The Wedding Pact Box Set

by Denise Grover Swank

  He was back in Seattle by mid-afternoon and he headed straight to the office. Josh was sitting at his desk when Noah walked in.

  Josh looked up in surprise, a grin spreading across his face. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you for at least a few days.” His gaze took in Noah’s rumpled clothes and his smile faded. “Why do you look like death warmed over?”

  Noah ignored him and tossed a file on his desk. “The Abrahams deal. Signed, sealed, and delivered.”

  Josh sat upright and his eyes widened as he opened the folder. “How’d you pull this off?”

  “What the hell does it matter? It’s all there. The payment schedule is worked out in there too.”

  Josh started thumbing through the papers. “So do you want to handle this here or in K.C.? Megan said Libby was moving here, but I figured I’d check.”

  Noah shook his head. “I’m not handling it at all.”

  Josh pushed back his chair and stood. “Wait. You just got this account. Why wouldn’t you want to handle it?”

  “In case you forgot, I quit last week.”

  “But the deal . . . ?” Josh sounded confused.

  “I got it for you. I thought I’d bring it in as a peace offering to get my job back, but now I don’t give a fuck.” He turned around. “Congrats.”

  “Noah!” Josh called out after him, his voice worried now. “You look like you’ve been on a three-day bender. What happened?”

  Noah spun around, furious. “As if you and Megan haven’t been laughing about it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Look, Megan and Blair made no secret of the fact they don’t approve, so I’m sure they’re happy that Libby left me.”

  Josh’s mouth dropped open and his eyes widened in shock. “What? When? What happened?”

  “What does it matter? She came to her senses. Everyone’s happy.”

  Josh shook his head. “That’s not true, Noah. What happened?” His face went as pale as skim milk. “Oh, God. Megan. She told Libby about you quitting. She was upset you hadn’t told her.”

  His chest squeezed tight with her betrayal. “Megan hates me that much?”

  “No, Noah. That’s not it at all. She was just worried you two got married so quickly.” He held up his hands in defense. “And yes, I reminded her that she and I were married a hell of a lot faster.”

  Noah found it difficult to breathe.

  “But if Libby left you, where is she?”

  The answer was obvious. She would have gone to the only place she would feel completely safe. The thought that he’d hurt her so much brought a lump to his throat he found difficult to talk past. “She went home to Tortoise.”

  Josh blinked in confusion before recognition registered in his eyes. “Oh . . . her dog.”

  He nodded, then turned to leave.

  “Noah,” Josh called out in alarm. “Stop.”

  He stopped in Josh’s doorway. Their receptionist’s worried glance reminded him that he looked like a mess. He’d slept in his clothes from the day before—the smell of Libby was still faintly in the weave of shirt, and he couldn’t bear to change. That was the last part he had of her and once it was gone, she would be lost to him forever. The thought brought him close to a breakdown, but he didn’t even care. Let them think the worst . . . they probably already did.

  Josh grabbed his arm and pulled him back into the room, shutting the door behind them. He pushed Noah into a chair and then sat on the edge of his desk. “Noah, you have to go after her.”

  His brother’s words broke down his last layer of control and his chest heaved as he struggled to keep it together. “She hates me.” He heaved out a shortened version of the story, then said, “I tried to tell her nothing happened between Tiffany and me, but she refused to believe me.” A sob rented from his chest. “I deserve it. After everything I’ve done, all the people I’ve hurt, I deserve every bit of it.” He looked up at Josh with tear-filled eyes. “She’s the one good thing in my life and I hurt her so badly. I don’t deserve her.”

  Josh leaned toward him. “No, Noah. That’s not true. You deserve every bit of happiness and more.”

  Noah gritted his teeth as tears spilled from his eyes. “If you knew everything I’ve done, you wouldn’t be saying that.”

  “The women?” Josh shook his head. “They were all consenting adults who knew what they were getting into. You never lied or led them on, Noah. I know you well enough to know that.”

  Noah released a harsh laugh. “No, not the women.”

  Josh was silent for a moment. “Are you talking about Dad?”

  Noah’s eyes swung up to meet his brother’s as his heartbeat ratcheted up enough for him to hear it.

  “I know you and Dad didn’t get along. I know I was his favorite. It made me uncomfortable that he gave me more attention than you, but you had Mom.”

  Guilt clawed at Noah’s chest and some feral part of him decided it was finally time Josh knew the truth. Noah needed his brother to hate him as much as he hated himself. “I killed Dad.”

  Josh stared at him like he was trying to sell him property on Mars. “Dad died of a heart attack here in the office while you were at school over a hundred miles away. You did not kill Dad.”

  He shook his head, nearly choking on the bitterness in his heart. “I may not have been here, but I killed him anyway.”

  “What in the world are you talking ab—” Recognition filled his eyes. “Dad never called you.”

  Now it was Noah’s turn to be confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “Dad told me about his visit to you at school. He was really upset that you were buying drugs for your ADD and he thought you were dealing too. He told me he’d changed his mind about making you partner and he wanted to give the whole business to me.”

  “You knew? You knew he told me I was no longer his son?”

  “He told you that?” Josh reached forward and grabbed his shoulder. “No. He never told me that part. Only that he’d discovered the truth. Oh God, Noah. I had no idea . . . otherwise I would have told you what happened when he came to me.”

  “What are you talking about?” Noah choked out, pulling away from Josh’s comfort.

  “Mom had already laid into him by then. I think he hoped I’d take his side, but Mom and I both told him off for guilt-tripping you about taking medication for a documented medical condition. Would he deny insulin to a diabetic? Mom told Dad he’d forced you into it.” Josh’s voice broke. “And I made sure he knew I didn’t want this business without you. It was the McMillan Brothers or nothing at all. I think he realized then what he’d done. He said he was going to call you and apologize. The morning he died, he told me that he had. He said he’d called and told you he was sorry and he’d taken it all back.”

  Noah shook his head. “I had a voice mail . . . I discovered it after I found out he died.” His voice cracked. “I heard his voice and I deleted it. I couldn’t bear to hear him berate me from the grave.”

  Josh took a deep breath, tears in his eyes. “Noah, he swore to me he apologized. He must have done it in the voice mail.”

  Pressure built in Noah’s chest.

  “If anyone is responsible for his death, it’s him. He didn’t exercise or take care of himself. Maybe when he realized how much he’d hurt you, his grief pushed him over the edge.”

  Noah leaned forward, covering his face with his hands. Could that be true?

  Josh put his hand on Noah’s back. “He said he was going to call you and apologize, and that was a full day before his death. I guess I got so caught up in my own shock and grief that I never thought to ask you if he had. Plus you never mentioned it, so I . . . I guess I thought it was resolved. And I didn’t want him to hurt you any more than he already had.”

  It was all too much. Libby. His father. He jumped to his feet, intending to run far, far away—where didn’t matter—but Josh stood and pulled him into a hug.

  “I’m so sorry, Noah. I see thi
ngs a lot more clearly now and I’m sorry I’ve been such a prick. You really came through with this Abrahams account, even after I treated you like shit. For what it’s worth, your job would have been waiting for you whether you brought in the account or not.”

  Noah pulled free and shook his head. “I don’t know what I want anymore. The one thing I wanted most in the world is gone.”

  Josh grabbed his shoulders, his fingers digging deep. “She’s not gone. You just have to fight for her.”

  “I still think she’s better off without me.” He turned around and opened the office door.

  “You two are perfect for each other,” Josh said, his voice tight.

  Noah turned to face him in disbelief.

  “I saw it the night of my wedding. I know Libby was with Mitch, but she never looked as happy with him as she did when she was with you. Megan and Blair didn’t get it, and honestly, I never tried to explain it to them because I figured they’d amp up their campaign to warn Libby off you. But I could see you were meant to be. The day you told me she was engaged, I think you might have misunderstood my response. When I told you to examine your own life, I meant it was time for you to realize you loved her. I worried if I told you straight out, you’d resist it. So I kept my mouth shut. I’m sorry for that.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “God, I’m sorry for a lot of things, Noah.” His voice cracked when he spoke again. “Can you forgive me?”

  Noah stared at him dumbfounded. He had no idea Josh was willing to give up the business if he wasn’t included. He’d spent the majority of his life feeling like he was failing his brother; it never occurred to Noah that Josh felt the same way.

  Josh pulled him into a bear hug. “I love you, Noah. You think you don’t deserve happiness, but you are so wrong. And besides, did you ever consider that Libby is probably telling herself the same thing? That you are the happiness she doesn’t think she deserves?”

  Noah broke free, panic welling in his chest and making it difficult to breathe. He wanted to be that man for her, but he’d screwed up after less than twenty-four hours of marriage. A zebra couldn’t change its stripes. What made him think he could be any different? “No. I’ll only hurt her in the end. More than I already have, and I can’t live with that.”

  He jerked the door open and strode though the office toward the exit.

  “Noah! Where are you going?”

  He had no idea. He found comfort that he and Josh were mending their relationship, but in less than two weeks, Josh would be gone. Libby had Tortoise to run to, but now that Libby was gone, he had absolutely nothing.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Libby! Open up,” Megan shouted. She and Blair had been pounding on the front door for several minutes, but Libby couldn’t bring herself to answer. Instead, she kept rubbing the head of her anxious dog. Tortoise—sensing her emotional crisis—had barely left her side in the week she’d been home.

  “Libby, I know you’re in there. Please let me in.”

  Megan was supposed to be in Seattle, so what was she even doing here? But she’d completely ignored her friends’ phone calls, so she wasn’t totally surprised.

  There was more pounding, harder and more insistent this time. “Open the damn door, Libby St. Clair!” Blair shouted. “You live in the damn ghetto and I’m pretty sure I’m about to get shanked.”

  “Blair!” Megan protested.

  Libby climbed to her feet and moved to the door, Tortoise at her side the entire time. After releasing the deadbolt, she swung the door open, revealing Megan in jeans and a plum peacoat and Blair in her business attire—attaché case and all. This didn’t look like a friendly visit.

  Blair’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly shut it and waved her hand in front of her face. “Good God. When was the last time you showered?”

  Libby leaned against the doorframe. She couldn’t remember, but she didn’t really care. The yoga pants and T-shirt she was wearing had been intimate companions for several days now. “Go away, Blair.”

  “Sorry, Libs.” Blair pushed past her and walked into the house. “This is an intervention.”

  Tortoise hunched down next to Libby and released a low growl.

  Blair stopped in her tracks. “Your new dog’s really friendly. Is it part pit bull?”

  Libby’s shoulders stiffened. “He is a Lab mix. And you just pushed your way into my house. He’s protective.”

  “Well, I guess it’s a good thing you have some sort of protection in this neighborhood.”

  “What do you want?” Libby asked, already exhausted from this exchange.

  Megan followed Blair inside, eyeing the dog. “Libs. We just want to talk to you.”

  Ignoring them, Libby bent over and rubbed Tortoise’s head. “It’s okay, boy.” Then she stood upright and headed back to the sofa, where she plopped down next to her nest of pillows. “Let’s get this over with. Say whatever it is you have to say, then get the hell out. I’m sure you feel vindicated.”

  Tortoise sat on the floor in front of her, keeping his gaze on Libby’s friends.

  Megan shut the door and eyed the messy room. She opened the lid of the pizza box on the coffee table and cringed, then carried it into the kitchen. “That’s not why we’re here.”

  “Obviously.”

  Blair grabbed a kitchen chair and dragged it into the living room in front of Libby. “Sarcasm won’t help.”

  “Nothing will help.” She hadn’t meant to sound so defeated, but it was true.

  Megan sat in the overstuffed chair between Libby and Blair. “We’re worried about you. This isn’t like you.”

  “You expect me to be all sunshine and rainbows? Sorry to disappoint you there too.”

  “Libby,” Megan said apologetically.

  “Enough,” Blair barked, pulling a legal pad and a pen from her case. “I’m here to get the facts. Are you legally married to Noah?”

  “You saw the photo,” she sneered. “What do you think?”

  Blair put the notebook on her lap. “From what little information Josh was able to get from Noah, you left him less than twenty-four hours after your wedding. Did you mail the marriage license to the courthouse?”

  Libby stared at her in shock.

  “Was there a marriage license?”

  “Well, of course.”

  Blair gave a half-shrug. “Not necessarily. If you were drunk, you might not have thought about it, although the chapels out there usually ask.”

  Libby groaned and leaned her head back against the sofa. “I told you. We weren’t drunk. We were perfectly sober when we got married.”

  “So what happened to the license? Did you take it?”

  She sighed, thinking back to the best night of her life. How had it crashed and burned so quickly? “No, we didn’t take it. In fact, I forgot my dress there.”

  “Your wedding dress?” Megan asked.

  Tears filled her eyes. “No, the black dress Gram packed in my bag.”

  “What black dress?” Megan asked, but then she shook her head and smiled. “She wanted me to pack that sexy cocktail dress she found in your closet. She must have snuck it in when I was grabbing your makeup bag.”

  That and several other things she’d never needed. Tears spilled down her cheeks before she realized it. “I left my wedding dress in the hotel room in Vegas.”

  “Oh, Libby,” Megan’s voice broke. “I’m so sorry I was such a bitch. I’ve been a terrible friend.”

  “That’s not what we’re discussing at the moment,” Blair said in her no-nonsense voice, but she sniffed and kept her eyes down on her legal pad. “What was the name of the chapel?”

  “Little Heaven. Why?”

  Blair scratched notes on her legal pad. “I’ll have Melissa give them a call to see what happened to it.”

  “Why?”

  Blair looked up and gave her an exasperated look. “We need to file the annulment papers as soon as possible, although I suspect we won’t have grounds if you continue to insist you
were sober. It could end in divorce instead, but given your career, it shouldn’t adversely affect you.”

  “Annulment?” she asked in surprise.

  “Libby. You’re here. He’s there. It’s obvious this is over. Let’s put an end to it as quickly as possible.”

  “But . . .” How had she not considered the legal ramifications? Of course they needed to file for a divorce, but the thought had her on the edge of a panic attack.

  “Do you have a physical address for Noah?”

  “Why?” Her voice sounded as panicked as she felt.

  Blair shrugged again, writing on her notepad. “It’s okay. I can use the address of their office in Seattle. It’s probably better to serve him there.”

  “Serve him what?”

  She looked up and rolled her eyes. “Divorce papers, of course.”

  “But . . .” More tears fell.

  Blair looked up and pinned her gaze on Libby, although Libby could barely see her through her tears. “Do you love him?”

  “Blair,” Megan admonished as she sat next to Libby and pulled her into a hug. Megan stroked her hair. “Libs, do you love him?”

  She nodded, breaking down into sobs.

  “Then why are you here instead of Seattle?”

  “Because . . . I’m so . . . stupid,” she forced out.

  “What did you do?”

  She took a breath to settle down. “I accused him of cheating on me.”

  “What?” Blair demanded. “Is there something I don’t know?”

  “Blair. Enough. We’ve caused enough damage,” Megan said softly, keeping her eyes on Libby. “Libs, what happened?”

  “I started freaking out after you called me. It didn’t make sense for him to be in a business meeting if he’d really quit his job. There was a message on the phone in our room . . . from a woman. She called Noah by name and asked him to meet her in a hotel room. I freaked out and went to the room.”

  “And?” Megan asked.

  “A woman opened the door with a champagne glass in her hand. I thought I had gotten it wrong since she was fully clothed and so perky, but then she said something to Noah—calling him by name again—and I marched in and found him sitting on the bed drinking champagne.”