The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero: The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero

“Face it, Gage. You’ve earned yourself quite the reputation as a playboy and that’s not the image we want for our executives at Richmond Pharmaceuticals. Until you settle down, I can’t—and I won’t—go to bat for you with the board.”

“I used to date a lot of different women,” he acknowledged. “But I haven’t been dating at all in the past few months.”

“Why is that?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been busy.”

His father finished his beer and set the empty bottle down. “Maybe that’s true.”

“What else could it be?”

“Do you really want to know what I think?”

Gage wasn’t sure, but he nodded anyway.

“I think—I hope—you might finally have realized that you’ve been wasting your time with women who are completely wrong for you.”

“That’s assuming there’s a woman out there somewhere who’s right for me.”

“There is,” Allan said with certainty. “And when you find her, you’ll know it.”

Gage wasn’t convinced. He also wasn’t looking for any “right” woman. He liked being able to come and go as he pleased, not being accountable to anyone but himself. He was happy with his life—or he would be, as soon as he was in the V.P. office.

And now he had a specific timeline to focus his efforts: six months. He’d been given half a year to prove to his father and the rest of the board of directors at Richmond Pharmaceuticals that he was mature and responsible—like his brother, Craig.

Allan Richmond might not have mentioned his older son’s name out loud, but the comparison was implied. Gage had always been measured against his brother, and he’d always come up short. The fact that Craig was already a V.P. and Gage was not was proof of that.

But what else did Craig have that Gage didn’t?

A wife and four kids.

He frowned at the answer that immediately sprang to mind, because he had no intention of following his brother’s footsteps down the matrimonial path. He didn’t want to get married. He didn’t want to settle down. Maybe a wife and family was the American dream for a lot of men, but to him, it was a nightmare.

As a child caught in the middle of a nasty custody battle between his parents, he’d learned early on to protect himself. He put up safeguards around his heart so that every time he moved from his father’s house to his mother’s and back again, it hurt a little less. When his mother left for the last time, he almost didn’t care.

And he hadn’t let himself love another woman since. Not the head-over-heels type of love, anyway. Maybe he’d come close a couple of times, but he’d always pulled back before he got in too deep. Even with Beth, his only serious long-term girlfriend and the only woman he’d even believed himself to be in love with, he’d been the one to leave rather than be left behind.

And thankfully he’d been mistaken about the whole love thing, which he proved by putting Beth out of his mind and concentrating on his career. And any woman who claimed he didn’t know the meaning of commitment didn’t understand him at all, because he was already committed to his job. And now he had a new focus—to ensure that the V.P. office would be his by the end of the summer.

It was almost ten o’clock before Lillian Roarke was finally satisfied that all the necessary details for the engagement party had been taken care of and said good-night to her daughters and niece. Ashley went to her room to call her fiancé and update him on the plans, and Megan turned to Paige and demanded, “What have you done?”

Her cousin didn’t feign ignorance or apology. “I got your mother off your back for one night,” she said.

“But now she thinks I have a boyfriend, which she interpreted to mean a date for Ashley’s engagement party.”

“And you will have, as soon as you invite Gage Richmond to go with you.”

Megan shook her head. “I barely know the man.”

“You know him well enough to help him shop for a birthday gift for his niece.”

“We happened to cross paths at the mall and he was desperate.”

“Well, happen to cross paths with him at work and tell him that you’re desperate.”

“Yeah, I can see how that kind of approach would appeal,” she said drily.

Paige laughed as she sorted the lists and notes that littered the table. “I’ll bet it’s one he hasn’t heard before.”

“And not one he’s going to hear from me,” Megan said.

“Why not? What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid,” she denied. “But you know I don’t have the best track record with men.”

“You’ve made a few errors in judgment,” Paige acknowledged with a shrug. “So have I. So has your sister.”

Megan guessed her cousin’s thoughts were on a similar path to her own—wondering if Trevor Byden was Ashley’s prince charming or another error in judgment. She pushed the thought aside and picked up her wineglass.

“Asking Gage Richmond out on a date wouldn’t be an error in judgment,” she finally said. “It would be an invitation to humiliation.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because the man is a major leaguer when it comes to dating and I’m still at the T-ball stage.”

Paige smiled at the analogy. “Well, that major leaguer seemed majorly interested in playing ball with you.”

“Because he delivered a dress that I was careless enough to leave in a toy store?” she asked skeptically.

“Because he couldn’t take his eyes off of you the whole time he was here.”

Megan shook her head. She wished it was true but experience had proven that men like Gage Richmond were oblivious to her.

“And no one else will be able to take their eyes off of you when you walk into your sister’s engagement party with him.”

Except that Megan would walk into the party alone, and her mother would pretend to hide her disappointment.

As a child, her relatives had often referred to her as “poor little Megan” because she was too shy to make friends, preferring to hide in a corner rather than make conversation with people she didn’t know. She might not be “little” anymore, but nothing else had changed.

“I can picture it clearly,” Paige continued. “The surprise and envy on everyone’s faces—most notably our cousin Camilla’s—when you show up with that sexy man at your side.”

Showing up with Gage would definitely create some ripples in the family pond, especially by the ruffled feathers of those who had grown so smug about Megan’s solo appearance at social events.

“Forget it,” she said. “I’ll think about inviting a date to the party, but it won’t be Gage Richmond.”

Paige’s lips curved as she tipped the last of the wine into her cousin’s glass. “I dare you.”

Megan narrowed her eyes. “I’m not ten years old anymore. You can’t get me to do something I don’t want to simply by uttering those three words.”

“How about bribery?”

She sipped her wine.

“Of course, not having to listen to your mother’s commentary about the importance of putting on some lipstick if you ever want to meet a nice man should be incentive enough,” Paige told her, “but I’ll sweeten the deal.

“If you invite Gage Richmond to be your date for Ashley’s engagement party, we’ll all go to Gia’s Spa before the event. My treat.”

Megan had never cared much about the latest hairstyles or makeup trends, but she did enjoy a good foot treatment, and Gia’s were absolutely the best. “Do I get the pedicure even if he says no?”

“I’ll only know for sure that you asked if he says yes,” her cousin pointed out.

She frowned at that. “He won’t say yes.”

“Ask him.” Paige tossed back the last of her wine then grinned wickedly. “And maybe the next time he gives you back your clothes, it will be after he picks them up off the floor beside his bed.”

Chapter Three

Bugs, Gage mused, as he made his way toward the employee café to grab a cup of coffee on the Monday morning after Lucy’s birthday party. Who would have guessed that a seven-year-old girl would get so excited about bugs?

He certainly wouldn’t, which was why he’d been so far off base with the other gifts he’d given to Lucy over the years. He’d assumed—obviously incorrectly—that just because she was a girl, she’d like baby dolls and ballet slippers. And he would have struck out again if he hadn’t dragged Megan Roarke into the toy store with him.

Thinking of Megan now, he realized he might have made some incorrect assumptions where she was concerned, too. There was a lot more to her than he’d originally suspected.

He spotted her at the counter as soon as he entered the café, as if she’d been conjured by his thoughts. She was alone, as she frequently was, and apparently preoccupied by her own thoughts as she added milk and sugar to her coffee.

He smiled, genuinely pleased to see her and eager to tell her about the success of his shopping expedition. But he hesitated, his recent conversation with his father still lingering in the back of his mind.

In his younger days, he had sometimes been less than discreet while dating an employee of R.P.—and he’d dated quite a few women from the company. Of course, none of those relationships had been serious or long-term, and it hadn’t been long before coworkers started placing bets on the duration of a new romance. Gage hadn’t learned about this pool until it had been going on for a while, and when he did, he vowed to stop dating women from work.

That was a few years ago now, but he still worried that seeking out Megan in a public venue might start the rumor mill churning again. On the other hand, he was confident that people would know his relationship with the researcher was strictly professional. After all, she wasn’t at all like the type of woman he usually dated.

You’ve been wasting your time with women who are completely wrong for you.

Maybe that was true, but he had no intention of looking for a different type of woman in the hope of meeting someone who was right for him, especially when he still didn’t believe he would—and didn’t want to—find one who was.

Anyway, there was no point in tempting fate—or gossip. Although he’d like to tell Megan about the birthday party, it was probably better if he simply took his coffee back to the office, as if he’d never seen her there.

Except that she looked up then, their eyes met across the room … and she looked away.

As if she didn’t even know him.

Or maybe as if she didn’t expect him to acknowledge that he knew her.

The thought niggled at his conscience, and he found himself carrying his cup toward the table at which she’d sat down.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked, indicating the empty chair across from her.

“Um, sure. I mean, no, I don’t mind.” She dropped her gaze and lifted her cup to her mouth.

Gage sat down. “I’m Lucy’s favorite uncle this week.”

She looked up at that. “Your birthday gift was a hit?”

“My niece was over the moon with everything and anxious to put all of her new tools and toys to use.”

“All of?” she prompted.

He shrugged. “I had trouble narrowing down my selections, so I just bought everything you picked out.”

She smiled. “No wonder she was happy.”

“Her enthusiasm was dampened only slightly by her mother’s request that she wait for the backyard to dry out a little before she tramped through the muck, looking for specimens.”

“I guess you forgot the rubber boots.”

“I guess I did,” he agreed.

She smiled again, and he found his gaze shifting to her mouth.

She wore no color or gloss, but her lips—naturally pink and full—were somehow even more tempting without any enhancement.

Tempting? He gave himself a mental shake. Okay, so he’d realized he’d made some inaccurate assumptions about Megan, but he wasn’t—couldn’t possibly be—attracted to her.

Still, he couldn’t help but notice her great bone structure and creamy, flawless skin. Or that her hair wasn’t just blond but shot through with strands of flaxen and gold that glinted in the light. True, she had more angles than curves and he generally liked his women on the softer side, but she still had the most intriguing violet eyes he’d ever seen.

“Anyway,” he said, forcing his attention back to the topic at hand. “I owe you. And if there’s ever anything I can do for you—any way I could possibly repay you—you only have to ask.”

“It wasn’t a big deal. Really.”

“It was a really big deal,” he argued.

“I was glad to help.” She glanced at her watch. “But now I need to be getting back to work.”

“You’re entitled to a half-hour break and you haven’t been here half of that.”

“I want to finish a report I’m writing.”

“Is that the final report on Fedentropin?” he asked, referring to the drug she had helped develop for women suffering from endometriosis.

“How did you know?”

“I was talking to Dean Garrison this morning about possible timelines for the upcoming trial.”

Megan sat back down. “Is it going to start soon, then?”

“Within the next couple of months.”

“That’s great.”

“Garrison said you’ve been putting a lot of extra hours into the project.”

“It means a lot to me,” she admitted.

“Then you’ll be pleased to know that he wants you and me to coordinate the trial.”

“He told me he was going to make a recommendation,” she confessed, her voice tinged with both hope and excitement. “I didn’t know it was actually going to happen.”

Gage had been less than thrilled by the news himself.

Not that he had any objection to working with Megan. But he’d thought running the trial would have been a good opportunity to prove himself, to demonstrate that he had the requisite skills and experience to fill the V.P. position.

Learning that he would have to share the responsibilities was a disappointment, but maybe sharing it with Megan wouldn’t be so bad. And it would give him the perfect opportunity to get to know her better.

There were three messages on Megan’s answering machine when she got home Monday night. A quick glance at the call display confirmed that they were all from Paige. She punched the erase button without listening to them. No doubt they all said exactly the same thing as the e-mails she’d sent to Megan’s computer at work and the text messages to her cell phone.

Have you asked him yet?

She wasn’t ready to call her back. She didn’t want to admit to her cousin that she hadn’t—and wouldn’t—invite Gage to Ashley’s engagement party. Because as many reasons as she had for wanting to ask him to be her date, there were a lot more reasons not to ask. Most notably, her conviction that he would say no. Because once the question had been asked, it couldn’t be unasked. There could be no taking back the words or the embarrassment and humiliation she would inevitably feel when he declined the invitation.

And if there’s ever anything I can do for you, any way I could possibly repay you, you only have to ask.

Megan ignored the echo of Gage’s words in the back of her mind as she made her way into the kitchen to scrounge up something for dinner.

She was certain he hadn’t really meant them. It was just the kind of thing someone said to express appreciation. And if she did ask him for a favor in return—especially something so personal as to be her date for her sister’s engagement party—it would put both of them in an awkward position. Gage while he scrambled to come up with a plausible excuse for refusing, and Megan while she tried to pretend his response didn’t really matter.

Ashley came down the stairs, clothes neatly pressed, makeup freshly reapplied. Despite her outwardly casual appearance, Megan could see the tension in her eyes.

“Parent-teacher conferences tonight,” she suddenly remembered.

Her sister nodded. “I love the kids—it’s the parents I sometimes wish I could sit in the corners for a time-out.”

“They’ll love you,” she assured her, kissing Ashley’s cheek. “They always do.”

“Not always. But thanks for the vote of confidence.” She swung her tote bag over her shoulder. “By the way, Paige has been trying to get in touch with you.”

“Yeah, I got a dozen or so messages along that line.”

“She wanted to let you know that she’s booked pedicures for two o’clock on Saturday.”

“She always did fight dirty,” Megan grumbled.

“As only someone who truly knows and loves you can do.”

“I won’t be bribed or blackmailed,” she said decisively. “I’ll call Gia and make my own appointment.”

“Good luck. Apparently Paige booked the entire spa for the whole afternoon. If you want an appointment, you’ll have to get a date.”

“I hate her.”

Ashley laughed as she made her way to the door. “She outmaneuvered you on this one but, if you stopped being mad at her for two minutes, you might realize this is a win-win situation.”

Or Megan could lose the bet, her pride and her heart. And that was a risk she had vowed never to take again.

Gage went for lunch with his dad and his brother on Thursday, as they tried to do at least once a month. Sometimes they chatted about business, sometimes about nothing in particular, but always it was a time the three men enjoyed together.

“I’m glad to see you’re taking my advice,” Allan said, as he stirred cream into his coffee.

“About?”

“Finding a nice young woman. A different kind of woman.”

Gage frowned, wondering what his father was talking about. Only a few days had passed since he’d learned about Garrison’s retirement and his father’s conviction that he could prove his maturity by settling down, and he hadn’t been out with anyone since then. In fact, aside from having coffee with Megan.

He glanced at his brother, who lifted his shoulder in silent apology. “I happened to mention that I saw you and Megan Roarke in the cafeteria the other day.”

“A lovely girl,” Allan interjected. “Not your usual type, which is why I was so surprised when Craig told me.”

Told him what? Gage wondered, starting to feel more than a little bit uncomfortable with the implications of his father’s words. He looked to his brother for help, but Craig was focused on his cheesecake—or maybe just focused on avoiding Gage’s silent plea for help.

“And I’ll admit to some initial concern about your working relationship,” Allan continued. “But the more I thought about it, the more I realized she’s exactly the type of woman you need—”

His father thought Megan was the type of woman he needed? Gage wasn’t just uncomfortable now, he was completely baffled. Where would he ever get such an idea? How had his usually rational father made the hugely irrational leap from a cafeteria meeting to a personal relationship?

“—and I trust that you will both continue to behave professionally in the lab.”

There were so many assumptions in his statement that Gage wasn’t sure where to begin to refute them, so he only said, “I think you’re reading too much into a cup of coffee.”

“Am I?” Allan sounded disappointed.

Again, Gage looked at Craig, but his brother remained intent on finishing his dessert, leaving him to fend for himself. Or maybe Craig also believed that Gage was involved with Megan.

Gage frowned over this thought as he considered his response to his father’s question. The last thing he wanted was to have yet another dialogue with his father about his dating habits, but he had to correct his mistaken assumption about his relationship with Megan.

Or did he?

He mulled over that question as he sipped his own coffee.

Maybe if his dad believed Gage was seeing Megan, a woman he obviously approved of, Allan would be more willing to support him in his bid for the V.P. position. And it wasn’t entirely untrue, since they would be seeing a lot of one another while they were working on the Fedentropin trial together.

“It’s just that it’s kind of, uh, premature to talk about where things might go with Megan and I,” Gage said.

His father nodded. “The beginning of a new relationship can be difficult enough without the pressure of any extra scrutiny.”

Gage didn’t quite meet his gaze. “Thanks for understanding.”

“But I know your mother would love to meet her, whenever you’re ready,” Allan continued.

Craig pushed his now-empty plate aside.

“I’ll let you know,” Gage told his father, even as he wondered, What have I gotten myself into now?

By Thursday afternoon, two days before Ashley’s engagement party, Paige still hadn’t let up in her campaign to convince Megan to invite Gage to the big event. By then, Megan was sure she’d waited too long. There was no way he didn’t already have plans for Saturday night. Men like Gage Richmond always had Saturday-night plans.

So when he returned to the lab after his lunch, she decided to broach the subject in the hope that finally doing so might convince Paige to let her have the spa appointment she’d made.

He glanced up when she approached his desk, and she saw surprise—then something else that she thought might have been pleasure—flicker in his eyes. Then he smiled, and her heart leaped and her knees quivered, and she knew this was a bad idea. Definitely a very bad idea.

“Hi, Megan.”

As much as she was tempted to turn around and walk away, she knew she had to see this through. She forced a smile, considered her words. She’d never been very good with chit-chat and was too nervous to waste time on idle chatter anyway, so she simply blurted out, “Do you remember saying that if I ever needed a favor, I could come to you?”

“Sure,” Gage agreed easily.

“Well, I need a favor.”

He smiled. “I got that part. What do you need?”

She drew a deep breath. “A date.”

He raised his eyebrows. “For what? When?”

“My sister’s engagement party. Saturday night.”

He didn’t blink at the mention of an engagement party, the type of occasion that would make most men—especially those of only casual acquaintance—balk. All he said was, “This Saturday?”

She nodded. “I know it’s short notice and I’m sure you already have plans but—”

“What time should I pick you up?” he interrupted.

She stared at him. Blinked.

He waited patiently, that sexy half smile on his face, while she scrambled to unscramble her brain and find her voice again.

“You want to go … with me?”

“Sure,” he said again.

She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut.

If he was willing to be her date for Saturday night, who was she to try to talk him out of it?

“Time?” he prompted.

“Eight o’clock. At the country club. But I should probably be there a little earlier than that.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Great. That would be—um—great.” She was still a little baffled by his easy acceptance. “Thanks.”

She turned around and went back to her own work station, not entirely sure she comprehended what had just happened.

Apparently she had a date with Gage Richmond. She’d asked—and he’d said yes without any hesitation. In fact, he’d seemed almost eager to accept her invitation.

But why?

A woman with a genius IQ was smart enough to know that a man who hadn’t looked twice in her direction in the three years she’d worked at Richmond Pharmaceuticals wasn’t suddenly overwhelmed by the desire to spend time in her company. No, she was certain that Gage Richmond had an agenda. Men like him always did.

And despite the rather sheltered life she’d led, she had known men like him before. Men who were far too good-looking, too charming and too self-confident for a woman like her to stand a chance.

She’d been taken in by seductive eyes and sexy smiles before and wouldn’t fall easily again. Of course, the first time had been when she was only in high school and assigned as a lab partner to the captain of the football team. On the first day of class, Darrin Walsh had given her a slow, bone-melting smile that had made her his willing slave—then he went on to flirt with the cheerleaders while she wrote up his reports.