Page 53 of Heal You (The Study You #3)

With a bunch of flowers in her hand, Morgan rang Jan’s doorbell and bounced on the balls of her feet.

It was Sunday evening, Morgan was more than ready for a break tonight, and she knew this was the only place she wanted to be.

In Jan’s gorgeous, comfortable home. She hadn’t realised it when Jan first mentioned Morgan spending her time off here, but it made sense.

Morgan didn’t have to worry about any of her staff knocking on her flat door because they needed advice on something.

Instead, they could drop her a text while she was lounging on Jan’s heavenly couch.

When the door opened and those blue eyes gazed back at her, Morgan fought the urge to cling onto Jan and never let her go.

It wasn’t necessary, and it wasn’t a requirement now that they were in a relationship with one another.

Morgan could be here whenever she wished to be, and Jan could come and go from the bar as she pleased. Life, right now, was fucking perfect.

“Hi.” Jan wore a shy smile as she switched her gaze between Morgan and the flowers in her hand. “Are those for me?”

Morgan grinned as she stepped inside, lay a hand on Jan’s hip, and kissed her on the cheek. “Of course they are.”

“Oh, Morgan. They’re beautiful.”

Jan kicked the door shut and took Morgan’s hand.

As always, the warmth of Jan’s home spread through Morgan, but it felt different here tonight.

She couldn’t put her finger on what the atmosphere was, but it was…

calm. So calm she never wanted to leave here again.

All of this made sense without Morgan understanding how it could.

“How was work?” Jan turned back and took the flowers from Morgan, inhaling as she brought them to her nose. “I wasn’t sure if you’d get out on time because of the football.”

“I have Ben, Tyler, and Megan working tonight. As soon as I knew I was seeing you, I made sure I had enough staff in so I could make a run for it the moment I knew I was able to.”

Jan set the flowers down on the dining table and pulled Morgan in against her. “It’s a strange feeling for me knowing you’d rather be here than anywhere else.”

Yeah, Morgan understood that. “Just because certain people in the past haven’t been appreciative to have you in their life, that doesn’t mean I’m not. If I can ever choose where I want to be…it’s here, with you.” Morgan pressed a kiss to the tip of Jan’s nose and smiled. “Remember that, okay?”

“Oh, I’ll never forget it.” Jan swayed them in the back living room to the gentle rhythm playing on the radio in the kitchen. “Can you believe we’ve made it to this point?”

“Honestly, no. I can’t.” Morgan stroked her knuckles gently against Jan’s cheek and smiled. “Feels good, though.”

“And Finn came over today to apologise to me.”

Huh. It had taken that long? Morgan drew back ever so slightly. “I thought she would have apologised long before now. If I’d known she hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been so nice to her in the bar last week.”

Jan lay a soothing hand on Morgan’s chest. “She wanted to give me a more in-depth apology than a simple ‘I’m sorry’. I appreciated it.”

“That’s fair enough. I’ll let her off.” Morgan guided Jan away from the dining table and into the main living room. “Do we have any plans for tonight?”

“No. Not unless you had something in mind,” Jan said as she cleared her throat. “But while we’re on the subject of Finn, she wanted to know if we’d like to go out for dinner with them.”

“That would be lovely.” Morgan flopped down on the couch, dragging Jan down on top of her as she did so. “Let me know when they’re thinking, and I’ll check my schedule.”

“Perfect.” Jan gazed back at Morgan with an intense yet unusual look in her eyes. “Thank you for coming over tonight.”

Morgan had to wonder why Jan was thanking her. She should be the one thanking Jan for ever taking an interest in her. “No need to thank me.”

“I know, but—” Jan cut herself off and made herself comfortable where she lay against Morgan, sideways along the couch. “I’ve spent the day going over a lot of things in my head and I have all these different feelings going on inside of me as a result of it.”

“R-right.” Morgan’s brows drew together as she watched Jan intently. “Did you want to talk about anything you’re feeling? If everything has become too much now that people know about us…I understand.”

Jan propped her head in her hand and smiled as she toyed with the string on Morgan’s hoodie. “Nothing is too much for me. I’m perfectly happy.”

“O-okay. Then…I don’t really know what else to say to you.”

“Do you have any idea just how perfect you are?” Jan stroked a finger along Morgan’s jawline, searching her eyes as that same finger traced Morgan’s lips. “How much you’ve held me together over the last few months…”

“I’m far from perfect, but I hope you know that I always would have been there for you whether or not we were together. I didn’t do it because I’m into you, babe. I did it because you needed someone, and that’s just who I am. It’s the right thing to do.”

“I had no idea what my life would look like when I sat in your bar on that miserable Monday night. I couldn’t imagine finding love again.

Everything I’d always had, or thought I had, was gone.

In a split second, I didn’t feel as though I knew who I was anymore, and that was terrifying for me.

” Jan smiled weakly. “I hide what I want to hide very well, but inside, I was fearing being alone for the rest of my life.”

“Someone like you could never be alone for the rest of your life.” Morgan lifted a hand and cupped Jan’s cheek. “There’s always a second chance when it comes to love.”

“I know that now. I have it right here with you.”

Morgan’s pulse hammered in her ears, Jan’s gentle touch the only thing keeping her grounded. Jan surely didn’t mean what she was saying, did she? “Jan, I?—”

“I’m falling in love with you,” Jan said, her voice soft but confident.

Her eyes slowly lifted to meet Morgan’s, holding something raw.

Hope, maybe…or fear. “I didn’t think I had it in me to give my heart away again so soon, but with you…

it was effortless. It happened without knowing it.

But I am. I’m falling in love with you.”

Morgan’s heart stopped for a beat or two, and then it started to race. The room that had once been filled with casual conversation was now as still as anything Morgan had felt before. Jan’s words continued to hang between them. I’m falling in love with you .

A rush of warmth surged through Morgan, sending a tightness directly to her throat and her chest. She blinked repeatedly, wondering if she’d heard those words right, but no…

Jan’s gaze held firm on her, and Morgan knew she’d heard it exactly right.

She also knew what Jan needed in this moment. Honesty.

A part of Morgan wanted to throw her arms around Jan, to tell her she felt exactly the same way, but the rest of her was hesitant.

Morgan had been here before. She’d had the love, and she’d had what she thought was everything she needed.

Only for it to fall apart and for Morgan to be left understanding that sometimes love could be a complicated road.

She swallowed hard. Jan’s stare hadn’t once wavered, and Morgan knew this moment was as real as it got for her.

The uncertainty, the warmth, and the crippling excitement all swelled deep inside of her.

She wanted to say something, anything , but all the words seemed too small, too…

insignificant. Instead, she leaned in and kissed Jan.

The kiss deepened, but there was nothing frantic or hurried about it.

It was soft, deliberate…it was Jan. Morgan drew back slowly and smiled. “I’m falling in love with you, too.”

Any tension in Jan quickly slipped away as she lay her head on Morgan’s chest and sighed. The moment had happened, and now calmness resided in Morgan’s head and heart. “Thank you for being the one to show me what happiness really is.”

Morgan lowered a kiss to Jan’s hair and whispered, “Thank you for trusting me.”

* * *

Situated behind her computer in her home office, Jan wore a smile that hurt her face.

Morgan was still sleeping, but Jan had been up and about preparing for a day of work for the last two hours.

Back when she was married to Phil, Jan hated Mondays.

Sunday night, too, when she had to prepare everything for the office, but this particular Monday morning was probably the greatest of her life.

A little dramatic, perhaps, but the truth.

How could she feel anything other than euphoric after her moment with Morgan last night?

The sex had been off the charts once they’d both come down from their emotions—raw and uninhibited—and this morning, Jan was aching in places that hadn’t seen a hint of exercise in a long time.

She grinned to herself as she rocked back in her chair and stared through the screen.

Maybe she shouldn’t be working today. She sure as hell couldn’t concentrate on anything that was required of her.

Thankfully, it was a slow-ish day. Beth had sent a few blueprints over for her to take a look at, and she had some files to update on the system, but that was the extent of Jan’s ‘work’ today.

And I have her to myself all day, too . Jan hadn’t specifically timed her conversation with Morgan last night to coincide with the night off…

followed by the next day, but it certainly helped.

As she brought up the first blueprint on her screen, she heard footsteps on the stairs.

Jan smiled and peered over her shoulder, her heart pumping that little bit harder when Morgan landed in the hallway and strode confidently into the back living room.

Jan was situated in the corner, her desk a mess of papers. “Good morning.”

Morgan yawned as she stretched. “You should have woken me up.”

“Why?”