“Hear anything good?” Blair whispered behind him.
He jumped and spun around, trying to keep a poker face. “Hey, Blair. I was looking for the restroom.”
“Hmm…” She crossed her arms. “You seem to have passed it.” She pointed her thumb to the partially open door behind him.
“Huh.” He tried to sound nonchalant. “The door was closed when I went by. I heard Bart in the other room, so I decided to ask him where I could find another bathroom.”
Blair pinned him with her steely gaze.
The bedroom door opened and Bart came out. “Oh!” he said in surprise, looking nervous. “I haven’t had a chance to say hi to you, Blair. How are you doing?”
“Good.”
“I see you met Josh. Or had you met him before?”
Josh held his breath, waiting for Blair to expose him.
“Nope. This was my first opportunity to meet Josh.”
If Bart heard the inflection, he didn’t let on. “Are you ready for Megan’s wedding excitement?”
Blair’s mouth crooked into a devious smile. “You have no idea.”
“Well…” He squeezed past the two of them. “I better get back out to Nicole. I’m sure she’s fit to be tied over something.” He continued toward the kitchen, but Blair didn’t budge, blocking Josh’s path.
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”
“I told you. I was looking for the restroom.”
She shook her head slowly, keeping her gaze on him. “No. You’re up to something. I can feel it. The question is what?”
Josh held his hands out at his side. “I’m just trying to help Megan.”
“No. I don’t—”
“You are unbelievable!” Megan said in a loud voice, walking up behind Blair. “I told you to leave him alone!”
Blair turned to face her friend and Josh slid past her, moving next to Megan. “I told you that I don’t trust him, and sure enough, I found him eavesdropping outside your parents’ room.”
“Eavesdropping on what? My mother’s outside and I just passed my father.”
“Megan. Listen to me. Josh was listening to your father’s phone call.”
Josh plastered a look of what he hoped was innocence on his face. “I was looking for the restroom. I heard your dad’s voice, so I was going to ask him where it was. Then Blair showed up and accused me of…I’m not sure what.” Josh hated lying, but here he was, lying through his teeth. The guilt was overwhelming.
“You can’t trust this guy, Megan!”
“Blair! Keep your voice down,” Megan whisper-hissed. “Why in the world would Josh eavesdrop on my father? What could he hope to hear? Do you know how paranoid and crazy that sounds?”
“It might sound paranoid, but it’s true.”
Megan shook her head. “You’ll do anything to prove me wrong, won’t you?”
Blair looked genuinely confused. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll resort to making up lies to get me to end our arrangement.”
Blair’s mouth dropped open. “Have you lost your mind?”
Tears filled Megan’s eyes. “You’ve already decided that I have, so why do you keep asking?”
“Megan.” Blair’s voice softened.
Megan shook her head. “Stop. Just stop.” Then she took a deep breath and turned to Josh. “My mother wants my father to formally introduce us to their friends.” He started to say something, but she held up her hand. “Yes, I know. We’ve already talked to every single one of them, but nevertheless…” Her voice trailed off.
Blair’s anger returned. “If you think I’m going to stay here and watch this—”
“Go!” Megan said, her eyes blazing. “If you can’t watch this, then go. No one is making you stay.”
“Megan,” Josh interrupted, his guilt crushing him. He couldn’t let her ruin a decades-long friendship over him.
“You’re choosing him over me?” Blair demanded. When Megan didn’t answer, she pushed on. “You’re picking a man whom you’ve known for approximately ten hours over your friend of twenty-five years.”
“No, Blair. You chose for me.” Megan grabbed Josh’s wrist and pulled him down the hall, leaving a stunned Blair in her wake.
“Megan, really—” Josh stammered.
“It’s fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’m fine. Let’s go get introduced.”
By the time they reached the kitchen, her hand trembled in his clasp. She was upset whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“Megan.” He pulled her to a halt. “Hold on for a second.”
She stopped in front of him, looking up at him with questioning eyes. She was so agonizingly close and she looked so vulnerable. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her, assuring her that everything would be okay…but he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure everything would be okay once the dust finally settled.
“Give me a minute, okay?” he asked, certain she would afford him the time she thought he needed to collect himself. He felt less guilt over this small duplicity. It was for her benefit, so he could live with it.
They were still holding hands, he suddenly noticed. He thought about dropping his hold, but couldn’t seem to let go. “She’ll get over it,” he finally said.
She let out a deep breath, then forced a smile. “I’m not so sure.”
“Libby will smooth things over.”
Her smile turned genuine. “Yeah, she can’t stand it when we fight.”
“I like Libby.” He reached his free hand around Megan’s back and pulled her to his chest before he realized what he was doing. Touching her was as natural as breathing, and while that was dangerous, he didn’t much care at the moment.
She relaxed into him, resting her cheek on his chest.
They stood still for nearly a minute, and with every ticking second, Josh felt more and more certain this woman was different than every other woman he had ever met. The question was what did he do with that information? He didn’t see any way to achieve a positive outcome.
Nicole Vandemeer poked her head through the back door. “There you are! Aren’t you too precious, stealing a moment for yourselves. You can hug later. Your father wants you out here for an official introduction.”
Josh wasn’t fooled. The introduction had to be Nicole’s idea, but at the moment he was Nicole Vandemeer’s golden boy and he wasn’t about to say a word.
Chapter Ten
Josh dropped his arm but held Megan’s hand again, lacing their fingers together. She liked it more than she should, just like she’d felt when he was holding her. Somehow he’d known she couldn’t handle facing her mother’s friends immediately after her run-in with Blair. The confrontation had upset her more than she was willing to admit to either of them. Josh had used the excuse of needing a moment for himself, but she wasn’t fooled. He’d done it for her. In the entire time she’d known Jay Connors, he’d never once been intuitive about her feelings, and this man she’d known for less than a day could see right through her.
She looked up at him, suddenly feeling shy, although she wasn’t sure why.
He gave her a warm smile that reached his eyes, filling her with reassurance. “We want to keep Knickers happy, don’t we?”
She laughed. “You picked up on that quick.”
He didn’t answer as they headed out onto the deck. All the guests were still in the process of being ushered down to the patio around the pool. Her mother led Megan and Josh to the railing that overlooked the yard. Her father stood to the side, looking embarrassed and totally out of his element.
Megan’s mother cleared her throat, a delicate sound that garnered everyone’s attention anyway. “We’d like to thank you all—our dearest friends—for coming to celebrate the engagement of our only daughter, Megan Nicole Vandemeer.” She paused and gave Megan her best fake smile, a look convincing enough to fool ninety-nine percent of the people she met, but not her own daughter. Then she turned back to the crowd. “Bart would li
ke to say a few words.”
Megan looked down at the sixty or seventy faces of her mother’s dearest friends, who stood around the pool and spilled into the edges of the yard. She’d only seen three of those faces before tonight. Libby, a hopeless romantic who was currently glowing with excitement. Her grandmother, who looked like she was privy to some private joke. And Kevin, still manning his position at the bar while he shot daggers of contempt at the man standing next to her.
If she could ignore the fact that her mother had set this up—and, of course, all the blatant Disney references—the view in front of her was breathtaking. The sky had darkened and the floating candles on the water and the candle chandelier hanging from the tent emitted a magical golden glow. If she were a woman prone to falling for romance, this display would have swept her away. No wonder Libby looked so orgasmic.
She heard her father talking, so she tuned into his words. “Our daughter and our soon-to-be son-in-law…”
Suddenly the beauty of the scene hit her in a different way. Her mother had created this mostly for herself, but it had been intended as a celebration of her upcoming nuptials. The whole thing was a farce. Everything about it was a lie. She felt incredibly alone and panicked and messed up and…Josh squeezed her hand. She looked up at him and smiled, surprised by what she saw in his face. He was either an incredibly good actor or the lust in his eyes was real.
“…Megan and Josh.”
Her mother clapped next to her, then announced, “And now we’ll perform the handfasting ceremony.”
That caught her attention. Megan whipped her head around. “What?”
Her mother was already moving behind them, a long strip of wide pink ribbon in her hand.
“Mom,” Megan whispered loudly. “What are you doing?”
“I won’t be outdone by that snotty Barbara Decker,” her mother whispered as she reached for Josh’s right hand. “They did this at her daughter’s wedding and everyone loved it.” She picked up Megan’s hand and placed it palm down on Josh’s forearm.
“Newsflash, Mom,” Megan hissed. “That was at her wedding.”
Her mother gave her an exasperated huff. “Reverend Snyder refuses to allow it as part of the ceremony. We’ll just do it here.” She looped the ribbon around Josh’s wrist.
“Mother!”
Josh grinned and gave her a shrug.
There was no way she could get out of it now.
Her mother wound the ribbon around their arms and hands, weaving it in and out and making knots in various places as she spoke to the crowd about the commitment of marriage and how it would bind them together forever, trailing off when she got to a difficult part of the binding.
“Can you hold this?” she finally asked Josh, handing him one end of the ribbon.
He looked like he was about to break into a fit of laughter, but he pressed his lips together as Megan’s mother fumbled with the other end. After two minutes, Megan and Josh’s arms were hopelessly tied and knotted together. Her mother beamed, holding her arms out as if she’d pulled off some great accomplishment, like curing cancer or creating the world in seven days. Instead she had manufactured a mess that Megan was certain nothing less than divine intervention or a pair of sharp scissors could undo.
The partygoers graced the bizarre performance with a weak round of applause, but if Nicole was disappointed, she didn’t let on. Megan’s mother started to pick at the knots—a hopeless task—but stopped when a woman approached her.
“Nicole, we have to go, but thank you so much for inviting us to such a beautiful party.” She glanced at Megan and Josh, her gaze dropping to their arms, which were trussed up like an unwanted Christmas present, before returning to their faces. “Congratulations to you both.”
“Let me walk you out,” her mother called after the woman.
“Mom!” When her mother didn’t so much as glance at them, Megan released a heavy sigh and gave Josh a sidelong glance.
An ornery grin spread across his face. “It may be a little late for this question, but how do you feel about bondage?”
Megan was grateful that the darkness hid the blush that rushed to her cheeks. “We need to find a pair of scissors.”
“We need to find someone else to use them,” he added. “We’re both right-handed.” He gave a tiny shake of their joined hands.
She wondered how he knew that for sure, then realized he must have noticed. What else had he noticed about her? “I’m sorry about this.”
“I think that may have honestly been one of the top five odd experiences in my life.” Jay might have said the same thing, but it would have been dripping with derision. She could tell that Josh was genuinely amused.
Despite her suggestion to find scissors, Megan tried to pick at one of the knots with her left hand. “Stick around a couple of days,” she said dryly. “I’m sure we’ll be able to trump your entire top ten list.”
“This is a good look for you, Megan.” Libby joined them, giggling. “You’re usually so straight-laced. Oh, wait. You are laced.”
Megan shot her a glare.
“But usually when a couple does the bondage thing, the woman’s mother isn’t the one tying them up.”
Josh burst out laughing.
“Shut up, Libby.” Megan chuckled in spite of her mortification. “Find some scissors.”
“I’m tempted to—”
“Scissors. Now.”
Libby took off for the kitchen, still laughing.
Megan looked around for her father, but she realized he’d taken off while her mother was busy hog-tying her to Josh. Gram was nowhere to be seen, but Kevin was making his way toward them with two glasses.
Still grinning, Josh took several steps backward to move them to the lower, currently unoccupied deck, then swept his left hand toward an outdoor loveseat and a coffee table tucked into a dark corner. “Would you care to sit down? I suspect this might take a few minutes.”
“Sure.”
He sat on the coffee table, holding her elbow to steady her as she sat on the seat in front of him.
“I’m so sorry,” she said again. “I had no idea she would do something like that.”
Kevin finally reached them and handed them each a glass. “This is for fortification. Good show, by the way. Do you do a matinee?”
“Oh, God. I’m so glad I don’t know any of those people.” Megan took a big gulp from her drink. Josh watched her, then sipped from his own.
“Not to worry,” Kevin said as he sat on the loveseat next to her, keeping his gaze on Josh. “You’ll get to see them all again on Saturday.”
“Saturday?” Megan asked before going in for another swallow of the fruity drink he’d brought her.
“Your wedding?”
Oh, shit. She choked on the drink and spit it out all over the front of Josh’s shirt.
His eyes widened in surprise, but then he started to laugh.
“I’m so sorry!” Megan gushed, starting to reach for his shirt before remembering she still had her drink in hand. She finished it off and handed the empty glass to Kevin. “I’m going to need another.”
Josh downed his and handed his glass to Kevin as well. “Make that two.”
“I’m gonna expect a huge tip.” He got up and headed down the steps to the patio.
Megan used her left hand to pat at Josh’s chest. “I am so sor—”
He cut her off, reaching behind her head and pulling her mouth to his. His kiss was soft and tentative, as though he expected her to pull away. She leaned into him instead, sliding the hand pressed to his chest up to the side of his face. His tongue ran along her lower lip and she gasped.
“Megan!” her mother called.
Josh lifted his head. The candlelight shone in his eyes, and she was grateful for the blatant desire she saw there. This wasn’t for show. This was real.
“Your mother’s calling,” he murmured.
Megan closed her eyes for a second and groaned. “I just want this party to be over.” She
lifted their still-joined arms. “And for us to be untied.”
He chuckled, then leaned in to kiss her again. “Being tied to you has been an interesting experience.”
“Megan! Come say goodbye to our guests!” her mother shouted from the other side of the pool.
Megan took comfort in the fact that her mother’s gaze was swinging around the yard in an attempt to locate them. She didn’t seem to notice them tucked into the corner.
“She expects us to interact with people while we’re tied up like this?” Josh asked, incredulous.
“I suspect she’s already forgotten that we are.”
“So what are the chances of hiding out here?”
“Not so great, since Kevin’s about to give us away.”
Sure enough, her brother, who was on his way back to them with two more drinks, had stopped beside their mother and was motioning to them. He gave Megan a huge grin.
“That sadistic bastard,” she mumbled.
He continued toward them, still grinning.
“Thanks for selling me out,” Megan grumbled, snatching a glass out of his hand. “What was that about?’
He put Josh’s drink on the table and leaned back, observing them for a moment, his smile having slipped away again. “I’m going to be brutally honest.”
Josh picked up the drink, then said wryly, “I’m glad you decided to give that a go.”
Megan had hardly eaten and the drink she’d guzzled down had already gone to her head. She giggled and Kevin shot her a dirty look.
“I don’t like you, Connors.” Kevin jabbed his finger into Josh’s chest. “You’ve treated my sister like shit for too long, and I’ve decided that I’m going to stop this wedding.”
Megan shook her head to clear it. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s a cold-blooded prick who doesn’t give a shit about you. I should have said something months ago, but I’m saying it now.”
“Kevin!” she said, standing up and pulling Josh with her. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know all too well what I’m talking about.” He stood. “I told you—Gram and I have been talking. We know what he’s like.” He waved his hand haphazardly toward Josh. “I know he ignores you most of the time in Seattle. I don’t know what this little display of affection is all about, but your audience here in the corner is practically nonexistent. Save the show for when it counts.”
The Substitute Page 11