The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero: The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero. Abby Gaines
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interrupted by friends and family who stopped by the table on the pretense of wanting to say hello to Megan.
But she knew the truth—they all wanted the scoop on Gage. And while she knew she’d brought this on herself by inviting him, she decided she’d rather be thought of as “poor lonely Megan” than attract this kind of unwanted attention.
But Gage was a good sport about it. And he had the grace to pretend he was oblivious when other women tried to flirt with him—while Megan was sitting right beside him. Of course, that only proved what she already knew, that no one believed he could be seriously interested in her.
So lost was she in these thoughts that she jolted when he put a hand on her arm.
“Do you want to dance?”
She hadn’t realized the band had begun to play until he asked, and as tempted as she was by the desire to be held in his arms, her desire to fade in the background was still stronger. “I’d rather not.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not a very good dancer.”
“Then think of it as practice.” He pushed back his chair. “Because you’ll have to dance at the wedding.”
“I really don’t—” From the corner of her eye, she saw her mother moving in their direction. With a resigned sigh, Megan took his proffered hand and rose to her feet.
He smiled. “You were saying?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a better offer,” she ad-libbed.
The sparkle in his eye told her that he knew exactly why she’d changed her mind, but he made no further comment.
Gage was a great dancer, which didn’t surprise Megan in the least. She imagined that anything Gage Richmond chose to do, he did well.
It made her wonder—if only for a moment—what it would be like to make love with him. No doubt he would be very, very good at that, but she quickly shoved that fantasy aside before it had a chance to go any further.
“Relax.” Gage murmured the word close to her ear. “Block out everything else but the sound of the music.”
His breath was warm on her cheek, his tone soothing. But Megan could barely hear the music over the pounding of her heart, the rush of the blood in her veins.
“I’m not very comfortable in crowds,” she said, because it was true and because it was easier to admit that than to reveal that every nerve ending in her body was on high alert because of him.
“Forget the crowd,” he told her. “There’s just you and me.”
If he was trying to get her to relax, that certainly wasn’t going to do it.
Conversation, she decided, would be safer than letting her imagination run wild.
“I got the memo about the staff meeting on Monday,” she said.
“No shoptalk on a date,” Gage chided gently.
She frowned. “Then what are we supposed to talk about?”
“Anything but work.”
Which was easy to say, but Megan didn’t really know how to talk about anything else. “So, how about those Yankees?”
Gage chuckled.
“What?”
“It’s the beginning of March.”
“So?”
“They’re still in spring training in Florida.”
“Oh.”
“And anyway, I’m a BoSox fan.”
“Really?”
“Five years at Harvard made an impression,” he told her. “Which makes baseball a taboo subject at family dinners.”
“Your dad and your brother are both Yankees fans?” she guessed.
“They are,” he agreed. “But neither of them are as devoted as my sister-in-law.”
“So what do you talk about at family dinners?” she wondered.
“Anything else. Although with four kids around the table, any kind of conversation can be difficult.”
“It sounds like you’re close to your family.”
“Aren’t you?”
She considered the question for a moment before responding. “To my sister, yes. And Paige is like a second sister. But my mom?” She shook her head. “We just seem to have different ideas about everything. In particular, she’s never understood why I believe my work is more important than finding a husband.”
“I get the same thing from my family. Not that they want me to find a husband—” he grinned”—but they do think I would benefit from settling down.”
She was surprised that he was telling her this. Then she realized that he was telling her because she was safe, because she didn’t have any illusions that he was talking about settling down with her.
“What do you think?” she asked him.
“I don’t think I’m the settling type,” he told her. “Although my father insists that I just haven’t been dating the right kind of woman.”
“I wouldn’t have guessed there was a kind you’d missed.”
She dropped her head, mortified by what she’d just said.
But Gage only chuckled as he led her off of the dance floor when the song finished. “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”
“I didn’t mean—”
“Yes, you did,” he refuted, clearly unoffended. “And it’s okay. I have dated a lot of women.”
“I was surprised you didn’t already have plans when I asked you to come here tonight,” she admitted.
He shrugged as he drew her out onto the balcony. “I’ve taken a break from the social scene the last couple of months.”
“I guess the rumor mill has been kept busy recycling old news, then.”
“Of course, there will be all kinds of new gossip now that we’re an item.”
“We’re not.” she began, then realized he was teasing.
“Maybe we’re not,” he agreed. “But you don’t have to sound appalled at the prospect of having your name linked with mine.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“What did you mean?”
“Just that no one would ever believe we were a couple.”
He thought about what her aunt had said to him earlier, and her misguided matchmaking attempts. “You’re right. We definitely need to work on that.”
“How?”
“For starters, it would help if you didn’t freeze up every time I touched you,” Gage told her. “Just relax.”
“Relax? Around those people?”
He smiled. “I don’t think your family is the biggest problem.”
“That’s because they’re not your family,” she muttered.
He settled his hands on her shoulders.
She stilled, every muscle in her body going rigid.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” he said.
“What?” she asked, feigning ignorance.
He tugged her closer.
Her heart pounded harder.
He