The Substitute (11 page)

“The way you’re looking at her right now. Like you’ve been fed salad for six months and Megan’s a medium-rare steak.”

He turned to her, surprised by the anger that smoldered in his gut. “What are you accusing me of? Do you think I’m out to hurt her?”

“No,” she said, taking another sip of her wine and looking over at Megan. “Quite the opposite. I think you really like her.”

“So I’m pretending to be her fiancé to get her into bed?” he asked, sounding indignant, though the thought of her in bed with him… Well, now that it was in his head, it would be hard to get it out.
Down, boy
. Wondering what Megan Vandemeer looked like sans clothes wouldn’t help his case.

“No, I think you’re helping her out of a difficult situation because there’s a spark between you two and you want the chance to get to know her better.”

“By pretending to be her fiancé?”

She shrugged, still grinning at him. “Hey, stranger things have happened.”

“So you approve?”

“Wholeheartedly. The guy she was supposed to marry is a cut-throat bastard. Only Megan wore blinders the entire time and refused to see it until she saw more than she ever wanted to when she found him screwing his secretary on his desk.”

Josh cringed at the mental image, but it bothered him even more to think about what it must have done to Megan. “And how do you know I’m not a cut-throat bastard too?”

She grabbed the beer out of his hand and set it on a nearby table along with her wine. Then she picked up his right hand and spread out his palm. Her index finger traced the lines. “Your love line. It runs deep and long.” She looked up into his face. “Your love is very strong and loyal. You will probably only truly love one woman and you will fall head-over-heels within a day of meeting her.”

He chuckled. “That doesn’t sound like me at all.”

A mischievous glint filled her hazel eyes. “That’s what makes it all the better. You’re
not
that kind of man.” She traced more lines, smoothing out the pad of his hand with her thumb. “No, you’re usually methodical. You think everything through and have a detailed plan. You’re not prone to that sort of impulsiveness.”

Josh told himself that she was guessing. But how had she managed to describe him so perfectly? Besides, she’d formed her opinion before she even looked at his hand.

“There’s a branch in your life line that suggests you will veer off your usual path. That you take a risk and find love. It totally changes the course of your life.” She looked up at him with a quizzical expression. “Are you on a journey right now, Josh McMillan?”

He tried not to visibly react. “That sounds like a philosophical question. Aren’t we all on a journey?”

“Am I interrupting something?”

The surprise made Josh jump, and he swiveled to find Megan standing next to him. He knew it looked bad. Libby was caressing his hand while they looked into each other’s eyes. Libby was a beautiful woman. Her almost black hair, olive complexion, and dancing hazel eyes gave her an exotic look. But while Josh noticed her beauty, he wasn’t drawn to it.

Libby dropped her hold on him. “I was just reading Josh’s palm,” she said in a careless tone.

Based on Libby’s reaction, he was sure she hadn’t heard the undertone of jealousy in Megan’s voice. But he had…and as weird as this whole thing was, he liked that she was jealous. The smile that spread across his face as he turned to look at her was an unstoppable force.

“You still do that?” Megan asked, dragging her eyes from Josh’s face.

“Of course. It’s fantastically accurate,” Libby murmured in a smug tone. “Just don’t let Knickers know I was doing it. She threatened to hold an exorcism if she found out I was reading palms at her house again.”

Josh glanced at her in surprise. “Knickers?”

“Our nickname for Megan’s mom.” Libby shrugged. “It’s a play on her name—Nicole—because she always has her knickers in a wad.”

His smile turned wry. “I can see how she earned it.”

Megan grinned. “Your secret is safe with me. As long as you tell me what you read in Josh’s palm.”

Josh shook his head. “Nope. You first. What does Megan’s say?”

“That she’ll find the love of her life when she least expects it.” Libby winked at Megan. “And that she’ll be married by the time she turns thirty.”

“How do you know that?” he asked. “You didn’t even look.”

“I’ve read it before,” Libby said with a shrug.

“So how long do you have before you turn thirty?” Josh asked.

“Don’t you know it’s impolite to ask a lady her age?” Megan lifted her eyebrows playfully. A rush of relief hit Josh square in the solar plexus; he was glad she wasn’t holding a grudge over some imagined connection between him and her friend.

“Two months,” Libby volunteered.

Megan laughed. “My palm doesn’t say I’ll be married by the time I’m thirty. That fortune teller did.”

Blair joined their group, looking disgusted. “Not the fortune teller again.”

Libby sighed, making it apparent that this was a worn-out argument. “You can’t deny it happened.”

“You’re correct, I don’t deny that we went to Santa-Cali-Gon Days and waited in line for an hour in the oppressive summer heat.”

“Now who’s over-exaggerating?” Megan asked. “It was Labor Day weekend, we waited ten minutes tops, and it wasn’t that hot.”

“We still waited in line for nothing.”

“Not true.” Libby turned up her chin. “She told our fortune, just not as we expected.”

Josh couldn’t stop himself from asking, “She told Megan she’d be married by the time she was thirty?”

Megan shook her head. “She said all three of us would be married by the time we were thirty.”

Blair put a hand on her hip. “Only after she heard the three of us talking in line. Remember? We were talking about that stupid pact we made as kids. You know, how we said we’d all get married before we turned thirty and became spinsters.”

“That’s not all,” Libby added, her face serious. “She said our weddings would be disasters, and we would all marry someone other than we’d intended. And a pact is not to be taken lightly.”

Blair groaned. “You don’t really believe that nonsense, do you?”

“Of course she doesn’t,” Megan said.

“I don’t know,” Libby murmured, picking up her wine glass. “So far she’s right. You and Blair are engaged.”

“I’m not getting married on Saturday, Libby,” Megan whispered, a panicked expression crossing her face as soon as she’d uttered the words.

Libby hugged her arm. “It’s okay. Josh told me what’s going on.” She winked at Megan. “You never know what might happen between now and then.”

Blair looked disgusted again. “My wedding is in two months and everything is going perfectly. Sorry to disappoint your delusion, Libby.”

Libby gave her a smug grin. “We’ll see.” Then she took another sip of her wine, as if closing a door on the discussion.

Megan looked between her friends for a moment before giving herself an involuntary shake. “So you two are the only ones who know about Josh. I need you to keep this to yourselves until Josh breaks up with me later tonight.”

Josh jerked to attention. This was exactly what he was afraid of. And having Blair standing next to them would make talking her out of it even more difficult.

“What?” Libby asked in dismay. “Already?”

Megan’s face hardened with determination. “It has to be done, Libby. And the sooner, the better. Josh has a life to get back to.”

“Megan!” Just then, her mother called from the deck, waving her arm.

Megan heaved out a loud breath. “Duty calls. Again. Come on, Josh. It’s time to introduce you to my parents’ friends. I apologize in advance.” She reached for his hand, but Libby grabbed him first.

“I need one more minute with Josh.” She pulled him aside as Megan shrugged and hurried toward her mother. Libby stared Blair down. “This doesn’t concern you. Feel free to go back to flirting with Kevin.”

Blair’s mouth dropped open in outrage. “I do not flirt. And especially not with Kevin.”

Libby gave her a shrug of indifference. “It’s no secret you harbored a crush on him all through high school.”

“That was ten years ago. We’re friends now.” She glanced back and forth between the Libby and Josh, then narrowed her gaze on Libby and pointed an accusatory finger at her. “Do not encourage this situation, Libby!”

Libby made a shooing motion. “Bye, Blair.”

They watched her stomp off after Megan, intercepting her before she could reach her mother. Based on her departing glare, Josh was sure Blair hated him even more now. He hoped she didn’t convince Megan to do anything rash.

Libby waited until Blair was out earshot, then grabbed his bicep and leaned toward him. “Do you want to break up with Megan tonight?” She gave him a worried gaze.

Libby thought he wanted to be here for other reasons…reasons she approved of. He’d be a fool not to take advantage of that, especially since Blair was so determined to get rid of him and Megan was set on breaking up tonight. “No.”

“Then don’t. Keep gazing at her like she’s the last woman alive and don’t do it. I’ll help you out as much as I can.”

Josh felt bad using Libby to help him, but he needed all the advantages he could get.

And he ignored the part of him that told him Libby was actually right about him…about how he liked Megan more than he wanted to admit.

Josh was walking back over to her, looking more relieved than he had before going off with Libby. What had her friend said?

Megan’s mother was getting visibly irritated that Megan still hadn’t joined her, but Blair had a death grip on her wrist. “I’m looking out for your best interest,” Blair said, continuing with her mission to try and talk reason into her. “What’s so wrong with that?”

Megan’s back stiffened. “I love you like a sister, Blair, but this is
my
decision. If you can’t accept it¸ feel free to leave.”

“It’s a stupid decision, Megan.”

Megan winced but held her ground. “But it’s
mine
, nevertheless. It’s not like I’m marrying the guy. He’s going to break up with me.”

Josh cleared his throat as he stopped next to Megan, close enough to have heard her last words. “What do you want, Blair? What outcome at this moment would make you happy? Do you want me to tell Megan’s parents that we’ve been lying to them? How will that make Megan look? She’d be worse off than she was before they mistook me for Jay.”

Blair pursed her lips. “
You’re
the reason she’s in this situation.”

“I’ve never denied it. I’m just trying to get her out of it the best way I know how.”

“If you hurt her…”

“Yeah, I know,” Josh said dryly. “You’ll find out about my wicked past to throw it in my face. But good luck with that. I’m a pretty boring guy, so you’ll have a tough time finding anything shiny enough to catch your interest.”

Watching him now, Megan had a hard time believing he was boring, though she was fairly certain he didn’t harbor a past as a hardened criminal or a member of a motorcycle gang. Blair would probably have to do a lot of digging to discover anything scandalous about Josh McMillan. But then, Megan had never harbored a hidden fantasy about dating a bad boy, and Josh’s chivalry, good looks, and charming personality—everything about him—screamed the opposite of bad boy. Megan was more attracted to him than was safe to acknowledge. But she couldn’t ignore the fact that their relationship had almost reached its expiration date. She couldn’t get attached to him.

And that filled her with more disappointment than she had a right to feel.

Blair pointed a finger at him. “If I find
anything
, I’ll whip so many lawsuits around you that you’ll regret the day you boarded that plane.”

Josh shrugged, looking unimpressed. “Suit yourself.”

Libby, who had trailed her way to them too, laughed from behind him. “He made a pun
and
he’s standing up to you, Blair. Now I
really
like him.”

Josh gave her a conspiratorial grin before turning back to Megan. “Your mother doesn’t look happy. Maybe we should go play the engaged couple.”

“Yeah.”

He put an arm around her back and smiled down at her, looking very much like the attentive boyfriend. “Then let’s go make your mother happy.”

“That’s an oxymoron,” Blair said.

Josh grabbed Megan’s hand and led her away from Blair, leaning into her ear as they made their way over to her mother and her friends on the deck. “Has Blair always been so…”

“Grumpy?”

“I had another word.”

Megan laughed. “She hasn’t always been this way. She used to be happier and more carefree, but she’s gotten much more serious and…”

“Dictatorial?”

Megan released a heavy sigh as they climbed the steps. “Honestly, she means well. She changed after what happened with her father. She found out in college that he’d been cheating on her mother for years, and took it personally. Becoming a lawyer had been her dream since grade school, but she’d planned on going into corporate law until her father filed for divorce and left her mother with hardly anything…then died five years later. Now she’s a divorce attorney who specializes in representing women who’ve been screwed over in their marriages. She makes sure they don’t get screwed over in their divorces too.”

He considered her words for a moment before conceding, “It’s an admirable position.”

“She started out with the best of intentions, but it’s made her jaded. She’s changed. And not for the better.”

Seeing their approach, Megan’s mother waved them over to an older couple. “Megan! I want to introduce you and Josh to some dear old friends of ours from the country club.”

Megan decided her mother had to be referring to the couple’s age, since her parents had only joined the country club about five years ago. “Showtime,” she mumbled to Josh.

He gave her hand a light squeeze of reassurance as they joined the group.

Megan had been worried that they could never pull it off, but she and Josh sailed through the evening. He was a great conversationalist and her parents’ friends loved him. Megan had heard that the art to creating good conversation was to lavish attention on the other person, taking care not to talk too much about yourself. It turned out that Josh was a master at it, diverting almost all but the most mundane questions about himself. He showed particular interest in her father’s friends, and at first she worried he really
was
using her to sell his snake oil, but he didn’t make so much as a peep about a timeshare or a pyramid scheme. Instead he asked how long they’d known her father, what Bart’s hobbies were, and whether they would recommend Bart’s financial planner. Josh smiled as he said he had to plan a future for his soon-to-be wife and their soon-enough children.