Worth the Effort Ch. 08

"Nice to meet you, too." Morgan nodded.

Shane saw his mother out.

"Morgan seems sweet," said Nadine. "I'm glad to see you found someone."

"She's great," Shane agreed. "Thanks."

"You can bring her to the wedding, of course." Nadine got into her car. "I don't know what your father will think of her, but she's welcome with me."

"Good-bye, Mom." Shane shook his head. She just had to get that parting shot in, he thought. Something, anything, that would make it seem like his father would be the bad guy.

He went back in the house and found Morgan chatting with Mark and Chloe.

Chloe put an arm around Morgan's shoulder and grinned up at Shane. "She's perfect. You have to keep her. I've never seen anyone handle Mom better at first sight."

Shane laughed. "You were pretty good," he said to Morgan.

"I didn't hurt her feelings or anything, did I?" Morgan asked. "I didn't mean to."

"Oh, please." Chloe shook her head. "Trust me, you didn't hurt her feelings. She's pouting, but that's it."

"Chloe's right," Shane assured Morgan. "Mom's fine. She just wanted some drama. Can't have a wedding without drama."

"Oh, god," said Morgan. "Please, we just got finished with that. Not again."

"No kidding." Shane nodded in agreement.

"All right," said Chloe, "after all that excitement, I'm heading to my hotel for some sleep."

"Did you want to stay here?" Shane asked. "There's room."

"No, thanks." Chloe nudged him. "I'm giving you and Morgan your privacy, dummy," she said in a loud whisper.

Morgan laughed. "Really, Chloe, it's fine if you want to stay."

"Thanks, Morgan, but no, I'm looking forward to a nice soak in a big tub, and some room service." Chloe sighed. "Travel takes it out of you."

"It does," Mark agreed. "I'm heading back, too. It was nice to meet you, Morgan. I've been meaning to come by your store sometime, sorry I haven't made it yet."

"Anytime," Morgan said. "Let me know if there's anything special you're looking for."

"Will do," he said. "Thanks. Bye, everybody."

Mark left, followed a few minutes later by Chloe.

"You did it," said Shane. "You met my family and lived to tell the tale."

"It wasn't so bad." Morgan smiled. "Mark and Chloe are great, and your mom was nice."

"My mom was pretty understated, for Mom," he said, then shook his head. "I can't believe that both of them are getting married again. And of course both going for big bashes again. They just do not learn."

"What do you mean?"

Shane spread his hands in frustration. "It means they just keep making the same mistakes. They seem to think that having a big wedding with all the trimmings will somehow fix the problems with their previous marriages, which of course also had blowout weddings. Do you know, at my mom's second, no, third wedding, she had two harpists, both of them dressed like angels, and they released doves after the vows?"

Morgan's eyes went wide. "Really?"

"Swear to god." Shane held up a hand as though swearing an oath.

"That's quite something."

Shane chuckled and kissed her forehead. "You are so diplomatic. I can imagine Casey's reaction."

"Oh, me too," said Morgan. "I figure at my wedding, it'll be low key. Everyone can cosplay as their favorite comic character." She grinned and nudged him. "You'll have to start reading comics so you can pick a favorite, or else I guess I'll have to pick one for you."

"Ah, yeah." Shane gave an uncomfortable laugh. "I don't see myself doing that."

"Dressing up in a costume?" Morgan asked, and then hit upon the problem. "No, you mean getting married."

"It is not something I've seen myself doing," Shane said, choosing his words carefully. "I've told you, I don't know that I'd make a great marriage partner."

"I get that, but you also told me you've been to therapy and it sounds like you've broken some bad patterns and habits," Morgan said, her voice gentle. "I'm not pressing you to get married, Shane. To me or anyone else. I was joking. But seriously, I don't think you'd be as bad at marriage as you think."

"Yeah, well." He cleared his throat. "I can't help it. The idea panics me a little."

"It's all right." Morgan leaned up to kiss him. "I'm sorry I contributed to the panic."

"You didn't." He sighed. "I'm sorry. I just—this whole evening just threw me. I didn't know either of my parents were getting married again. I suspected, but wasn't sure. I don't know what's more upsetting, that they're doing it or that neither of them told me." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Guess it doesn't matter."

"Are you okay?" Morgan asked, putting a palm to his cheek. "I can go. I really didn't mean to add to—well, whatever this was."

"No, no." Shane took her hands in his, suddenly anxious she not go anywhere. "You didn't, and please stay."

"Okay." She smiled.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't mean to be a basket case."

"You're not. It's a lot to have that news dropped on you out of nowhere."

Shane smiled and traced a finger along her jaw. "You're something, you know that? You always know what to say to make me feel better. Or at least make me feel like I'm not completely crazy."

"I told you before, you're worth the effort," she said.

"I'm glad someone thinks so." He wrapped his arms around her, concentrating on the scent and feel of her, trying to forget the earlier events of the evening.

Was he worth her effort? He wasn't sure. Previous relationships had ended when things got serious, and his girlfriends had looked long-term. He had a feeling that if Morgan had been any other woman, he would have ended things before this. Even though they'd only been dating a few months, he knew this relationship was different.

Shane didn't do long-term because he didn't think he was capable of it. Morgan made him reconsider. She deserved someone who would be with her for the long term, but he wasn't sure if that was him.