Page 95 of The Christmas Catch
Morgan gulped, but didn’t allow her brain to wander. She was still alive, and simply having Ali this close made her limbs relax. She sensed something had changed since last night, but she wasn’t sure what. However, after the day she’d had, she wasn’t leaving anything to chance. She reached out her fingers and brushed them along Ali’s forearm.
Ali stilled, caught her gaze, then grasped Morgan’s fingers in her own and squeezed.
Morgan’s eyelids fluttered shut briefly. Her chest ached with anticipation.
“I saw your mum. She said you were okay. Is that true? No internal issues?” Ali’s voice cracked with concern.
“I’m lucky. Walt wasn’t going too fast, neither was I, so we should both be fine. He popped his head in when he was being wheeled on the trolley to apologise.” Morgan shook her head. “It wasn’t all his fault, though. I was trying to change the radio station because ‘Stay Another Day’ came on and you know what I think about that. It’s not a Christmas song.”
Ali put a hand to her forehead. “Will you let that go? The irony is, I wantyouto stay another day. We all do. Please, from now on, accept East 17 for what it is.”
Morgan gave her a weak smile. “I’ll try.” She peered closer. “I like your shirt. Are they dogs or foxes?”
“They’re bloody reindeer!” Ali pulled the material out. Now she looked closer, they did look a little like foxes. With small antlers.
Anyway.
She eyed Morgan and shook her head. “I was so worried when I saw you. I feared the worst.” She paused, her eyes searching Morgan’s face. “But it made me realise what’s important. What I want. What you mean to me.”
Morgan tried to sit up, then winced. Somehow, she didn’t want to be slumped for this announcement. She wanted to be upright and fully present.
“Do you need help?” Ali got up, plumped up a couple of pillows, and helped Morgan sit up. She stopped midway as she drew back, their gazes connecting.
Morgan put a hand on her arm.
Ali glanced down at it, then back up to Morgan.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Morgan couldn’t be sure until Ali said the words. “You know what I want to happen, but I have to hear it from you, too.”
Ali gave her the faintest of nods. “I’m saying, seeing you in a crash made me realise I don’t want to be without you. The thought of something happening to you was too real and if anything had, I would have spent the rest of my life regretting it. And yes, my original point still stands. It’s terrible timing. I’m just about to live in New York.”
Morgan’s grin ripened to the point of splitting. “I’ve always loved New York.”
Ali laughed. “I’m glad, because you might visit more than you’d bargained for.” She paused. “Morgan Scott, if you’re prepared to deal with our time and distance differences and see where this goes, then I am, too.” She leaned in closer, so their lips were now inches apart.
Morgan’s heart thumped in her chest. She wasn’t sure this amount of adrenaline was great for somebody who was just getting over a car crash, but honestly, she didn’t care. If she was going to die, there were worse ways to go than having Ali Bradford telling her she wanted to make a go of things and laying a kiss on her lips.
“Turns out,” Ali continued, “I’m not quite over my childhood crush.”
Then she moved her lips forward and pressed them to Morgan’s, making Morgan’s heart dance like nobody was watching.
Last night, as she’d slept fitfully, Morgan hadn’t thought this would ever happen again. If that had come true, it would have been a crime. Now, even though Ali’s kiss was light, tentative—Morgan was lying in a hospital bed—it still lit up Morgan’s body. Ali’s lips painted visions of a future in Morgan’s mind. A future filled with kisses, with laughter, with love.
When Ali pulled away, Morgan blinked. Love? She wouldn’t say that just yet. She didn’t want to scare Ali away when she’d only just come back onboard.
But what a Christmas Day this was turning out to be. One for the ages.
Ali’s gaze roamed Morgan’s face, concern flickering in her eyes. “That didn’t hurt, did it?”
Morgan laughed, then wished she hadn’t. With her bruises, laughter was not the best medicine.
“Your kiss did the opposite of hurt. It gave me hope.” Then she closed her eyes, embarrassed.
But Ali squeezed her hand. “I couldn’t sleep last night, questioning everything. All throughout today, I was thinking about you, wondering what you were doing. Something wasn’t right. I hope I would have worked out that I liked you too much to lose you. Enough to give us a go. But someone once told me I am notoriously glass half empty, and they might have a point.” Ali screwed up her face and gave Morgan a rueful smile. “I’m really sorry for everything I said and did, for all the ridiculousness that blurted out of my mouth. My only defence is that I’m completely stubborn and stupid.”
Morgan smiled. “You’re only a bit stupid. But a lot stubborn. Good job you’re also gorgeous and finally come to your senses, isn’t it?” She paused. “Are you finally admitting this might not be a festive fling? That you might just have feelings for me?”
Ali laid the lightest of kisses on her lips, then nodded. “Of course I have feelings for you. How could I not? You’re Morgan Scott. The woman of my dreams. Now a reality who’s not as perfect as I always thought. Which is a good thing.” Ali paused. “But to be clear, youareperfect in a lot of ways, though.”
