Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Asad
The room was dark when Asad stumbled in.
He’d had a few more than he’d meant to, spurred on by the ‘bonding’ with his brother, which had gotten even easier when lubricated with alcohol.
He blinked, carefully closing the door behind him with exaggerated slowness so as not to wake Morgan.
Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, which wasn’t actually total thanks to the alarm clock and the streetlights that were barely filtering in through small gaps in the curtains.
It was quiet, other than the faint sound of Morgan’s slow, even breaths.
Knowing she was there spread warmth across his chest, far warmer than any shot he’d taken. The feeling of satisfaction, knowing she was there, was new and odd. Why would he be satisfied knowing she was there?
Maybe he’d just gotten used to having her around in this room. They’d been together in it all week, after all. Her being in the room felt right. Good. Like coming home at the end of a long day.
Stop thinking like that.
He was drunk, and his brain didn’t have the defenses against unprovoked thoughts the way it normally did. The thoughts kept coming as he padded across the room, stripping his clothes as he went, and slid into the bed.
I wonder if she’s naked.
I wonder if she would mind if I woke her up.
She probably needs her sleep.
I can just cuddle her.
Since when do I want to cuddle someone? She’s not a fucking teddy bear.
But I do like cuddling her.
I like it when she cuddles me, too.
Maybe she’ll cuddle migrate her way— Oh, hello. Perfect timing.
Morgan snuggled into him with a happy little sigh, nestling her head in the crook of his arm. His hand curved around her shoulder. Now he really did feel like everything was right, just like it was supposed to be.
Warm. Safe. Wanted.
His brain registered all of these things, and he yawned, tilting his head to rub his cheek against the silky cap on her hair.
“Your mom wants to spend more time with you,” she murmured.
If he wasn’t so drunk, he would have jumped out of his skin.
“I didn’t know you were awake.”
“I’m not.” She yawned. “But I wanted you to know.”
Asad chuckled. She did sound like she was half-asleep. The warmth in his chest felt like it was spreading.
His brother wanted to bond.
His mom wanted more time with him. And if his mom was saying it, that meant his dad felt the same way. They operated as a pair, always.
This week wasn’t anything like what he’d expected it to be. Part of that was Morgan.
“I’m glad you’re here with me.” He whispered the words into the darkness, not knowing if she’d heard them or not. Somehow, that made it easier to say them.
“Mmm.” The little noise she made in reply didn’t give him any clues about how she took the words.
It seemed she’d fallen right back asleep.
Which meant it didn’t matter that he cuddled up around her, hugging her like a teddy bear, wrapping himself around her the way he really wanted to, rather than holding back the way he felt he had to.
His eyes were growing heavy.
It felt like he blinked, and all of the sudden, the sun was shining in through the window, and Morgan was stirring in his arms. She yawned, stretching in his arms, and he released her so she could roll away. This time, he hadn’t been little spoon. Neither of them had been the spoon.
They’d slept facing each other, her head on his arm, his other arm wrapped around her, and his leg trapping her against him.
He’d tucked her head under his chin. It was the exact kind of sleeping arrangement that should have horrified him, yet as she rolled onto her back, all he felt was a sense of loss.
Bad, Asad.
He covered up his unexpected emotions by rolling away as well.
“What time is it?” he asked.
“Oh shoot, it’s nine!” Morgan jumped up out of bed.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve got to get started. I need to shower and do my hair and makeup and be ready to leave by three.” She was already headed to the bathroom, not giving him a second glance. It was silly to feel abandoned. It really was. Yet…
“You need that long to get ready?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, his brain started screaming at him—Mistake! Mistake! It didn’t matter that he’d never had a serious girlfriend, he knew better than to ask questions like that.
Morgan glanced at him, pausing before she went in. She didn’t seem offended.
“Yes. The shower will take me at least half an hour because I need to wash and condition my hair, plus shave everything. Then it will take me about another half hour to an hour to dry it, another hour or possibly two to get it into the hairstyle I want. My skincare and makeup take me at least an hour, but it might be a little more since I want to do a glam look for the wedding. And I need to factor in time for food and travel.” All of this was said in a matter-of-fact tone that laid out how she was going to be spending her day.
“Right.” He nodded his head, relieved she wasn’t upset with him for questioning how long it would take her. Coffee. He needed coffee. “Do you want some coffee?”
“That would be great, thank you,” she called out as the door to the bathroom closed.
Coffee and breakfast. He could get those things for her since it was going to take him a lot less time to get ready than it would her. He did need to shave and style his own hair but that would take him half an hour combined.
Morgan would have had more time if he wasn’t a groomsman, which made him feel a little guilty.
She had to be there early because he had to be there early for pictures, unless she was going to arrive separately, which she didn’t want to do.
So, the very least he could do was get her coffee and feed her while she got ready.
Then the whirlwind would begin.
Morgan
“It was a lovely ceremony.” That was the first thing she said to Asad when he was finally able to rejoin her after the cocktail hour, and it was the same refrain she’d been repeating since the ceremony ended. It popped out of her mouth automatically.
It was also true. The ceremony had been lovely.
She didn’t have anything to compare it to other than movies, and she’d never seen a movie with a Persian wedding.
The blend of traditions from Cyrus’ and Anna’s families had been beautiful, made even more so by the love shining from the two of them.
Morgan had gotten a little teary when they were saying their vows to each other.
Asad had been beaming with pride for his little brother.
“Yes, it was.” Asad winked at her, wrapping his arm around her. “Now I’m starving, and Anna and Cyrus are going to be at least another half hour. What’s good?” He looked at the stations set up for the cocktail hour and the servers walking around with trays.
“Everything,” Morgan said honestly. All the food had been incredible.
Asad chuckled. “Sounds about right.”
With him at her side, the cocktail hour didn’t feel so awkward.
There had been plenty of friendly people asking how she knew the bride and groom, but small talk was not her forte, and everyone she’d gotten to know during the week had been taking pictures.
Asad’s mom had tried to get Morgan to go with them, but she had begged off.
She wasn’t Asad’s real girlfriend. She didn’t belong in the wedding pictures.
Lena wanted their relationship to be more than it was, even after Morgan’s explanation last night that they weren’t making plans to get serious.
Considering Asad had brought her to the wedding, when he’d never introduced a girlfriend to his family, made her task more difficult, but she’d tried.
The cocktail hour was much more enjoyable with Asad at her side, chatting easily with acquaintances, introducing her, finding topics of conversation that everyone could be involved in, and making everyone laugh.
She could relax and let him take the lead, not just in the sexual Dom way, but in a way that allowed her to be herself.
By the time she went into the reception, she was feeling much better, even though she had to walk in on her own. Asad and his family were being announced before Cyrus and Anna came in.
Finding her table, she was a little nervous about sitting down by herself, then was relieved when Anna’s sister’s husband, Kirk, joined her.
They hadn’t talked much, but at least she knew him.
The rest of the table would be filled once the wedding party came in—it was her and Asad, his parents, the grandmothers, and Anna’s parents and sister.
“This is beautiful,” Kirk said as he took his seat, looking around at the tables and flower arrangements.
The location itself was practically a work of art, with a vaulted ceiling, columns going up the entire length of the walls, and greenery lit with twinkling lights decorating the balcony that looked down on where the tables were arranged.
The table linens were bright white, set off with gold chargers underneath white plates.
Gold and white vases were in the center of each table, tall enough that they didn’t block much of the view of the rest of the table, but huge enough at the top to have giant arrangements of white flowers that spilled over the edges.
She felt like she’d stepped into a fairy tale.
“It really is,” Morgan agreed, looking around with appreciation. She’d discovered that when in doubt, for wedding small talk, just comment on how lovely everything had been.
Thankfully, they’d barely spoken before the music started, and the DJ asked everyone to be seated so he could introduce the wedding party.
Morgan smiled and clapped along with everyone as first the grandmothers were introduced, then the parents, the wedding party, and finally Cyrus and Anna.
Asad dropped a kiss on top of her head before sitting in his seat, making her smile.
She knew he was just posturing for his family, but she was realizing how much she liked those little gestures of affection. That was a good thing to know for when she got a real boyfriend.
On the other side of Asad, Darius sat down and Lena next to him.
Morgan was next to the grandmothers, who both cooed over her and told her how beautiful she looked.
She couldn’t help but preen at their compliments and returning them.
Despite the very different styles of their dresses, they both looked incredible.
“Well, what a day,” Lena said brightly, reaching for her glass.
“What a week,” Kirk commented with a chuckle, making everyone laugh.
At another table, someone started tapping their glass, the sharp sound cutting through conversation, especially as it was quickly joined by many glasses being tapped with silverware.
Everyone turned to look at Cyrus and Anna, who shook their heads but obligingly leaned in for a kiss.
Cheers erupted through the room, then everyone went back to what they were doing as servers began to move through the tables, carrying salads.
“So, son, how has work been?” Darius asked Asad.
There was a moment of awkward silence as Asad blinked, looking as if he wasn’t sure he was hearing correctly.
On the other side of Darius, Lena smiled at her husband approvingly.
Apparently, she was implementing some of what she and Morgan had discussed the night before.
Morgan smiled and elbowed Asad.
“Good, uh, I mean, it’s been good. I just finished up a big project.” As Asad spoke and Darius and his mom listened with their full attention on him, Morgan grinned. It felt nice to do something good for someone else.
Asad
His parents had been replaced by pod people. It was the only explanation.
Here they were at Cyrus’ wedding, and all they wanted to talk about was… him. Not in a bad way, either. His dad didn’t make one remark about how he could have come to work for the family or how well Cyrus was doing at the accounting firm.
The whole conversation was completely focused on him.
At Cyrus’ wedding.
He felt as if he’d stepped into an alternate reality.
Once the music started, he dragged Morgan out onto the dance floor with him.
Granted, he loved to dance, but mostly, he just needed to escape his parents’ attention.
It had been one thing at the aviary, especially since conversation had revolved around the exhibits; it was another thing at the wedding reception.
Wrapping his arms around Morgan, he swayed with her to the romantic slow song, knowing the ideas he was putting in his mom’s head but deciding it was the lesser of two evils.
“You said something about my mom wanting to spend more time with me?” he murmured as they moved together.
“Yes. She worries that she and your dad made you feel like you don’t matter as much to them as Cyrus does. They want to fix things with you, but they don’t know how.”
Bless Morgan and her bluntness. Sometimes, that’s what it took to get things through. She would say the things he and his parents would have talked around for ages without actually saying it out loud. Not that he knew what to do with that information.
He glanced over to where his parents were now talking to Anna’s. They were smiling and enjoying themselves. They were trying. The first steps had been made. And sometimes, taking that first step was the most important thing.
They sure as hell weren’t going to fix everything in a day or even a week, but they could make a start.
The song came to an end, transitioning to a more upbeat number.
Cyrus had told him that the playlist was supposed to start with music every generation would enjoy and as the night went on, it would move to more modern tunes.
Right now, it was playing a song he remembered his parents dancing to when he was a kid.
“I’m going to go ask my mom to dance,” he said. Morgan beamed up at him, which made him feel like a hero, as silly as that seemed.
“I think she’d love that.”
Morgan was correct. His mom was as thrilled to dance with him as she was during the Mother-Son dance with Cyrus. Something he’d never expected, and it made him feel on top of the world.