The Substitute (38 page)

“But Blair would say—” Megan lowered her voice to a growl, “—‘then go on a date, Megan. Don’t do something rash, like marrying someone you barely know.’”

The door swung open. “I don’t sound anything like that,” Blair said, marching through the doorway with a brisk stride, an enormous dress bag slung over her shoulder. “My voice isn’t anywhere near that deep. Although the rest is reasonably accurate.”

“Blair.” Megan clutched her hands in front of her, feeling like she was about to puke.

“You’ve been ignoring my calls, texts, emails, voice mails, and carrier pigeons, Megs.”

Blair not only showed up but used her nickname. Megan grinned. “I never got the carrier pigeons.”

“Ah-ha!” Blair pointed at her. “You just admitted that you received and ignored the other three.”

“You’re playing the role of an attorney, Blair. I need you here as my friend.”

“Well, you’re going to have to tolerate the attorney for a little while longer, because there’s something I need to talk to you about. If you feel like going through with this preposterous endeavor once I’ve said my piece, I will be here for you one hundred percent.”

Tears stung Megan’s eyes. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” She hung the garment bag on the rack that held Megan’s wedding dress, spread out in all its bedazzled organza glory. Blair stopped in her tracks as she took in the sight of it, her mouth gaping. She pointed to the dress, then Megan, then back at the dress. “
Really?
”

Megan shrugged, over it all ready. “Knickers.”

Blair looked around. “Where is she anyway? I expected to find her here with a riding crop and a whistle to keep us malcontents in line.”

Libby snickered. “I haven’t heard her call us malcontents for years.”

“She’s not here. And after Gram asked me earlier today if Josh and I were into BDSM, I don’t want to hear another mention of whips or crops for a very long time.” Megan shuddered. “She’s at the hospital with a dislocated shoulder and a scratched cornea. She’ll be here soon.”

“
You’re kidding?
”

“I’m more interested in finding out how Gram knows about BDSM,” Libby said.

Megan rolled her eyes. “She says she read
Fifty Shades of Grey
.”

Libby burst out laughing. “That explains so much.”

“Tell me about it,” Megan grumbled, her nerves pinging with anxiety. She was ready to seal her fate.

Blair lifted her eyebrows. “What happened to your mother?”

Megan sighed. “It’s a long story, but I’m more interested in the story you have to tell me. I’m ready to hear it now.” When Blair blinked in surprise, Megan added, “I know you have something important to say. Josh told me that much, but not the details. You investigated him, didn’t you? After I expressly ordered you not to.”

All the fight left Blair, who looked more vulnerable than Megan had seen her in years. “What would you have me do, Megan? I wasn’t willing to stand by and watch you get hurt by one more jerk, especially when the last one still can’t seem to take no for an answer. I swear, if Jay makes one more annoying call…”

“What are you talking about?”

“That man’s been calling me nonstop since Friday morning. Finally, after your fiasco of a rehearsal dinner last night, I told him you were in Kansas City, which meant you couldn’t go out to dinner with him so he should
stop calling
me. To his credit, he seemed genuinely surprised to hear you were here. I said the only way you would even fathom going out with him was if he hopped on a plane, found you here in KC, and groveled at your feet. Thank God, that seemed to do the trick, and my phone has been mercifully silent ever since.”

“Why would you tell him that? I wouldn’t go out with him if he were the last man on earth. Especially after meeting Josh.”

“Yeah…well, you shouldn’t put Josh on a pedestal just yet.” She put a hand on her hip and cocked her head. “What did he tell you?”

“I told you. He didn’t tell me anything. I figured out you had something to do with it after he punched his brother—oh, God!” she said, realization hitting her. “I have no idea where Noah is or where he stayed last night.”

Libby’s mouth contorted. “I know the answer to both of those questions.”

Megan froze, narrowing her eyes. “How do
you
know?”

“You didn’t!” Blair gasped.

Libby’s back stiffened in defense. “What? He didn’t have anywhere to go, and he was really upset.”

“Libby!” Blair said. “What about Mitch?”

“What about him?” she asked in genuine confusion. “Oh! You think—no! I didn’t cheat on Mitch.” Disgust washed over her face. “Is that really what you think of me?”

“There was that one time…” Blair’s voice trailed off.

“I was a kid—barely nineteen—and he told me that he and his girlfriend had broken up.
He
was cheating on his girlfriend, but I would never purposely cheat. Especially after Megan found that prick...” Her voice trailed off.

Megan grabbed Libby’s hand. “It’s okay, Libby. I’m over it. I’m thankful for it. Otherwise, I might be marrying said prick now.” She gave a shudder.

“There’s nothing between me and Noah. He just needed a friend last night.”

“A friend?” Blair asked, turning her attention to Libby. “That kind of guy doesn’t do
friends
.”

“Yeah, I know,” Libby said. “That’s what was so confusing. We stayed up almost all night talking.” She widened her eyes, as if sensing they were about to pounce on her. “What? It’s true. And he never once made a move on me. Honestly, I think he’s lonely.”

Blair stared at her, speechless for several seconds before shaking her head. “Lonely? Whatever. One McMillan man at a time.” She turned her gaze to Megan. “There are a few things you need to know. I can’t believe he didn’t tell you everything before I could get to you.”

“No, Blair,” Megan said, her tone brisk. “He told me to listen to what you had to say, then make up my own mind.”

Blair sighed. “He’s playing you, Megs.”

“No, Blair. He trusts my judgment. He said if I decide I don’t want to see him again, he’ll respect my choice.” She took a deep breath. “So tell me.”

Blair cast a glance toward the still-silent Libby.

“Libby can stay,” Megan said. “She’s part of this too.”

“I think you should sit.” Megan obeyed and fought her rising nausea as Blair told her about the patent, Josh’s business, and how she wasn’t sure it was a coincidence that he’d sat next to her on the plane. And when she was finished, all three women sat in silence.

Megan stood and wandered over to the window, looking out at the flowering gardens. Parts of it made sense. She knew Josh’s company was in trouble. He’d told her that he had two choices—either his employees would lose their jobs or he’d hurt someone he cared about.

She had thought that someone was Noah. Turns out it was her.

So why had he continued with this charade?

Because he hadn’t stolen the information he needed yet.

If he left, he couldn’t look for it. She felt like an idiot when she realized she’d given her father’s password to him, providing him with carte blanche to all of her father’s electronic files. What had she done?

She was going to throw up.

Then she thought about the man she’d gotten to know—a man who would never steal something for personal gain. He had too much integrity. It might not look that way, since he’d helped her for reasons that weren’t on the up and up, but she couldn’t ignore how he’d refused to have sex with her that first night. He’d wanted to—badly—but he’d stopped because he was afraid of hurting her.

But what about his feelings now? When she examined every minute they’d spent together, she kept coming up with the same answer. What he felt for her—what they felt for each other—was genuine.

“Why was he so upset with Noah?” she finally asked, turning to face Blair.

“How should I know?”

Megan stared at her, lifting her eyebrows. “Try again. I know you had a part in it.”

“Why would I interfere with their relationship?”

“
Tell me
.”

Blair released a sigh. “You know how much I love you, Megan. I may not say it often, but I figure actions speak louder than words. So I acted.”

“What did you do?” Her words were tightly controlled.

“I had a document prepared. After I presented my key evidence, I gave Josh an out. I found another investor to take the original one’s place—one of my divorce clients who received a very large settlement—but if he wanted my help, he had to promise to leave you and never speak to you again.”

Megan felt lightheaded. “You did what?”

“He refused to sign it. I know he wants that patent, but if he doesn’t have the money by next week, he’ll have to shut down. For all his whining about how devastating it would be to his employees if he had to shut his doors, he never even stopped to consider it.”

Megan put her hand on the back of her chair to help support her shaking legs. “He gave up his business for me.”

Blair scowled. “I know it looks that way, but you don’t know that.”

Megan shook her head. “No, Blair. I do. I know how desperately he wants to save his employees. He came on this trip for no other reason. And give me a break, there’s no way he could have arranged to sit beside me on that plane unless he hacked the airline. He said he left this trip up to fate, and sitting by me was definitely fate. He cares about me. I know it.” Her voice broke. “If he didn’t, he would have signed that document and gone with the sure thing.” She pressed her fingertips to her temple. “This morning he told me it was up to me if I wanted to move forward with the wedding…and with him. He wouldn’t do that if he didn’t want to be with me.” She looked up at her friend. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Blair’s mouth twisted as she considered her words. “I admit that it confused me when he tore up the document. While I expected a half-hearted denial, I didn’t think he would act so offended.”

Megan lifted her chin. “Why was he so furious with Noah?”

Guilt washed over Blair’s face. “Noah had already signed the document. I caught him before the rehearsal.”

Megan sat in the chair, feeling even more lightheaded. “Oh, Blair. What have you done?” She glanced at Libby, who was sitting on the other side of the room, to gauge her reaction. There was a strange look on her friend’s face, and when she didn’t say a word, Megan narrowed her eyes. “You already knew. That’s what you talked to Noah about all night.”

Libby gave a tiny shrug. “He was upset. When he signed it, he had no idea that Josh was in love with you.”

Megan bolted out of her chair. “He’s
what?
”

Libby’s eyebrows rose. “You didn’t know he’s in love with you?”

“No…”

Blair snorted. “Hell, he told me himself last night when he tore up the paper. I didn’t buy it when he told me, thinking it was some way to outmaneuver me. But now I’m reconsidering, and I’m more cynical than the two of you put together. Supposing there are no other mitigating circumstances, what man gives up his family legacy for a woman he
kind of likes?
”

“Oh, God. I have to talk to him.” Megan bolted for the door, but Blair blocked her path.

“Wait. He stopped me when I was on my way in here.”

“What? He’s here?”

Blair rolled her eyes. “Of course he’s here. He said if you were still open to going through with this after I talked to you, he wanted me to give you something from him.”

“And you agreed?” Megan asked in shock.

Blair shrugged, looking irritated. “I have to admit, before I talked to him, I was convinced he was guilty as hell. But after I talked to him… I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I see some flaws in my theory.”

“What does that mean?” Libby prodded.

Blair scowled, looking aggrieved. “I
may
have been wrong.”

“What?” Libby teased. “The all-knowing Blair might have been wrong?”

Megan shook her head. “Get back to the present part.”

“It’s out in the hall. Like I said, he asked me to give it to you if you didn’t hate him after hearing my version of events.”

“And you agreed?”

She shrugged. “I’m not
entirely
cold-blooded, and like I said, there were some holes in my theory.” She left the room and came back with a white box that was almost as big as she was. “If I’d known it would be this hard to carry, I would have asked for a delivery fee.”

“What is it?” Megan asked, pushing makeup aside on the large table to make room for the box.

“No idea. I’m just the delivery person. Open it and find out.”

Megan’s hand shook as she tugged on the end of the giant white bow and pulled it loose. When she lifted off the lid, she gasped. “It’s my dress,” she whispered in shock.

“What dress?” Blair asked, peeking around her.

“Her original dress,” Libby gasped in awe. “But how? Knickers canceled the order.”

“They said it was too late to cancel it. So both were delivered to the store, but they wouldn’t exchange it.”

A card sat on top, which she pulled out to read.

Meggie

I know how much this dress means to you. If you decide to go through with the wedding, you should feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, although it doesn’t matter to me what you wear—you
are
already the most beautiful woman in the world.

Josh

Libby picked up the small veil on top. “That is the most romantic thing
ever
.”

Megan grabbed the corners of the dress and lifted it out of the box. “I can’t believe he bought my dress.”

Blair grunted. “This still doesn’t mean he’s innocent.”

“Yeah,” Libby mumbled. “Because a guy who’s trying to scam her would obviously buy her a three-thousand-dollar wedding dress.”

Megan held it in front of her, studying her reflection. “I can’t believe he did this.”

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Libby asked, putting the veil back in the box. “Let’s get you dressed. There’s less than an hour until the wedding.”

Twenty minutes later, Libby and Blair were dressed in their pink puffed monstrosities, arranging Megan’s veil in her hair. They stepped back and studied her.