Page 2 of Heal You (The Study You #3)

Gulping down an entire pint of water, Morgan looked out at the rooftops from her kitchen window and sighed.

Her shift in the bar downstairs really needed to go smoothly tonight or she was going to lose her head.

Nine times out of ten, The Corner Bar was the only thing that kept her sane—it was her pride and joy after all—but lately, it was just bad memories.

Memories of Amanda and the day they’d met downstairs.

Memories of inviting her up here, knowing what would come of it.

She hadn’t been interested the day her customer walked into the bar, but after a few drinks together and many laughs, Morgan found herself a little more interested.

She found herself hanging on every word that fell from Amanda’s mouth.

She’d been significantly older than Morgan, but that wasn’t an issue.

It never would be. Morgan preferred to connect with women like Amanda.

Women who knew who they were and what they wanted.

So, when Amanda had hinted at a little fun with Morgan, Morgan found herself unable to turn down the request. As she turned and scanned her open plan living room and kitchen, dread sunk into the pit of her stomach.

Never again. No way.

She shook her head and moved towards the door. Morgan had a shift to start and Tyler, her bartender, had to leave on time for his late-afternoon college course. She appreciated that he’d even been available to come in at short notice today. It wasn’t often she got lucky like that.

Morgan took the stairs that led to the bar and opened the door.

It was always nice to see a friendly face sitting waiting for her, and today, that face belonged to Finn Ashton.

They’d known one another for a few years now, and what Morgan liked about Finn was that she often told it as it was.

Still, she wasn’t ready to discuss Amanda with anyone yet.

God, Finn had only just found out Morgan was fooling around with her. She wanted to pretend a little longer.

“Hey!” Finn grinned. “You really look like you want to be here this afternoon.”

Finn had that right. Morgan would rather be anywhere else. “Long night. Didn’t get much sleep.”

“Oh. Amanda, huh?” Finn wiggled her eyebrows and sipped her beer. “Things going well between you two then?”

“I didn’t see Amanda last night.” Morgan stepped behind the bar and wiped down the area. Tyler was pulling a pint for another customer, so she would leave him be for a moment. “And like I said, it’s nothing serious. It’ll never be anything serious.”

“Fuck them and then drop them. The story of Morgan Tate’s life.” Finn lifted her pint and held it up in mid-air. “Cheers to you, the commitment-phobe.”

Morgan leaned over the bar and said, “Just because you’re tied down now, don’t take it out on me.”

“Pfft. I’d rather be tied down with Gillian. Trust me. She’s great when it comes to knots.” Finn winked and then laughed. “But in all seriousness, you should see where it goes with Amanda. I didn’t think I’d be in a relationship with Gillian, let alone call her my wife one day.”

“You and I are different people, Finn.” That was a lie, Morgan would love nothing more than to find someone she really connected with, and ultimately settle down, but that was hard to do when she worked this bar almost every day. “You’re happy. I’m happy. Let’s leave it at that, yeah?”

Finn shrugged. “Mkay.”

“How is the wife? My number one fan.”

Finn rolled her eyes as she finished the beer in her glass. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that Gillian doesn’t dislike you.”

“She needs to tell that to her face then whenever you and I are talking.” Morgan gave Finn a knowing look.

It was no secret that Gillian wasn’t fond of Morgan.

Morgan had a feeling Gillian believed her and Finn had slept together at some point in the past, but Finn really wasn’t Morgan’s type.

They were friends and that’s all they’d ever been to date.

“I’m serious. If looks could kill, I’d be six feet under by now. ”

“You can ask her yourself when she gets here.” Finn checked her watch and smiled. “She left campus twenty minutes ago so she should be arriving any moment now.”

Morgan’s heart rate spiked ever so slightly.

Whenever Gillian came here lately, she usually had her best friend, Jan, in tow.

Morgan could happily stand around all day admiring Jan, but she knew it was a lost cause.

After the first few occasions—once Jan had found herself comfortable here—it had been a struggle for Morgan to concentrate on anything else.

They’d chatted, they’d laughed, and Morgan had realised that she was enamoured by Jan.

Yeah, until she turned up here with her fucking husband.

Morgan sighed inwardly. She was forever finding the wrong women attractive.

“You okay?” Finn clicked her fingers in front of Morgan’s face, her brows drawn. “Lost you for a sec then.”

“I’m fine. Just trying to figure out how long I have left on my shift.” Morgan lied. “Too long, is the answer.”

“What time are you here till?”

“Until close, unfortunately.” Morgan briefly turned and pressed the espresso button on the coffee machine behind the bar. She sat a cup under it while the beans were grinding, and then she turned back to Finn. “What do you guys have planned for the rest of the afternoon?”

“Gillian is coming here for a glass of wine, and then I’m taking her out to dinner. She had a busy weekend working from home, so we didn’t get much of a chance to wind down. This week looks less busy for her, so I’m stealing her away from her office for the rest of the night.”

“That sounds nice.” Morgan rested her forearms on a beer pump and sat her chin on them. “Jan coming over with Gillian?”

“No. Jan doesn’t do day drinking. She’ll be at the office still. She’s just been away for the weekend with Phil. I’ve asked Gillian to find out what the hotel was like so we could potentially book it. Jan is really into her spa treatments so if the place is good, she’ll tell us.”

Of course Jan was into her spa treatments.

That woman had looked like an angel the last time she strode through Morgan’s bar door.

That had been the night when Morgan accidentally let a wine glass slip from her hand, and it was the crash of the glass that had brought her back down to reality.

Jan was striking. Her long blonde hair was natural, and those blue eyes were like nothing Morgan had ever come across before.

And she’d come across many people in her time behind the bar alone.

But it was the dress Jan wore that had caused the wine glass incident.

Morgan hadn’t been able to focus her eyes anywhere else for the entire night.

At one point, she’d considered closing up early just so she didn’t have to ogle any longer.

A little black dress and heels would always have Morgan salivating.

Put those items on Jan and Morgan was having palpitations.

Finn clicked her fingers again. “What the hell is going on with you? I lost you again .”

Fuck. Morgan had to stop doing that. “Like I said, I didn’t sleep much last night.”

“Sure. You keep telling yourself that. But I know you well enough now to know that something is going on inside that mind of yours.”

Morgan exhaled a breath and left Finn sitting at the bar. If they kept talking, Morgan was going to blurt out the latest with Amanda, and she honestly wasn’t ready to have that conversation. She approached Tyler and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m here now so you can get going for your course.”

“Thanks, Morgan. I appreciate it.”

“I appreciate you coming in at short notice for me today. I owe you one.”

* * *

With the greatest sense of loss settled deep in her chest, Jan knocked back the dreg of wine in the bottom of her glass and lifted a hand to catch Morgan’s attention.

She had spent the last two hours sitting in this very spot, watching people come and go, unable to fathom the idea of going home tonight.

What home? You don’t have a fucking home anymore!

Jan swallowed down the emotion in her throat and closed her eyes.

This day had been the furthest thing from her mind from the moment she’d met Phil.

In all honesty, Jan had to wonder whether she was dreaming.

But then the realisation sunk in all over again, and now Jan sat here on a Monday night…

actually alone for the first in twenty-seven years.

Morgan approached from the other end of the bar and rested her arm on a beer pump.

“You’ve been here a while now and you’re still sitting on your own.

You want me to call Finn and find out what the hold-up is?

They were both in earlier, but I thought Finn was taking Gillian out for dinner.

She didn’t say they were coming back here. ”

Jan smiled as she looked up at Morgan. She had spent many nights here with Gillian and Finn now.

It was their ‘local’ even though it was nowhere near their homes.

Morgan was great, she’d hosted some amazing nights here since Jan started to frequent the place, so she’d found herself walking towards the bar a couple of hours ago. “I’m not meeting them tonight.”

“No? Waiting for the husband? Phil…was it?”

Jan tensed at the mention of her husband’s name. He had also frequented The Corner on several occasions with Jan, Gillian, and Finn. “No. Phil won’t be joining me either.”

Morgan frowned. “Then why are you sitting here drinking my bar dry?”

“Do you ask everyone that?” Jan eyed Morgan as she held up her empty wine glass. “I can go elsewhere if I’m putting a downer on the atmosphere in here.”

“That’s not what I was implying,” Morgan said as she took Jan’s empty glass and refilled a fresh one with wine. “You know you’re always welcome here, Jan. I’m just not used to seeing you on your own or looking so sad. Did you need to talk to someone?”