Not Actually Engaged (Otherwise Engaged #1)

by Jan Hinds

  Paige took the ribbon off the gift box holding the ornament, when her father burst into the room. He took one look at the unmade bed and his face flushed crimson with anger. “Just what is going on here?”

  Cooper’s shoulders slumped as Paige pushed the gift aside and stood up to greet her father. “Merry Christmas, Dad. This isn’t what it looks like. Well, it is but it isn’t. We’re exchanging gifts. Calm down before you have a stroke.”

  Stuart arched his eyebrow at Paige. “You’d better make that bed and head off your mom before she sees it and starts knitting baby booties. Give me a moment here alone with Cooper.”

  Cooper and Paige each took a side and quickly made the bed. “All right, Dad, but don’t get any ideas. You’re not his type.” Cooper and Stuart both laughed nervously. She cast a worried glance at Cooper and pulled the door closed as she left.

  Stuart folded his arms and looked up at Cooper, who couldn’t help but feel intimidated by the glare from the older man. “Son, you want to tell me just what your intentions are for my daughter and why you’re toying with her emotions?”

  Cooper handed Stuart the unopened box. “This was the gift Paige was about to open when you came in.”

  Cooper nodded for Stuart to open the box. When Stuart lifted the ornament out and saw the ring, he said, “Son, is there something you want to ask me?”

  “Yes, sir. I love Paige. Working so closely with her, living here with her, I’ve fallen deeply in love with her. At first I only focused on what I wanted out of our relationship and I’ve come to see that wasn’t what she deserves. I want to make her happy. If she will have me, will you grant me permission to marry your daughter?”

  Stuart gave the ornament back to Cooper and shook his hand. “If Paige wants to marry you, I give you my blessing.”

  After Stuart left the room, Cooper took the ring off the ornament and stuffed it in his jeans pocket before joining the rest of the family for breakfast. Paige gave Cooper a nervous look and he gave her a reassuring wink.

  ♥♥♥

  Sawyer Pierce arrived at Cooper’s parent’s home with gifts for everyone, including Aunt Marty and Cooper. Paige gave Sawyer a winter scarf and driving gloves and signed the gift from her and Cooper. Sylvia and Matt gave him a framed picture of Cooper and Sawyer when they were eight. Both were covered in mud and each gripped fishing poles in one hand and proudly held up a four-inch long fish in the other.

  Sawyer gave Sylvia and Matt each a fierce hug, as he choked out his emotional thanks. He tried to hide the tear he brushed from the corner of his eye.

  Cooper looked at the picture. “That was a good day,” he said, grinning at the memory.

  Sawyer nodded. “The best.”

  Sawyer gave Cooper and Paige each a personalized Fit Spa robe and complementary day at his spa. The initial awkwardness between the former friends faded as Cooper’s parents and sister regaled everyone with embarrassing Sawyer and Cooper stories throughout dinner.

  Cooper kept Paige close to him at all times and always positioned himself between Sawyer and Paige. He tried to figure out a time when he could propose to Paige, but couldn’t get her alone to ask her. There was no way he’d propose in front of an audience since he wasn’t one hundred percent certain she’d accept his proposal. He also didn’t want her to think he was exerting undo pressure by putting her on the spot to answer him in front of their families, especially since in their eyes the engagement was still on.

  The snow continued throughout the day and as Christmas wound down, everyone congregated in the family room, the adults chatting and the children watching a movie. Paige, Amy, and Grace walked into the family room and sang Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

  All the children squealed with delight and ran to bundle up to play outside. Cooper, Sawyer, Brent, Josh, and Evan, Grace’s husband, joined them. While the parents helped build snowman families, Sawyer and Cooper seemed reluctant to join in.

  “Come on, everyone out here has to build their own snowmen,” Paige insisted.

  Cooper claimed the spot next to her and laughed as they worked together to build the snow couple, complete with carrot noses, stones for eyes, and branches for arms. They stood back to survey their work. “Something’s missing,” Cooper said, as he found a rare moment alone with her.

  Paige tilted her head as she studied their snow couple. “They look good to me. Should we put scarves and hats on them?”

  Cooper dug the ring from his pocket. “I was thinking—”

  A man’s voice interrupted him. “Merry Christmas, Paige.”

  Paige spun around. “Ted? What are you doing here?”

  Cooper shoved the ring back into his pocket. How had he not noticed the Porsche Cayenne pull into the drive?

  Paige furrowed her brow and asked again, “What are you doing here? How did you know where I was?”

  Ted motioned toward the road. “Oh, I was driving past and saw you, so I decided to stop by and give your Christmas present to you.”

  Paige looked over her shoulder at Cooper, fear in her face evident. She inched closer to him. “Ted, this isn’t a good time.”

  Stuart Vaughn shrugged into his jacket as he stepped out onto the porch, followed closely by Matt Jennings.

  Ted shook his head. “I’m finding I have to make our ideal time.” He dropped to one knee in front of her.

  Paige stepped away, backing into Cooper who put his hands on her shoulders.

  Ted continued, oblivious to her discomfort. “Paige, I know what I want. I’ve never felt for any other woman what I feel for you. You’re intelligent, funny, and since you’ve been working out, you’ve become beautiful as well. You’re the only woman I’ve ever met who can keep up with me gaming. We’re evenly matched and I know we can make each other happy.”

  He pulled out a velvet ring box and opened it. “Paige, will you marry me?”

  Cooper squeezed Paige’s shoulders until she flinched.

  Her father moved to her side.

  She shook off Cooper’s hands and stepped forward to close the ring box in Ted’s hand. “I didn’t want to do this today, but since you asked...” She took a deep breath. “You convinced me to give you another chance. I never intended to lead you on. I honestly wanted to be objective. I appreciate how hard you tried to make things work between us, but the fact is I don’t love you Ted. Not in the way you want me to. I’m sorry if you got the wrong impression from the time we spent together. I do care about you and am honored by your proposal, but I can’t marry you.”

  Ted stood and towered over her. He jammed the ring box into his coat pocket. His eyes flashed anger from her to Cooper. “I did everything you asked. You’ve been toying with me. Using me to make your new boyfriend jealous. You’re nothing but a tease and I’ll make you pay for that.” He shook his finger in her face. “You’ll be sorry you turned me down, Paige. You’ll be sorry.”

  Paige rose to her full five foot three height and put her hands on her hips. “Listen here, Ted Flannigan. You know darned well I’m not the kind of girl who would do something like that. How dare you accuse me of using you? I appreciated your efforts to change, but the bottom line is, I don’t love you. And you don’t fool me one bit. You weren’t driving around this neighborhood. What did you do? Are you tracking my phone?”

  Ted jerked his chin up and backed away. “No. Now look who’s casting accusations.”

  He ran to his car, got in, and sped away, fishtailing in the snowy street.

  Stuart wrapped his arm around Paige’s shoulder and whispered in her ear. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded her head and took her phone from her pocket. “Anyone know someone who can figure out how Ted tracked me down?”

  Brent took the phone from her and slipped it in his pocket. “Slim works for the FBI. I’m sure with his super geek connections, he’ll know someone who can help. He’s in Ohio for Christmas. I’ll give him a call.”

  Sawyer shoved his hands in his pocket and stepped up next to Cooper. “I’
d like to loan you my body guard to protect Paige. I’ll check with the team office since the they provide him, but I’d love for that jerk to show up looking for her and find Marcus Shore waiting for him. I gave him the day off to spend with his family, but he’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “Thank you,” said Paige.

  Cooper hugged her. “I’ll get you a new phone tomorrow.”

  She shivered and gave him a wry smile. “Maybe we should just get a burner phone so he can’t trace it.”

  Cooper kissed her forehead and whispered, “We’ll get the safest phone possible.”

  Silently he cursed Ted for proposing. He cursed himself for not asking her earlier. How could he propose now when she was vulnerable? He wouldn’t mar her memory of their engagement by having it coincide with Flannigan and his threats.

  She trembled in his arms and he asked, “Do you think Ted’s dangerous?”

  Paige chewed her bottom lip. “Until he showed up here, I’d have said no. Now, I’m not sure of anything.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  With the children all tucked in for the night, the adults congregated in Cooper and Paige’s apartment living room. Paige sat on the couch sandwiched between Aunt Marty and Amy.

  A casual observer might think she was calm as she sat with her hands clasped in her lap, if not for her shaking foot. “I can’t believe I’m in any physical danger from Ted. It isn’t in his nature,” she said to no one in particular.

  She crossed her arms and tapped her bicep with her fingertips, keeping rhythm with her shaking foot. She suddenly sat up straight and looked around the room. “Where’s Cooper?”

  “Here, honey. I’m here.” His hands settled on her shoulders from behind and she immediately relaxed at his touch.

  She covered his hands with hers. Turning her head, she looked up at him. “Why are you standing?”

  Amy moved to join Brent on the cushioned ottoman to make room for Cooper next to Paige.

  Cooper slowly walked around the end of the couch and sat down next to her. She could tell from the way he dragged his foot that his leg bothered him.

  Sylvia exchanged a concerned look with her as she and Matt sat next to each other on camp chairs. Sawyer and Josh stood guard at the doorway, while Stuart and Evie squeezed together on the loveseat. Joni sat in the recliner with her feet propped up.

  Cooper draped his arm around Paige and she rested her head on his shoulder.

  “Do you need some pain meds?” she asked.

  He pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “No. Not until I know you’re safe.”

  She shook her head. “I’m telling you, there’s no way he’d physically harm me.”

  Brent’s phone chirped and he read the text. “Slim will be here in twenty minutes.”

  Cooper kissed her temple and asked, “Who is Slim?”

  Brent said, “Dan Cavanaugh. I graduated from high school with him. We played basketball together. He’s one of the few athletic geeks. He works for FBI Cyber Crimes Division. He’s home for Christmas and he’ll be able to give us advice about what to do to protect Paige.”

  When Dan arrived, Brent met him at the door and brought him up to meet with the family.

  Paige looked at the muscular man standing next to her brother. Gone was the gangly teen who never seemed to know what to do with his elbows. “Dan?” Paige asked in surprise as she stood to greet the broad shouldered man who had been like another brother to her. “You look so different. I almost didn’t recognize you.”

  Dan wrapped her in a bear hug and lifted her off the floor. “I guess I’m not Slim now any more than you’re Pudgy Paige.”

  He set her down and held her at arm’s length, giving her an appreciative head to toe appraisal. “Girl, you’re a fox. No wonder this guy has gone bat crazy over you. You might want to take out a restraining order against me too.” He winked and hugged her again.

  Paige laughed and slapped Dan’s arm. “Whoa,” she said as her hands gripped his biceps. “Nice guns, Agent Cavanaugh.”

  Dan threw his head back in a loud, hearty laugh. “Awe, Paige, I’ve missed you.” He threw his arms around her waist and picked her up until her mouth was even with his and her feet were off the floor. He pressed a solid kiss on her lips and slowly set her back down. “I’ve waited a long time for you to grow up enough for me to do that.”

  She wavered a moment on her feet, steadying herself on his arms. “Thank goodness you never kissed me when we were younger, I had enough of a crush on you back then.”

  Dan’s impish grin showed surprise. “You did?”

  She nodded. “Enormous crush. I used to keep the class pictures you gave me under my pillow.”

  He swept his finger along her jaw. “You were the only person who never called me Slim.”

  “And you were the only one who never called me Pudgy. I think that’s why I loved you so much. I used to dream of trading Joni for you.”

  Joni’s voice squeaked. “What?”

  Dan kissed Paige’s forehead and slung his arm over her shoulder as he led her down the hall to the kitchen. “Tell me all you can about this guy who’s threatening you?”

  They sat at the island facing each other. Dan pulled an electronic tablet from his man bag and typed notes as they spoke. All traces of the affable old friend transformed into a no-nonsense FBI agent.

  Paige recounted how she met Ted when she needed help with a computer program for a class, and how he asked for a date in lieu of payment for his help.

  Dan stilled. “What kind of date did he expect from you?”

  Paige flashed back to the memory of Dan rescuing her from a disastrous prom date.

  Cooper and Sawyer stood nearby, along with her father and Brent. All looked like they wanted to murder Ted Flannigan. “He took me to dinner at the Flat Top Grill and then to a movie.”

  Dan no longer typed. His eyes never wavered from Paige’s face. “What did he do after the movie?”

  Paige gave him a confused look. “He took me home to my apartment.”

  Dan’s eyebrows stitched together in a frown. “And then?”

  Paige touched Dan’s arm. “Have you never been on a first date? He kissed me on the cheek. I went into my apartment and he left.”

  A collective sigh rushed from all the men.

  Dan chuckled and shook his head. “So where did you go on the rest of your dates? Always dinner and a movie?”

  “No. After that we usually went to Ted’s house. He works creating and beta testing video games. I’d pick up dinner or cook and he reimbursed me. While I studied or watched television on one of his flat screens, he did his computer and gaming thing. Or we’d play video games together. We went on like that for about a year and a half until Cooper...”

  “Cooper’s your fiancé?”

  Paige glanced at Cooper and shrugged. No more lies. “Not exactly. We were never actually engaged. Cooper asked me to work for him and live here with him to help him get through his last surgery. He wanted to take the stress off his parents’ shoulders. The night I moved in here Cooper used my phone to break up with Ted in a text.”

  Stuart, Brent, and Sawyer glared at Cooper. Dan asked, “How did Ted take that?”

  Paige shook her head. “Not well. I would never in reality be that callous to anyone, but after Ted’s reaction, I told him I thought it was for the best that we stop seeing each other.”

  “And did he honor your wishes?”

  She shook her head. “No. He kept texting me once or twice a week. Sometimes it was something innocent: coupon offers he’d seen, a sale of something he knew I liked, but if I ever answered a text, he’d latch onto that as an open invitation to plead with me to get back together with him.”

  Cooper dropped his hands to his sides. “You never told me he was contacting you.”

  Paige shrugged. “You never asked much of anything about me.” She held up her hand to stop him from speaking more. “This is a discussion that concerns no one else and we can have it later. Alone.
In complete privacy.” She spread her look of warning to the other men who glared at Cooper. “And none of you are to tell Mom or Cooper’s parents. This is between me and Cooper. No one else.”

  Cooper raised an eyebrow to her and clenched his jaw.

  Dan rubbed the dark stubble on his chin. “So what happened that elevated his interest again?”

  Paige pulled at the cuff of her sweater sleeve. “I guess things changed at the Open Hands Auction. Ted was there and that was the night I met Sawyer Pierce.” She leaned in and whispered, “Can we finish this in private?”

  “No.” Cooper sat on the stool next to her and put his palm on the small of her back. “I know I’ve screwed things up with us, and I’m not proud of how selfish I’ve been, but the only thing that matters now is keeping you safe. Tell him everything.”

  With a shrug she said, “If that’s what you want.” She turned to Dan. “At the auction, when I was about to meet Sawyer, Cooper took the fake engagement ring from my finger.”

  Dan lifted his eyebrows. “Why would he do that? Did you have a fight?”

  Paige clasped her hands on the island and fixed her eyes on her thumb as she spoke. “Not at all. Sawyer and Cooper have been friends all their lives, and all that time there’s been a rivalry going on.” She gave Sawyer an apologetic look. “Sawyer has charmed away all of the girls Cooper has been interested in. He even ran off with Cooper’s fiancée and married her. The marriage didn’t last, but Cooper was afraid if Sawyer thought we were engaged, he’d take an interest in me.”

  Paige exhaled. “Of course it’s all ridiculous because if Cooper really loved me, this would have been a real engagement instead of a fake one.”

  She shook her head. “The point is that Ted was there at the auction and he renewed his efforts to get me to date him. That night Ted texted me and Cooper deleted the message before I saw it. When I found out, I was so angry that I decided to give Ted another chance. We went on three dates in the past three weeks.”