The Substitute (39 page)

Tears filled Libby’s eyes. “I can’t believe you’re getting married.”

“I’m not really getting married,” Megan gushed out.

“It looks like you are from where I’m standing,” Blair said.

“It’s not real. It’s all for Knickers, and she’s not even here to enjoy it.”

Libby squeezed her arm. “She’ll be here, Megs. Wild horses couldn’t keep her away.”

There was a knock at the door and Blair went to answer it, poking her head through the opening. She turned around with a scowl. “He wants to talk to you.” A tiny grin broke through her tough exterior. “And I suppose the fact you’re wearing the wedding dress means you want to talk to him too.” Blair tugged on Libby’s pink organza. “By the way, it’s not fair that you got to dump the fairy princess dress and we’re still stuck with ours.” Her eyes lit up with a devilish gleam. “But I’m getting married soon too, and paybacks are a bitch.”

They filed out of the room, leaving the door open to reveal Josh. He was gorgeous. He wore the black tux he’d tried on the day before, but today he looked different. Nervous, but there was something else she couldn’t put her finger on. He stood at the threshold, hesitating. “Can I come in?” he asked in a hoarse rasp.

She nodded, not trusting her voice.

He entered the room and shut the door behind him. He openly stared at her, his eyes wide in awe. “You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

She smiled softly, feeling shy in the spotlight of his unabashed wonderment. “You saw me wearing this yesterday.”

He shook his head. “Not like this.” He moved closer, stopping several feet in front of her. “You didn’t tell me to go to hell. I’m going to take that as a good sign.”

“I have some questions.”

He pressed his lips together. “Okay. Anything. Total honesty.”

She took a deep breath. “Did you know I’d be on that plane?”

He shook his head, his eyes pleading. “No. I had no idea…I didn’t have much of a plan either; I just knew Bart Vandemeer’s daughter was getting married. But I freely admit that I boarded the plane with the intention of finding evidence that your father’s firm stole my design.”

“
Your
design?”

His gaze held hers. “I came up with it, and Noah and I were working on funding and paperwork for the patent. Noah had a spare set of plans with him at a convention and he…lost them.”

“Lost them?”

He grimaced. “He slept with a woman and when he woke up the next morning, the bag and the plans were gone.”

She couldn’t believe her father would involve himself in such a thing, but two hours ago, she would have sworn an oath that her father wasn’t capable of cheating on her mother. “How do you know this isn’t some big coincidence?”

“Because when Noah was at your father’s firm yesterday, he saw a photo of the woman.” He paused. “She’s Drew Peterman’s fiancé.”

“Miriam?” Megan gasped. “I knew Drew was underhanded, but to have his girlfriend sleep with your brother…”

“So you believe me?”

“Of course I believe you, but I still don’t understand how you ended up as my substitute fiancé.”

“Everything I told you is true. I carried you out of the plane, and your mother heard me telling people you were my fiancée. I did try to correct her, but then your father introduced himself, and…I figured I was being given the chance to help us both out. I really did leave this trip up to fate, and it seemed like this giant gift had been delivered to me, wrapped up in a bow.” He took her hand in his. “I never meant to hurt or humiliate you. You have to believe me.”

She nodded. “So the reason you didn’t want to break up with me in the beginning was because you hadn’t found what you needed?”

“Yes, at first.”

“And then Noah came to help.”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“And then yesterday? When you used my father’s computer…?”

“I was ready to let the business die. After our night together, I knew I couldn’t lose you.”

“But something changed.”

“When I checked my email, I got a note from our business manager, Angie. She told me that an employee who’s been with the firm for over thirty years had a heart attack.” He swallowed and reached forward to squeeze her hand. “He’s counting on me, Megan. How will he survive if my business fails? I felt like I had to make a choice between saving him and the other people in my firm and my own happiness. I’ve sacrificed so much for this business, but I didn’t want to give you up. It ripped my heart out to even consider it—”

She closed the distance between them and kissed him. “You’re not giving me up.”

He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled her into a hug, kissing her softly for several seconds before releasing her.

“Do you have any hard evidence against my father’s company yet?”

Guilt flickered in his eyes. “No. Just circumstantial.”

She hesitated, not knowing if she wanted the answer to her next question. But she was tired of hiding from the truth. “Is my father involved?”

He didn’t answer and she pushed out a breath, trying not to cry.

“We don’t know, Megan. That’s circumstantial too.”

But there was a good chance he
was
involved somehow, and the thought nearly killed her. “How’d he pay for this wedding, Josh? My parents don’t have that kind of money.”

“I don’t know.”

She pressed her lips together and nodded, taking in a deep breath. “So we need to get the evidence to save your business, right?”

“
You want to help me?
”

“You have people depending on you, don’t you?”

“Well…yes…but…”

“Do you have a plan?”

He shook his head, as though letting the realization that Megan was there for him, that she wanted to help him, sink in. “Drew Peterman and his fiancée are supposedly coming to the wedding. Noah is going to pull her away and try to get her to confess to stealing the plans and capture it with a video recording. If we can get her confession, the rest falls into place.”

“And how does Noah plan to get her to confess?”

His face reddened. “He has his…methods.”

“Oh.” She was sure he did.

“Libby’s agreed to help him too. She’s going to record it all.” When her eyes widened in surprise, he added, “Noah stayed with her last night. Supposedly they’re BFFs now.”

“I heard. And what about you and Noah?”

He grimaced. “We’re working it out. He’s making an effort.”

“So if Libby and Noah are trying to get a confession, what is there for me to do? I want to help you.”

His eyes were soft as he smiled at her. “Your job is easy. You just be you.”

“And what’s
your
job in this?”

“To stand next to you and be the luckiest man in the world.”

Her face flushed. Were Libby and Blair right? Did he actually love her?

Did she love him?

She glanced down at her dress. “Thank you for this.”

“If we’re going through with this, I wanted today to be as wonderful for you as possible.” He started pacing, then stopped in front of her and said, “I have another gift, if you’ll accept it.”

Why was he so nervous? “Okay.”

He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a silver ring. The band was engraved with an intricate pattern. Two smaller but still good-sized diamonds flanked a large round diamond. “I don’t want to stand in front of all your mother’s friends and go through this ceremony with Jay Connors’ ring on your finger. Noah called our mother on the way to the rehearsal dinner last night—after he’d realized what a screw-up it was to sign that damned paper—and asked her to overnight this.” He held it in front of her. “This was part of my grandmother’s wedding set. I figured we could swap out his engagement ring for mine. There’s a wedding band too.” He searched her eyes. “And maybe when the ceremony is over, you’ll keep wearing the engagement ring.”

Her mouth dropped open in shock as he got down on one knee. “Megan Vandemeer, sitting by you on that plane was the best thing that ever happened to me. And when I thought about losing you, I was devastated. I don’t want to live without you. I don’t know how I fell in love with you so quickly, but I did. I know it’s probably too soon, and this is
so
unlike me, but I love you. I know deep in my gut that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

She laughed between her tears.

“Are those happy tears?” he asked, still on his knee. “Please tell me those are happy tears.”

She nodded.

“Is that a yes? You’re leaving me hanging, Meggie, and this floor is hard. But I’ll grovel if I have to. I’ll do anything to prove myself to you.”

“Yes. Yes.”

He stood and pulled her into his arms, kissing her until she forgot everything around them.

When she looked into his eyes, she smiled. “I love you too.”

He laughed. “I sure as hell hope so. You just agreed to marry me for real.”

Josh was more nervous than he’d expected. This was a fake wedding, arranged for his now-fiancée and another groom, so why was he so nervous?

Fake wedding or not, it felt incredibly real, especially since there was a real wedding in their near future. He knew Megan was worried that her parents wouldn’t arrive in time, and he wished his own mother were present. All he could do was hold Megan’s hand and stand by her side.

Megan and Josh waited behind the glass chapel and around the corner by the flower garden, out of sight of the guests who were being seated. Libby, Blair, Noah, and Kevin were with them. Josh was happy that Kevin’s animosity had softened, even if he wasn’t overly friendly. Noah kept grinning like a fool, as though he had something up his sleeve, and Libby, who was probably in the know since she and Noah were besties now, seemed perkier than usual. Josh pulled his brother to the side.

“What are you up to?” Josh asked, scrutinizing him while waiting for an answer.

Noah held out his hands. “What? I can’t be excited my baby brother is getting married?”

Josh leaned into his ear. “It’s not like this is our real wedding, Noah.” He stood upright. “But thanks for having Grandma’s rings sent.” He swallowed. “It means a lot, especially since she left them to you.”

Noah clapped his brother’s upper arm. “You and Megan deserve them and all the happiness that comes with them.” He glanced over his shoulder at the bride. “It looks good on her finger.”

Josh studied his brother before whispering, “She’s going to keep wearing it after the ceremony. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.”

He expected more surprise from his cynical brother, but Noah’s face lit up with a radiant smile. “That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time.”

“You—a firm believer that true love doesn’t exist—think me proposing to a woman I’ve known for four days is the best news you’ve heard in a long time?”

Noah shrugged, glancing at Libby, then back at him. “What can I say? I’ve been convinced this is true love. And I have to admit that I’ve never seen you happier.” He turned serious. “You deserve all this happiness and so much more, Josh.”

A lump clogged Josh’s throat. “Thanks, Noah.”

Noah shrugged again, an arrogant grin slowly spreading across his face as he straightened his tie. “I’ll try not to outshine you up there.”

“With that black eye?”

He winked his bruised eye, then winced, still grinning. “It only adds to my rugged charm.”

Josh’s gaze fell on Megan, once again stunned this woman who was so beautiful—inside and out—was his. “We’re both going to be outshone.”

Noah rested his hand on Josh’s shoulder, following his gaze. “I think you’re right about that one, little brother.”

Bart and Nicole arrived with minutes to spare—Nicole hopped up on painkillers, with an arm sling on her right side and an eyepatch on her left. The instant Megan saw her parents, all the tension drained from her body, leaving her with a radiant glow. She gave the go-ahead to start the wedding procession.

“Thanks for keeping me calm, but I’m good now.” Megan reached up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “See you at the altar, Mr. McMillan.”

Her mother’s unfocused eyes darted around. “Did she just call him Mr. McMillan?” But just then the usher came around the corner to lead her to her seat. Josh started to head for the chapel but stopped when he saw Nicole pull away from the usher and stumble toward her daughter. She was probably planning to give her an earful about letting Josh see her dress. This wedding might not be real, but he wasn’t going to let her mother screw this up for her any more than she already had.

Sensing that Megan’s mother was chemically impaired, the usher reached for her good arm to lead her away, but she shrugged him off again.

Josh was about to bolt toward them to intervene, but stopped when he heard Nicole’s first words. “You’re a good girl, Megan. I wanted you to have the perfect wedding. I’ve been a terrible mother to you, and I know it. This was my way of trying to make it up to you, but I went ahead and screwed that up too.”

“No, Mom.” She shook her head, tears glittering in her eyes. She looked up at Josh and he offered her a reassuring smile. All the drugs must have shook some warmth and affection from Megan’s mother, and he was relieved. Granted, Knickers hadn’t handled the wedding arrangements the best way, but as a gesture, it was appreciable.

“It’s the most beautiful wedding ever. Thank you,” Megan said, placing a hand on her mother’s good shoulder.

Assured that Megan was okay, Josh took his place at the altar of the all-glass chapel, the view of which overlooked the gardens. Knickers had outdone herself with the organza draping gracing the ends of each pew. Flowers were everywhere—roses in varying shades of white and pale pink. Josh hated to admit it, but Knickers’ wedding madness had paid off. The glass chapel was gorgeous on its own. The plethora of flowers made it stunning.

Kevin stood on the altar with him, and Noah stood in the best man position. He leaned over and whispered in Josh’s ear. “I know Knickers was worried about your side of the church being too bare.” He pointed to the right. “There’s a surprise for you.”