Free Secrets of You by Mary Campisi Page B

about her past? He would settle for a broad brushstroke, no in-depth confessions right now, just an honest disclosure about her bare-bones upbringing in a town that didn’t even have a McDonald’s. She could do that much, couldn’t she? Well, couldn’t she?
    “Ash?” Megan peeked in the doorway and lifted her coffee mug. “Thanks for making the coffee. There’s nothing like a man who isn’t afraid of a little domesticity.”
    He shrugged and saluted her with his mug. If she thought measuring coffee grounds and pouring water through a filtered coffee maker was domestic, what would she say if she knew he roasted his own peppers and made a mean pulled pork? He guessed the cooking part impressed women; it had seemed to impress Arianna, the only woman who mattered.
    “Pete should be in shortly.” Megan moved toward him, stopped when she was next to his desk and sipped her coffee. She was attractive and sexy and sure as hell shouldn’t be wasting her daydreams on his brother. “When you see him, don’t look at his hair.”
    “Why? What did he do?” And then, before she could tell him, he guessed. “He dyed it, didn’t he?”
    A tiny smile flitted across her lips. “He calls them highlights.” The smile spread, brightened her entire face. “Golden.” Her voice dipped to a whisper. “A little too golden.”
    Ash scowled and rubbed his chin. “What the hell did he go and do that for?”
    Megan’s gaze swept over his hair. “He wants to please his wife. Something, anything to make her happy and, you know, forgive him for what he did to you.” She walked around the desk and lifted a few strands of his hair. “I think he was going for your look. Sun-kissed, natural.” She let the hair slip through her fingers. “He didn’t quite succeed.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    She winced. “Worse.”
    Ash shook his head. “Why would he do something so idiotic? This is not at all like Pete.”
    “He’s desperate.” Megan perched on the edge of his desk, mug between her hands, serious look on her face. “Have you ever cared so much about someone and all you want is a chance?” Her blue eyes grew bluer, her voice softer. “Because once you had that chance you just knew you could make things work, because you had enough love in your soul for ten people.”
    Okay, she was obviously talking about herself and maybe now was the time to inform her that Pete might dye his hair blue or even shave his head, but he loved Caroline. No one else. And the sooner she accepted that truth, the sooner she could get over the heartache. “Megan, look, we need to have a talk.”
    “I know what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear it.”
    “You’re a nice girl, but—”
    “No.” She stood and backed away. “Please. Let me have my dreams.” Her bottom lip quivered as she moved toward the door. “There’s no harm in that, is there?”
    What could he say to that? He’d held onto dreams of him and Arianna for over two years and not even a forced breakup could dispel them. “At some point, you have to move on.” That’s what he was doing, but hopefully, Arianna was moving on with him.
    “I know. But not now.” She lifted a hand in good-bye and left.
    Poor kid. He actually felt sorry for her. She didn’t love Pete; she only thought she did. What was her plan, anyway? Stand by while his marriage toppled and then swoop down and assuage his ego? Ash wouldn’t say anything as long as the dreams stayed in her head and didn’t lend themselves to action. He turned back to the computer, but his mind strayed from the analyses to Megan and her infatuation with Pete. He was still mulling the situation a half-hour later when his brother appeared in the doorway of his office.
    “You look good behind that desk.”
    Ash glanced up and wished he hadn’t. Megan hadn’t exaggerated the debacle of Pete’s foray into hair coloring. Highlights was too liberal a term, especially when three-quarters of his brother’s head was