Her Surprise Engagement (Sorensen Family)

by Ashlee Mallory

  And she was entirely alone.

  He grinned as he threw open the door and went in. “Good morning.”

  She looked up briefly and then back down at the bowl, a pink flush staining her cheeks. “Morning.”

  Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, the end tossing about as she whipped—rather ferociously—the contents in her bowl. “There’s coffee ready.”

  “Thank you,” he said, leaning down to unclip Ollie’s leash before heading over to the pot. He filled a mug, watching her as he did so. “Hope you slept well last night.”

  “Quite well, thank you.”

  “Ah. And here I was hoping that maybe you’d spent a restless night dreaming about what might have been. And maybe thinking something like…what have I got to lose? Maybe I can have everything I ever wanted.”

  “Now you’re dreaming.”

  “Not in the least.” He took a drink of the strong brew, not minding the heat of it on his tongue. “Actually, my night was fairly restful since I knew I’d wake up to a new day. Another day of possibilities and of convincing this remarkable woman standing before me that we could be really good together.”

  She shook her head, but there was a slight smile on her face. “You really are a dreamer.”

  “I just know when something good is right in front of my face and I’m not afraid to do whatever I can to hold on to that.”

  “Jack,” she said, her voice softening. “I meant what I said last night. You and I need to keep things on a professional level. There’s too much at stake to risk it on something that has no chance of actually happening.”

  “There is definitely a risk, but I find that’s true in anything that’s worth having.”

  She threw her head back and muttered something under her breath before pulling the glob of dough from the bowl and throwing it onto the counter, kneading it without mercy. “Jack. You’re a Harrison. You’re going to be the governor with duties and responsibilities I can’t even imagine. And you will be expected to attend galas and many more fundraisers with people who I probably sold coffee and Danishes to last week. And if I’m lucky, will be selling them more of the same in a few short months, albeit from my own bakery. This little arrangement, both staying at this beautiful home and doing such incredible things, has deluded us both into thinking that we have anything in common that will keep us together when it’s all over. This is like a vacation on steroids, and when we get back home and you go back to your life and I go back to mine, you’ll recognize that we made the right decision.” She pushed her fist into the dough, as if testing it, and continued. “How do you see this ever working out, Jack?”

  “Just like it would work if you were any other woman I’m interested in. We would make time for each other. Get to know each other better. And someday maybe even make this whole pretend engagement thing real.”

  “You make it sound so simple, but you know it will be anything but. And I can’t make snap decision about my heart like you—not anymore. I only do things after measured thought, after considering every possibility.”

  “Such as…”

  “Such as the possibility that in two days you find that you’re sick of the sight of me, and you want to get as far away as possible.”

  She didn’t say, like Leo, but she might as well have since the implication was there. And it nearly shattered his heart to think that someone could make her doubt her own amazingness like her ex had, to the extent that she didn’t think she was worth the risk.

  He walked slowly toward her, even as she eyed him warily. “I know everything I need to know about you, Daisy Sorensen. About how loving and generous and brave you are. How much you value honesty, hard work, and your own independence above everything. I also know how you make me feel when I’m with you. Whatever I don’t yet know about you I look forward to learning.”

  He reached her, stopping inches in front of her but not moving to touch her since he knew she’d only flee again. “I’m as surprised as you by what’s developed between us. But you’re in my system now and all I know is that I want more. More of you, more of moments like last night when it was just the two of us, as well as moments when we’re all out there, your family and mine, fishing or sailing or even rappelling off the face of a cliff if the notion strikes us. I’m not asking for you to commit to me forever right now. Just…don’t say no. Not yet. I promise that the moment you’re not having fun, when you don’t think it will work, then I’ll respect your wishes and leave you alone.”

  He saw the hope in her eyes as she bit her lip, and he knew she wanted to say yes but was too afraid to leap.

  “Just…consider it. Today, keep yourself open to the possibility of how good we can be. Can you do that?”

  She sighed and a second later, nodded. “I can try.”

  That’s all he could ask. For now.

  He grinned, taking that last step in front of her. He cupped her face and leaned down to caress her lips ever so briefly with his.

  Yep. That spark was still there.

  The patter of footsteps on the kitchen tile forced him to draw away to find his coffee cup again, and Daisy busied herself with whisking just as Glenda swept into the room.

  “Good morning!” she practically sang as she caught sight of them. “I thought for sure you both would be sleeping until noon—after getting home as late as you did.”

  Daisy froze. “I hadn’t realized you were still awake.”

  Her aunt hesitated a beat too long in his opinion before she replied, “Oh, I must have dozed off somewhere after eleven, I’m afraid. So I don’t know exactly when you returned. How was the party?” she asked, walking past him to grab a mug that she filled with water and put in the microwave. As he’d learned, tea was her preferred morning poison.

  “It was better than I had hoped,” he said and, looking at Daisy, winked.

  She turned away, setting the dough back in the bowl and covering it with a dishcloth. Not apparently wanting to be idle, she grabbed some of yesterday’s leftover bacon and chopped it before putting into another bowl. It was hard not to admire the quick, precise movements she made as she worked, the happiness that made her face seem bright and carefree.

  She was grating cheese as he leaned against the counter, watching her, when his phone rang from his pocket. He cringed at the caller ID, although he wasn’t entirely surprised.

  “Hello, Stuart.”

  “Good morning, Jack. It looks like congratulations appear to be in order.”

  “Congratulations? I don’t follow.”

  “You must not have pulled up the Tribune yet. You’re the feature story. Well, you and your fiancée, I should say. You’re front page of the local section and the comments have been exploding—most of them positive.”

  “That’s…great.” He put his hand over the phone and spoke to Daisy and Glenda. “The Tribune ran a story this morning on us.”

  Daisy and her aunt exchanged glances before Daisy got up, went to the laptop on the corner counter, and opened it up.

  “It is great,” Stuart continued. “Keep this up and this next year will be a breeze. Even Aaron Leary has been quiet this morning, probably simmering in resentment.”

  Or planning his next move of attack.

  “Anyhow,” Stuart continued. “Everyone is clamoring to know more about the two of you, how the kids are adapting to becoming a family, how you two are going to adjust to life in the Governor’s Mansion, that sort of thing. I was thinking that since it’s the holiday, now would be a great time to be seen in town, doing things to celebrate the country’s birthday. I can notify a few of the media outlets where you’ll be so—”

  “No,” Jack said firmly. “I already did the benefit last night. They got their pictures, clearly. Today is the Fourth of July, and I think I speak for Daisy and myself in that we just want to stay close to home and out of the spotlight for these last few days. Remember, this is our vacation, Stuart, not a publicity stunt.”

  Stuart sighed warily. “Fine. But
when you return home, there’s a number of events that you’ve both already been invited to and I’ve taken the liberty of accepting. I also have received three requests from major media outlets to conduct an in-person interview with you, as well as Daisy. Just to give that personal touch.”

  Jack glanced over to Daisy, who, with her aunt next to her, was scrolling down the computer screen, her eyes wide. He couldn’t tell if she was pleased or frustrated by what was on display, and he wanted to end the call so he could feel the situation out.

  “I’ll be back in town on Sunday,” Jack said. “We can go over the details then.”

  “Can I at least nail down a couple of interviews for next week? I mean, we want to stay ahead of this story, show everyone how excited you are for the job, and give them a peek into your life as soon as possible.”

  Jack sighed. He was trying to ease Daisy into the possibility of actually making a go of this thing, something that was going to take some time and perseverance. He was nervous about throwing her into the fray too early and possibly scaring her off. And yet…this was the reason for the engagement in the first place. To keep up positive public opinion. “How about I get back on that for you, say tomorrow?”

  “Okay. Jack. You all keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll talk later.”

  The line ended, and Jack meandered over to where the women were, setting the phone down as he leaned over.

  There were only about six photos in total. The primary one, the one that immediately captured his attention, was from last night. At least they’d gone with the one of them both smiling at the camera, looking a lot more relaxed and unnerved than he’d felt. The others were of them at the park yesterday, along with a couple of them playing on the beach Sunday, when they’d taken a break from sailing and fishing. He hadn’t even seen the cameras around for those shots.

  “You all look so beautiful and happy in those photos,” Glenda said, her voice suspiciously heavy with emotion. “Just like a family.”

  “What do you think?” he asked Daisy, watching her face carefully.

  “I suppose as photos go, these aren’t terrible. The kids are having a great time. I even manage to have my eyes open in all them. No. Those are fine. It’s just strange to see the history of my life printed in black and white for hundreds of strangers to read.”

  More like thousands, but he didn’t think now was the time to clarify.

  She started to slide down to the bottom where the online comments were available, but he placed his hand over hers to stop her. “Don’t read them. I guarantee you that for every fifty positive things you read about you and your family, it’s the one negative trolling comment that’s going to stick with you.”

  He breathed easier when she moved away and closed the laptop. “You’re right. I’ll just look at this public debut as pretty much a success. At least they didn’t seem to hate me.”

  “And why would they?” Glenda asked. “You have lovely, well-behaved kids, a kind heart, and you’re a responsible, hardworking woman.”

  “They’re going to love you,” Jack added with absolute sincerity. “In the meantime, I want to take today and just do whatever the hell we want.” He looked around at the various bowls and recipes in various stages of completion and smiled. “You want to bake enough food for a Spanish armada, that’s fine with me. As long as you’re enjoying yourself. We want to do some more swimming or sailing, or even try paddleboating—then let’s do it. Then afterward, we can enjoy an intimate family dinner right here at the house, and then head down to watch the fireworks from the beach.”

  All of which sounded pretty perfect to him.

  He and Glenda waited for Daisy to respond. She took a moment, as if considering his suggestions, then smiled slowly. “I can’t think of a better day.”

  From overhead, the stampede of feet told them that the kids were finally up and out of bed and about to descend on them. But for that moment, he and Daisy seemed to reach an unspoken agreement.

  Today was just about them. About the kids. About the possibility of maybe, just maybe, becoming a real family.

  Chapter Eleven

  A couple of hours later, Daisy kneaded the warm chocolatey empanada dough onto the counter, finding herself oddly at peace. From outside, there was a shout and she looked out the window to see Jack chasing the kids around the lawn with a massive water gun.

  “Don’t even think about getting me,” her aunt warned from a chair set a few feet away from the chaos.

  “Get me! Get me!” the kids shouted, despite their shrieks moments before when he had done just that. Daisy smiled, shaking her head at their antics.

  It felt almost…too perfect.

  She knew that. She was going down a dangerous road by not telling Jack first thing this morning that enough was enough. That as tempting as his offer was, once they returned home, and back to their regular lives, they’d face the reality of the situation.

  What they had here, tucked away in this part of the world, was only a fantasy life.

  Living here in this big beautiful house…enjoying kisses and touches from a guy who was not only generous and kind and funny but also sinfully sexy to look at…doing fun and adventurous things without worry about how much things would cost or how much of a bite it would take out of her paycheck…

  None of this was reality.

  Back in the real world—her world—she’d be trying to figure out how much in groceries she’d have to cut back on to cover last month’s electric bill and still allow her to put aside enough money to buy the kids new jackets for the fall.

  On the other hand, another voice was there telling her that all that stress would be waiting for her at home soon enough.

  What was the harm in enjoying, for this brief moment in time, this little glimpse of a life that was close to perfect?

  She knew why.

  Because she’d want it forever. And when it all came crashing down, she might never recover from this one.

  The timer went off over the stove, and she grabbed the hot pads and went to check on lunch. The top of the empanadas were a golden brown exactly as she wanted them. Satisfied, she pulled them out and set them on counter. After Jack’s assurance after breakfast that he didn’t mind her driving his ’67 Ford Mustang convertible, she had gone to two grocery stores to pick up all the ingredients she would need for her recipes and the menu she had planned for testing today.

  She grinned at the memory of driving alone in that classic car. There had been something freeing about letting her hair blow in the wind as she drove down the street, almost without a care in the world. Another thing she could get used to.

  Daisy was stirring the chocolate mixture for the dessert she had planned for later, when her phone buzzed with an incoming call. She looked at the caller ID and grabbed the phone, excited to talk to her sister.

  “If it isn’t ‘the mysterious woman who has stolen the heart of the most eligible bachelor in the West,’” Benny said, quoting the headline that Daisy had seen just that morning.

  She groaned. “You’ve seen the papers? I would have thought there’d be more important things to do three weeks out from one’s wedding than reading idle gossip.”

  Benny was too cheerful as she replied, “But this isn’t just some idle gossip rag. It’s in the Tribune. So it must be absolutely true. Look at how fast you move,” she teased. “Engaged and already choosing the china pattern for the dishes that will be set out in the Governor’s Mansion.”

  “It mentioned no such thing,” Daisy said, biting back her laughter.

  “And here we thought Cruz and Payton’s hasty tequila-induced Mexican wedding had actually managed to top the craziness of Dominic and Kate’s fake relationship. Getting fake engaged to the future governor definitely takes the cake.” She laughed uncontrollably again.

  “Well, I wouldn’t say that Henry’s Eliza Dolittle-ing of you last year just so you could impress what’s-his-name was any more sane.”

  “It was definitely the bes
t insane decision I could have made.” Daisy didn’t have to see her sister’s face to know that it was radiating happiness. “I just want to be sure to have a front-row seat when you explain this all to Mom and Dad when they get back from their cruise this weekend. Anyway, what’s the plan? How long are you guys going to keep this up before the big breakup? Because, you know, if you stretch this long enough, I would love a chance to get the insider’s view of the Governor’s Mansion, not to mention the inner chambers at the Capitol.”

  Daisy sat down and stared out the window where the kids had wrestled Jack to the grass and were nearly drowning him with their water guns.

  “Hello? You still there?” Benny asked.

  “I don’t know. Things have recently become a little more…complicated. We haven’t really talked about that yet.”

  Benny was silent for a moment. “Funny thing, when I saw those pictures of you all out sailing and fishing, you seemed like you were really having a good time. And the way you both looked at each other when you were out on the dance floor? I don’t know, Dais,” she said, “it didn’t feel fake to me. Do you like this guy?”

  The words were so familiar that Daisy was almost certain she’d used the same on Benny last year when she’d been in denial about her real feelings for Henry. But even if they were real, Henry hadn’t been the future governor of the state. He didn’t have a daughter and three million other people relying on him to make decisions. And Benny didn’t have children whose hearts and hopes needed to be protected if, for whatever reason, the relationship didn’t work out.

  “I don’t know. Maybe I do. But whether I like him isn’t relevant to the situation.”

  “Isn’t relevant? Whether you like him is everything, you dope.”

  “Benny, think about what Leo has put my kids through over the past couple of years. All the broken promises. He always chooses every other priority over his own kids. If I bring someone into their lives, I need to be certain that person is going to stick around. That he won’t leave them disappointed and heartbroken.”

  Benny sighed. “I can see why you’d feel that way, and no, I haven’t spent time with you all to see this connection in person—something I hope will be rectified this Sunday at family dinner—but…I think that from what I can see in those photos. You’re already invested. So rather than worrying about what could go wrong, focus on seeing what wonderful things are possible. Look, I have to run, we’re going to a barbecue over at Henry’s sister’s place and, since he’s the grill master—his words, not mine—we probably shouldn’t be late. But, Daisy? If you want any advice from your little sister? Go all in.”