The Substitute (40 page)

Josh turned his attention to the front row and was shocked to see his mother. Tears filled her eyes, and she gave him a warm smile. He turned back to Noah, silently demanding an explanation.

“You can’t get married without Mom. She’d kill us both.” When Josh didn’t avert his gaze, he continued. “When I asked for the rings, she demanded to know why, so I told her everything. She overnighted the rings, but her plane barely landed in time.”

Josh leaned closer to Noah’s ear. “But this wedding isn’t real.”

Noah smirked. “You just keep telling yourself that.”

The string quartet switched to the wedding march, setting Josh’s heart to racing, and first Libby then Blair walked down the aisle.

Bart walked down the aisle next, Megan on his arm. She was gorgeous in her white silk dress, her dark hair hanging down her back. A short veil—the one the sales clerk had recommended—was pinned to the top of her head. She carried a bouquet of soft pink roses. All eyes in the chapel were on her, but her gaze remained fixed on him as she made her way to the front of the room. The love in her eyes sucked his breath away, and he once again thanked God above that this woman was his. His chest warmed as she approached him, and before he knew it, they were standing in front of everyone.

When the minister announced it was time for the vows, Josh interrupted him. “Uh…I wrote my own vows.”

Megan’s eyebrows lifted playfully as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a napkin.

“Okay,” the minister said, sounding uncertain. Josh knew Knickers had told him to stick to the traditional vows, and this was throwing off the pre-scripted ceremony.

Josh opened the napkin and began to have second thoughts as he looked down at the list in his hand. His gaze lifted to hers and she smiled, giving him the silent encouragement he needed to speak.

“Megan, I promise to stay in the shower with you when the water turns cold.”

She giggled.

“I promise to carry you off planes when you overdose on Dramamine, but I draw the line at letting your Gram take pictures of my bare butt.” He turned to the audience and found her grandmother on the front row. “Sorry, Gram.”

“That’s okay,” Gram called out to him. “Noah will pose for me.”

The crowd snickered and laughed.

He turned back to Megan, who was obviously struggling to keep a straight face.

“I promise to walk the dog when it’s cold and rainy,” he continued.

“Wait,” she whispered, loud enough for only them to hear. “You have a dog?”

He leaned closer and whispered, “No. Do you?”

She shook her head. “No, but I want one.”

“So do I. I’ll walk it.” He straightened and looked at the bottom of his list. “And if you agree to keep me around, I promise I’ll always bring you milk.”

She started laughing.

“I promise to throw my laundry in the hamper and always keep your feet warm.” He looked up at her. “I’ll be there to share your joy, and I’ll always be there to wipe away your tears in your sorrow. I will support you in every choice you make—unless it involves snow peas—but I’ll definitely be there for everything else.” He took her hand, turning serious. “No matter what, I promise to always love you. I want to thank you for turning my life completely upside down.” He looked into her eyes. “You are my once in a lifetime, Megan Vandemeer. Thank you for giving me a second chance.”

She squeezed his hand and bit her lower lip. “I didn’t write any vows, Josh.”

“That’s okay.”

She took a deep breath and pushed it out. “I don’t know what I would have done without you over these last few days, and I had no idea what I was missing until you showed it to me, but now that I’ve had the milk, I wouldn’t dream of giving up the cow. Thanks for crashing into my life.”

He laughed.

“And thank you for giving into fate, Josh. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you.”

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it as she stared up at him with so much love he had to fight the impulse to kiss her right then and there.

They turned back to the minister who was gaping at them, his eyes wide. He shuddered, then took a moment to gather his wits. “You can exchange the rings,” he stammered out.

Josh knew from the rehearsal that the minister had been planning to recite something, but the unorthodox vows had clearly thrown him for a loop.

After pulling the wedding ring from his pocket, Josh picked up Megan’s finger and held the ring over it. “This was my grandmother’s ring. My grandfather had it specially designed for her, and they were married fifty-two years.” He glanced at his mother in the audience, wondering what she thought, but she just gave him a loving smile and wiped tears from her cheeks. He turned back to Megan, suddenly wishing this wedding had been planned for the two of them—that it was real. “I hope we can have a marriage as strong and long-lasting as theirs was.” He slid the ring over her finger.

“I don’t have a ring,” she whispered. “I forgot a ring.”

Kevin cleared his throat. “I have one. Mom worried that you’d forget, so she gave me Grandpa’s,” he grumbled, walking over and handing her a ring. “And for the record, this is the most bizarre wedding I’ve ever been to,” he said, soft enough for only them to hear.

Josh grinned. There was nothing traditional about how they’d gotten here. Why would their wedding be any different?

Megan put the ring on his finger with little fanfare, and the minister, who was clearly eager to be done with this mess, said, “May I present Mr. and Mrs. Josh McMillan.”

“Who?” Knickers asked Bart, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Why did he call them that?” Hopefully the pain medicine was still in full enough effect that she’d forget the slip.

“You may kiss the bride.”

Josh pulled Megan into his arms and kissed her, then lifted his head as applause filled the chapel. “We really did it.”

She beamed up at him. “We really did.”

Josh endured several rounds of photos with the drunk photographer, who hiccupped in between shouting out orders, a wedding cake that nearly fell over, and Knickers’ spiraling mood swings as she came off her pain meds. Luckily Knickers seemed to have forgotten the minister’s use of his real name, though, and everyone was having a wonderful time.

It was the best day of his life.

When Bart introduced him to Drew Peterson and his fiancée Miriam in the receiving line, Josh realized he’d completely forgotten the original purpose for carrying on with the charade of the wedding. His back stiffened, and he forced himself to shake the man’s hand. Megan wasn’t as gracious, and barely acknowledged either of them. Her father gave her a confused glance, but the next guest approached, and Drew and his date moved along to their table.

Josh looked over at Noah, a couple of places down the line. They exchanged a nod, then Noah’s gaze followed Drew to his seat.

A couple of minutes later, Josh’s stomach tightened when he glanced into the face of his mother. She’d seemed happy enough during the wedding, but what would she say now that it was all over?

“Mom…”

She reached up and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’d ask you if you’re sure, but it’s too late for that now. Besides, the happiness rolling off you tells me that you are.”

He swallowed. “I’m sorry.”

She broke loose and looked up into his eyes. “Why would you be sorry?”

“For not telling you sooner.”

“From what Noah told me, there wasn’t much
sooner
you could have told me.” She grabbed his hand, tears in her eyes. “You’re so much like your father. Even when it comes to love.”

His face warmed and he realized Megan was watching them, both fear and worry on her face. He took her hand in his and turned to his mother. “Mom, this is Megan Vandemeer…the most amazing woman in the world.” He turned to his mother. “Next to you, of course.”

His mother laughed. “Now that you’re married I’ll relinquish the title.”

Megan held out her hand. “Mrs. McMillan…I’m so happy you came.”

His mother ignored her outstretched hand and hugged her. “None of that Mrs. McMillan stuff. Call me Marla.”

She squeezed her one more time and Josh let out a sigh of relief. So she wasn’t going to hold this impromptu wedding against either of them.

His mother gave him an ornery grin. “And why are you calling her Megan Vandemeer? She’s Megan McMillan now.” Worry filled her eyes and she hastily added, “Unless, of course, you plan on keeping your maiden name. I realize women do that nowadays.”

Megan laughed and wrapped her arm around Josh’s, leaning her temple into his shoulder and looking up into his face. “No. I like the sound of Megan McMillan.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “I like the sound of that too.”

His mother smiled. “I can’t wait to get to know you better, Megan. Anyone who can make my son beam with so much happiness is a very welcome addition to our family.” Her gaze landed on Noah, who was joking around with Libby. “Now if Noah could just settle down with a good woman.”

Josh snorted with a grin. “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”

Knickers had outdone herself with the reception as well. The dinner was served under a huge organza-draped tent filled with flowers and candelabras. After the dinner, the guests made their way to the makeshift dance floor on the lawn, dancing to music played by a band.

Hours into the reception, the open bar had helped the atmosphere shift from formal to fun-loving, but Noah still hadn’t made his move. Finally, Josh saw Miriam head up to the administrative building, where the restrooms were located. Noah followed about thirty seconds later with Libby close behind. The heavy sense of responsibility that had been plaguing him finally sloughed away.

Josh spun Megan around on the dance floor under the stars. The band Knickers had hired was surprisingly good. He knew they should be mingling with their guests, but he couldn’t bring himself to lose this perfect moment with her.

A couple of dances later, Megan noticed his attention drift up the small hill, and she glanced around. “Where’s Noah?”

Josh gave her a knowing look. “He’s getting our proof.”

“Do you think he’ll get it?”

He grinned. “Yeah.”

“What about my dad?” Worry lines wrinkled her forehead.

“Hey.” She looked up at him. “Let’s find out what Miriam tells Noah, then go from there.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “Did you get the marriage license from Noah yet?”

Josh had told the minister he’d take care of mailing the license, but he’d seen the minister hand the stamped envelope to Noah, who’d been evasive about it all evening. “No. But I’ll get it. I promise.”

“Josh! What if Noah loses it?”

He stopped dancing and kissed her, making them both forget about Noah and what he was up to. “How much longer do we have to stay at this thing?” he asked, his lips brushing hers. “I’m very eager to start our honeymoon. Although, I just now realized that I have no idea where we’re staying tonight.”

She giggled. “As much as I love making love to you under the stars, I need a bed tonight.”

A wicked gleam filled his eyes. “All this talk about beds is only making me want to drag you away
now
.”

“Patience, Mr. McMillan.”

His gaze returned to the small hill. He had to at least stay and see how Noah’s scheme played out.

Ten minutes later, Noah emerged from the administrative building, searching the crowd. Josh nodded, then gave Megan a lingering kiss.

“Keep that up and
I’ll
want to skip the rest of my own reception.”

He grinned. “Hold that thought. I need to talk to Noah.”

“Okay.”

“Your mother has been shooting us dirty looks for the last five minutes. Why don’t you go appease her and after I finish with Noah, I’ll steal you away.”

“Deal.”

He made his way through the crowd and met Noah at the edge of the tent Knickers had rented for the reception.

“Did you get it?” Josh asked, keeping his gaze on Megan.

“Piece of cake. Peterman’s kid put her up to it. His dad didn’t want to make him a part of the firm, so he needed to give them something they couldn’t refuse. We were at the same conference, and Peterman knew about the design because I ran my mouth a bit too much. His girlfriend was with him, and you know the rest of that part.”

Josh scowled. “It’s the next part I’m interested in.”

“Drew gave the plans to his dad, passing them off as his own.”

“So, no one else knew they were stolen?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“But what about the email from the attorneys in Bart’s personal email?”

Noah grinned. “I cracked his email.”

“What? When?”

“While you and Megan were busy making goo-goo eyes at each other during dinner, I kept trying different combinations until I broke it.”

“Combinations of what?”

“His nicknames for Megan.”

That made sense. “And…?”

“It looks like Bart caught wind of our application being denied. He realized that Drew had acquired the plans illegally. He was checking to see what ramifications it would have on the firm, given that the others principals had no prior knowledge of the crime.”

“That means Bart is innocent.”

“In this? Yes.”

Josh lifted his eyebrow in question.

“There’s still the issue of him taking money from his company, but that’s their problem, not ours.”

“So we won?” Josh asked, incredulous.

Noah looked over at Megan. “You won, all right.”

Libby slipped out the side door of the building and walked over to them, a sly grin on her face.

“Has it been taken care of?” Noah asked.

Libby’s grin widened.

A man walked up to the party, his gaze scanning the crowd. He looked to be in his early thirties, with dark hair and a medium build. He wore jeans and a polo shirt, so he obviously didn’t belong at the wedding. Something about him set Josh’s nerves on edge.

But something else told him that Libby and Noah were the more immediate concern. “Has
what
been taken care of?”

“Your wedding gift,” Libby said.