The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,113

with the ceremony tomorrow. Let’s give Knickers her last hurrah.”

“You really want to go through with the wedding?”

“Yeah, but don’t worry. I’ll stick with the plan and tell her I lost the marriage license. You’ll be off the hook, but Knickers will still get her fancy party. We’ll figure this out—you and me—later.”

It was still a crazy idea, but for some reason it didn’t seem so crazy anymore. She would do it for him. “Okay.”

He took her hand in his. “I’ll take you home in the morning, and I’ll be at the gardens in time to do my part tomorrow afternoon. If you decide to go through with it, I want to talk to you before the wedding, before you go down the aisle.”

“But—”

“Please.”

“Knickers will have a fit if she knows you’ve seen me in my dress before the wedding,” she said, trying to look serious. It didn’t last; her face broke out into a huge grin. “Count me in.”

A smile spread across his face. “That’s my girl.”

She lay her head on his chest, desperately hoping she really was.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Megan and Josh spent the night under the stars, making love until the sun rose. They went for breakfast before he drove her back to her parents’ house.

He turned to face her once they were parked in the driveway. “I feel like I should walk you to the door,” he teased, taking her hand in his.

She chuckled. “Trust me, you don’t want to do that right now.”

His smile fell. “Then maybe I should go with you. You shouldn’t have to deal with the fallout from last night on your own.”

She leaned over and kissed him, her lips lingering on his. “I love that you want to protect me from my mother. But I think it’s time I started standing up for myself.”

“Does that mean you don’t want to go through with the wedding?”

She paused, studying his face. “No, as strange as it sounds, now that I’m used to the idea, I kind of want to do it. What about you?”

He didn’t answer her for several seconds. “I want what you want, Megan. From here on out, you’re calling all the shots. You want to have the wedding, we’ll do it. If you change your mind and decide to say screw it all and hop on a plane back to Seattle, we can do that, too.” He hesitated and swallowed. “And if you decide you don’t want to see me again, you only have to text me and tell me to go to hell.”

She forced a smile. “I can’t break it off. I don’t have your number.”

How could that be? How could she have experienced so much with this man and still not have his cell phone number? Maybe because they had spent nearly every minute together.

“Give me your phone.”

She dug it out of her purse and turned it on, entering her passcode before she handed it to him.

He entered his number and gave the phone back to her. “See you at our wedding.”

She reached for the door handle, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, kissing her as though he was never going to see her again. “Josh, you’re scaring me.”

“Maybe that’s because I’m scared, Meggie.”

“Tell me what Blair’s going to tell me.”

He shook his head. “I want you to decide for yourself.”

She got out and walked to the house, checking her phone before she walked through the door—there were multiple missed calls and voice mails from her mother, as well as calls, texts, and messages from Blair, Libby, and her brother. And there was one text from Jay.

Call me.

She pressed delete. She never wanted to hear from that asshole again.

The front door opened before her hand could reach the knob.

“Where have you been?” Her mother’s voice was icy. “I’ve been worried sick about you. I was about to call the police.”

“The police? Why would you call the police?”

“Josh punched his brother in the face, then dragged you off to God-knows-where. I was frightened for you, Megan . . .” Her mother’s voice broke.

Oh, God. She really had been worried.

Megan pushed her shock aside and wrapped her mother in a hug. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m fine. We both just needed to get away. I was getting cold feet, and Josh knew I needed some time alone with him to sort everything out.”

She shut the door behind her, then hastened her mother into the living room, where Gram sat munching from a box of fiber cereal.

They’d only just walked in