisfied with her decision, Morgan pushed Patrick from her mind and went to work.
Chapter Nine
Sure, and it hadn't been that big of a deal, had it? Patrick wiped down the bar again, grumbling as he worked at a particularly sticky patch. It wasn't like Aislinn was going to fire the best thing that had happened to the gallery. Patrick shot a stormy glare at a regular who requested another pint.
"I'll get to it when I get to it," he said stiffly and then cursed himself as the regular's smile fell from his face.
"I've got you," Cait called and Patrick felt his back go up as his 8-months-pregnant boss eased under the pass-through of the bar and began to build a pint for the regular, chatting easily about the weather all the while. Cait shot Patrick a glare and Patrick returned it with his own.
"I'll be in the stockroom," he said, slipping past her and ducking under the pass-through. It was still early enough in the day that she
"Patrick kissed me the other night. And my pint levitated and dumped all over my lap," Morgan said morosely, rubbing her hands up her arms.
A snort from Aislinn popped Morgan's eyes open and she turned to glare at her boss.
Aislinn slapped her hand over her mouth, but the riot of curls shaking around her head gave away her laughter. Morgan narrowed her eyes at her boss.
"You think this is funny?"
"Oh, God, yes. I'm so sorry, but yes, I do," Aislinn wheezed, another undignified snort coming from her pretty nose.
Morgan found herself relaxing. There was something about Aislinn's laughter that whispered of Morgan taking herself too seriously. She said as much to Aislinn.
"Oh, Morgan, I know that our abilities are a huge deal. Truly, I get it. But, sometimes you just have to laugh at the awkward moments," Aislinn said. She came to lean against the wall next to Morgan, a smile still on her face.
"It was my first kiss," Morgan said stiffly.
"I know, I know. And, I know how you feel about it since your incident in the past," Aislinn said.
The incident she spoke of was something that Morgan didn't care to remember. It had happened at the last foster home she'd been staying in. Things had actually been going along quite well and Morgan thought that she would be able to stay there until she finished school and maybe went on to university. Unfortunately, she'd developed a desperate crush on their oldest son, a year older than her at school. He must have discovered her diary because one day he had snuck her outside of school. Morgan rolled her eyes as she thought about how stupid she'd been. Here she'd thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, as soon as she'd closed her eyes, he'd pulled her skirt down in front of a yard full of other kids. It was stupid and immature, but the other kids' jeers and taunting had left a mark on her. Morgan had packed up her bag and left that night, hitting the road. It was the final straw in a life full of insults. She'd made it on her own ever since.
"You know then why this job is so important to me," Morgan said.
"I know. But you can't always live like you are on the edge. Just because everyone in your past was awful to you, doesn’t mean that everyone in your future will be."
"I like it here. I want to stay," Morgan whispered.
"We want you to stay. Trust me, you're doing a fantastic job. A kiss from Patrick at the store is not going to ruin that for you," Aislinn said and squeezed her arm. "Now, let's get back in there and finish those orders."
"Yes, ma'am," Morgan said, feeling lighter. She stopped at the back door and looked up at Aislinn in the back hallway.
"I owe him an apology, don't I?"
"He's a good guy," Aislinn said softly before going into the gallery. Morgan's shoulders slumped as she thought about how she would apologize to Patrick. She hated emotional stuff, which is why she strayed away from relationships. Feelings get hurt, things get sticky. Best to keep it to the friends path, then. Satisfied with her decision, Morgan pushed Patrick from her mind and went to work.
Chapter Nine
Sure, and it hadn't been that big of a deal, had it? Patrick wiped down the bar again, grumbling as he worked at a particularly sticky patch. It wasn't like Aislinn was going to fire the best thing that had happened to the gallery. Patrick shot a stormy glare at a regular who requested another pint.
"I'll get to it when I get to it," he said stiffly and then cursed himself as the regular's smile fell from his face.
"I've got you," Cait called and Patrick felt his back go up as his 8-months-pregnant boss eased under the pass-through of the bar and began to build a pint for the regular, chatting easily about the weather all the while. Cait shot Patrick a glare and Patrick returned it with his own.
"I'll be in the stockroom," he said, slipping past her and ducking under the pass-through. It was still early enough in the day that she
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