Her Surprise Engagement (The Sorensen Family 4)

Only she didn’t get better and everything turned so quickly and, before he’d even had a chance to take a breath, she was gone.

Leaving Jack with the guilt that maybe, had he been there from the beginning, despite her argument, things would have been different. She could have beaten it or, at the least, he’d have had the luxury of spending more time with her.

Regret was a curse he didn’t wish on anyone. He’d lived with regret for six years and he would live with it for the rest of his life.

The deck creaked behind him, bringing him back to the present. He turned in time to see Daisy closing the door before joining him. It was chilly again tonight, and like that first night, she wore a thick terry cloth bathrobe and carried a glass of wine in her hand.

“I thought I might come out here for a moment, enjoy the quietness of the place. You don’t mind, do you?”

Mind? If anything, her presence was a welcome diversion from the ghost of his past regrets. “Not at all.”

“I checked on the kids and they’re all out like a light. Even Ollie barely moved his head when I came in,” she said taking a seat next to him and tucking the bathrobe around her. “It’s so pretty here. Do you come here a lot?”

“Not anymore. When Lily was a baby, my wife and I—Lara and I, we’d come out here every summer for a couple of weeks. After she passed, I tried to continue the tradition, but…” he trailed off. “Well, I’ve lost sight of some of my priorities of late. Something I’m going to need to improve upon. Especially after I become governor. Lara wouldn’t want me to lose sight of what’s important. And soon enough Lily will be grown and on her own and I’ll have missed these opportunities.”

“Your wife must have been someone pretty special.”

“She definitely was.”

“Can you tell me about her? How did you two meet?” Daisy asked.

Jack didn’t usually talk about his wife if he could help it. She’d always been something private, a memory he didn’t want to open and share.

But maybe it was because she’d been on his mind so much tonight, that he’d opened the door by first mentioning her to Daisy. And although he could easily shut down this discussion if he wanted to, knowing Daisy would understand, he realized that he actually wanted to talk about her. Wanted to share something of his own life, just as Daisy had shared with him.

“Lara and I met in my first year of law school. At a bar, if you can believe it. She was beautiful and poised, and for some reason she seemed to be as interested in and as crazy about me as I was about her.” He smiled as he remembered how he’d known from that first moment when she smiled at him, that she was the woman for him. It was like he could see their future laid out before him and he didn’t want to wait a minute for it to begin, he’d been that certain. “And despite everyone’s objections that we were moving too fast, we were married a few months later. We both knew it was right and didn’t see any reason in waiting another day to begin our lives together, you know?” he asked, glancing over at Daisy.

She was smiling, nodding softly, and from the glimmer in her dark eyes, he knew she understood, even if no one else usually did.

“Lily came along less than a year after that,” he continued, smiling again at the memory and the joy she’d brought them. “Once I graduated, we moved here where I worked at the DA’s office for four years before dipping my toes in the political landscape by running for city council. I was pretty shocked when I actually won. Not Lara, though, she said she always knew I was destined for big things.” He stopped suddenly, surprised at the emotion that made his throat close up.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No, no worries. It’s good to be able to talk about her.” And it was. To be able to talk about Lara without feeling that sharp sense of loss that had followed in those first few years. At least with time, the pain had lessened to the point where the memories offered him more comfort than pain. “Lily’s been asking a lot more questions about her, so I need to get better at talking about her without getting too emotional. She needs to know what a kind, caring but strong and wonderful woman Lara was.”

“Well, you’ve done a great job with Lily,” Daisy said, her voice suspiciously thick and deep with emotion. “Which can’t be easy, especially as she’s growing into a young woman. Worse—a moody teenager.”

He groaned. “Don’t even get me started. I’ve already caught a few boys giving her the side-eye, and believe me, I’d consider replacing her entire wardrobe with sweatshirts and baggy jeans if I thought it would help. But she’s a smart girl, so I’m resigned to trusting she’ll be able to handle herself.”

She laughed, the sound a welcome relief from the intensity of emotions that had been running high for him tonight. She took a sip of her wine and seemed to mull over her next words. “Your wife died six years ago, so how is it that you’re still on the market? I mean, a young, sexy widower with a young daughter, you’d be virtually man-nip to a large segment of the female population.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Are you saying you think I’m…sexy?”

Other than a moment’s pause and a look of sheer horror that passed her face, she didn’t acknowledge his question. “My point is, you must be really going out of your way not to date for someone like you to still be single.”

He wanted to dig a little deeper into her statement, but could sense that it would only cause her embarrassment, so he bit back his smile, considering her words. “These past few years I’ve been so busy with my job and my daughter, that I didn’t think it would be fair to get into a relationship with someone who I wouldn’t be able to give the time and attention they deserve.”

Not to mention the fact that he hadn’t met anyone who made him want to take that first step with. Before now.

He took a pull from his beer, keeping his attention on her face as he asked his next question. “What about you? It’s been, what…two years since you and Leo ended things? How is it that a woman like you is still unattached?”

“I guess, like you, I want to focus on my kids right now and on getting my life back together.”

“That’s fair. But your kids seem to be adapting pretty well and you…you seem to be doing okay.” Better than okay if the past couple of days were any indication. Other than that emotional moment on the beach, she seemed relaxed. Ready to move on—or maybe that was just wistful thinking. “Let’s assume that once we get back home and you open that bakery you’ve always wanted to have, you find your life finally on the path you a

lways saw for yourself. Are you going to be willing to start dating again?”

She ran her hands through her hair, laughing nervously. “I hardly think I’m going to be in any position to start dating. I hate to break this to you, but not a lot of men are looking for a woman with three kids who would be part of the package.”