Taming the Carefree Billionaire - Marie Higgins Page 0,25

He paused briefly. “Well, the photographer, Morgan, she did ask something that was a little off-topic. She asked about the fires of those other wineries. She was worried about ours.”

“That was nice of her to be concerned. Sadly, we cannot stop Mother Nature from doing her thing. We can only hope it passes us by.” Darion clapped his hand on Thomas’ shoulder. “Good job, son.”

As Darion left, Thomas couldn’t understand the warmth filling his chest. His father finally said something uplifting to him. That didn’t happen often, and Thomas rather liked feeling invincible. This kind of feeling made him want to do more to hear more praise from his father.

Funny, how that worked.

NINE

After two days of getting the cold shoulder from Joslyn, Morgan decided to apologize to her coworker. She tried to explain that she hadn’t wanted Thomas to flirt with her. She would be more than happy if Thomas took Joslyn out on a date and made her his target of interest.

Telling Joslyn this made things better between them at work, and Joslyn was nonstop chatting with excitement about the upcoming party at the country club... a party in which Morgan would not attend. She was sure Joslyn wouldn’t care.

The workday was long and stressful. Morgan couldn’t wait to get home, eat, and soak in a bubbly hot tub. Just the thought of relaxing made her hurry to the parking lot and climb on her motorcycle. She put on her helmet and started the bike before taking off.

During her ride, she noticed there were more stupid people on the road today. Either that or she was just irritable, anyway. Her mind replayed the conversation she’d had with Joslyn when she apologized, but deep down inside her, she knew she shouldn’t have. It wasn’t her fault that Thomas flirted with her. Of course, it was her fault that she’d asked him those questions, even if it was supposed to be Joslyn’s job. Yet, that ditzy reporter wouldn’t have asked those questions, and Morgan needed the answers.

So perhaps that was what she was sorry about. She brought her bike to a stop at the light and pondered her thoughts. No, she wasn’t sorry about that either, actually. Thomas mentioned that he’d had interviews with other papers and their photographers asked questions, too. So, why should Morgan have to feel guilty about speaking her thoughts?

The light turned green, and she continued her drive. She glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed a shiny red Ferrari not far behind her. Then again, this was California. Many people drove fancy cars. But after turning on several streets, the car was still following her. She didn’t dare try to see a face, only because that would distract her from driving cautiously.

Soon, she turned down the street where her apartment building was, and as she glanced in the rearview mirror, she noticed the Ferrari turned, as well. Growling under her breath, she tightened her hands on the handlebars. There was only one person she knew who could afford such a vehicle. But then, why would Thomas follow her? Had he been following her since she left work?

Instead of pulling in the tenants’ parking area, she steered her bike to the curb in front of the apartments and killed the engine. Just as she figured, the Ferrari stopped behind her. She took off her helmet and climbed off her bike.

Thomas opened his car door and exited the fancy vehicle. He gave her a wide smile... one which she’d like to slap right off his face.

She placed her helmet on the seat before turning toward Thomas and folding her arms. She pierced him with a glare.

He held up his hands in surrender. “You caught me. I was following you.”

“Now tell me why you were following me home.”

He glanced at the apartment building. “You live here?”

“Stick to the subject, Powers,” she snapped. “Why were you following me?”

“Because I have something for you.” He reached into his car and pulled out a wrapped box, no bigger than a watermelon. The wrapping was silver with a white bow.

“You got this for me?” she asked warily. “Why? It’s not my birthday.”

He handed her the gift. “Open it up.”

She didn’t trust him, but curiosity had her opening the present, anyway. Once the silver wrapping was torn away, she stared at the box, especially the picture of what was inside the box. Her jaw dropped and she couldn’t believe she was holding a Hasselblad H6D-400 camera and the accessories that came with it. She’d