The Substitute (19 page)

The woman held it open, looking like she wanted to crawl under a chair as Megan stormed out into the viewing area.

“Oh!” her mother squealed when Megan emerged. “The dress is gorgeous!”

Gram, who’d leaned her head back in the chair, let out a soft snore.

Libby stood on the small stage, her eyes alight with horror, although Megan wasn’t sure which dress had induced that reaction. Her friend was wearing a pale pink ballgown with a full crinoline skirt.

“What are these?” Megan asked, dropping the skirt with one hand and waving between Libby and herself.

Her mother looked surprised by her question. “Your dresses.”

“But these aren’t the dresses we ordered!”

Gram jerked awake. “What did I miss?”

Her mother shook her head in confusion. “I
told
you I decided to have a princess theme.”

“You said that was for the decorations!”

“I presumed you realized it meant your dress as well.” She narrowed her eyes. “Turn around. Why isn’t your dress zipped all the way?”

“Maybe because you ordered a size smaller than I actually wear!”

Her mother looked exasperated. “Most brides diet before their weddings, Megan!”

“Well, I’m not getting married!” Megan shouted.

As if on a puppeteer’s orders, their mouths dropped open in shock.

“What?” her mother asked.

Libby rushed toward Megan and hugged her arm. “She meant she’s not getting married in this dress.”

But Megan was done. The dress was the last straw. “No, Mom. That’s not it at all.”

Libby tugged on Megan’s arm and pulled her toward the dressing rooms.

Megan resisted. “No, it’s time to tell her the truth.”

A cell phone rang and Megan’s mother rolled her eyes and reached into her purse. “I don’t have time for hysterics. Libby, try to talk some sense into her while I take this call from the caterer.” She stood and walked out the front door.

“Megan, I really need to talk to you,” Libby said in a low, insistent voice.

Gram, who had been taking in the whole scene like it was prime-time reality-TV drama, watched them intently, but didn’t say a word.

Libby tugged again and Megan let her drag her into a large fitting room at the back of the store, where there were a couple of chairs and a full-length, three-paned mirror.

“What are you doing?” Libby whisper-shouted.

“I’m doing what I should have done in the first place. It’s time to tell her the truth.”

Libby stood in front of her, blocking her path. “Stop, Megan. Think this through.”

“That’s exactly what I should have done yesterday afternoon when I woke up with a fake fiancé.” Megan leaned into Libby’s face. “I can’t believe I’m in the middle of this!”

“I know. I know,” Libby said, rubbing her arm in a soothing gesture.

Megan sank into a chair, her massive skirt flopping up in her face. “She canceled my dress, Libby. My beautiful dress.”

Libby sat in the chair next to her, shoving Megan’s massive crinoline pile out of the way. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“That’s the only thing I wanted out of this wedding. This thing’s about to swallow me whole and suffocate me.”

“Megan, I shouldn’t have to say this, but that’s a pretty sad statement—your dress being the only thing you wanted, I mean, not the fact that this new dress is suffocating you. Although that’s pretty bad in and of itself.” Libby shook her head, her rich, dark waves rustling against her taffeta bodice. “You shouldn’t have agreed to marry what’s-his-name if you weren’t excited about it.”

She closed her eyes. “I know.”

“What were you thinking, anyway? He was a total jerkwad.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“That’s a lie and we both know it.”

Megan leaned her head back against the top of the seat. “It doesn’t matter anyway. What do I do now?”

“What do you want to do?”

“I suppose I should tell Mom what’s really going on.” She sat up again. “She might actually kill me. If so, you can have my granddad’s old cameras.”

Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Including the old Brownie?”

“Yep. That one too.”

Libby seemed to think about her answer before responding—perhaps trying to decide whether letting Knickers kill Megan was worth the vintage camera—but when she finally answered, she sounded more cheerful. “Honestly, Megs, at this point what does it matter if you tell her now or if you wait for Josh to break up with you tonight?”

Megan looked at her friend, her face blurry through her tears. “Because it’s dishonest.”

Libby took Megan’s hands in hers. “And Knickers was dishonest when she changed our dresses. Can you imagine if you were actually getting married and we had to wear these things?”

Megan shook her head and laughed wryly. “No. I can’t.”

“So we just accept what she did with the dresses, and I’ll tell Knickers you’re coming with me. We’ll get a drink to help you prepare for tonight. It’s your big Vandemeer family reunion, right?”

“Yeah,” Megan said in surprise. “How did you know?”

“Knickers Fed-Exed the itineraries to Blair and me.”

“
Of course
she did.” Megan smiled in spite of herself.

“Follow the path of least resistance. Let Josh break up with you later. You’ll be the victim instead of the party pooper.”

“Party pooper?” Megan cocked her head. “
Really?
”

“This wedding is a twenty-five-thousand-dollar party, isn’t it?”

Megan groaned. “Don’t remind me. In fact, she’s added so many embellishments since last fall, it’s probably double that by now.”

When she and Libby reemerged in the viewing room, Megan’s mother had returned, and was grumbling something about chicken.

“Is it free-range chicken?” Gram asked.

Megan’s mother scrunched her nose in confusion. “I don’t know.”

“I saw a special report on one of those news shows the other day, and now I’ll only eat free-range chicken. They pump those other birds full of hormones. I’ve been eating a lot of chicken lately and I woke up with a hot flash the other night.”

“That explains something about Gram’s libido,” Libby said under her breath.

“Mom—” Megan’s mother clenched her jaw, “—for the tenth time, it wasn’t a hot flash. Someone accidently turned the air conditioner off.”

“Well, I’m still only eating free-range birds. Are they free range?”

Megan’s mother waved her hand. “Yes, it’s free-range chicken. They’re arriving from Wyoming tomorrow, then checking into their hotel rooms later.”

Megan about fell over. Her mother made a joke!

Gram smiled. After spending all day with the older woman, Megan knew her game. Gram wasn’t senile—not even a bit. She was egging Knickers on.

They got back to the task at hand. Libby’s dress fit, so she disappeared to remove it while Megan’s mother tried to convince the alterations person to finish altering the dress before the next morning. At first the store employee claimed it wouldn’t be possible, but Nicole got her way the same way she usually did—by bullying everyone around her. Finally, the girl promised that the dress would be ready by noon the next day.

Guilt flooded through Megan as she watched the exchange. She didn’t feel too bad about inconveniencing her mother, but the employee was obviously going to have to put in some overtime to accommodate her mother’s demands. She started to say something, but Libby put her hand on Megan’s arm, stopping her. With lips pursed together, she slowly shook her head.

Remarkably, Knickers didn’t protest when Megan announced she was leaving with Libby. “I had hoped to get your hair done today, but they can’t fit you in until tomorrow. So go have some fun.”

Megan gaped at her for a moment, then took off before her mother changed her mind. Gram gave the two younger women a longing look as they headed to Libby’s car.

“Just remember to be home by five, Megan,” her mother called after her.

Megan felt amazingly free and lighthearted as Libby drove away in her Volkswagen convertible. But instead of going out for a drink, Megan suggested they go shopping. She hadn’t planned to attend any wedding festivities, so she’d brought the bare minimum in terms of dress clothes.

A few hours later Libby pulled into the driveway and stared at the house. “Do you think Josh is back?”

Megan gave her a look of surprise. “I guess not. Dad’s car isn’t in the driveway.” She’d been thinking about him all day, though she wasn’t about to admit she was disappointed he wasn’t back yet. If he was breaking up with her tonight, they only had a few more hours together. She couldn’t bear to think about it.

“Do you think Knickers would have a fit if I come in and hang out for awhile?”

“I think she’ll get over it,” Megan said cautiously. “Why?”

“Do I have to have a reason? I miss you. I haven’t seen you since last fall…and before that it had been two years.”

“Sorry. Of course you can come in. Blair’s just made me paranoid, I guess.”

“Unlike Blair, I approve of Mr. Sexy in a Pair of Jeans.”

Megan saw the curtain in the living room window shift. “I don’t think we can get away with sitting in your car until Josh shows up, which means we better go in.” Megan reached for the door handle. “I’m sure Mom’s got something for me to do.”

They walked through the front door and stopped in their tracks. Sitting on the sofa was a very good-looking stranger. He smiled as they came inside and gave Libby a once-over.
Typical
. Gram sat next to him, giving him a goofy grin.

Oh, Lord.
Gram was smitten.

But then, Megan could see why. He had thick dark brown hair and dark eyes that sparkled with the promise of trouble. Who was this guy?

“Megan.” Her mother was settled in the armchair next to the sofa. “I’ve been trying to call you for an hour.”

Megan glanced down at her purse, then back at her mother. “Oh. I think my phone died.” She gave the man a second look and scrunched her nose as she tried to place him. There was something vaguely familiar about him. Maybe his eyes? He couldn’t be a cousin, could he?

“Why didn’t you tell me Josh’s brother was coming after all?” her mother asked, her voice thick with irritation. She hated surprises.

But Megan was more surprised than any of them.

“What?” Megan took a step back and bumped into Libby’s chest.

The man stood and took a step toward her, offering his hand. “I’m Josh’s brother, Noah. It’s great to finally meet you, Megan. He’s told me so much about you.”

She took his hand, still in shock. But as she studied his face, she saw the resemblance. This man was related to Josh, all right. But how had he gotten here? And why?

He dropped Megan’s hand and Libby offered hers. “Hi, I’m Libby. Megan’s friend.”

His mouth spread into an appreciative grin and he held her hand longer than necessary. “My brother most certainly hasn’t told me about Megan’s friend Libby.”

Megan’s head cleared enough for her to try and figure out what was going on. She cast a glance at her clueless mother. “Josh didn’t mention you had changed your mind about coming.” Her eyes bored into his, but he simply smiled, completely unintimidated. Damn, he was good.

“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.”

“And it’s a good thing,” Megan’s mother said. “Josh’s side of the church is going to be abysmally bare.”

Noah shot Libby an ornery grin. “My job is to fill up one whole side of the church and have a little fun.”

Libby graced him with one of her sexiest smiles.

Someone was going to have to take a hose to the two of them, but she needed to deal with the bigger emergency first.

“We’ll have to figure out a way to include Noah in the wedding, of course.” Megan’s mother glared at her. “Really, Megan. A little advance notice would have been nice.”

Megan held her hands out at her sides. “I didn’t know he was coming. I didn’t even know he knew where Josh was!”

Her mother looked taken back. “What do you mean he didn’t know where Josh was? Why wouldn’t he?”

Noah sidled up next to her and slung an arm around her shoulders. “That’s cute, sis.”

Her eyes flew open. “Sis?”

“Once you and Joshy are married…” His words trailed off, then he turned to her mother. “What Megster meant was that I didn’t know he’d be with Bart at the office. Isn’t that right, Megster?”

She gritted her teeth. “Yeah. That’s right.”

Knickers tsked. “I hope we can get you a tux with this short notice. I better call the rental store.” She stood and moved to the kitchen. “If you’ll excuse me.”

Megan’s eyes narrowed and she was about to let loose a string of questions, peppered liberally with expletives, when she remembered her grandmother still on the sofa, hanging on to their every word.

“You look shocked,” Noah teased. “I hope you don’t mind me coming to my brother’s wedding.” He glanced over his shoulder at Gram and winked.

“I like this one,” Gram said, nodding her head. “Since you get Josh, I want to keep him.”

“He’s not staying, Gram,” Megan said with a sigh.

Megan’s mother emerged from the kitchen with the phone in her hand. “Of course Noah is staying at the house. Where would you have him go, Megan?”

That wasn’t what Megan meant, but now that her mother brought it up, the idea horrified her. He couldn’t stay in their house. In fact, she couldn’t think of one good reason for him to be here at all. “Is Josh expecting you?” Megan forced out, trying to hide her panic.

Noah gave a nonchalant shrug and a cocky grin. “Nah, I thought I’d surprise him. I suspect he’ll be beside himself.” He turned to Megan’s mother. “With happiness, of course. I told him I couldn’t come, but hey—he’s my little brother. I can’t let him get married without me standing there beside him.”

So he was one of those guys—the kind who thought he could show his mega-watt grin and every human with double X chromosomes would fall at his feet. Megan had met plenty of guys like Noah and she wasn’t impressed. But that wasn’t the real issue… What was his end game? Was he here to embarrass Josh?

Libby, on the other hand, appeared to fall for his schlocky charm. “And what a lovely surprise it is.” She shot Megan a side glance that told her Libby planned to use her own methods of persuasion to get answers, which filled Megan with relief.