Abby Gaines - The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero - The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero

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?”