The Substitute (17 page)

She stopped and looked up at him, waiting. But he had no idea what to say. He only knew he couldn’t stand to see her like this. He preferred the fun-loving, playful Megan and he wasn’t sure how to get her back. Oh, he knew he’d totally screwed things up last night, but how much worse would it have been if he’d slept with her only for her to later find out his true purpose for being here? He knew what his brother would have done…and heck, maybe he
should
have given in to his libido. There was no denying he wanted Megan more than he’d ever wanted any other woman, but his conscience told him he had no right to want anything from her. He was using her. He could wrap it up with pretty explanations of karma and fate, but the truth remained that he was using this woman’s misfortunes for his own gain. He didn’t deserve her. “I’m sorry,” was all he said.

She offered him a grim smile. “You have nothing to apologize for. If not for you, I’d probably be back in Seattle right now, a disowned outcast. You’re offering me an out when I don’t deserve one. I think I’m getting the better end of the deal here.”

Little did she know. He forced an ornery grin. “Your grandmother wants to draw me in the nude. I told her I had to check with you first. We can call it even if you tell her you’re too jealous to let her do it.”

A smile spread across her face, returning some of her playfulness. “Deal.”

“I need some coffee. I saw a coffee maker in the kitchen. Will your mother have a fit if I make a pot?”

“Probably not, and I’m willing to take the full blame if you bring me a cup.”

“Deal.”

He wandered down to the kitchen, partially worried Megan was right and he’d find Gram making pancakes in her birthday suit. Instead, the only person he saw downstairs was Bart, already dressed for work, pouring a cup of coffee.

“Good morning,” Josh forced out. Bart had been nothing but nice to him, and despite Josh’s suspicions, he couldn’t hold a grudge against the man—not yet. He’d decided to withhold judgment until he had more than circumstantial evidence. So the billowing animosity he suddenly felt caught him by surprise. If Megan’s father had protected her from her mother’s expectations and demands, maybe she wouldn’t be in this situation now. Maybe she would have felt safe telling them the truth.

“How’d you sleep?” Bart asked.

“Great,” Josh said, forcing a friendliness he didn’t feel. “Are you about to head out to work?”

“Sure enough. Nicole has an itinerary of things that need to be done today, but my part doesn’t come until this afternoon, when I’m supposed to pick up the food for the big family dinner.”

Josh decided to make his move. “I was fascinated by what I heard about your business last night. Any chance I can go into your office with you today?”

Bart glanced up in surprise. “I’m sure you’d be bored. Investment banking is bound to move at a much quicker pace than the work that’s done at an engineering office.”

“No, I assure you I won’t be bored. I love to learn and I’d really like to know what Megan’s father does for a living.” He hesitated, guilt prickling his conscience before he added, “I’m marrying your daughter, sir, so I’d welcome the opportunity to get to know you better.”

Bart watched him for a second, then set his cup down on the granite counter, clearing his throat. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I’m giving away my baby girl on Saturday and it’ll be a lot easier if I approve of the man she’s chosen to spend the rest of her life with. I was under the impression you didn’t want to have anything to do with us.”

“There have been a lot of misunderstandings.” The words were hard to get out. He hated himself for betraying this family, but if he was going save his business, he would have to continue following this course. This was what he’d impulsively signed up for. “But I’d love to spend some time with you today, and maybe you can show me around your office and tell me a bit about what an engineer does.”

“Great! Can you be ready to leave in about fifteen minutes?”

“Sure thing. Let me take Megan a cup of coffee first.”

Bart gave him a look Josh couldn’t name. “She’s got you waiting on her, huh?”

If Megan’s father was hinting that she was in any way like her mother, he planned to set the record straight. Megan didn’t deserve that. “If you’re suggesting she’s calling the shots in our relationship, I think we both know that Megan’s not that kind of woman. I do things for her and she does things for me.” Like he got her coffee and she was going to tell her grandmother she couldn’t draw him in the nude, but her father didn’t need to know about that. “She’s a wonderful woman and I’m damned lucky to have her.” And he knew it was true—any man who had his wits about him would be lucky to have Megan.

Bart looked him in the eye. “Yes, I can see that. I’m sorry if I implied something different.”

Josh nodded and poured two cups of coffee and added creamer to both before going back upstairs. The shower was still running, and he had no idea how long Megan would be, so he cautiously opened the bathroom door, grateful there was a curtain to hide her. He wasn’t sure how much control he’d have if she were naked and as willing and eager as last night.

He set the cup on the counter. “Megan?” he called softly.

She shrieked in surprise. “What are you doing in here?”

“I’m going to work with your dad and I wanted to tell you in case you’re still in the shower when we leave.”

Her head appeared at the edge of the curtain while she held onto it to keep herself hidden. “You’re doing
what?
”

“I’m going to work with your dad.”

“Why would you do that?”

“So he can get to know his son-in-law better.”

A cautious look covered her face. “But we’re breaking up today.”

He couldn’t make too big a deal of this or she’d get suspicious. “Yeah, but don’t you think we should do it in front of crowd? Doesn’t your mom have a family dinner planned for tonight? That would be the perfect time.”

She sucked in her bottom lip, looking lost in thought. “I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be better if you stayed here and broke up with me this morning? Then Mom will have more time to call it all off.”

“Do you honestly think your mother will
let
me break up with you? She’d be more likely to either drug me to get me to comply, and after last night’s performance, maybe handcuff me for good measure. And if your grandmother is around as a witness, she’ll strip me naked and draw me in my drugged state. And I don’t even want to go into what she’ll do with the handcuffs.” He shuddered. “We need witnesses and lots of them.”

She released a huff. “Damn it. You’re right.”

He grinned. “I brought your coffee, but I forgot to ask how you took it. You know, your father pretty much called me pussy-whipped for getting it for you. I gave him a mini-lecture about how you weren’t that kind of woman, so it didn’t seem like the appropriate time to mention this was our first morning together.”

She fought a grin. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was when she beamed like that. It was obvious that her asshat ex had been clueless. “I take creamer.”

His grin spread. “Then it’s your lucky day. I added creamer. Now I better get going. I want to make a good impression on your dad.”

“No!” she exclaimed. “You have to make a bad one! Otherwise it’ll look like our breakup came out of nowhere.”

“Okay. I’ll try my best to be the biggest asshole possible.”

“Good.”

He continued to watch her, not wanting to leave her yet.

Her grin spread. “Shouldn’t you be going?”

“Yeah.”

She laughed. “Have a good day, dear.”

“Have fun with Knickers.”

She grimaced. “You definitely got the better deal.” Then her face disappeared behind the curtain.

Josh headed downstairs to meet Bart Vandemeer, feeling like he was a prisoner on his way to the gallows. This was exactly what he wanted, so why did it feel so wrong?

Megan’s mother was sitting at the kitchen table when Megan went downstairs, sipping her coffee and eating a piece of dry toast while looking over several papers. That had been Nicole Westminster Vandemeer’s breakfast for as long as Megan could remember, which was one of many reasons why she still wore a size two dress. Megan, on the other hand, was a size eight, a huge disappointment to her mother.

She gave Megan a slight glance before returning her attention to the papers. “Megan, we have a very busy day ahead of us. Perhaps you could run upstairs and get ready?”

Megan, who’d been refilling her coffee cup, stopped mid-pour. “I
am
ready.”

The bridge of her mother’s nose wrinkled as she gave Megan a scrutinizing glance. “Really?”

Megan set the cup down on the counter. “What’s wrong with how I look?”

Her mother’s eyebrows rose and she released an exasperated sigh. “We need to make a hair appointment for you at the salon. Honestly, I thought you would take care of it in Seattle before you came.” She picked up her phone. “I only hope they can fit you in.”

“I had a haircut three weeks ago.”

Her mother released an exasperated huff as she searched through her contacts without even looking up at Megan. “How about we start with the color? It lacks depth. We’ll want highlights to show off your waves when we put it up for the wedding. And it wouldn’t hurt to ask them to do a dry run for your up-do.”

“I want to wear my hair down,” Megan said. She wondered why she was wasting her time arguing the point when there wasn’t going to
be
a wedding. Maybe she was just tired of letting her mother railroad everything.

Her mother pursed her lips and tensed her shoulders in irritation. “Megan, we discussed this.”

“No, Mom.
You
discussed this, or to be more accurate, you dictated it to me and I just went along with it to keep the peace.”

Her mother gasped. “Megan Nicole, what on earth has gotten into you? Why can’t you just be compliant?”

“Maybe I’m tired of being compliant.”

Her mother waved a manicured hand covered in glittering rings. “Don’t be silly, darling. Now run upstairs, change your clothes and put on some makeup.”

“I
am
wearing makeup!”

“Obviously not enough. Maybe they like the natural look in that rainy, brooding, mold-encrusted place you live in, but you’re home now and you’re getting married in three days. What will people think, Megan?
Honestly.
Now stop acting like a petulant child and do as I say. I’ll have your amended itinerary ready for you when you get back downstairs. As it is, I’m reshuffling everything since your father dragged Josh off to his office.”

“Yeah, I saw the itinerary. Don’t you think it’s a bit much?’

“You obviously need it. Now go. And check on your grandmother while you’re up there. She’s coming with us. Yesterday we were almost late picking you up from the airport because she refused to get dressed.”

Megan didn’t even try to hold back the laughter as she walked up the stairs.

“Gram, are you dressed?” she asked, knocking on her grandmother’s door.

“Not because I want to be,” the woman muttered as she opened the door. “I can’t untie this knot with my arthritis.” She motioned to Megan’s robe.

Megan flashed an apologetic grin. “Sorry about that. You freaked Josh out. I had to make sure you wouldn’t accidently flash him again.”

“He’s already seen it all.”

“So he said.”

“You need to loosen that boy up.”

“So
you
said, but look at it this way, Gram—he’s about to commit himself to me for the rest of his life, and you’re showing him everything he’s giving up.” She gave a half-shrug. “It’s a bitter reminder of the fact that he’s stuck with me.” The statement was for her grandmother’s benefit, but she’d spent plenty of time brooding about whether Josh had rejected her for that very reason. This morning he seemed reluctant to leave her side, which made her re-evaluate her reasoning. Had Josh McMillan left her sexually frustrated because he was a
gentleman?
She’d been too embarrassed to even entertain the idea the previous night, but now it rang true.

The older woman patted Megan’s cheek. “He’s lucky to have you. And I’m only giving him a glimpse of what he’ll get in about fifty years.”

Megan smiled as she reached for the belt and began to work on the knot. “Mom says you have to get dressed so you can come with us.”

“I’d rather have a colonoscopy.”

“Do it for me, Gram. She’s extended her claws today.”

“When doesn’t she have her claws extended?” But the older woman’s frown softened as she studied Megan’s face. “Fine, I’ll go, but only for you. And it’s my constitutional right to wear whatever I want.”

“The key part of that is
wear
. You have to wear
something
.”

Megan’s grandmother looked up at her, her face beaming as if a particularly exciting idea had occurred to her. “Not to worry. I’ll wear something.”

“I’ve seen that look before—” Megan finished untying the belt and flashed the older woman a grin, “—and I approve.”

“Ha! I’ll meet you downstairs in about fifteen minutes.”

Megan had no desire to wait downstairs with her mother, who would only continue to bully her about her outfit, so she went into her bedroom and grabbed the two itineraries on the dresser. She sat down on the freshly made bed and opened each cover, flipping to Thursday and then Friday. Josh had been right. He was scheduled for a mani-pedi tomorrow. Ironically enough, Jay would have appreciated how organized the itinerary was…not to mention the spa time. Josh, on the other hand, was obviously as horrified as she was. Not that there was any point in comparing the two. Jay was gone—good riddance—and Josh was going to break up with her tonight. She would probably never see him again.

The thought was like a knife driving straight into her gut.

Her cell phone rang and she jumped, digging it out of her purse and then cursing under her breath. The power was at twenty-six percent. She’d forgotten to charge it. Then she saw who was calling and cursed again.