The Substitute (31 page)

When they got back into the car, Josh told her that he’d changed his mind. He wanted to get a phone after all.

She told herself it didn’t mean anything, but somehow she sensed it did.

Nevertheless, his earlier distance was gone. She stopped at a phone store next to the shopping mall and stayed with him while he picked out his replacement. He touched her nonstop—either holding her hand or putting an arm around her. And she teased him about how he’d told her earlier in the morning that he was going to be the attentive boyfriend she would either love or hate.

“And which is it so far?” he asked with a grin.

She lifted her eyebrows playfully. “I’ll let you know later, but I have no complaints so far.”

He snaked an arm around her back and pulled her close, searching her eyes.

“You two are so cute,” the sales girl gushed. “It’s so wonderful to see couples in love.”

She expected Josh to pull away or protest, but he only pulled her closer and placed a sweet kiss on her forehead.

In love? It was too soon to make that kind of pronouncement, yet there was no denying she was heading there fast. What if they didn’t go past tonight? How would she live with that? But something told her focusing on the future would be a mistake if it meant missing out on the present.

They left the store and she drove him to a crummy little strip mall, refusing to tell him where they were headed until she parked. “Don’t let the exterior fool you,” she said, pointing at the sign. Faded cartoon characters adorned the sign. A man on a horse carrying a Mexican flag was next to a man with a huge handlebar mustache holding a set of maracas. A third man was about to take a bite out of a huge taco. “Three Amigos has the best Mexican food I’ve ever eaten. And they make great margaritas too.”

“You don’t have to sell me on it. We’re already here. And I’m starving, so let’s go get a table.”

Fifteen minutes later, their orders were in and Megan had already polished off one margarita and, after Josh’s assurance he’d drive to the courthouse, asked for a second one. They had fallen back into their lightheartedness from earlier when Megan’s phone rang. “It’s probably my mother making sure I haven’t run off again,” she said, faking a cringe. But when she saw the name on the screen, her smile fell. Why was Jay calling her again?

“Is it your mother?”

She silenced the ringer and stuffed it back into her purse. “It doesn’t matter. You were telling me a story about your brother scratching your name in the side of your mother’s car with a key when you were kids.”

He studied her for a moment and she wondered if he suspected something, but he resumed his story.

They had finished their lunch, Megan had polished off her second drink, and they were sharing fried ice cream when Josh pulled his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. He set his spoon on the table. “It’s Noah. I better take it.”

“Sure. Of course,” she said, but she wasn’t prepared for him to leave the table and go outside.

Why couldn’t he talk to his brother in front of her? But before she could think it through, her own phone rang again. She pulled it out, planning to take advantage of Josh being outside so she could tell Jay to take a flying leap. But it wasn’t him at all; it was Blair.

She answered, her tone sweeter than usual, “Hello, Blair.”

“Please tell me you’ve changed your mind.”

“About what?”

“The rehearsal dinner.” Megan could tell Blair was trying to be civil.

“I suggested pasta, but my mother insists on chicken, and you know Knickers, so no changing my mind about that.”

“Very funny.” Her sarcasm was heavier than usual. “Seriously, Megan. Just how far are you planning to take this?”

“This is going to end tonight, Blair. Calm down. It’s under control.”

“
Calm down?
You’re sleeping with a man who’s lying to your parents about his name…a man you’ve known for less than three days. Not to mention the fact that you’re asking me to come to a rehearsal for a wedding that’s not even taking place. Why should I
calm down?
”

“Who said I was sleeping with him?”

“Please. Don’t insult me. I can hear it in your voice.”

No wonder Blair was such a great divorce attorney. She was like a human lie detector. “My sex life is no one’s business but my own.”

“Maybe so, but it’s my job as a friend to point out when you’re being irresponsible.”

Megan remained silent, worried about what she’d say if she didn’t give herself a second to calm down. Several seconds of silence passed, but she still didn’t trust herself. “I think I better hang up before I say something I’ll regret.”

“Megan.” Blair’s tone softened, but it wasn’t enough to appease Megan.

“The rehearsal is at six at Powell Gardens. Come or don’t come. I’ll understand if you don’t.” Megan hung up before Blair could respond. She stared at the phone, wondering if she was being too hard on her friend. What would she do if their roles were reversed? Probably have Blair admitted for a psych evaluation.

Josh slid into his seat, not looking much happier than Megan.

“Everything okay with Noah?” she asked.

He scowled, but tried to force a smile. “Fine. Just a brother thing.”

He was obviously hiding something from her, but what business was it of hers?

He gestured toward the phone in her hand. “Another missed call?”

She shrugged. “Blair.”

“I take it that it didn’t go well?”

“Once again, she’s made it abundantly clear that she doesn’t approve of what we’re doing.”

He was silent for a moment. “You can’t really blame her, can you? She’s trying to be a good friend.”

“Whose side are you taking?” It was a complete turnaround from his previous attitude toward Blair.

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. But you’ve been friends with her for what? Ten years?”

“Over twenty.”

“Don’t throw that away on an asshole like me.”

She gaped at him. Where was this attitude coming from? “What did your brother say that bothered you so much?”

“Nothing.” He pulled his wallet out. “Shouldn’t we get going? We need to get a marriage license.”

She dug inside her purse and pulled out a credit card. “I said I’d pay for lunch, Josh.”

“Megan, will you just let me pay for it.
Please.
” His tone was shorter than he’d used with her before. What did she really know about him, though? Maybe this was normal for him.

No. She may have only known him for a short period of time, but she knew something was up. And it had to do with that phone call.

“Fine. I need to go to the restroom anyway.”

She went to the restroom and checked her own phone. Blair hadn’t called her back, but she felt a sudden urge to talk to Libby.

“Hey, Libs,” Megan said when she answered. “I just needed to hear a friendly voice.”

“Is Knickers that bad today? She must have been furious after your disappearing act last night. She was fit to be tied when she couldn’t find you two. Poor Noah got the third degree. And Knickers was even more furious when Noah couldn’t reach Josh’s phone.”

“Sorry to leave you with such a mess on your hands. And thanks for taking care of Noah.”

“Hey, if you ran off with Josh and had a good night, it was well worth it. And there’s no taking care of Noah. He’s a player, plain and simple.”

“So there’s nothing between you?”

“What? I’m dating Mitch.”

“I know, but…”

“No, Megan. There’s nothing between us. We’re friends. Friends who like to flirt, but friends nonetheless.”

“Is someone like Noah capable of being just friends with a woman?”

“That’s pretty judgmental, Knickers Junior.”

“I know you’re right, but you have to admit that you’ve met more than your fair share of men like him. How many of them have been good at having platonic female friends?”

“You hardly know Noah.”

“So I pegged him wrong?”

Libby paused a beat, then laughed. “No. You have him exactly right. But before you say anything else, I’ll just say our friendship is based on an alliance.”

“What alliance?”

“The goal of keeping you and Josh together.”

“I’m not pinning any hopes on a future just yet.”

“Why?”

“Look, today I’m just living for the moment. That’s the gift I was granted. I admit that I want more with him, but there are just too many variables in play for me to count on anything. And at the risk of beating a dead horse, we can’t forget how my mother’s going to react to all of this. You remember the mess with my Aunt Heather.”

Libby sighed. “Damn. I forgot about her. You’re in deep shit.”

“I know,” Megan said in defeat. “But it doesn’t matter. Josh has been wonderful all morning—even sticking up for me with Knickers—but he just took a call from Noah and now he’s acting cold and distant. I can’t help thinking Noah said something to make Josh have second thoughts about me.”

“Impossible. Noah wants you two together.”

“That’s weird, don’t you think? Noah doesn’t seem like the type of guy to play matchmaker.”

“It’s his kid brother and he knows you make him happy. That’s all it is. Quit being so suspicious or you’ll start to sound like Blair.”

“Very funny.”

“He likes you, Megan, and you like him too. I see the way you look at him. I’ve never seen you so taken with a guy, and Noah says the same is true of Josh.”

“It’s all just happening so fast, Libs. What am I supposed to do?”

“Just go with it for now. Fate put you together in the first place. It will keep you together. The fortune teller said so.”

Libby had always been the dreamer, while Blair was invariably the voice of reason. Both qualities were constantly at war in Megan. She wasn’t so certain fate would work everything out—and she definitely didn’t believe some fake fortune teller—but this one time she really hoped Libby was right.

“Go have fun with him. Just enjoy the ride, Megs. Stop stressing. It’ll all work out.”

“Well, fate only has until tonight.”

“Don’t throw this away,” Libby said, taking an uncharacteristic serious tone. “If you do, I have a feeling you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

That’s exactly what Megan was afraid of.

Josh signed the check and left the restaurant, then started to pace the sidewalk as he waited for Megan. Noah’s phone call had left him conflicted. He played it over again in his head, hoping for a better resolution.

Josh had told Noah about Bart’s password and the suspicious email while they were in the dressing rooms at the tux shop. He’d no sooner picked up Noah’s phone call than his brother said, “She’s right. The password works on everything…everything but his personal email account. Is there any way you can quiz her to see if she knows of any alternate passwords?”

“No. That one was a fluke, and even if I could work it into a normal conversation, I suspect she wouldn’t know. She said it was the password he used for everything…so we’re screwed.”

“Slow down there,” Noah laughed. “We may have struck out there, but that doesn’t mean I came up empty-handed.”

It turned out that Noah had already made more progress in two hours at Bart Vandemeer’s office than Josh had made in a day. “Don’t ever become a detective, Joshy,” Noah chuckled. “You couldn’t investigate your way out of a paper bag.”

“Hey, I got the password.”

Noah just laughed. “Which you already admitted was a lucky fluke.”

“Who did you screw to get what you needed?” Josh asked dryly.

“While I’m flattered you think I could seduce someone so quickly during a weekday, and in an office to boot, that’s not how I did it.”

“So how
did
you do it?”

“Flattery and asking the right questions.”

“That’s great. Gloat all you want. What I really want to know is what you’ve found.”

“I think you might be right about Bart Vandemeer being a part of this.”

Josh’s heart sank. He had hoped to be wrong, even though the email seemed like pretty substantial evidence. “Why would you say that?”

“The bookkeeper let it slip that Bart has been siphoning money off the company. Thousands of dollars.”

“That’s no surprise. Nicole Vandemeer spent fifty-six grand on a wedding Megan didn’t even want.”

“Down boy. You nearly jumped down Nicole’s throat at the tuxedo rental store.”

“She deserved it.”

“Well, cool your outrage. You need to stay in that woman’s good graces.”

“Why?” Noah didn’t answer and an anxious ball formed in the pit of Josh’s stomach. “Noah? Why do I need to stay in the woman’s good graces?”

“You can’t break up with Vandemeer’s daughter tonight.”

A disarming mixture of relief and dismay washed through him. “Why not?”

“Because the partner’s son, Drew Peterman, is showing up for the wedding tomorrow. I saw a photo of him in the partner’s office with his fiancée.”

“Is that supposed to mean something? Do I really care who’s on the guest list?” Josh was still trying to decide whether postponing his inevitable breakup was a good thing or not.

“Peterman’s fiancée is the woman I slept with the night the plans disappeared.”

“Holy shit.”

“Exactly.” Noah sounded smug, not that Josh could blame him. It was a monumental find. Of course, Noah was the one who’d lost the plans to Drew Peterman’s fiancée in the first place.

“If Drew Peterman stole the plans, how does Bart Vandemeer come into play?”

“Bart’s been taking so much money from the company that the firm needs this patent to survive just like we do.”

“Shit. That’s the proof we need.” This should have made him happy, but all it did was make him nauseated.

“Yep. It’s shitty as hell, but it’s their firm or ours, and they didn’t play fair, so which one do you pick, Joshy?”

“You know damn well which one I pick.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Noah murmured. “But all of this is to say that we need to be around tomorrow. I’m going to corner the fiancée and get her to admit she stole the plans.”