The Substitute
Page 25
“Sure. Of course,” she said, but she wasn’t prepared for him to leave the table and go outside.
Why couldn’t he talk to his brother in front of her? But before she could think it through, her own phone rang again. She pulled it out, planning to take advantage of Josh being outside so she could tell Jay to take a flying leap. But it wasn’t him at all; it was Blair.
She answered, her tone sweeter than usual, “Hello, Blair.”
“Please tell me you’ve changed your mind.”
“About what?”
“The rehearsal dinner.” Megan could tell Blair was trying to be civil.
“I suggested pasta, but my mother insists on chicken, and you know Knickers, so no changing my mind about that.”
“Very funny.” Her sarcasm was heavier than usual. “Seriously, Megan. Just how far are you planning to take this?”
“This is going to end tonight, Blair. Calm down. It’s under control.”
“Calm down? You’re sleeping with a man who’s lying to your parents about his name…a man you’ve known for less than three days. Not to mention the fact that you’re asking me to come to a rehearsal for a wedding that’s not even taking place. Why should I calm down?”
“Who said I was sleeping with him?”
“Please. Don’t insult me. I can hear it in your voice.”
No wonder Blair was such a great divorce attorney. She was like a human lie detector. “My sex life is no one’s business but my own.”
“Maybe so, but it’s my job as a friend to point out when you’re being irresponsible.”
Megan remained silent, worried about what she’d say if she didn’t give herself a second to calm down. Several seconds of silence passed, but she still didn’t trust herself. “I think I better hang up before I say something I’ll regret.”
“Megan.” Blair’s tone softened, but it wasn’t enough to appease Megan.
“The rehearsal is at six at Powell Gardens. Come or don’t come. I’ll understand if you don’t.” Megan hung up before Blair could respond. She stared at the phone, wondering if she was being too hard on her friend. What would she do if their roles were reversed? Probably have Blair admitted for a psych evaluation.
Josh slid into his seat, not looking much happier than Megan.
“Everything okay with Noah?” she asked.
He scowled, but tried to force a smile. “Fine. Just a brother thing.”
He was obviously hiding something from her, but what business was it of hers?
He gestured toward the phone in her hand. “Another missed call?”
She shrugged. “Blair.”
“I take it that it didn’t go well?”
“Once again, she’s made it abundantly clear that she doesn’t approve of what we’re doing.”
He was silent for a moment. “You can’t really blame her, can you? She’s trying to be a good friend.”
“Whose side are you taking?” It was a complete turnaround from his previous attitude toward Blair.
“I’m not taking anyone’s side. But you’ve been friends with her for what? Ten years?”
“Over twenty.”
“Don’t throw that away on an asshole like me.”
She gaped at him. Where was this attitude coming from? “What did your brother say that bothered you so much?”
“Nothing.” He pulled his wallet out. “Shouldn’t we get going? We need to get a marriage license.”
She dug inside her purse and pulled out a credit card. “I said I’d pay for lunch, Josh.”
“Megan, will you just let me pay for it. Please.” His tone was shorter than he’d used with her before. What did she really know about him, though? Maybe this was normal for him.
No. She may have only known him for a short period of time, but she knew something was up. And it had to do with that phone call.
“Fine. I need to go to the restroom anyway.”
She went to the restroom and checked her own phone. Blair hadn’t called her back, but she felt a sudden urge to talk to Libby.
“Hey, Libs,” Megan said when she answered. “I just needed to hear a friendly voice.”
“Is Knickers that bad today? She must have been furious after your disappearing act last night. She was fit to be tied when she couldn’t find you two. Poor Noah got the third degree. And Knickers was even more furious when Noah couldn’t reach Josh’s phone.”
“Sorry to leave you with such a mess on your hands. And thanks for taking care of Noah.”
“Hey, if you ran off with Josh and had a good night, it was well worth it. And there’s no taking care of Noah. He’s a player, plain and simple.”
“So there’s nothing between you?”
“What? I’m dating Mitch.”
“I know, but…”
“No, Megan. There’s nothing between us. We’re friends. Friends who like to flirt, but friends nonetheless.”
“Is someone like Noah capable of being just friends with a woman?”
“That’s pretty judgmental, Knickers Junior.”
“I know you’re right, but you have to admit that you’ve met more than your fair share of men like him. How many of them have been good at having platonic female friends?”
“You hardly know Noah.”
“So I pegged him wrong?”
Libby paused a beat, then laughed. “No. You have him exactly right. But before you say anything else, I’ll just say our friendship is based on an alliance.”
“What alliance?”
“The goal of keeping you and Josh together.”
“I’m not pinning any hopes on a future just yet.”
“Why?”
“Look, today I’m just living for the moment. That’s the gift I was granted. I admit that I want more with him, but there are just too many variables in play for me to count on anything. And at the risk of beating a dead horse, we can’t forget how my mother’s going to react to all of this. You remember the mess with my Aunt Heather.”
Libby sighed. “Damn. I forgot about her. You’re in deep shit.”
“I know,” Megan said in defeat. “But it doesn’t matter. Josh has been wonderful all morning—even sticking up for me with Knickers—but he just took a call from Noah and now he’s acting cold and distant. I can’t help thinking Noah said something to make Josh have second thoughts about me.”
“Impossible. Noah wants you two together.”
“That’s weird, don’t you think? Noah doesn’t seem like the type of guy to play matchmaker.”
“It’s his kid brother and he knows you make him happy. That’s all it is. Quit being so suspicious or you’ll start to sound like Blair.”
“Very funny.”
“He likes you, Megan, and you like him too. I see the way you look at him. I’ve never seen you so taken with a guy, and Noah says the same is true of Josh.”
“It’s all just happening so fast, Libs. What am I supposed to do?”
“Just go with it for now. Fate put you together in the first place. It will keep you together. The fortune teller said so.”
Libby had always been the dreamer, while Blair was invariably the voice of reason. Both qualities were constantly at war in Megan. She wasn’t so certain fate would work everything out—and she definitely didn’t believe some fake fortune teller—but this one time she really hoped Libby was right.
“Go have fun with him. Just enjoy the ride, Megs. Stop stressing. It’ll all work out.”
“Well, fate only has until tonight.”
“Don’t throw this away,” Libby said, taking an uncharacteristic serious tone. “If you do, I have a feeling you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
That’s exactly what Megan was afraid of.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Josh signed the check and left the restaurant, then started to pace the sidewalk as he waited for Megan. Noah’s phone call had left him conflicted. He played it over again in his head, hoping for a better resolution.
Josh
had told Noah about Bart’s password and the suspicious email while they were in the dressing rooms at the tux shop. He’d no sooner picked up Noah’s phone call than his brother said, “She’s right. The password works on everything…everything but his personal email account. Is there any way you can quiz her to see if she knows of any alternate passwords?”
“No. That one was a fluke, and even if I could work it into a normal conversation, I suspect she wouldn’t know. She said it was the password he used for everything…so we’re screwed.”
“Slow down there,” Noah laughed. “We may have struck out there, but that doesn’t mean I came up empty-handed.”
It turned out that Noah had already made more progress in two hours at Bart Vandemeer’s office than Josh had made in a day. “Don’t ever become a detective, Joshy,” Noah chuckled. “You couldn’t investigate your way out of a paper bag.”
“Hey, I got the password.”
Noah just laughed. “Which you already admitted was a lucky fluke.”
“Who did you screw to get what you needed?” Josh asked dryly.
“While I’m flattered you think I could seduce someone so quickly during a weekday, and in an office to boot, that’s not how I did it.”
“So how did you do it?”
“Flattery and asking the right questions.”
“That’s great. Gloat all you want. What I really want to know is what you’ve found.”
“I think you might be right about Bart Vandemeer being a part of this.”
Josh’s heart sank. He had hoped to be wrong, even though the email seemed like pretty substantial evidence. “Why would you say that?”
“The bookkeeper let it slip that Bart has been siphoning money off the company. Thousands of dollars.”
“That’s no surprise. Nicole Vandemeer spent fifty-six grand on a wedding Megan didn’t even want.”
“Down boy. You nearly jumped down Nicole’s throat at the tuxedo rental store.”
“She deserved it.”
“Well, cool your outrage. You need to stay in that woman’s good graces.”
“Why?” Noah didn’t answer and an anxious ball formed in the pit of Josh’s stomach. “Noah? Why do I need to stay in the woman’s good graces?”
“You can’t break up with Vandemeer’s daughter tonight.”
A disarming mixture of relief and dismay washed through him. “Why not?”
“Because the partner’s son, Drew Peterman, is showing up for the wedding tomorrow. I saw a photo of him in the partner’s office with his fiancée.”
“Is that supposed to mean something? Do I really care who’s on the guest list?” Josh was still trying to decide whether postponing his inevitable breakup was a good thing or not.
“Peterman’s fiancée is the woman I slept with the night the plans disappeared.”
“Holy shit.”
“Exactly.” Noah sounded smug, not that Josh could blame him. It was a monumental find. Of course, Noah was the one who’d lost the plans to Drew Peterman’s fiancée in the first place.
“If Drew Peterman stole the plans, how does Bart Vandemeer come into play?”
“Bart’s been taking so much money from the company that the firm needs this patent to survive just like we do.”
“Shit. That’s the proof we need.” This should have made him happy, but all it did was make him nauseated.
“Yep. It’s shitty as hell, but it’s their firm or ours, and they didn’t play fair, so which one do you pick, Joshy?”
“You know damn well which one I pick.”
“Maybe, maybe not,” Noah murmured. “But all of this is to say that we need to be around tomorrow. I’m going to corner the fiancée and get her to admit she stole the plans.”
“How in God’s name do you propose to do that?”
“I have my ways, now you need to use yours. Convince Vandemeer’s daughter to keep the charade going.”
“We’re getting a marriage license this afternoon, Noah.”
“I heard.”
“I’m pretty damn sure you have to provide ID to apply. Megan’s mother is going to be there.”
“Take care of it.”
“That’s helpful.”
“Look, Josh. I know this is totally unlike you, but it’s obvious you like the girl, so keep playing house.” He paused and his voice softened. “Dude, I know I’ve sucked as a brother, and what I’m asking you to do sucks more than any of it all combined, but we need this. Think about Ted—yeah, I know about Ted. Where’s he going to be if we close our doors on Monday?”
Josh didn’t answer. He didn’t need to.
“Maybe you can get the happy ending you truly deserve, Josh, but for now we need you to keep this going.”
“I don’t think I can do that.” Josh’s voice cracked.
“You can and you will. Now I have to go. I’ll see you at the rehearsal.”
The conversation had sucked something out of Josh and he’d taken it out on Megan. She didn’t deserve any of this. Not her mother, not her cheating ex-fiancé, and especially not Josh and the havoc he brought with him.
Now, as he waited for her to join him, he wrestled with his conscience. The way he saw it, he had three options: One, tell her everything right now. Two, break up with her at the rehearsal dinner like they’d originally planned. Or three, follow through with Noah’s crazy plan. But what would happen then? Was he supposed to ditch her before the wedding?
She studied his face as she stepped out of the restaurant, probably trying to judge his temperament. Her brow was lowered with worry and cautiousness. He vowed to make this as easy on her as possible, but he had no idea what that entailed. So he followed his gut, which meant recapturing their earlier happiness.
He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms, kissing her with abandon, his deep fear of losing her fueling his passion.
Her hands clutched at his chest, trying to pull him closer, as his arm tightened around her back and his other hand nestled the nape of her neck. He could feel her pulse racing and the knowledge of how he affected her only turned him on more. But they were standing on a public sidewalk, and even if it wasn’t prime lunch time, they’d already made enough of an exhibition of themselves. He lifted his head, pleased to see she was just as breathless as he was.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his hand caressing her neck. “I was irritated with Noah and I took it out on you.”
“Josh, it’s okay.”
“It’s not, but I promise to try my best not to be an ass for the rest of the day.”
“Until tonight,” she said.
Rather than answering, he took the car keys from her hand. “Let’s go get a marriage license.”
As he drove to the courthouse, he reached over and interlaced his fingers with hers. She turned and offered him a soft smile and something in his chest felt warm and overwhelming. His hand squeezed hers tighter as he tried to decipher what he felt. He wasn’t big on hand-holding. It had always felt clingy and confining, yet here he was, not only instigating it, but enjoying it.
Using the map app on her phone, she gave him directions until he pulled into the parking lot of the gray stone building slightly after three-thirty. “My mother is going to have a fit that we were late.”
“Only by a few minutes.”
“It’s enough to release the kraken,” she teased.
As they walked to the building, he held her hand again, grateful that she didn’t seem to mind.
When they entered the office of the recorder of deeds, Megan’s mother was sitting in an ancient vinyl chair, drumming her fingers on the arm. Josh was surprised she’d sit on something so tacky and most likely germy, but maybe she’d wiped it down with an antibacterial wipe first. A very unhappy man who appeared to be in his thirties sat next to her. A camera bag rested on the floor at his feet. He shot a glare at the both of them, then glanced at the phone in his hand.
“Hello again, Mom,” Megan said with a cheerful tone.
“Only by a few minutes.”
“Every minute counts. The office closes at four.”
“So why didn’t we do this sooner?”
“This is the only time the photographer could come.”
Megan turned her attention to the man who now stood behind her mother. She extended her hand to him, most likely as a peace offering. “Hi, I’m Megan. Thanks for indulging my mother’s eccentricities.”
She winked and he laughed and winked back, his mood visibly lightening.
Josh offered the man his own hand. “I’m Josh. The groom.” He hadn’t meant to add that part, but he hadn’t liked the way the photographer was acting with her.
What the hell? He’d never been jealous of previous girlfriends. But he had more serious issues to deal with than self-analysis—like the fact that he was here to not only file for a very real marriage license, but he had to keep his real last name a secret from the other two people in room besides Megan.
They approached the counter and filled out the application, the photographer taking photos of them. Megan seemed irritated, but Josh was more concerned someone would announce his real last name and blow his cover.
A clerk took the application and their driver’s licenses. “That will be fifty-one dollars,” she said, giving them an expectant look.
“Do you take a credit or debit card?” Josh asked.
The woman’s mouth pursed with disapproval. “Cash only. Exact change. It’s very clearly stated on the website.”
Megan looked up at him, her eyes wide. There went his hope that she was prepared. He was surprised that Nicole hadn’t already slapped the bills on the counter in anticipation of their ill-preparedness. Apparently, even she had her limits. But she’d slipped out the door, presumably to the restroom, and the photographer felt no need to pony up.
Megan and Josh started digging through their wallets and together they managed to come up with the exact amount. When they found the last quarter, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“I didn’t think we were going to make it,” Megan said, shaking her head as she closed her wallet.