The Right Thing by Donna McDonald Page B

but honest moment, Morgan had successfully seduced her with hope. Realistically though, there hadn’t been time to talk to her doctor or even a friend about what to expect or do if things went wrong.
    Now the man who had insisted they weren’t finished yet was sitting on her couch, expecting her to make good on her brave words and promises to follow through.
    Well whatever happened tonight, she wouldn’t leave Morgan hanging, Thea vowed. She’d make sure she pleased him in bed one way or another. But this event sure wasn’t turning out to be the easy, quick tangle in the sheets that Thea had secretly hoped her first time again would be when the urge hit. She wished now she’d given sex more than just a passing thought over the years, but it was a little late now to wish for anything but courage.
    “Well, of all the books in here, I never would have thought you’d pick that one to read,” Thea said, making herself walk into the room. There was no sense putting it off any longer.
    Morgan lifted his head from the Atlantis book, almost swallowing his tongue at the picture Thea made with her reddish brown hair falling damply over a green silk robe the same color as her eyes. He laughed at his huge reaction as much as seeing the author of his amusement in the flesh. The thought that the woman walking to him was going to be his to enjoy soon was still hard for Morgan to accept. It was a little like living out a dream.
    “It wasn’t the book that I was reading,” he told her, smiling. “It was the running commentary in the margins that was far more entertaining.”
    “They have some things right and others wrong,” Thea said archly, coming over and plucking the book from Morgan’s hand. She flipped to a page he hadn’t gotten to yet. “See this. It’s really the best part of the book. This sent me to the real authority on the subject. I just haven’t been able to get to the research yet. Angus got sick and I stopped—sorry.”
    Appalled at what she was sharing with Morgan, Thea snapped the book closed.
    “I guess it’s obvious that I’m not used to having—company like you,” she finished lamely.
    Morgan leaned back and stretched an arm out behind her. “I don’t mind talking about the life you had before me, Thea. I would like to think that we can be friends about such things. I saw the pictures of you and your husband. It’s obvious you were happy with him. Many marriages don’t work that way. So you used to read and research, and then your husband got what? Sick? Hurt?”
    “Stroke first,” Thea said softly, looking at a point across the room. “Then a couple years later, it was his heart.”
    So much for romance Althea , she grumbled internally, chastising herself. Talking about your dead husband all night is not great foreplay with the new guy.
    “It must have been challenging to run the restaurant alone,” Morgan said, running a hand down the back of her hair for reassurance when he saw how uncomfortable she was about the subject matter.
    “I used to teach English at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff,” Thea said. “I didn’t know anything about the restaurant business when I took over. I’ve come a long way in ten years.”
    “Yes, you have,” Morgan agreed. A teacher. She’d been a teacher. “So why did you keep the restaurant after your husband died?”
    “People depended on it for jobs. Angus’s father died the year after he did. The restaurant was really Angus’s parents’ livelihood. Selling it wasn’t a good option for anyone but me. I’ve liked being a business woman. I’m just not great at it,” Thea said.
    “How many people have you let go since you’ve been running it?” Morgan asked.
    “None,” Thea protested, shocked at the question. “I made sure everyone kept their jobs.”
    “Then trust me, Thea, you’re a damn good business woman,” Morgan said sincerely.
    “That was sneaky,” she said, squeezing his knee. “I was ready to be offended by the