Brenda Harlen – The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero: The Engagement Project / Her Surprise Hero (страница 5)

“So where’s the dress?” Paige’s question jolted her out of her reverie. “I can’t wait to see it on you.”

“Dress?” Megan echoed, then closed her eyes as realization hit. “Oh, no.”

Ashley set a tray of crudités on the table. “Oh, no, what?”

Megan swallowed another mouthful of wine. “I kind of—uh—forgot it.”

“Forgot it? Where? How?” Her sister impatiently tossed the questions at her. “I talked to you while you were at the boutique buying it.”

And Megan knew she’d had the dress when she’d left the store, and when she’d run into Gage and when they’d gone into the toy store. Then she’d put it down somewhere and had obviously forgotten to pick it up again. But how could she admit that to her sister?

“I forgot my keys in the boutique,” she hedged.

“I’m not worried about your keys,” Ashley said.

“And when I went back to get them,” she continued as if her sister hadn’t spoken, “I ran into someone I know.”

“A man,” Paige guessed.

Megan frowned. “What makes you think that?”

“There was the slightest hesitation before you said someone and your cheeks immediately turned pink.”

“You must be deadly on cross-examination,” Ashley mused.

“It’s a talent,” Paige acknowledged, then turned her attention back to Megan. “So—who is he?”

“Just someone from the lab.”

“Workplace romances are inherently plagued with problems,” her cousin warned.

“There’s no romance.”

“Obviously something happened to make you forget your dress,” Ashley pointed out.

“He asked me to help him pick out a birthday gift.”

“Not for another woman?” Paige demanded.

Megan shook her head. “For his niece.”

“Oh.” Her sister smiled. “That’s sweet.”

It was kind of sweet. And after Megan had gotten over the nervousness evoked by Gage’s mere presence, she’d been impressed to realize that he really did care about finding a gift the little girl would like.

“So we went to the toy store, and I must have put the dress down—”

“And picked up stars in your eyes,” Paige interjected.

Megan shook her head. “I have no illusions.”

Ashley frowned. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“He’s just not the type of man who would ever notice a woman like me.”

“Define a woman like you,” Paige demanded.

Megan loved that her cousin and her sister were so quick to defend her, but family loyalty didn’t allow either of them to see her as clearly as she saw herself. She wasn’t beautiful or sexy or charismatic, qualities that both Paige and Ashley had in spades. She was the girl next door, the reliable friend, the neighborhood pal. And that was why she and Gage Richmond would never be anything more than colleagues and possibly friends.

“I only meant—”

The doorbell chimed, sounding a reprieve.

“That will be Mom,” she said, pushing her chair away from the table.

“Mom doesn’t ring the doorbell,”Ashley reminded her.

When Megan opened the door, her sister’s statement was confirmed. It wasn’t Lillian Roarke on the doorstep. It was Gage Richmond.

“I called Lois Edmond in H.R. to find out where you lived,” he told her.

“Why?” Megan asked, too stunned by his unexpected appearance to think of anything else to say.

“Because you forgot this—” he held up the bag from Chaundra’s Boutique”—in the toy store, and I didn’t know if it was something you needed tonight.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not. But thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Before Megan could say anything else, she heard footsteps in the hall and knew that curiosity had drawn her sister and her cousin to the door to check out their visitor.

“Hi, I’m Ashley,” she said. “Megan’s sister.”

“I would have guessed that,” he said.

“Really?” Ashley said, while Megan resisted the urge to snort her disbelief. No one who didn’t already know they were related had ever commented on a resemblance between the sisters.

“You have the same eyes,” he explained, an observation that made Megan rethink her own opinion of Gage Richmond.

While people frequently commented on Ashley’s unusual eyes, they rarely took note of Megan’s, hidden behind her glasses. Maybe he wasn’t quite as shallow and self-absorbed as he was painted by his reputation.

“Handsome and observant,” Paige noted with approval.

Megan found herself wishing for an earthquake again. Hadn’t she embarrassed herself in front of the boss’s son enough already without her sister and cousin adding to her humiliation?

“My cousin Paige,” Megan told him, reluctantly making the introduction.

“And you are?” Ashley prompted the man on the doorstep.

“Would you believe the deliveryman from the boutique?” Megan suggested before Gage could reply.

“No,” her sister replied flatly, not taking her eyes off of Gage.

Not that Megan could blame her for that.

“Gage Richmond,” he said, and offered one of his infamous heart-stopping smiles.

“Thanks for bringing the bag,” Megan said, silently urging him along before her well-intentioned but misguided family members could say or do anything to embarrass her further. After all, she didn’t need their help when she’d already done a fine job of that entirely on her own.

“Yes, thank you,” Ashley said. “Since the dress is for my engagement party, I very much appreciate that you returned it to Megan.”

“It was my pleasure,” Gage said. “And bringing it by gave me another chance to thank your sister for her help with my shopping.”

“Handsome, observant, considerate and appreciative,” Paige amended, with a nod of approval. “Why don’t you come in for a glass of wine so we can chat some more?”

“I’m sure Gage has somewhere else that he needs to be,” Megan interrupted quickly, desperately.

She caught the gleam of amusement in his eyes and suspected that he was considering Paige’s invitation, if only because he knew she didn’t want him to. But when he finally spoke, it was to say, “As a matter of fact, I should be getting home. I have some birthday presents to wrap.”

“Another time?” Paige said.

“Thank you again.” Megan spoke clearly, determined to take control of the situation—and the flutters in her tummy.

Gage nodded, accepting the dismissal, before turning his attention to the two women hovering in the doorway behind her. “It was nice meeting you both.”

“You, too,” they chorused, leaning closer to watch him walk down the driveway.

Though Megan was probably even more reluctant to tear her gaze from his retreating form, she firmly closed the door and turned back toward the kitchen.