of voice was sarcastic or excited. Morgan already knew Thomas had sent the flowers. She smiled as she reached for the card.
“Who did you impress this weekend?” Joslyn asked, trying to pry into Morgan’s life again.
Morgan shrugged. She didn’t want to go into her romantic date with Joslyn, especially since it was with Thomas. The last conversation she had with Joslyn about Thomas was when she convinced her coworker that she didn’t want him to flirt with her.
With a shaky hand, Morgan opened the card and read. You’ve captured my heart. Please have dinner with me tonight. Thomas.
Quickly, before Joslyn could see, Morgan tucked the card in her desk. “It’s just a guy I met at Thomas’ party,” she said, hoping it sounded believable. “He wants to take me to dinner tonight.”
“Wow, I wish the guy I met at the party would have done the same thing for me.”
Morgan met her coworker’s gaze, shaking her head. “Jos, you spent the night with him already. He doesn’t need to give you roses, now. He’s already won.”
Joslyn shrugged and lifted her nose in the air as she strutted away.
Morgan opened her file on the wineries and began looking through the photos. The first one that popped up was of Thomas in front of one of his sections of grapes. He wore his Ray Ban glasses which made him look so mature and handsome. Her heartbeat quickened just looking at his picture.
She moved off that picture and pulled up the file that had all the fires and onlookers lain out in a collage. Morgan hovered her mouse over the pictures as she was resizing them. Then, one picture caught her eye. She zoomed in to get a better look at one of the onlookers. The man in the photo looked familiar, but she wasn’t quite sure who he was. She began looking at some of the other groups of spectators from the other fires and she saw the same man in two other settings. The pictures were all from a side view, none gave a full-on facial shot.
The man had black hair and tanned skin. In comparison to others in the crowd, he looked to be tall, over six feet six inches, she was sure. What were the odds of seeing the same man at different fires? Unless, of course he was a photographer, but then he held no camera.
In a crime movie she had watched about arsonists, it was mentioned that the person setting the fire would sometimes stay at the scene to watch their masterpiece. Could this be that man? Did she just identify the arsonist?
NINETEEN
Thomas’s face stretched wide and there was a spring to his step at work that morning. A feeling he’d never experienced before engulfed him, making him eager to do his best at work and become the man he knew he could be... the man Morgan saw in him. She was in his thoughts every single moment now. The way she had fit perfectly in his arms and her lips against his was enough to keep his smile lasting for a long time.
He’d never forget the joy in her eyes upon seeing her picture hanging on the wall in the art gallery. That was the only way he could think of to help her to earn the money to buy her parents’ home for them. In fact, she’d probably end up with extra money to buy her another motorcycle if she wished. Maybe he should take lessons on how to ride one. Then again, he’d enjoyed riding behind her with his arms around her waist, so maybe he’d just let her do the driving.
“The roses were a nice touch,” the wimpy voice of Percy filled the room. Thomas’ attention snapped up to his guardian angel standing by the door. Today, the odd little man wore cowboy boots, brown short plaid knickers, and a flamboyant pink shirt. On his head was a cowboy hat. Inwardly, Thomas groaned with embarrassment for Percy, shaking his head. It was a good thing no one could see him.
“Please don’t ruin my mood today,” Thomas said to the man.
“Yes, I can see you are in a delightful mood. I am very pleased.” Percy’s grin took up most of his face.
“Just curious,” Thomas added, his gaze moving over the man’s wardrobe again. He just couldn’t look away. It was like seeing a train wreck... “Where do you buy your clothes?”
“Nowhere really. I have a vast variety of clothes... in order to fit in, of