Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 Read Online Free Page B

offered.
    She had solved the mystery of the ring, and he wasn't even on the
list of suspects. Morgan tried to remain calm as her mind searched
for the right words to let him down easy, but his voice ended the
mental search for her. “I mean.. you were the one that made
sense, the one that taught me to slow down and enjoy life. So...,”
he looked down and put his hands in his front pockets, “I owe
my new and improved life... to you.” Jake lifted his head
enough to look her in the eyes, and smiled shyly before he continued.
    Morgan
was confused, she had no idea what slowing down had to do with
engagement rings, but she tried to keep her head as she sorted it
all. “I... did what?” It was all she could ask, and it
avoided the proposal for the time being. Jake laughed quietly and
shook his head.
    “Morgan,
meeting you changed my life. I've slowed down, I mean, for me, and I
even..”
    “Jake,
I appreciate that, I really do... but I can't accept..”
Morgan's words were interrupted from a sweet voice approaching from
their side.
    “Jake,
there you are!” A beautiful young brunette joined them and
slipped her tanned arm around Jake's waist. “Hi, I'm Julie.”
The girl put her free hand out for Morgan, and the confused girl
took it for a friendly quick shake. Jake introduced the women to one
another, and even announced again that Morgan was the one to thank
for everything.
    The
next fifteen minutes consisted of Morgan listening, Jake speaking,
and more answers being revealed. It turned out that Jake had taken
Morgan's suggestions to heart, to slow down and enjoy the life that
he worked so hard to fill, but didn't appreciate. In the process, he
had also allowed himself to get close to a woman, Julie, and had
fallen in love for the first time in many years. Morgan, of course,
was thrilled to hear the news, and shocked that the man brought Julie
to Puerto Rico for a week long vacation, but then she was left with
trying to keep her emotions in check while maintaining a friendly
conversation with the happy couple.
    Jake
offered to buy the women lunch, but Morgan declined so that the new
couple could enjoy their time alone. “It was nice seeing you,
Jake.” She hugged the man goodbye, then turned to Julie. “And
it was very nice to meet you, Julie.” The brunette wrapped her
arms around Morgan's neck, and put her face next to her ear.
    “Thank
you, for everything you did.” Her voice was so low that Morgan
almost asked Julie to repeat her words, but it sunk in within
seconds. She nodded quickly, and smiled as Julie let go of her.
Morgan watched them walk away, hand in hand, and smiled at the love
that she could clearly see between them.
    It
wasn't Jake. She actually had to laugh at herself for jumping to
conclusions, but it was just too ironic to run into him and not think
it was the high strung man that had sent the ring. Morgan turned and
approached the jewelry table, and began running her fingers absently
over a few long necklaces when his other words finally hit home. I
changed his life. Her fingers stopped when she rolled the words
through her mind again, and also realized that she had also changed
Julie's life as well. She put her hand slowly to her forehead and
smiled again. Maybe I was meant to help people. She nodded
slightly at her own thoughts, and felt a pang of guilt for thinking
earlier that she should curb her desire to help others. I don't
think I could stop anyway, it's who I am.
    The
surprise of running into Jake actually made her day better than it
had been already. Her newly accomplished independence was still
lingering in her mind, but with her new knowledge... changing two
people's lives... it was more than enough to keep her grounded to
reality. Helping people was what she did. She was good at it, and
even if she didn't know it, she'd made a difference in more people's
lives than just Jake's. She knew what she had to do, and that
included finding an even balance between giving herself to