The Substitute

by Denise Grover Swank

“Can you imagine the look on your mother’s face?”

  “I’d rather not.”

  The clerk handed back their driver’s licenses and told them she’d be right back.

  “What exactly am I supposed to get photos of?” the photographer asked.

  “The two of them filling out the application,” Nicole said, sounding disgruntled as she walked back into the small office waiting room.

  “I got that, so can I go?” he asked, looking at the clock at the wall.

  Megan’s mother rolled her eyes. “Fine, leave.”

  The man grabbed his bag, not even taking time to put his camera away. But the clerk was on her way back with the license and Nicole stopped him.

  “I want you to get a photo of them holding it.”

  “Maybe you should wait until tomorrow, Mom,” Megan suggested, casting a nervous glance at Josh. She must have been thinking the same thing he was. If they were taking photos of the license there was a good chance Knickers would see his real name. “When we actually sign it.”

  Megan’s mother gave her an exasperated look. “Oh, we’ll get that too. You can never have too many photos.”

  The clerk returned to the counter with the paperwork. “Here you go, Mr. Mc—”

  Josh reached for the paper, cutting her off. “Thank you.”

  Megan’s mother gave the clerk a strange look. “What did you start to call—?”

  “Mom,” Megan interrupted, putting an arm around her mother’s shoulders and squeezing as she pulled her away from the clerk. “How about you and I get a photo together?”

  “Really?” she asked, sounding shocked.

  “Of course,” Megan’s tone softened as she said it. Josh was surprised by how happy the older woman looked.

  The photographer shook his head and grimaced. Two days ago Josh might have reacted the same way, but now he was learning to take things in stride. The photographer snapped several shots—Josh joining halfway through—before Megan dropped her hold on her mother.

  “Thank you, Mr…?”

  “Steve,” the photographer supplied, picking up his bag off the chair.

  “Thank you, Steve.”

  “See you tomorrow,” he said, waving as he walked out the door.

  Josh saw Megan’s slight flinch, and he knew it was from guilt. How could he get her to agree to carry this on through tomorrow?

  Before he was even out the door, Knickers looked Megan and Josh up and down, her disapproval returning. “The rehearsal’s in two hours. You two better hurry home if you’re going to be at the gardens by six.”

  She grabbed the corner of the folded license in Josh’s hand and tugged, but Josh didn’t let go. “I’ll hold onto it until tomorrow.”

  “No, that’s okay.” He tugged back. “I’ve got it.”

  She pulled harder. “I think it’s better if I take it.”

  Josh didn’t want to get into a tug-of-war with Megan’s mother, but there was no way in hell he was letting Nicole Vandemeer take the marriage license, which included his full, proper name, with her. He pulled back. “No, Nicole. I insist.”

  The clerk stood behind the counter, her mouth hanging open. She shook herself out of her stupor. “If you rip that up, you’ll have to pay for a new one.”

  Josh and Megan had barely scrounged together the money to pay for the first one. He gave a hard jerk and pulled it free. Knickers gasped as she stumbled backward, righting herself before she fell over.

  Megan just watched the wrestling match with wide eyes.

  Holding the paper to his chest, Josh said, “Megan, your mom’s right, we better go if we’re going to get to the rehearsal in time.”

  She nodded, still speechless, and rushed toward the door, snagging Josh’s hand as she bolted. Nicole still hadn’t moved an inch—apparently frozen in place with shock—but she came to her senses as they hurried out the door.

  “Whatever you do, do not lose that paper.”

  Josh slowed down once they were halfway down the hallway, and Megan gave him a questioning glance.

  “She does realize we’re adults, doesn’t she?” His disbelief was bleeding into irritation. “Professional, fully functional adults.”

  Megan laughed as she opened the door to the stairwell. “Hello. Have you met my mother?”

  Josh followed her and let the door close behind him. “She accused me of potentially losing our marriage license, Megan. Who would lose their marriage license?”

  She stopped and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. “You’re pretty cute when you get all indignant like that.”

  He laughed, pulling her to his chest. “Cute, huh?”

  A playful grin spread across her face as she looked up at him and said in a mock serious tone, “Okay, you looked so sexy wrestling that paper from my fifty-eight-year-old mother.”

  He leaned his head back and laughed. “It wasn’t easy. She has an iron grip.”

  “Well, I’m glad you hung in there and won. I almost died when she tried to take it. That would have been a disaster.”

  His smile fell, and he searched her eyes. “What if she had gotten it?”

  She turned serious. “But she didn’t.”

  “What if she found out I wasn’t Jay?” He held his breath as he watched her inner battle play out on her face. He wasn’t sure why he was asking, except he still held out a cockeyed optimistic hope that they’d figure out a way to make this work when it was all said and done.

  She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his shoulder. “Josh.”

  His hand slid up her back, rubbing in slow circles. “It’s okay. Don’t answer that. I just…” His voice trailed off.

  “I know.”

  He leaned back and offered her a smile. “Let’s go get ready for our wedding rehearsal.”

  “You mean our breakup.”

  He didn’t answer. He’d lied to her enough. He didn’t feel like lying anymore.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Hours later, Josh was frustrated for so many reasons. He and Megan hadn’t counted on how badly Friday rush hour traffic would delay their drive to her parents’ home. Knickers had shown up only minutes behind them, along with everyone else, to get ready for the evening. Everyone congregated in the living room as Knickers barked out last-minute orders, as if she were in the marines with Kevin. Megan was already on edge, thinking dinner would be ground zero for their breakup, so when Knickers announced that he needed to pack his belongings because he wouldn’t be spending the night at the Vandemeer home, Megan flipped her shit.

  “What?”

  “Megan,” Knickers had said in her snooty, condescending tone. “It’s the night before your wedding. You can’t spend the night together.”

  Megan stood at the base of the stairs. “I’m a grown woman! I can make my own decisions!”

  Her mother pursed her lips with determination. “It’s already been decided. Your father and I have booked a hotel room for Josh.”

  “You can’t just decide on something like that without asking us first!” Megan shouted.

  Josh was proud of her for finally taking a stand, even if it was for a cause she had to see as pointless. She thought he was breaking up with her tonight, in which case he wouldn’t have stayed at the house anyway. But he worried that she was going to spill everything. That couldn’t happen yet…not when he and Noah were so close to getting the answers they needed.

  Josh put a hand on Megan’s arm. “Megan, it’s okay.”

  She turned to look up at him, tears in her eyes. “No it’s not, Josh.”

  Then it hit him. She was upset that he was leaving. Period. Relief seeped through him before the aftertaste of guilt bit in. While he was grateful for the confirmation that she wanted more with him, he hated to see her this upset.

  He pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay, Meggie,” he whispered in her ear as he stroked the back of her head. “We’ll work everything out. I promise.”

  She clung to him, and
in that moment he wanted nothing more than to run away with her. But he couldn’t, as much as it killed him. His employees were in trouble because of someone else’s wrongdoing, and they needed his help. “Nicole,” he said over the top of Megan’s head. “It’s fine. I’ll pack up before we leave, and I’ll have Noah take me to the hotel later.”

  “Noah’s welcome to stay here tonight, or he can stay with you if you’d like,” Knickers said.

  Noah stood next to the sofa, watching the scene unfold. Josh cast a glance toward his brother, who gave him a short shake of his head. They hadn’t found the original plans, so Noah probably wanted to search the basement. Finding the documents would spell game over for PMV Engineering; it would be proof enough to convince their investor to hang tight. “That’s okay. I’m going to be anxious and nervous. Noah won’t get any sleep if he stays with me.”

  Gram had been standing to the side watching. “I’ll go with him.”

  Knickers rolled her eyes. “Mother, you can’t stay with Josh at the hotel.”

  “He promised to help me with my research on nudist colonies in Belize. He hasn’t done it yet.”

  Josh couldn’t help but grin.

  “I bet he’d feel less anxious about the wedding if I kept him company. We could have a yoga session. It does wonders for stress.”

  Josh was pretty sure he’d be anxious about something else.

  “What do you have to feel nervous about, Josh?” Kevin asked with a sneer, leaning his shoulder against the doorjamb to the kitchen and crossing his arms over his chest. “Having second thoughts about marrying my sister?”

  Josh’s anger surged, but he tried to control it. This was Megan’s brother, after all; he needed to play nice for as long as possible. “When you get married, Kevin, we’ll talk. Then maybe you’ll have an idea.”

  He pulled Megan upstairs to her room so she could get ready and he could pack. She’d settled down some, but he could tell she was still fluttering with nervous energy. “We need to figure out how you’re going to break up with me.”

  Wrapping his arms around her, he tugged her to him. “Maybe we can put it off.”

  She pulled free. “How can we put it off? The wedding is tomorrow. We have to break up, Josh.”

  He hesitated, worried about pushing her, especially since she was already distraught. “What if we don’t?”

  She froze, her face a mask. “What does that mean?”

  He pulled her to the bed and sat down beside her, holding her hand. “Look, the wedding is paid for whether we get married or not, right?”

  She shook her head in confusion. “Well…yeah, but…”

  “Wait,” he said, a little more desperately than he would have liked. “Just hear me out, okay?”

  “Okay.” She looked uncertain.

  “What if we don’t break up tonight?” His brain scrambled to come up with a plan. He knew he needed one, but he had yet to think of anything that might actually work. “What if I break up with you before the wedding?”

  “You’re going to ditch me at the altar?” she asked in dismay. “Do you have any idea how humiliating that would be?”

  He hadn’t thought about it that way. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “Okay, what if we do go through with the wedding? It’s already paid for. Everyone might as well get their chicken dinners.”

  “But then we’ll be married!”

  “No,” Josh said, breathless. “Only if the marriage license gets sent to the courthouse. I’ll take it from the minister and make sure that doesn’t happen.”

  “But everyone will think we’re married.” She shook her head again. “Scratch that. They’ll think I’m married to Jay.”

  “Then tell them you got a divorce. Or an annulment. Or,” he gushed out, trying to figure out a solution, a way to buy himself more time for both of his dilemmas. “You can tell everyone the wedding wasn’t legal because we had a fight and I tore up the marriage license instead of sending it in.”

  “Josh.” She stood and turned to face him. “This is crazy.”

  He jumped to his feet in front of her. “I know.”

  “I don’t understand why we don’t just break up tonight…”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Do you really want to end this in a few hours?”

  “That’s beside the point.”

  He cradled her face with both hands and she covered his with her own. “No. It’s not. It is the point. Do you want to break up? Yes or no?”

  She released a heavy breath and looked down. “No.”

  He kissed her hard, then pulled back, surprised at his own building excitement. “I don’t want to either. So let’s not.”

  She shook her head again. “So you’re suggesting that we go through with the wedding?”

  “Meggie, I told you that I left this trip to fate. Maybe this is our fate. Maybe we’re supposed to do this.”

  “But…” He could tell she wasn’t sold yet, but he’d planted the seed and she hadn’t outright dismissed the idea. In fact, she’d been more receptive than he’d expected.

  “Don’t decide yet. Just think about it.”

  “But I don’t have time to think about it.”

  “You do. You have at least a couple of hours or so.” He searched her eyes. “I know it doesn’t sound like long, but just go with your gut, okay? You’ll know whether you want to go through with it or not.”

  “And if I decide I want you to break up with me tonight?”

  He searched her face. “Then we’ll set the wheels in motion. You only have to say the word.”

  ***

  Despite his dislike for Blair, Josh was happy she’d arrived for the rehearsal, if only because it so clearly pleased Megan. The tension in her shoulders eased when her friend showed up, but Blair let them both know she was on guard.

  “This in no way means I condone what you’re doing,” Blair said under her breath, just out of hearing distance of Knickers. The group was waiting in the parking lot for some last-minute stragglers, so everyone could enter the grounds together.

  Megan pulled her to one side of the lot, Libby and Josh following close behind.

  “So basically you’re here to spy on me,” Megan teased.

  A wicked gleam filled Blair’s eyes. “Pretty much.”

  “I can live with that.”

  “You’re always so cynical, Blair,” Libby said. “It’s almost like you don’t believe in marriage.” She looked around at the people gathered for the rehearsal, which included a few of Megan’s cousins and aunts and uncles. “Where is Neil, anyway?”

  The bridge of Blair’s nose scrunched with disapproval. “Neil is still at work. He’ll meet us later. Where’s your new boyfriend, Libs?” she asked, her tone barbed. “Mitch, is it?”

  Libby shot her a tolerant smile. “Mitch is meeting us at the restaurant too.”

  The gardens had rented out the chapel for another wedding that evening, so they were directed to the small lawn by the main entrance. Knickers told everyone what time they needed to show up for the wedding and where, although Josh was confused by some of the instructions. He could see the chapel on the other side of the pond and he overheard something about the rooms underneath, but he was too focused on Megan to give it much thought. She was jittery and wide-eyed as they all took their places for the run-through, and he knew exactly what was getting to her. This felt like a farce. A fake rehearsal on top of a fake wedding, made worse by the fact they had very real feelings for each other…and no idea if their relationship was about to meet its sell-by date. Hell, it was getting to him too, but she was a wild card at the moment, her nerves apparent enough to gain her mother’s attention.

  “Megan?” she asked as Megan took her place beside her father. Blair and Libby were getting ready to practice their walk down the aisle. “Care to join us here at the rehearsal? You’re obviously a million miles away.”

  Megan’s mouth opened as if to say something, then she took a deep breath and dropped her father’s ar
m. She took several steps into the center of the lawn, clasping her hands in front of her, her face paler than usual. “Actually, there’s something I have to tell you.” She lifted her gaze to Josh, who stood at the end of the imaginary aisle with Noah and Kevin, next to the sidewalk that led to the gardens.

  Josh’s eyes widened, and he shook his head slowly.

  She glanced down at her hands. “I…this…”

  Josh’s heart seized in his chest. How could he stop her? Should he stop her? This wasn’t some game they were playing, after all. He was screwing with her life. But truth be told, his business issues aside, he wasn’t ready to lose this woman. He was certain he’d never find anyone like her again. He didn’t even want to try.

  Libby rushed toward Megan and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “I think Megan’s got some pre-wedding jitters. We all know how this marching down the aisle thing works. How about we just skip it and go to dinner?”

  “No,” Kevin said, stepping away from Josh and Noah. “I don’t think that’s it at all.” He moved closer to her. “Megan, you don’t have to marry this dipshit. Come on, let’s go home.”

  Without replying to her brother—or even looking at him—Megan glanced up at Josh, her eyes glassy with unshed tears.

  Josh held his breath, clenching his fists at his sides as he silently pleaded with her.

  Relinquishing her position at the head of the group, Knickers marched to the center of the lawn, her imperiousness slightly undermined when her spiky heels sunk into the wet sod. She swung her legs in an exaggerated movement to break them loose of the earth. “Stop the wedding? Have you lost your mind, Kevin? I always expect you to be the sensible one.”

  “The sensible one?” Josh said, louder than he meant. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  Bart, who now stood several feet behind Megan, had a panicked look on his face. Things were spiraling out of control pretty quickly, and Josh could easily guess who would bear the brunt of it later.

  Finally reaching Megan, Kevin grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, his face red. “Mom, we’ve all sat back and let you ramrod this family for long enough. Enough.”