Crossing the Line (2 page)

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.

Chapter 2

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.