Crossing the Line E-Book

Sherri Hayes

• Herausgeber: Sherri Hayes
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

A captivating tale of love, loss, and second chances. 

Paul Daniels has mourned the loss of his wife for four and a half years. Balancing the demands of his career as a detective and raising his young daughter, Chloe, isn’t always easy, but he’s able to manage with the help and support of his in-laws. When they announce they’re moving two hours away, Paul’s left without a caregiver for his daughter. 

Megan Carson’s life hasn’t been all roses. In fact, it’s been downright ugly at times. But she’s determined to set things right and build herself a future. When Paul needs a live-in nanny to watch his daughter while he’s working, Megan seizes the opportunity to turn her life around. 
It doesn’t take long for Chloe to work her way into Megan’s heart, and not much longer for Megan to realize that she’s falling in love with Paul. Will she be able to convince Paul to give a relationship between them a chance or will their age difference put a halt to their future before it begins? 

Get lost in the pages of Crossing the Line and experience the heartwarming journey of two people yearning for redemption, healing, and the transformative power of love. This hot single dad romance will leave you longing for more. Get your copy of Crossing the Line today and prepare to be swept away in a whirlwind of desire, heartache, and ultimately, the unbreakable bond that heals all wounds...love. 

Crossing the Line is the third novel in Sherri Hayes’s steamy Daniels Brothers series. If you love forced proximity, single dads, and second chances at love, then you’ll love this sizzling contemporary romance. 

Leseprobe

CROSSING THE LINE

A DANIELS BROTHERS ROMANCE

SHERRI HAYES

Crossing The Line

Daniels Brothers Series

Sherri Hayes

First published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop, 2014

Copyright © Sherri Hayes, 2014

Paperback ISBN- 978-0-0095652-3-1

E-book ISBN- 978-0-9985652-2-4

Cover Design by Get Covers

All rights reserved. No part of this book ay be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

CONTENTS

About This Book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Epilogue

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Also by Sherri Hayes

Acknowledgments

About the Author

ABOUT THIS BOOK

A captivating tale of love, loss, and second chances.

Paul Daniels has mourned the loss of his wife for four and a half years. Balancing the demands of his career as a detective and raising his young daughter, Chloe, isn’t always easy, but he’s able to manage with the help and support of his in-laws. When they announce they’re moving two hours away, Paul’s left without a caregiver for his daughter. 

Megan Carson’s life hasn’t been all roses. In fact, it’s been downright ugly at times. But she’s determined to set things right and build herself a future. When Paul needs a live-in nanny to watch his daughter while he’s working, Megan seizes the opportunity to turn her life around. 

It doesn’t take long for Chloe to work her way into Megan’s heart, and not much longer for Megan to realize that she’s falling in love with Paul. Will she be able to convince Paul to give a relationship between them a chance or will their age difference put a halt to their future before it begins? 

This book is dedicated to my readers. Their love for these characters that live in my head never censes to amaze me. Thank you all for your continued support.

CHAPTER1

“Did you see me, Daddy? Did you see me?”

Paul Daniels bent down and lifted his five-year-old daughter, Chloe, into his arms. “I did.”

He gave her his best smile, not that she noticed. Chloe was too excited to pay much attention to anything for long. Paul thought nothing could top the excess of energy his little girl displayed the day Chris and Elizabeth called to ask her if she’d be their flower girl. He’d been wrong. Three months ago, Chloe had been full of questions about the unknown—she’d never been to a wedding before. Today, she was bouncing off the walls, and her smile matched his new sister-in-law’s in pure joy.

It was as if he hadn’t commented at all.

“And Eliz’beth’s dress is sooo pretty. Isn’t it pretty, Daddy?” Chloe didn’t wait for his response this time either, before she continued. “Now she’s my aunt.” She concentrated to make sure she got it right. Megan had been working diligently to help Chloe improve her speech before she started school in the fall.

Paul searched the crowd of people bustling into the reception hall for the woman in question, as Chloe squirmed wordlessly making her desire to be put down known. He lowered her feet to the floor, and watched as she slipped in between two wedding guests while he continued to scan for Megan.

Megan was the younger sister of his baby brother Gage’s wife. Paul had met her when she’d come to Thanksgiving with her sister. Little had he known what a savior she’d turn out to be. She’d brought life back into his house. Life that he hadn’t realized was missing.

She’d rescued him when he’d been in desperate need of someone to watch Chloe. Hours before he’d loaded Chloe into the car to set off for the holiday with his parents, his in-laws had announced they were moving almost two hours away. For four years, they’d lived nearby and were able to take Chloe whenever he was called in to work. His job as a homicide detective meant that he could be called out at all hours, and he couldn’t leave his young daughter alone. Megan had fit the bill by offering to move to Indianapolis and into his house as a live-in nanny. She’d saved Paul from having to spend countless hours searching for an alternative.

As if knowing the direction of his thoughts, Chloe weaved through the people in her path until she was beside her nanny. Megan smiled when she caught sight of the little girl, and she circled her arms around Chloe’s shoulders, lifting her off the ground, and twirling. They were both laughing—happy. The two of them had clicked from the beginning, and his chest clenched almost painfully watching the two of them together. It should have been Melissa standing there twirling Chloe, but he couldn’t be upset that it was Megan. She’d put her life on hold for them—helped them out when they’d needed it most. Paul wished he could be as carefree.

His brother, Chris, wanted to give his fiancée, Elizabeth, the wedding of her dreams, right down to the ceremony being held in a quaint little church not far from where they lived in Springfield, Ohio—and it was. Elizabeth had walked down the aisle in a long white gown, his brother in a tux. Everyone who meant something in either of their lives was present. It was . . . perfect.

Unfortunately, it brought back too many memories for Paul. Memories that were raw and painful. Almost fifteen years ago, he’d been where his brother was—marrying the love of his life. He didn’t begrudge Chris and Elizabeth their happiness. No, he was grateful. His brother had had a rough time of it after his first marriage fell apart. For Paul, it was a sharp reminder that he no longer had his wife at his side. She’d been taken from him by a drunk driver.

Starting to get choked up, Paul cleared his throat, and made a beeline for the bar. He didn’t drink often, and never when he had to drive afterward, but tonight he didn’t have to go anywhere but upstairs to his hotel room. Chloe was here, of course, so he couldn’t go overboard. He just wanted to numb some of the pain.

Paul leaned his elbows on the bar as he waited for the petite blond bartender to finish with the drink she was making for another guest. He thought the guy standing patiently waiting for his drink was one of Chris’ employees. Paul was also fairly certain that the guy was single by the way he was openly eyeing the young woman from head to toe. She was pretty—Paul wasn’t blind, after all. Unfortunately, there was no spark. There never was. Not since his wife, Melissa.

Six months after Melissa’s accident, he’d tried. He’d left Chloe with Melissa’s parents and gone out to a club. It had been loud and he’d felt out of place, but he’d met a woman he found attractive and went for it. They’d ended up at her place an hour later, clothes on the floor, with him hovering over her.

He hadn’t been able to go through with it, though. As he reached for a condom, he’d seen Melissa smiling up at him, her chest vibrating as she attempted to suppress her mirth while he fumbled trying to roll the rubber down his erection. It was an old memory, from when they were teenagers, but it had stung all the same. He’d gathered his clothes, dressed, and apologized, leaving the woman, whom he only knew as Karen, lying naked on her bed staring after him.

The bartender handed over the drink she’d made, and then turned to Paul without giving the other man a second glance. Looked like he wouldn’t be getting that after-closing booty call.

She turned to Paul and smiled. “What can I get ya?”

“Scotch. Neat.”

Her smile got wider. “Coming right up, handsome.”

Paul glanced over his shoulder, and caught sight of his mom and dad. They appeared to be engrossed in a conversation with two people he didn’t know. His dad looked in Paul’s direction, and Paul quickly turned back around. The last thing he needed was his dad zeroing in on his less-than-festive attitude.

The bartender placed the half-full glass of scotch down in front of him. She made sure to lean in a little closer than normal. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” Paul picked up the glass and took a drink. It burned as it went down his throat, which was good. Anything was better than the knife twisting in his gut.

“So how do you know the bride and groom?”

Not wanting to be rude, Paul answered her. “I’m the groom’s brother.”

“Older or younger?”

Paul laughed, before backing away. “Thanks again for the drink.”

He made it halfway to the corner he’d scoped out as a decent hiding place, before he was waylaid by his brother, Trent. “Hey, man.” Trent looked down at the drink Paul had in his hand, and raised his eyebrow.

“Something wrong?”

“I was going to ask you the same question. Since when do you drink anything but beer?”

“I like to mix it up sometimes.” Paul didn’t add that those “sometimes” usually involved his wedding anniversary and the anniversary of his wife’s death. Chris’ wedding didn’t fall on either of those occasions, but Paul was making an exception.

“Since when?”

After taking another sip of his scotch, Paul narrowed his eyes at his younger brother. “Did you have a reason for coming over here other than to give me a hard time?”

Trent frowned, but let it go. For now, at least. “Megan and Chloe were looking for you. Chloe wants some pictures of you, Megan, and her together. Chris and Elizabeth don’t have a problem with it, but they wanted to make sure it was okay with you before they agreed to anything.”

The last thing Paul wanted to do was pose for more pictures, but there were very few things he’d deny his daughter. Pictures of the woman she’d grown extremely close to over the last four months weren’t one of them. “It’s fine.”

Again, he saw that look of doubt cross his brother’s face. “Okay . . .”

Paul ignored Trent’s curiosity. “Where?”

“Out in the lobby. The photographer has been taking some pictures in front of the fountain.”

Not waiting to see if Trent would come up with more questions regarding his odd behavior, Paul took off toward the fountain.

Before entering the lobby, he took one last gulp of his scotch, feeling the heat. He could do this. For his daughter, he could do this.

Setting his now empty glass down on a nearby table, he plastered a smile on his face, and went to find Megan and Chloe.

* * *

Megan Carson held tight to Chloe’s hand as she continued to flutter about without a care in the world. They were in the lobby waiting on Paul. At least, Megan hoped they were waiting on Paul. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he’d been tense all throughout Chris and Elizabeth’s vows. And a couple of times she noticed him getting a look on his face. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was thinking about his wife.

He’d smiled and laughed along with everyone else, but she could tell his heart wasn’t in it. She now knew him well enough to know the difference. And she’d guess his family did, too. Although, technically, Megan was his family now as well—ever since her sister married his brother.

Chloe squealed, and pulled harder on Megan’s arm. “Daddy!”

Releasing the little girl’s hand, Megan stood back and watched Paul scoop up his daughter. Seeing them like this gave her a warm feeling. He smiled at Chloe, and this time it didn’t look fake or forced. Then again, whenever it came to Chloe, Megan didn’t question Paul’s love or willingness to do anything for her. Chloe was the apple of his eye—a tangible reminder of his dead wife.

“I was told there’s a picture that needs to be taken out here.” Paul tickled his daughter’s sides.

She giggled. “Yes, Daddy. I want a picture with yous, and mes, and Megan.”

Paul glanced down at Megan, and she took in his warm brown eyes. She loved when they sparkled with joy, as they did in that moment. No one could do that to him but Chloe. Not his mom or his brothers. Not even her. No matter how much she wished otherwise.

The photographer approached them with his camera hanging from a strap around his neck. “Ah, good. Everyone’s here, yes?”

He quickly corralled them into the correct position, with Megan and Paul flanking Chloe as the three of them sat on the edge of the fountain. To an outside observer, they’d look like a normal family. Appearances could be deceiving, though, and in this case they were way off. Megan was Chloe’s nanny, nothing more. She took care of Chloe when Paul was working, making sure she had everything she needed, and that the house wasn’t a disaster when he came home.

That was where it ended. Occasionally, Paul would allow Megan to cook dinner for them, but it was rare, and usually only on days when he knew he wouldn’t be home until after six. Paul took taking care of his one and only child seriously. She was his responsibility, and while he allowed Megan to take over when he had to leave, he didn’t take advantage of her presence in their life—although sometimes she wished that he would.

With the pictures over, Chloe ran back into the reception with an announcement that she was going to find her grandmother—Paul’s mom—leaving Paul and Megan behind.

“Thank you.”

She looked up at Paul. He towered over her, at just over six feet to her much shorter five foot five. “You know I’d do anything for Chloe.”

He was ultra-serious again. “I know, but you don’t have to. You’re not working tonight.”

Megan frowned. He had that melancholy look she noticed crossed his features all too frequently. “Are you all right?”

It was Paul’s turn to frown. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s my brother’s wedding.”

His answer didn’t ease her concern. Paul was a good guy—the best guy she’d ever met in her twenty-three years. He put every other man who’d crossed her path to shame, with the exception of Gage and the rest of his brothers and father. The Daniels men had certainly upped her standards in the opposite sex.

“I don’t know. You just don’t seem like yourself tonight.”

Paul waved off her observation. “It’s been a long day, that’s all.”

Yes, it had been a long day. Megan and all the other Daniels women, including Chloe, had met at the spa a little after eight that morning. They’d all gotten their hair and nails done while the guys did whatever guys did to get ready for a wedding. Since then, they’d all been going strong. Megan didn’t think that was the problem, but she let it go. For now. “It has been a long day.”

In what seemed like an effort to steer her away from any further questioning, Paul held out his arm, and motioned toward the reception. She took a deep breath, and smiled, allowing him to deflect. Whatever was going on with him today, she figured it had to do with his wife. One thing she’d learned about Paul in the four months she’d known him was that he was still very much in love with Melissa. It didn’t matter that she’d been dead for over four years. She was still alive in his heart.

Once back inside, Megan was hijacked by her brother-in-law, Gage. “Would you please talk to your sister?”

Megan laughed. “What’s up, Becca?”

Her sister, Rebecca, gave her husband a disapproving headshake. “Nothing, except Mr. Overprotective here doesn’t think I can do anything on my own.”

“I’m trying to be a gentleman.” Gage huffed his response, but at the same time, he wrapped his arms around Rebecca’s middle, pulling her up against him. It still amused Megan to see how Gage had changed since falling in love with her sister. He’d gone from the cocky playboy to the overprotective husband and daddy-to-be.

Rebecca leaned in to him. “I do not need for you to walk me to the bathroom. I’m not a child.” She paused. “And before you say it, I’m not going to get sick. I haven’t had a bout of morning sickness in over a week.”

Gage kissed her temple and inhaled. “I’m sorry, beautiful, but you know how much I worry about you.”

Megan watched her sister—her sister who could take down a man three times her size with her bare hands—melt in her husband’s arms. “I guess you two don’t need me anymore, then?”

They both chuckled, and Rebecca stood to her full height. “Of course I do. You, I don’t mind accompanying me to the ladies’ room.”

Before she knew it, Rebecca was pushing her toward the bathroom. “Hey, slow down.”

Rebecca stopped and released Megan’s arm. “Sorry. It’s just . . .”

“He’s driving you nuts?” Megan laughed.

“It’s not funny. You’d think I was terminally ill or something, instead of pregnant.”

Although she knew Gage’s attentiveness was probably getting to her overly independent sister, she also knew that Rebecca loved the attention. It was something Megan and Rebecca had lacked growing up—Rebecca especially. “You know you love it.” Megan paused. “And him.”

It took a few seconds, but then a soft smile brightened Rebecca’s features. “It’s sad, but I do. I know I shouldn’t, but to know that he’d drop everything for me and the baby, no matter what, is a pretty amazing feeling.”

“Yeah, I bet. I mean, we didn’t have that growing up. He’s going to be a great dad.”

Rebecca glanced back to where Gage was now talking to his father and Trent. “He really is.”

The talk of dads sent Megan’s mind drifting back to Paul, and she immediately began searching the crowd for him.

“Looking for someone?”

Megan turned back to face her sister. “Huh? What?”

“I asked if you were looking for someone.” Rebecca had a strange look on her face, and Megan knew Rebecca was going into big sister mode. It was the last thing she wanted.

“Not really.”

Her sister frowned. “Is something going on I should know about?”

Now Megan was confused. “Like?”

“I don’t know. I mean you’ve gone four months without chasing after a guy. That’s a record for you.”

Megan rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t . . . I didn’t mean it like that. I worry about you. I want you to find a nice guy—someone who will treat you well. I don’t want to see you hurt again.”

“I know. And when I find him, you’ll be the first to know.”

Rebecca reached up to brush a strand of hair away from Megan’s face. It was something she’d done since Megan was little—a motherly gesture from the only real female authority figure Megan had ever known. “Come on. Let’s get to the bathroom before I burst. I think I drank way too much water earlier.”

Following her sister, Megan took one last look around trying to spot Paul, but she didn’t see him anywhere.

CHAPTER2

Paul didn’t manage to stay under the radar for as long as he would have liked. Unfortunately, there were only so many places he could hide without leaving the reception entirely. That meant his family was able to find him without too much difficulty.

After leaving Megan, he’d ambled back over to the bar and got another drink to nurse. He needed to take it easy. No matter how bad the pain got, he didn’t want his daughter to see him falling down drunk.

He made it about a half hour at his lone table in the corner, sipping his second glass of scotch and nibbling on some food, when Chris and Elizabeth found him.

“Congratulations.” Paul tipped his glass to the bride and groom.

“Thank you.” Chris held tight to his new bride’s hand, and his smile was bright enough to light up the whole room. Paul remembered that feeling. He remembered holding his new wife in his arms—their first dance—their first kiss as husband and wife. Everything.

He was going to need another drink.

Elizabeth was the one to bring Paul out of his memories this time. “So I was wondering if maybe you’d like to dance?”

“Worn your new husband out already?” Paul attempted the joke, but it felt dead to his own ears.

Chris, luckily, didn’t seem to pick up on it. Paul supposed his brother was too caught up in the joy of his wedding day, which was exactly as it should be. “Pfft. Not hardly. I’d dance with her all night if that’s what she wanted. Aunt Claire, however, wants a dance.”

Paul smiled. He wasn’t feeling it, but he could pretend. He was good at that. “Sure. I’d love to dance with my new sister.”

Reluctantly, Paul left the remains of his scotch on the table, and took Elizabeth’s hand. Sure, he could have downed it like he did before, but if he kept doing that he wouldn’t be able to walk soon. Plus, Chris might have noticed, and that was the last thing he needed. On the whole, Paul preferred beer, but he would have to down a case of beer to get that numb feeling he was looking for tonight. Scotch was more efficient.

Elizabeth held onto his arm until they reached the dance floor. They danced in relative silence, until he saw some of the happiness drain from her features. “Something the matter?”

She tilted her head to the side. “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

Obviously he hadn’t been hiding his emotions as well as he’d thought. “I’m fine. Good. My little brother got married today, and I happen to think the woman he chose is perfect for him.”

She smiled, but the concern didn’t leave her face. “Thank you for saying that, but what about you?”

“Like I said, I’m fine.”

Elizabeth seemed to think about it for a moment, and he was really hoping she would drop it. He should have known better. “Does this remind you of your wife? Of your wedding?”

Paul shrugged, not wanting her to make a big deal out of it. “Some. It is a wedding, after all.” He didn’t add that when Elizabeth had walked down the aisle in her white dress he’d had a flash of Melissa walking toward him on their wedding day.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could have met her.”

He nodded. “She would have liked you.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I’m sure I would have liked her, too.”

Although he didn’t mind talking about Melissa to a certain extent—he talked about her often to Chloe—given the events of the day, he didn’t think he could handle a long drawn-out discussion. When the song ended, Paul politely thanked Elizabeth for the dance, and went in search of his mom. He needed a few minutes to himself . . . away from everyone . . . but he didn’t want to just up and leave without telling anyone either. That would only invite more questions from his family that he didn’t want to answer.

He found his mom sitting near the buffet table. Chloe sat next to her, stuffing her face with a piece of bread and some chicken. “Hey, Ma.”

“Da-mee!” Chloe’s words were muffled around her food.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.” His daughter didn’t look fazed by his reprimand, and went back to eating.

“I was looking for you earlier.”

Paul pulled out a chair beside his mom, and sat down. “Elizabeth wanted a dance.”

Marilyn Daniels smiled at her oldest son. “I’m so happy for Chris. He should have married Elizabeth the first time around.”

“That would have been difficult since Elizabeth was still married to someone else at the time.”

His mom waved the comment away. “You know what I mean. Elizabeth should have been his first.”

Paul couldn’t argue with that. None of the family had been crazy about Carol, Chris’ first wife. That should have been a big clue right there. Unfortunately, Chris found out the hard way that she wasn’t the right woman for him when he caught her in bed with his best friend. Paul counted his blessings that he’d never had to experience a betrayal like that. He and Melissa had been childhood sweethearts. She’d been his first, and he hers.

“Paul?”

Blinking, he refocused on his mom. “Sorry. What were you saying?”

She glanced over at Chloe, and then back at him. “Chloe and I were talking about her having a sleepover with Grandma and Grandpa tonight, but I told her we’d have to make sure it was okay with you first.”

“Please, Daddy? Please?” This time Chloe made sure to swallow first before she began pleading.

“Sure. We aren’t leaving until around noon tomorrow, anyway.”

“Yay!”

His mom laughed, and Paul managed a smile. “I was actually coming to find you to see if you could watch Chloe for a bit. I need to run up to the room for something.”

“Of course.”

“Did you need me to bring down some clothes for her while I’m up there?”

“Nah. We’re good. I’ve got a T-shirt with me she can wear. You just enjoy yourself tonight. I’ve got Chloe.”

“Okay.”

“Thank you, Daddy.” Chloe jumped up off her chair and hugged Paul’s legs.

He hugged her back. She was growing up so fast. “You be good for Grandma and Grandpa, you hear?”

She smiled up at him. “I promise.”

Bending down, Paul kissed the top of his daughter’s head before walking away. He knew he could have asked Megan to keep an eye on Chloe for him, but he’d told her to take the night off and enjoy herself. She deserved it with all the overtime he’d been working lately.

As Paul headed toward the entrance, he paused and looked over the crowd. Everyone was having a good time, as it should be. He narrowed his eyes a little when he saw Megan talking to that same guy who’d been trying to chat up the bartender.

Shaking it off, he moved on. Megan was a big girl. She could take care of herself.

He looked away, and his gaze honed in on the bar once more. Chloe was spending the night with his parents, so he was free for the rest of the evening.

Throwing caution to the wind, Paul turned on his heel, and ambled toward the bar to get a bottle of scotch to keep him company up in his room. He already knew it was going to be a long night, and he was still feeling way too much. Chloe wouldn’t be there, so there was no reason to hold back. He was going to get drunk. Maybe then, he could stop feeling for a while.

* * *

Megan saw Paul slip out of the reception hall. She was talking to a guy named Kevin. He was nice enough, but she couldn’t help compare him to Paul. On top of that, she’d met plenty of guys like Kevin before. He was looking for someone to warm his bed and, for once, Megan wasn’t interested.

When a half hour passed and Paul didn’t return, Megan politely excused herself from the conversation she’d been having. She’d thought Paul was going to the bathroom or something, but she was starting to worry that something else was up. Knowing Paul would never leave Chloe, she went in search of the little girl.

As she began pressing her way through the crowd, Gage snuck up beside her. “Do you want to dance?”

“You mean you’re willing to leave Becca’s side for that long?”

Gage clutched his chest as if she’d wounded him. “I’m not that bad.”

She snorted. “You really are.”

“Now you sound like your sister.” Gage was frowning, which only made Megan laugh more. “Okay, fine. She sort of told me not to come back for at least fifteen minutes under threat of bodily harm. Not that I’d mind exactly, but Chris might take issue if she pulls one of her self-defense moves on me in the middle of his wedding reception.”

“I’m surprised she hasn’t kicked your ass yet.”

His eyes lit up, and he smirked. “Who says I don’t like it when your sister gets a little frisky?”

“Eww!” Megan feigned revulsion. In truth, she was ecstatic that her sister had finally met her match. Gage fawned all over Rebecca, but he also didn’t let her push him away. He refused to let her hide behind that wall she’d built up because of her and Megan’s parents. Megan understood. She had walls of her own. That didn’t mean she didn’t want what Rebecca had finally found with Gage. Of course she did. Megan wanted to be loved and adored and cherished. She just didn’t think it was in the cards for her.

“Come on. Please?” Gage pouted, making Megan laugh harder. He could be such a goof sometimes.

“Sure. Fine. Come on.”

Gage danced with her for two songs, and then said he needed to go check on Rebecca. Megan knew her sister was more than capable of taking care of herself. But she also knew that it was useless telling Gage that. She would love to be a fly on their wall sometimes to watch her sister put the big burly football player in his place.

Shaking her head, Megan wandered over to the buffet tables. She’d eaten some of the smaller stuff earlier, but after dancing her stomach was demanding nourishment. Filling her plate, she looked around the room for some place to sit. She spotted Gage and Rebecca immediately, but they looked to be in the middle of what Megan had learned to be foreplay for them—other people called it fighting. The last thing she wanted to do was get in the middle of that. If experience was anything to go by, they’d be sneaking up to their room soon to take out their aggression in other more sexual ways. Thank goodness her room was nowhere near theirs.

The bride and groom were across the room, eating and chatting with some of their guests, while Trent and his dad, Mike, were a few feet away. The Danielses were social people, and she liked them. A lot. It was just that she didn’t know them very well. The two exceptions to that were Paul—who was MIA—and Chloe, so when she spotted the little girl with her grandmother, Megan strolled over to join them. “Mind if I sit?”

“Of course not.”

“Me-gan, I’m eating chicken.”

Megan smiled, and picked up her fork. “Is it good?”

Chloe nodded in an exaggerated fashion as she shoved another piece of chicken in her mouth. They’d been working on eating with utensils, and Chloe was decent at using the kiddie ones, but the normal-sized forks that they had at the reception were a bit much for her tiny hands.

“How have you been, Megan? I haven’t seen you since Gage and Rebecca’s wedding.”

Megan swallowed the bite of food she was chewing before answering. “Good. Keeping busy. Rebecca talked me into taking some online classes.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. Do you have a degree in mind?”

“Not really. I’ve always been interested in art, so maybe something to do with that. I don’t know yet.”

As if Marilyn and Megan weren’t in the middle of a conversation, Chloe interrupted. “Guess what, Megan? I’m going to sleep in Grandma and Grandpa’s room tonight. We’re having a sweepover.”

Not able to hide her smile, Megan reached for her drink. “You mean a sleepover? That sounds fun.”

“Yep.” Chloe was nodding again. “A sleep-over.”

The next five minutes or so were spent listening to Chloe tell Megan all about the sleepover she was going to have with her grandparents, including the movie they were going to watch, and how she was going to get to stay up really, really late. It was impossible not to smile. Chloe put her whole heart into everything she did, and from what Megan had observed while living with Chloe and her father, the little girl was very much like her mother.

Those thoughts led right back to Chloe’s father. Paul still hadn’t returned, and Megan was beginning to worry about him. Had something happened with work? Or was it the wedding in general? The look on his face earlier reminded her of the one he’d get whenever she’d pass by his bedroom and catch him holding the picture of his wife in his hands. Paul was a great guy, and she didn’t like seeing him hurting.

As Megan finished her food, she chatted back and forth with Marilyn. Every now and then, Chloe would interject a comment or share a story. When Mike Daniels, the patriarch of the Daniels family, approached the table, Megan decided it was time to go in search of Paul. She said her goodbyes, and kissed Chloe on the cheek, before going to find her sister.

Rebecca could, of course, read her like a book. “Oh no. What’s wrong?”

Luckily, Gage wasn’t around. “Nothing’s wrong. Where’s your husband?”

“He went to get me some more food. Stop deflecting.”

“I’m not deflecting.” It was sort of a lie, but not really. She knew that if she told her sister she was going to look for Paul, Rebecca would tell her husband and soon the entire Daniels clan would be off in search of him. Megan knew Paul wouldn’t want that.

“Then why do you have that look on your face?”

“Maybe because I’m tired?”

“Uh-huh.”

Not wanting to fight with her sister, Megan got to the point. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m heading up to my room. It’s been a long day, and I’m ready to crash.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Rebecca looked torn for some reason. “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Becca?”

“I saw the way you were looking at Paul earlier.”

“Okay. And?”

“And . . .” She sighed. “Is something . . . you know, going on with you two?”

Megan’s mouth fell open. She felt it, and she had no control of it at all. Her and Paul? Sure, he was attractive. Okay, more than attractive. But he’d never shown any interest in her that way, so even if she wanted to, which she kind of did, she wouldn’t push herself on him like that. He and his family had taken Rebecca and Megan in, embracing them as part of the family. Plus, Paul wasn’t over his wife. Megan knew that, above all else. “No. Why would there be? Besides, just because you’re getting your freak on all over the place doesn’t mean everyone else is.”

Rebecca let out a relieved breath. “All right.”

As if a lightbulb went off in her head, Megan narrowed her eyes at her sister. “What? You thought that just because he’s a man and I live with him now that there has to be something going on?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“No. You didn’t, but you implied it. I’m not a little kid anymore, Rebecca.”

“I know. I’m so—”

Megan waved off her apology. “I’m going to my room. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Megan?”

Megan continued walking, and she was glad to hear Gage asking Rebecca what was wrong. He would keep her sister from following her. Megan knew she’d have to deal with Rebecca tomorrow, and that was fine. Right now, however, she needed some space. And to find Paul.

Something in the back of her mind told her to let it go—to leave him be. Megan pushed it aside and told herself that she just needed see that he was all right. Then she could go up to her room, find some cheesy romantic movie on television, and fall asleep.

CHAPTER3

Megan looked everywhere she could think of, even walking outside to see if she could spot him talking on his cell or something, but she came up empty. He was nowhere to be found, and after twenty minutes of searching, she decided to head upstairs to her room. She figured he had to come back eventually, right?

As soon as Megan stepped inside her room, she kicked off her shoes. High heels made your legs look great, but they were killer on your feet.

Next to come off was her jewelry, and then finally, her dress. She’d dressed up more than usual for Chris and Elizabeth’s wedding—more sophisticated, too. The dress she’d chosen was knee length, perfectly conservative, and had cute ruffled sleeves. To be honest, she was dressed more like her sister than she was herself. On most days, Megan preferred jeans and T-shirts, although she also liked skirts that showed off her legs. She might only be five foot five, but she had nice legs. Why not flaunt them?

She padded into the bathroom in her bare feet, figuring she’d go ahead and get ready for bed. When she emerged ten minutes later, she found the kitty cat pajamas she’d brought with her—since moving in with Paul and Chloe, she’d had to make adjustments to her sleepwear—and put them on.

Megan was about to crawl into bed and see what she could find on television when she heard what sounded like something crashing to the floor next door. Jumping up, Megan went to the door connecting her room with Paul’s. He’d gotten them adjoining rooms to make it easier for Chloe, but since the little girl was with her grandmother, Megan knew the noise had to be coming from Paul.

“Paul? Are you all right over there?”

No answer.

“Paul?”

Still nothing.

Without stopping to think, Megan turned the handle on the door. It wasn’t locked, and it opened easily.

She peeked inside, and what she saw had her scrambling across the room in a hurry. Paul was balanced—barely—against the dresser that supported the television. He looked as if he’d just come from the bathroom, and he was drunk. Not a little drunk, but can’t-walk-straight-or-talk-without-slurring-his-words drunk. She’d never seen him like this.

“Meg-Meg-an.” He sighed, and attempted to raise his arm toward her as she wrapped her arm around his waist. He was twice her size, and in his current condition, he was dead weight.

With little help from him, Megan moved him a few feet over to the bed. He plopped down so hard he bounced.

Once she was fairly sure he wasn’t going to topple over, she glanced around the room. That was when she noticed the bottle of scotch on the coffee table. Most of the bottle appeared to be gone, and as there was no one else in the room, she had to assume he’d drunk it all himself.

“Will you be okay for a minute?”

“Su-sure.” Paul smiled up at her, and she felt something flutter in the pit of her stomach.

Stop it, she told herself, as she marched back into her room to get some ibuprofen.

He was still where she left him when she returned with something for the headache he was bound to have come morning. She took one of the glasses provided by the hotel into the bathroom to fill it up with water, before returning to stand directly in front of him. “Here. Take these. If you drank as much as I think you did, then you are going to have one massive hangover in the morning.”

Without comment, or protest, Paul downed the pills like they were candy. She handed him the water, and he drained that within seconds as well.

When he was done, she took the glass from him, and went to refill it. Again, he drained it when she brought it back to him. Once he polished that one off, Megan set aside the empty glass. She couldn’t help but wonder what had brought this on, although she was pretty sure she knew.

Megan was lost in thought when she felt Paul’s fingers brush the outside of her legs. At first, she thought it was unintentional, but then he got bolder and flattened his palms so that they were bracketing her waist. She could feel the heat of his hands through her clothes. Megan knew she should push him away—he was drunk, after all—but she couldn’t. She wanted to see what he would do.

“Always wear . . . most in . . . testing . . . p . . . jamaszzz.”

She swallowed. He noticed her pajamas? Since when? “I like cats.”

“Mmm.” Paul slipped the pads of his thumbs under her shirt, and began making circles against her belly. It was incredibly intimate—more intimate than a lot of the sex she’d had. This felt different. It was different. This was Paul. He wasn’t like the guys she normally hung out with.

“Paul?” Her voice cracked. Why did she feel as if this was her first time?

Again, he ignored her, and this time he leaned forward, pulling her closer. He lifted her shirt, exposing her stomach, and pressed his lips against her skin.

Megan reacted in the only way she could, by placing her hands on his head, lacing her fingers through his hair. What was happening?

Paul continued upward with his exploration—pushing her shirt out of the way as he went—until he reached her breasts. He cupped each one, filling both his hands, and began kneading and lifting them. Her nipples hardened, and she felt her body react in other ways. She knew she should stop him, but she couldn’t. Megan had dreamt about this . . . how it could happen . . . but she’d never imagined it would be like this.

He eased her left breast into his mouth and began sucking on it as though it was his life source. Megan moaned. She was a woman who liked sex, and it had been almost five months. No matter how wrong she knew this was, if he was willing, she wasn’t going to say no.

Hearing her pleasure, Paul released her breast, and leaned back on the bed, pulling her down with him. He cupped the back of her head, and a second later, his mouth was covering hers—his tongue pushing against her lips—begging, demanding entrance.

She opened her mouth, and his tongue surged inside, licking and caressing. Megan could taste the alcohol on his breath, but she also tasted him—something that was uniquely him. Even with Paul being drunk, she could tell he was a good kisser. He angled her head exactly the way he wanted it as he continued his assault on her mouth.

Megan felt him snake his other hand down her body and into her pajama bottoms. He didn’t waste any time going for what he wanted. She gasped as his fingers found just the right spot between her legs. Her body was overheating. She just . . . she just . . .

Suddenly, he stopped kissing her and his hand stilled. The fingers that were tangled in her hair dropped onto the bed.

She opened her eyes and looked down at the man beneath her. His eyes were closed, his mouth opened, and he was snoring softly.

Well, that’s a first.

Not ready to extract herself just yet, Megan reached up and caressed his face. He’d said her name. He’d known it was her. If nothing else, he’d known who she was. If she never got another opportunity to have him, she at least knew that he wasn’t completely indifferent to her. He found her attractive—at least on some level.

Leaning down, she pressed a soft kiss to his parted lips before removing his hand from her pants. Megan knew she needed to go, but she didn’t want to leave him with his feet hanging off the side of the bed.

It took some time, but eventually she was able to get his feet up onto the mattress and him into a position where she was confident he wouldn’t fall off in the middle of the night. His head was near the foot of the bed, and his feet at the head, but it worked nonetheless.

Satisfied she’d done the best she could, Megan debated whether or not to sleep on the couch in his room or go back to her own. It was a hard decision, but she reasoned that he probably wouldn’t want to be babied come morning, so reluctantly she went back to her room. The only concession was that she left the adjoining door open.

Curling up in her bed, Megan looked toward the open door. What would have happened if Paul hadn’t fallen asleep? Unfortunately, she might never know.

* * *

It sounded like someone was scraping their nails on a chalkboard, and what Paul wanted more than anything was for them to stop. His head was pounding, and the noise wasn’t helping. He cracked open one eye and quickly closed it again, as the sun shining through the window only made things worse. How much did he have to drink last night? He couldn’t remember. From how he was feeling, though, it was a lot.

As gently as he could, he sat up. The pounding in his head increased slightly. He took a few deep breaths until he was sure his head wasn’t going to fall off, and then made his way into the bathroom to relieve his bladder.

After taking care of business, he took a long look in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and he had dark circles beneath them. He looked as if he’d been to hell and back, and he felt that way, too.

Making his way back out into the room, he shielded his eyes as best he could as he walked across the room to close the heavy curtains. Once they were pulled tight, blocking the light from outside, the pounding in his head decreased a little more. Not willing to take the chance, however, Paul went to his bag and dug out some painkillers.

Downing them easily, he glanced at the clock. It was already after nine, which meant Chloe and his mom would be calling soon. He needed to clean himself up. Paul didn’t want his daughter to see him like this.

Thoughts of his mom calling brought his mind back to what woke him in the first place. He went to retrieve his phone from on top of the nightstand near the bed, and sure enough, he had one missed call. It was from his partner, Janey Davis.

Dialing into his voice mail, he listened to her message. There had been another homicide last night. The third one in six months, all with the same MO: young woman, in her late twenties/early thirties, found in her home with her throat and wrists slashed.

With the first one, they’d thought it was a possible suicide, but the cuts were too clean and the angles wrong. Add to that the difficulty of slashing both one’s throat and wrists. When the second victim turned up with identical cuts along her throat and wrists, it was obvious they had a killer on their hands. With victim number three, the higher-ups were going to start wanting answers.

Knowing he needed a shower before he called Janey back, Paul tossed his phone down on the bed, and went to grab some clothes. That’s when he noticed the door between his and Megan’s room was open. He strolled over to the door and peeked in. Megan was still asleep, curled up in her bed with the blankets tucked under her chin, and her hair in complete disarray.

A flash of his hand cupping the back of her head, her green eyes fully dilated staring back at him, filled his vision for a split second, and then it was gone. He shook his head, not understanding where the image came from. Nonetheless, it was enough to cause a reaction below his waist.

Knowing he needed some distance, Paul scurried out of the doorway and back into his room, quietly, yet firmly, closing the door behind him. He really needed that shower, and now he knew it was going to have to be a cold one—an ice-cold one, from the looks of it. Where had that image come from, and why now?

Paul felt much better after his shower, with one exception. He couldn’t seem to get that image of Megan out of his head. It made no sense to him. She’d never looked at him that way before, and he’d never touched her like that. The flash made no sense to him, but he couldn’t shake it. And every time it popped up, all his efforts to calm himself were for naught.

Knowing he needed a distraction, as soon as Paul was dressed, he dialed Janey. She picked up after the first ring. “Up late partying?”

He snorted, and felt it from his head to his toes. The medicine had helped his headache, but that didn’t mean it had gone away completely. “Hardly.”

“Oh, man. I need to show you how to party right, then, Daniels.”

Paul chuckled. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I manage just fine.”

She made a noise through the phone that sounded a lot like the raspberries he blew on Chloe’s stomach from time to time. “Suit yourself. You know you’re always welcome to come out with us anytime, though.”

His partner and some of the other detectives from the station regularly invited him to come out with them after a shift, but he’d always made the excuse that he had to get home to Chloe. He had no idea how he would dodge that once she got older, but for the moment, it worked. None of them pushed, except for Janey, and he figured that was because she knew he was only using Chloe as an excuse.

Janey and Paul had been partners for five years. She’d been there when he’d lost Melissa, so she knew all the ups and downs he’d gone through. Janey knew more than most when it came to how much he still grieved for his wife, because she was there beside him every day.