Read Online Secret Gifts (Steamy Version) by Elena Aitken - Free Book Online

finally returned to the suite, he was asleep on the couch with the TV on. She wouldn’t admit to anyone that she’d stalked around his room, making sure there was no one hiding in his bed or a stash of empty bottles anywhere. There was nothing. He was alone. And by all accounts, he hadn’t been drinking to excess. It was strange behavior for sure, especially after seeing him so angry. She felt guilty for snooping around after him, but she was just doing her job, Megan reminded herself, and not for the first time.
    She flipped back the covers of her bed and mentally chastised herself because if she’d been doing her job instead of getting herself personally involved with her client, Gage wouldn’t have even had the chance to go off alone with Lisa in the first place. After all, wasn’t she supposed to keep him out of trouble? And if there was one thing Megan knew by instinct alone, Lisa was trouble.
    By the time she’d showered and dressed, she was still on edge about what the morning would bring. She opened her door a crack and slipped into the hall. Gage’s door was still closed, which she knew it would be. He didn’t seem like an early riser. At least it would buy her a little bit of time to figure things out before he got up. And for that she’d need coffee. Strong coffee.
    Before she could even get the filters out of the drawer, her cell phone started ringing. She looked at the screen and the caller ID. Perfect. The California office. And it was only nine, which meant it was only eight on the coast. Which meant only one thing; trouble.
    With a sigh, she touched her screen. “Lois?”
    “It’s Ryan.”
    Megan’s heart stopped for a second and she sucked in a breath.
    “Megan? Are you there?”
    “Yes.” She swallowed hard. “I’m here. Sorry, I wasn’t expecting you…”
    “To call?” Ryan’s voice was neutral but there was no way Megan could have missed the underlying tension. “Well, I thought maybe it was time we talked. Don’t you?”
    Did she? The answer was no. She didn’t think it was time to talk to Ryan. What would she say to him? Sorry I broke your heart and left you because I couldn’t stand the thought of being with one man for the rest of my life . Especially when that man never once made me feel the way Gage Mitchell did with a simple touch.
    Megan shook her head and frantically tried to clear her thoughts.
    “Megan? Is it a bad connection?”
    “Yes,” she said. “I mean, no. I just…I have a lot going on here and I—“
    “That’s right,” he said. His voice had an edge to it. “You have to keep Gage Mitchell out of trouble. That’s quite a job.”
    There was something in the way he said it that sparked Megan’s attention, but she ignored it. “Why did you call, Ryan? I don’t know what else there is to say.” Abandoning the coffee, she walked towards the window and stared outside. The mountains were reflecting an ethereal glow from the sun. It was stunning, and she lost herself in it for a moment.
    He sighed, and she could imagine him at his desk, doodling circles all over the notepad he kept in front of him. It was his nervous habit, and she would bet money on the fact that he was nervous.
    “I’m calling to get a status report,” he said after a moment. “There hasn’t been any mention in the tabloids about Mitchell being at the Lodge, so we can only assume they haven’t gotten wind of it yet.”
    “Not that I know of,” she said.
    “That’s good.” There was a pause. “So, he hasn’t spoken to anyone?” he asked.
    It seemed like an odd question. Why would Ryan care? “Only his manager and sister,” she said, remembering the conversation from the night before. “But we don’t have him on lockdown, Ryan. Why would it matter who he talks to? Besides, his mother is sick. I’m not going to patrol his phone conversations.”
    There was a pause and then, Ryan said, “Well, it’s pretty much an impossible job, Megan. It would have been hard for