“You’re right. My position is definitely going to make things more complicated. But we don’t really have that many options.”
She sank back onto the couch and covered her face. “I still can’t believe how quickly things got out of hand. Jack’s in the shower, Mommy. Isn’t that what you told us?” Daisy said, repeating Natalie’s earlier statement that seemed to be the highlight of most news stories as it played on a repeating loop. “It sounded so…bad.”
Her shoulders shook for a moment, and he reached out and laid his hand on her shoulder to try and comfort her. “Hey, it’s going to be—” He stopped as her hands fell away and he realized it wasn’t tears of sadness, but actually… “Are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry.” She wiped a tear away. “I’m just trying to think of how it could have gone any more wrong.”
Her laugher was infectious, and he grinned back, relieved to see that she was finding some humor in the situation. “Like maybe if I’d walked out wearing just a towel?”
“No. Maybe in pink-feathered handcuffs, a boa, and a towel.” She smiled at him and instantly his gut clenched. Mesmerizing.
Her phone buzzed on the cushion next to him and in need of a distraction, he picked it up. Glancing down, he saw she’d already received fourteen missed calls and twenty-seven texts.
He handed it to her. “I’m almost afraid to even turn mine on.”
She didn’t bother to glance at her screen, just dropped her hand to the couch, looking almost deflated. “So what do you think will happen next? I mean, after we give that press release. Because we can’t both continue to stay here and invite more conjecture and gossip. If my car was actually functioning, I could take the kids and head back home in a minute. But with it in the shop, I’m kind of at a loss. I’m mortified to admit this, but…I don’t exactly have a lot of money in the bank to pay for another place to stay. I only accepted Payton’s offer because my ex backed out on his promise to take the kids to Disneyland and I wanted to do something for them.”
Jack nodded in understanding. Rather than disappoint them, she’d swallowed her pride—which he could tell hadn’t been easy for her—and accepted Payton’s offer to stay here for free. “Don’t worry. Lily and I will leave as soon as we can make other arrangements.”
Something that still gave him an inexplicable pang of disappointment. He liked it here. Had hoped to make some positive memories here with Lily. But if he were honest, he also had been enjoying his time here—as unexpected as it was—with Daisy Sorensen and her brood, as short as it had been.
It was almost a shame they couldn’t figure out another way out of this predicament.
A way that let them both save their reputations, his future political career, not to mention protect their kids from the hurtful gossip.
All while letting them enjoy the next week at this beautiful lake house like they had originally planned.
Maybe it was Stuart who’d planted the idea initially, even if his suggestion was a joke, but now the idea was beginning to take shape in his mind. It was crazy, but was it any crazier than what was already out there?
He glanced at Daisy. She was going to think he was certifiable. Hell, maybe he was. But maybe he also had a solution to a tough situation that fate had brought them.
He cleared his throat. “Actually. Maybe there’s another scenario we haven’t looked at.”
She looked at him in mild curiosity, a soft smile on her face. “And what’s that?”
“We could get engaged.”
…
Engaged?
Daisy couldn’t help it. She started to laugh again, holding her belly as she did, because now he was just being ridiculous. “Who’d have thought? I went on vacation and came home engaged to the next governor. Well, if that’s your way of proposing, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
She glanced at Jack, expecting to see him finding this as amusing as her. Only, he was looking at her in such a way that she was beginning to think—
“You’re…you’re kidding, right?”
“Not even remotely.” He studied her closely. “Think about it. Rather than try to fight the rising tide of public belief on this, why not just go with it? But put our own twist on it. Instead of this being about the soon-to-be governor trying to sneak away with his divorced, single-mom girlfriend, make it into something that everyone can rally around. Two people who fell in love and are trying to take their kids on their first vacation together to get everyone used to the idea of becoming a family. And of course it would make sense that we would have wanted to try and do this before the governor made his announcement and before the public spotlight was shining on us.”
He really was serious. “That’s insane. No, you’re insane. I’m not going to marry you just because of one stupid little mix-up.”
“It wouldn’t have to get that far. Just long enough for everyone to accept that we’re so crazy in love with each other that we want to spend the rest of our lives together. Then, once the rumors have been laid to rest, and our lives and careers are back on track, we can make up some story about how we realized that we aren’t compatible. Or that the stress of public life was too much on the relationship and, as sorry as we are, we decided to end things.”
Crazy in love with each other? That would be a hard sell. This was Jack Harrison. Gorgeous, intelligent, powerful, and a legacy in Utah politics thanks to the long line of Harrisons before him. He was everything any woman could want in a man and she…
Well, she was just Daisy Sorensen. Divorced single mother. College dropout. She wasn’t anything special. There was no way anyone would buy into this story—even if she were to consider it.
Which she wasn’t.