The Substitute (24 page)

He lay on his back with Megan on top of him, his arms wrapped around her back. Her head was nestled in the crook of his arm and her hand on his chest, her fingertips circling lightly over his sternum. They were naked on a bluff overlooking a lake. Although it was nighttime, someone could still stumble upon them, but he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. Now that they’d actually done this, now that he knew with certainty how perfect they really were for each other, he wished they could just leave this whole mess behind and run away somewhere together, somewhere no one knew them or their problems.

She released a contented sigh. “I want to forget about the wedding that’s supposed to take place in less than two days and just be in this moment.”

His arm tightened around her.

“The only thing in my life that makes sense right now is you,” she continued.

“How do
I
make sense?”

“That’s just it, I don’t know. I only know this feels more right than anything else. Ever.” She lifted her head and grinned. “Who falls this hard for a guy within twenty-four hours of meeting him?”

“Lots of people fall in love at first sight. My parents did.”

She blinked in surprise. “Your parents fell in love at first sight?”

He grabbed a strand of her hair that brushed over his bare chest. “So they claim. And they were happily married for twenty-one years.”

“Well, this isn’t love at first sight,” she grinned against his lips. “More like lust.” She kissed him with a passion that showed him how much she still wanted him.

Was she right? Was what he was feeling no more than lust? Did he have to put a label on it? He only knew the rapidly approaching wedding spelled a likely end for their new relationship…and the extracurricular sleuthing he and Noah were doing amped that “likely” up to a “certainly.” He was more determined than ever to come clean in the hopes she would forgive him, not that he deserved it. But even Libby had told him Megan wore her heart on her sleeve. Maybe she would understand his desperation. Well, he wasn’t sure how to fix the mess he’d created but he didn’t need a solution right this minute. While the likelihood of losing her was higher than not, he had a choice to make: He could start mourning his impending loss of her now, or he could spend every minute with her while he could.

He chose the latter.

He rolled her onto her back and she giggled as he lowered his face to her neck. “So what are your plans, Ms. Vandemeer? Are we going back to your parents’ house?”

“Oh, God, no.”

“So we’re camping under the stars?”

“Unless you have a better idea.”

“I can’t think of a single one.” He pushed up on his elbow. “But we either need to get dressed or cover up with your blanket. Unless you’re a nudist like your gram.”

She laughed. “I’m not, but getting dressed is a waste of time, don’t you think?” The sparkle in her eyes made it impossible not to kiss her.

“See?” she said. “You just proved my point. Besides, this spot can only be accessed from the campsite and no one’s going to try camping here now that my car’s parked there.”

He grabbed the blanket and spread it across them, glancing back at the trail they’d used to get to the clearing.

“I think we’re safe, Josh,” she teased. “You’re awfully uptight. Maybe Gram’s right. Maybe you
are
a prude.”

“You realize that sounds like a challenge…?”

She laughed. “Take it as you will. Still, we’re safe from prying eyes. Unless we count the monstrous raccoons.” She cocked an eyebrow. “You don’t happen to have any food in your pockets, do you?”

“Nope.”

“Then we’re good.”

She rolled on her side to face him. “So tell me more about your family. Is it anything like mine?”

“No offense, Megan, but I don’t think there’s any family like yours.”

She laughed. “Fair enough.”

“Why do you let her get to you so much?” Her smile faded and he was instantly sorry he asked, but he was curious to know. “On the plane you took on that flight attendant without a second thought. Your job is to fight corporations bent on deforestation. Hell, you’ll take on a wild raccoon—” his voice softened, “—but you won’t stand up to your mother.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “That’s such a contradiction to the woman I’ve gotten to know…the woman the rest of the world sees. I just don’t get it.”

She worried her bottom lip with her upper teeth, then looked into his eyes. “It’s not that easy to answer, Josh.”

“Then try.”

She took a deep breath and pushed it out, looking sadder by the millisecond.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, running his hand down her arm. “It’s none of my business.”

A wry smile twisted her mouth. “That’s not exactly true, is it? My inability to stand up to my mother has gotten you into this strange situation.”

He grinned, leaning in to kiss her. “I kind of like where I am right now.”

She pushed him onto his back and leaned her breasts against his bare chest. He felt himself stirring again—the sight of her bare curves driving him crazy.

“I kind of like where I am right now too.” She brushed her lips against his. “The funny thing is, she was different when I was a kid. She laughed and had fun. She was a regular mom for the most part. But then when I was in middle school, she changed. Like a light switch from off to on. She became obsessed with everything being perfect.” She forced a tight smile. “But nothing’s perfect, you know?”

Watching her now, he considered arguing with her statement. She looked as near to perfect as he could imagine. “Perfection is difficult to reach and impossible to maintain.”

“Exactly. Which is why she constantly found me lacking. I didn’t suit her new view of perfection. At first I was too stunned to argue, so I said nothing. All of us did, really. Kevin and I were stunned that our mother was gone and this Stepford wife had taken her place. Kevin got involved in sports. My dad took up camping and fishing, and for a while I was the one to deal with her on a regular basis. But I didn’t. I retreated. Then after a while I guess I learned that it’s always been easier not to fight her. No one ever goes against her and wins. Ever. She’s beaten us down enough times that we’ve just stopped trying. I moved to Seattle to get away from her. I’ve never seen my dad more crushed than the day I told him I was moving away. I think he instinctively knew I wouldn’t be back much.”

“But what about Libby and Blair?”

“Collateral damage.”

Josh’s mother had always been supportive and loving. How would he handle it if she flipped a switch like Nicole Vandemeer had done? What had happened to turn her against her family?

“No more talk about my mother.” Her hand slipped into his hair and her face hovered over his, her eyes bright and large. “You were a hero tonight.”

“What?”

“You probably think no one noticed in all the madness, but I did. You saved my cousin. She was drowning and you jumped in and saved her.”

He shook his head, cringing. “It wasn’t anything. Anyone could have done it.”

“But
you
did.”

“I suspect Noah wishes I’d left her at the bottom of the pool after the way she bit him.”

Megan tilted her head back and laughed, and Josh decided the sound of her laugh was the happiest sound that had ever existed. “Nevertheless, you saved her. You saved me too. I’m surprised you don’t have a superhero costume on under your clothes.”

“I did,” he teased. “But spandex shrinks in water, so I had to hang it over the shower rod in your bathroom. I hope no one comes in and learns my secret.”

She laughed again, straddling his waist and leaning over him, her hair tumbling over her shoulders. “If we ever go back, will you try it on for me?”

“
If
we go back?”

Her smile softened. “We could run away together—just you and me—and never look back.”

Her thoughts so echoed his own that he couldn’t help but smile. “Do we end up in Seattle when we reach the end of our trip, or do we stay on some tropical island somewhere?”

“It depends. Does this island include Gram’s nudist colony?”

“God, no.”

“Hmm… Just how good are you at making coconut drinks?” Her eyebrows lifted playfully as she asked the question. When he started to answer, she kissed him to stop his answer. “It’s a trick question, so think carefully first.” Then she laughed again, sitting up.

He sat up too, grabbing her hips and settling her on his thighs. The nearness of her drove him crazy and made his thoughts stray from their conversation. “I’m going to guess that you hate coconut, so I should probably answer that I make killer margaritas.”

She laughed again. “I knew you were smart.”

“The question of my intelligence is yet to be decided, but I think agreeing to be your substitute fiancé was the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“I don’t remember asking,” she teased.

“I have lots of things to offer that you might not have even considered.”

Her eyes flew open in mock surprise. “You’re full of talk, aren’t you?”

He laughed. “I’ll be happy to demonstrate.”

The amusement on her face faded. She grabbed his face in her hands and gave him a deep, lazy kiss that reached down to his soul, stirring a longing of which he’d never believed himself capable.

He wrapped an arm around her, his hand splaying on her back as he held her close. “I think I could spend the rest of my life with you and never get my fill.”

She kissed him again, this time with more urgency. In only a few minutes he was inside her again, keeping her on his lap this time. The blanket was down by his feet, leaving her clothed in nothing but moonlight and sweat. Her hands dug into his shoulders and her eyes closed in pleasure as she arched her back, trying to push him deeper with each movement. Several strands of hair clung to her shoulders, but the rest hung behind her. He held her hips as she rode him with increasing urgency, and in that perfect moment he was sure of two things. One, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever known, and two, there was no way he could walk away from her. And since he saw no way to be honest with her, to work out the tangled web he’d spent the past day weaving, he was in deep, deep trouble. His only hope was for a miracle.

But no matter what, she was his for tonight and he wasn’t going to waste a single minute.

Megan awoke in Josh’s arms. She expected to be more startled by that fact, but lying next to him felt like the most natural thing in the world. He was on his back, an arm stretched over his eyes to block out the sun.

She watched his chest rise and fall. He had a very nice chest—hard muscles covered with just a little hair but not too much. The edge of the blanket rested above his waist and she saw a hint of his abdomen. She knew what lay under the blanket and memories of the night before rushed back, making her burn, but not with embarrassment. Not for one minute did she regret sleeping with him. What happened next was a whole lot trickier. She liked him. A lot. She lusted for him. A lot. She wanted him like she’d never wanted anyone. He made her laugh and made her feel lighthearted, and part of her cringed when she let herself look toward tomorrow.

Would they have a tomorrow? After Josh broke up with her and her family sent him back to Seattle. Back to her adopted home town. She was smart enough to realize that Josh was a forever kind of guy. But they’d gone along with this deception for so long, how could she step back and say, “Sorry everyone, this was all one big mistake”?

***

“Hey,” Josh murmured sleepily, cracking his eyes open. “I know you’re probably into those
Twilight
books and movies, but it’s actually kind of creepy for someone to watch another person sleep all night.”

“You think I spent the night watching you sleep?” She buried her face in the crook of his neck, her mouth finding his earlobe.

“Did we even have much of a chance to sleep?” he asked, rolling onto his side to face her.

“Not much.”

He laughed. “Good thing you’re on the pill, or we would’ve had to make a midnight run for more condoms.” His eyes blinked open sleepily and a smile spread across his face. “Good morning.”

She smiled back. “Yes it is.”

“You’re not one of those happy morning people, are you?” he murmured. “Because if you are, I may have to end this fake engagement right now.”

“Let me guess, you don’t function until after a cup of coffee?”

“Actually it’s two cups. And yes. Coffee is the elixir of the gods.”

Her brown eyes danced in amusement. “Are you calling yourself a god now?”

“You were a participant in last night’s activities, so you tell me.”

She laughed and settled her face into his chest. An ache filled his heart as he held her close, stroking her hair. He had to figure a way out of this. Could they just come clean and tell her family the truth, making it into a funny story? One thing was for sure: Her mother would never forgive them. Megan’s mother’s opinion was important to her, no matter what she claimed. And that wasn’t even taking into account the problem of Bart Vandemeer’s business.

What a screwed-up mess.

“How about I take you out for breakfast?” he asked, trying to keep his tone light.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked, her voice muffled.

He leaned back, tipping her chin up to look at him. “Megan Vandemeer, would you do me the honor of letting me escort you to the International House of Pancakes?”

Her laughter lit her eyes. “How can I refuse such a gallant request? But I’m warning you that I’m a big breakfast eater—much to my mother’s dismay—so don’t expect me to order an egg-white omelet and black coffee.”

He tried to keep his face serious. “I wouldn’t dream of letting you order anything smaller than the Breakfast Sampler Plate.”

“The fact you can name an item on the menu has me a little frightened. I’ll agree to go out to breakfast with you, but I get to pick the place.”

“Deal.” He sat up, pulling the blanket down and leaving them both exposed from the waist up. “Although I might want something else first.”