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question.
    "What about friends, then?" Patrick asked.
    Morgan tilted her head at him and raised an eyebrow.
    "Friends?"
    "Yes, friends. I'd like to be your friend," Patrick said, surprising her yet again with his agile mind and how quickly he changed subjects.
    "You want us to be friends?" Morgan asked.
    "Yes, friends. Like this…sharing a pint. Grabbing a bite to eat. Going for a hike," Patrick said as he packed the glasses back into the small cooler that he had brought with him.
    "That sounds suspiciously like dating," Morgan said as Patrick rose from the bench.
    "Not if I don't kiss you," he said easily over his shoulder and with that, he disappeared from the courtyard.
    Morgan found her mouth gaping open and she closed it with a snap, before laughing softly to herself.
    It looked like Patrick had won that round, she thought.
    Smiling, she traced her fingertips over her lips. Her first real kiss…and aside from her cider floating in the air, nothing traumatic had happened.
    Morgan considered that a win on her behalf.
     
     
     
     
     

     
    Chapter Seven
     
     
    Morgan pulled nervously at a crease in her pants. Though she still resolutely went to her free sessions with Baird, it had yet to get any easier to open up about her feelings. Last night, she'd barely been able to sleep – between the excitement of accepting the job with Aislinn and her first kiss, she'd been all but bouncing off the walls of her small apartment.
    "You had a smashing first day on the job," Baird said, smiling at her, and Morgan felt a little wave of relief go through her. He was opening with an easy topic. She leaned back against the couch and pulled a pillow onto her lap like she usually did.
    Protection.
    "Well, it was sheer luck that those buses unloaded in front of the store," Morgan said, downplaying her role in the sales.
    Baird tilted his head at her and pushed his glasses back up his nose. Aislinn concealed a small sigh as she admired his good looks. It was something about the glasses, she thought. It just pushed him over the edge into sexy. Aislinn was a lucky woman.
    "And I suppose it was someone else who managed long lines out of the store and carefully rung everyone up? And it was someone else who rearranged the gallery to look like an elite artist's studio?"
    Morgan shrugged her shoulders and fought to keep a shy grin off her face.
    "Yes, I suppose that I did all that."
    "You should be proud of yourself, Morgan," Baird said, "We certainly are."
    Morgan shrugged again and looked around the room, taking in Aislinn's moody landscapes on the walls.
    "I'm trying to get better at being proud of myself," Morgan admitted.
    "Why do you think that is hard for you? To praise yourself? To acknowledge that you've done a good job?"
    Morgan shrugged again.
    "I don't know. I suppose it seems boastful."
    "Being proud of doing a good job and being arrogant are two different things," Baird said. "There's something deeper there. What is it?"
    Morgan was surprised to feel sadness well up inside of her and a sheen of tears crossed her vision. She supposed that she shouldn't be surprised as she almost always ended up crying in sessions with Baird.
    "I guess…I guess I just feel like I don't deserve it."
    "And why is that?"
    "Because nobody ever wanted me. I was never good enough."
    "Ah," Baird said and leaned back, crossing his legs as he studied her. "So, just because you weren't the right fit for some foster homes means that you never deserve to shine? That you should always feel like you aren't good enough even when you clearly did a fantastic job?"
    "I guess it's weird when you say it like that," Morgan said, reaching for a tissue to dab at her eyes. She was glad that she didn't wear makeup as it would be running all over her face at this point.
    "See, the thing is, from where I'm sitting, I see an incredibly beautiful and wildly talented young woman. I want you to start working on self-affirmations."
    Morgan scrunched up her nose at Baird.
    He