Kristin Gabriel - Engaging Alex

“How long are you going to wait for Stanley to come back to you, Mom?” Paige asked softly. “Another year? Five years? Ten?”

The chime of the laser door alarm signaled a customer had walked into the shop. Margo headed out of the office, pausing only a moment to reply to her daughter. “I’ll wait for him just as long as it takes, Paige. We shouldn’t give up on the people we love.”

Paige shook her head as her mother disappeared from the doorway. In her opinion, there was a huge difference between giving up and clinging to a romantic delusion. She’d waited a full year for the man she loved to come back to her. A man she now knew had never loved her at all. She didn’t intend to waste one more minute on Alex Mack.

Picking up the telephone, she looked up the number of the local precinct in the directory, then dialed the police. It took three operator transfers before she finally reached someone who could help her.

“Sergeant Phelps,” barked a low voice on the other end of the line.

“Hello, this is Paige Hanover. I filed a complaint against Alex Mack on Saturday night and the police took him to jail. But now I’m thinking about dropping the charges.”

“Will you spell his last name for me, please.”

“It’s Mack—M-A-C-K.”

“Hold on,” he said in a clipped voice. She could hear voices in the background, as well as the shuffle of papers and the rapid-fire click of computer keys.

“Yes, we’ve got an Alex Mack in custody,” the sergeant said a few moments later. “He just posted bail. Alex Mack aka Alexander Mackopoulos.”

“Alexander who?” Paige couldn’t have heard him right.

“Alex Mack is an alias,” the sergeant informed him. “His legal name is Alexander Mackopoulos.”

Her grip tightened on the phone. “Are you absolutely certain we’re talking about the same man?”

“I’m positive. Alexander Mackopoulos was brought in this past Saturday night on charges of trespassing, destruction of private property and attempted assault.”

“Those were the charges,” Paige concurred, “but are you sure about the name?”

“It’s the same name that was on file when he was released from county jail a week ago,” Sergeant Phelps replied. “The fingerprints are the same, too.”

“Did you say county jail?”

His tone grew impatient. “Do you have a hearing problem, ma’am?”

“Why was Alex in jail?”

“We’re not allowed to release that information over the telephone. If you plan to drop the charges against him, then you’ll need to come down to the station and fill out the paperwork.”

“I will. Thank you, Sergeant.” Her head whirled as she hung up the phone. Alex Mack wasn’t Alex Mack. He was Alexander Mackopoulos. Ex-fiancé and ex-convict.

A complete stranger. She hadn’t even known the real name of the man she’d been about to marry. When Alex had shown up Saturday night and confessed that he’d been assigned to romance her, she’d just assumed he was a cop. A silly assumption, now that she thought about it. Would the police have arrested one of their own so easily? The officers who had taken him away in handcuffs Saturday night certainly hadn’t seemed to recognize him.

So if Alex wasn’t a cop, why had he been looking for her stepfather? Why had he been in jail? And why had he suddenly popped back into her life after all this time?

And the most important question of all—what was Paige going to do now?

LATE MONDAY MORNING, Alex walked out of the San Francisco county jail a free man. Temporarily, anyway.

His older half brother, Nico, waited for him in the narrow hallway, one burly shoulder propped against the painted cinder block. “I think we need to have a talk.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” Alex said, walking past him. Nico had always had an annoying habit of trying to tell him what to do. It had gotten even worse after their father died three months ago, when Nico had declared himself the head of the Mackopoulos family.

But his brother didn’t give up easily. “I just shelled out five hundred dollars, so I think you can listen to what I have to say.”

Listening to Nico was what had gotten him into this mess with Paige in the first place. “Don’t worry, I’ll pay you back every penny.”

Five hundred dollars had been the price of his bond, set by the judge less than an hour ago. His court date was scheduled for one month from today.

“I don’t give a damn about the money,” Nico said as they walked out of the courthouse and into bright California sunshine. “But I am worried about our mother getting wind of this. She’s been through enough lately.”

Alex couldn’t argue with that. The death of Lucian Mackopoulos had hit his wife Thea very hard. It amazed Alex that she could love that old man so much. Enough to forgive him for cheating on her twenty-nine years ago.

Enough to take his bastard son into her home.

Thea had always treated Alex as one of her own. She’d loved him unconditionally, even though he must have been a daily reminder of her husband’s infidelity. She’d never made him feel like an interloper in the Mackopoulos home, expecting everyone to treat him like a member of the family or face her wrath.

Not that his stepmother was the least bit intimidating. She was warm and loving, with a talent for cooking that had earned her a reputation for serving some of the best Greek cuisine in San Francisco. She’d toyed with the idea of opening a restaurant, but she had never followed through, insisting that her family came first. That was only one of the reasons Alex would protect her with his life. And why he’d gone to jail for her.

“Just explain to me why you’d be crazy enough to pay a visit to Paige Hanover after all this time?” Nico dug in his pocket for his car keys.

Alex stopped next to the vintage red Corvette that belonged to his brother. “None of your damn business.”

“If it affects this family, then it is my business.” Nico pushed the unlock button on his remote control, then popped open the door. “What exactly did you tell her, Alex?”

“Enough to get me thrown into jail.” Alex slid into the front passenger seat, then unspooled the seat belt. He was in no mood to deal with his overbearing brother today.

“Do you know what your problem is?” Nico asked.

Alex clenched his jaw. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to tell me.”

“You’re too damn noble. You probably went to see her so you could apologize. Am I right?”

“You think you are. That’s all that ever matters.”

Nico gripped the steering wheel of the parked car as he stared straight ahead. “Just tell me you didn’t spill all the family secrets to clear your conscience.”

Alex turned to look at him. “I went to jail for almost a year to keep our father’s secret. A Mackopoulos never breaks his word.”

“Then promise me you won’t see her again.”

Alex stared out the passenger window. “I can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

He couldn’t tell Nico the real reason. That Paige had gotten under his skin a year ago and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to forget her. Need for her pulsed through his veins, even after she’d had him thrown in jail. But Alex wasn’t about to give up. A Mackopoulos never surrendered.

Unfortunately, his brother shared that same trait. Which made it difficult to deal with him whenever they disagreed. Like now, for instance.

“Just drop me off at Bay Bouquets in the Embarcadero Center. We’ll talk about this later.”

Nico narrowed his eyes. “Paige’s flower shop? Are you crazy? She had you locked up the last time you saw her. She might shoot you this time.”

“She’s not a violent person,” Alex said, hoping it was true. He’d never seen Paige as angry as she’d been the other night, her cheeks flushed with indignation and her blue eyes flashing fire. But passion burned underneath that fire. He could see it in the way she looked at him.