The Substitute (41 page)

Libby had his full attention. “Why am I suddenly scared?”

“There’s no reason to be scared,” Noah said. “It’s exactly what you wanted. Megan.”

Josh’s chest tightened. What had they done? “I already have Megan.”

“This is more permanent.” Looking pleased with himself, Noah slapped Josh’s arm. “Libby put your marriage license in the mail. I told you this was the real deal.”

Terror washed over him. What was Megan going to say? Would she think he tricked her in this too? “Get it back!”

“No can do, Joshy.” Noah laughed. “It’s a public mailbox. Breaking in is a federal offense.”

“
Fix this.
”

“It
is
fixed. It’s done.”

Josh turned back to the crowd, trying to sort through his options. Surely Megan wouldn’t hold it against him if he could get Noah and Libby to confess. His eye caught the man at the edge of the crowd. He studied him closer, thinking he’d seem him somewhere, then realized he looked like an actor on Dawson’s Creek. The guy stood on the periphery, his body stiff, as though he were looking for a fight. How did he know him?

Josh turned to Libby, his heart racing now. “Who
is
that guy?”

The man started to push his way none too gently through the crowd, heading straight for Megan.

“Oh, God,” Libby said, breathless. “It’s Jay.”

“Shit!” He took off running, his heartbeat pounding in his ears as he pushed people out of the way.

Megan was talking to her mother and several of her friends, oblivious to the booby trap headed toward her.

Jay reached her first. He grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.

“What the hell is going on here?” he shouted, still holding her arm.

She cried out in surprise and tried to pull out of his grasp, but he held on tight.

Finally reaching Megan, Josh positioned himself beside her, hands balling into fists at his sides. “Get your hand off her now.” His voice was calm, but it held a deadly edge.

Knickers appeared from behind him, livid at what she had to see as a wedding crasher—one who was accosting her daughter, no less. “Just who do you think you are?”

“Who am
I?
” Jay shouted, spittle flying out of his mouth. “
I
am Jay Connors.
The groom!
”

A collective gasp spread across the crowd.

“
What the hell is going on here, Megan?
” He jerked on her arm.

Josh wanted to beat the shit out of the dirtbag, but the guy had to let go of Megan first. “I’m warning you,” Josh said, taking a step forward. “Let go of her
now
.”

“Who the hell do you think
you
are?”

“I’m her
husband.
Now. Let. Her.
Go
.”

Josh weighed his options as the other man turned to face him, his mouth gaping wide open. He could try to deck Jay, but he didn’t want Megan to get caught in the middle. He heard someone come up behind him, and when he glanced back, he wasn’t surprised to see that Noah literally had his back.

Megan’s face was pale, and she cast a glance at her mother, then at her ex-fiancé. “Jay, let’s go somewhere more private, and I’ll explain.”

A black look washed over his face. “Oh, you’re going to explain all right.” He moved through the crowd, dragging Megan with him.

As Josh followed, he waved over Libby and Blair, who’d hurried over to them. “Call the police.”

Blair held up her phone. “Already done.”

Jay didn’t stop until he reached a concrete pad at the edge of the gardens. Josh took comfort in the fact that it was at least a somewhat private place. Not that this was a private moment. There were six people watching Jay maul Megan—Kevin had joined the group, looking like he was going to murder Jay Connors himself—but one look at Megan’s face told Josh how humiliated she was.

“Start talking, Megan.” Jay’s fury grew, and he jerked on her arm. “Who is this clown?”

Josh’s own temper raged and he started to lunge for the man out of instinct, but Noah held his arm and growled under his breath, “Not yet.”

Megan took a deep breath to keep from crying. “Josh.” She shot a glance at her mother. “Josh McMillan.”

Anger spread across Knickers’ face when she realized she’d been duped.

“
Josh,
” Jay said with a sneer. “Were you screwing him while we were together?”

“
What?
” she asked in horror, then her fear gave way to anger and she glared at him. “No, Jay. I’m not a cheating bastard like you are!”

“We broke up six weeks ago, Megan, and you’re marrying this—” he waved his hand toward Josh, “—this shithead. You’re telling me you weren’t
sleeping
with him all along?” He jerked on her arm again and she winced in pain.

Josh had about reached his limit. “If you care about her at all, let her go.”

“You mean care about her like
you
do?” He released a bitter laugh.

“I love her.” Josh held up his hands, pulling loose from Noah’s hold. “I wouldn’t dream of hurting her, but you’re hurting her now. So let her go, and we’ll talk about this like adults.”

Jay shook his head, seeming to just notice the others who’d trailed after them. “This doesn’t concern the rest of you of you. Everyone leave, but you.” He pointed at Josh.

Knickers’ face twisted with rage. “You are manhandling my daughter, you miscreant. Let go of her
now
.” She was a force to behold.

Jay’s gaze turned to Megan’s mother, and his grip loosened as if by instinct.

Megan took the opportunity to stomp on his foot and elbow him in stomach. Releasing her arm with an angry shout, Jay reached up to hit her.

Josh didn’t waste a second. He lunged for Jay, knocking him to the ground as Noah pulled Megan out of harm’s way.

“You son of a bitch! Keep your hands off my wife!” He swung at Jay, connecting with his jaw. “You never deserved her!” Jay pushed Josh away from him, then got to his feet and punched Josh in the stomach.

“Jay!” Megan shouted. “Leave him alone!” She tried to lunge for them, but Noah held her back.

Josh got two more punches in before the men broke apart and leered at each other.

“What do you want, Connors?” Josh asked, breathless. “Do you want her to say she cheated on you? Why? So you won’t feel like such a fool for letting her go?” He clenched his fist then flexed it. “That’s why you’re here in Kansas City, right? Because you realized what a complete idiot you were to cheat on her? Now she’s moved on, and you can’t accept responsibility for that, so it’s easier to blame her.” He stepped closer and jabbed his finger at Jay’s chest. “But that’s on you! You had two years to treat her right, but you were too stupid to see what you had.”

Jay’s face hardened. “She’s not yours.”

“We’re
married
. Deal with it.”

Jay swung at him again and Josh stepped backward and out of the way.

Hundreds of sprays of water suddenly shot straight up from the ground in a twenty-foot diameter. They pulsed, spraying on and off, completely drenching the two men.

So that explained the concrete pad.

Jay swung at him again and Josh took another step back, evading his fist.

“Enough!” Megan’s mother shouted, the authority in her voice unmistakable.

Both of them stopped and turned to face her, still standing in the oscillating water sprays.

“Jay Connors, you have five seconds to leave my sight. Never contact my daughter again.” Her eyes narrowed “And if you do, I will hunt you down all the way to the Pacific West and chop off important parts of you that you’d probably prefer to keep.”

His gaze shifted to Megan, a question in his eyes.

“We’re done, Jay,” she said without hesitation. “
Go.
”

Nicole’s voice was icy. “Your time starts now, Mr. Connors.”

“You’ll regret this someday, Megan,” he shouted.

“You keep telling yourself that.”

He stomped up the steps and toward the entrance to the gardens.

Bart appeared at the edge of the group, panting. “What happened?”

Knickers ignored her husband and turned her attention to Josh. “Mr. McMillan.”

He lifted his chin, shivering in his wet suit and trying not to feel like a grade school boy sent to the principal’s office. “Yes, Ma’am.”

“How long have you known my daughter?”

“Four days.”

“
Four days?
”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“You met on the plane?”

“Yes.”

“And you just got
married?
”

“Yes.”

Megan pulled free from Noah’s hold. “Mom, I can explain.”

“You can explain why you told me this man was Jay Connors.”

She hesitated, looking over at Josh. He nodded his encouragement.

Taking a deep breath, Megan turned toward her mother. “I broke up with Jay six weeks ago, and I was afraid to tell you.”

“Why?” her mother demanded. “Do you really think I would want you to marry a man who would cheat on you?”

Megan looked torn. “You kept telling me how much the wedding cost and that you couldn’t get refunds.”

The fury in her mother’s face dissolved into sorrow and her shoulders sagged. “You really think I’m that much of a monster?”

Megan started to say something, but kept her mouth shut.

“So you chose to marry a stranger rather than tell me your fiancé cheated on you?”

“We’re not married. It wasn’t real.”

Josh cringed. Things were about to get uglier. As if that were possible. He took several steps toward her and out of the fountain, water dripping from his hair onto his face. “Meggie, we are.”

Confusion wrinkled her brow. “We are what?”

His eyes pleaded with hers. “We’re married.”

She blinked. “What?”

“The marriage license got mailed in. We can’t get it back.”

“
What?
How?”

Libby raised her hand, a sheepish look washing over her face. “Me.”

“And me.” Noah stepped up next to her, as if presenting himself for punishment.

Libby stepped up beside him. “Josh didn’t know anything about it. We had just told him when Jay showed up.”

Josh knew he had to take control. “It doesn’t matter. As far as I’m concerned, this wedding couldn’t be any more real. I’m glad they mailed it in, but they should have consulted us first.” He searched Megan’s face, hoping to get a read on how she felt, but it remained expressionless. He decided to go for broke and took several steps toward Knickers, his hand extended as he presented his case. “I love her. I’ve never met anyone like her before, and I know it’s crazy. I
know
it
.
But it’s right too.”

Knickers watched him for several second before turning to Megan. “We can get this annulled.”

“What?” Josh asked in panic. Noah and Libby voiced their own protests too, but he was too distraught to register what they said.

Megan gasped. “You would do that?”

“Of course, I would do that.” Her no-nonsense countenance had returned, and she was ready to take charge once again. “You’re not stuck with this. I’ll take care of it.”

Megan looked between Josh and her mother and took a deep breath. “What if I want to be stuck with this?”

Josh leaned over his knees, weak from relief. “Oh, thank God,” he mumbled under his breath.

Knickers eyes widened. “Why on earth would you want that, Megan?”

“Because I love him.”

“How? You hardly know him.”

“I don’t know. I just do.”

“So you’re married to Josh McMillan?”

She gave him a bright smile that sucked his breath away. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

Two months later, Megan McMillan pushed open her apartment door, terrified she was too late. “Josh!”

“In the bedroom.”

She shut the door behind her and dropped her purse on the entry table before she hurried down the hall. Josh was bent over a suitcase, zipping it closed. “I got tied up at work, and I thought I missed you.” Her voice broke and she felt ridiculous. He might be flying to Kansas City, but she’d see him in two days.

Josh stood upright and turned to her, the look in his eyes making her tingle from head to toe. How could he always look at her with such wonder, as though he were seeing her for the first time?

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. When he lifted his head, he smoothed the hair back from her face, searching her eyes. “I think I should postpone my trip and leave when you can get away on Wednesday.”

“No, don’t be ridiculous,” she said, more for her benefit than his. “You have to be there tomorrow for the big meeting with the new investor. It was your idea to merge your business with my father’s. You have to be there to oversee everything.”

“You’re more important than some business meeting, Megan. Besides, Noah can take care of it.”

She snorted. “Noah? He can barely feed and clothe himself.”

“He’ll be there anyway. He’s flying with me.”

That was news to her. “Why? He hates business meetings.”

“I have a feeling it has something to do with Libby.”

“What? But she’s still with Mitch.”

He kissed her again, taking her breath away, along with all thoughts of Noah and Libby. Her knees weakened and he wrapped an arm around her back, holding her to his chest. “I really think I should postpone this trip,” he whispered huskily into her ear. “I’m not sure I can be away from you for two days. The longest we’ve been apart is twelve hours.”

She looked up at him and forced a smile. “Some people like Blair would find that nauseating.”

“Good thing we’re not like that.”

She looked down at his chest and smoothed several imaginary wrinkles from his shirt. “No.” She forced her voice to sound firm. “You need to go, and I can’t come with you today because of my meeting tomorrow. I’ll fly in on Wednesday for Blair’s wedding weekend like we planned.”

He sighed and placed a lingering kiss on her lips. “Being responsible sucks.”

She laughed. “I couldn’t agree more.”

“I’ll stay with your parents until I pick you up from the airport, then we’re staying in a hotel. Because after being away from you two nights, I can’t promise to be quiet in bed.”