The Ashtons - Cole, Abigail & Megan

friends who can relish his pain.”
    Dave spread his arms wide. “I do what I can.”
    “Trust me, you’ve done enough.” Simon pushed back from the desk, stood up and started pacing. Hell, he felt as though if he didn’t move, he just might start unspooling. Was that even a word? “This is all your fault,” he muttered.
    “Okay, how did I get into this?”
    “You’re the one who said I should have a life. That Megan was good for me.”
    “Guilty as charged.”
    Shaking his head, Simon walked faster, as though he were trying to escape the thoughts plaguing him, but there was just no way he could run fast enough—or far enough. “I started thinking and damn it, that wasn’t a good thing either. Because the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I’m in love with her.”
    “That’s great!” Dave jumped up to congratulate him, but Simon just sneered.
    “It wasn’t in my plan.”
    “Screw the plan, Simon,” Dave said. “You finally found somebody and I think it’s great.”
    “Oh yeah, great.” Simon stopped dead and glared at his best friend. “I don’t want to be in love. Love is chaos. And I don’t like chaos.”
    “Well, welcome to the world, Simon.” Daveleaned back against the desk. “Nobody’s in control all the damn time.”
    “ I am,” he argued, then scowled again. “At least I used to be.”
    Dave chuckled.
    Simon’s gaze narrowed on him. “And I will be again.”
    “Oh, this I gotta hear.”
    “Fine. Listen up.” Crossing the room toward his oldest friend, he talked while he walked. “I figured it out this morning. All I have to do is make Megan admit she loves me first. Then I regain control.”
    “You’re nuts.”
    “It makes sense.” Warming to the whole idea now that he’d said it out loud, Simon went on. “Think about it. First one to speak loses power—if it’s true in business, then why shouldn’t it be true in love?”
    “Because love isn’t supposed to be about oneupmanship.”
    “Right. Remember why you surprised Peggy with the week’s stay in Hawaii last summer?”
    Dave stiffened. “That’s different.”
    “You said it was so that you’d be the one making the romantic move. So you’d get the brownie points.”
    Rubbing the back of his neck, Dave said, “There’s a flaw in there somewhere.”
    “No there’s not,” Simon said, walking back around his desk to sit down again. “I’ve pulled off way more hostile takeovers than this. You’ll see. Ilove Megan. I know she loves me, too.” He stopped, thought about it, then nodded. “Yeah. She really does. All I have to do is somehow get her to admit it before I do. How hard can it be?”
    Dave scowled at him. “Why does that have the ring of ‘famous last words’?”
    “He’s our father, Megan,” Paige said, striding across the reception hall floor. “Of course I’m going to support him. You should be, too.”
    “I tried that. You know I did.” Megan shook her head and followed her younger sister, heels clicking noisily on the glossy marble floor. She knew Paige wasn’t listening to her. Didn’t want to hear her. And Megan was sorry for it. She and her sister had always been close. And now that the scandal over baby Jack had stirred things up in the family, it was as if everyone were taking sides—and she and her sister were on opposite sides of the fence.
    “Honestly,” Paige muttered darkly. “To listen to you and Trace, anyone would think Father was some kind of monster.”
    Megan’s headache pounded in time with her steps. Trace. Her older brother. At least she had the satisfaction of knowing that he felt the same way she did.
    As she walked, Megan’s careful gaze swept the hall, absently checking that everything was ready for the wedding reception to be held there the following day. Round tables, each sitting ten people, dotted thefloor. Pale peach linen tablecloths were spread over them and the matching slipcovered chairs were pulled up close. Vases atop every table waited for the peach roses that would arrive in the morning. Along the far wall, several smaller round tables marched in a long line, seating for the bridal party. And on the opposite end of the hall, a wide area was set apart for dancing.
    A soft breeze drifted through the open veranda doors on either side of the hall and carried the scent of roses with it.
    Everything was as it should be. Whatever else might be going on around Megan, she’d managed to at least keep her work on track. As