The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,17

I will not cry. Why on earth did she care so much about what the man in the next room thought? Soon he’d be gone and she’d never see him again. But she couldn’t ignore the way that kiss had felt . . .

But even though she was mortified he’d seen her this way, it wasn’t what was really bothering her. How could she even explain it? She’d spent most of the first eighteen years of her life trying to live up to her mother’s expectations, and she’d come up short each and every time. The last time she’d been home was last fall, to shop for her wedding. Trying on wedding dresses was supposed to be a magical experience, but with her mother in the room, each gown had felt like a gunnysack. Not to mention they hadn’t seen eye to eye on any of the details for the reception and ceremony. Ultimately, she’d just given in and allowed Nicole Vandemeer to have what she wanted. So to come home and face the humiliation that would inevitably result when her mother found out the truth . . .

Tears welled in her eyes.

She should shove Josh out the door and confess to her family, but she couldn’t bear it. How much more embarrassing would it be if her mother assumed she’d hired this guy, some attractive stranger, to act as her fiancé? Because that’s inevitably where her mother’s mind would go. No, the answer was simple.

She and Josh needed to stage an epic breakup.

Chapter Five

He hadn’t meant to kiss her. Despite the fact that he was posing as her fiancé, he hadn’t given any thought to the probability that they’d have to have some type of physical contact if she agreed to play along. His sole strategy was to find proof that Bart Vandemeer’s company had stolen his design. Once he did, he’d never have to see these people again.

But something had changed when he kissed her.

He’d figured out a plan on the way home from the airport. Nicole Vandemeer kept herself so busy reciting every last detail about the wedding that all he had to do was nod and say “uh-huh” every so often, and she was none the wiser that he was plotting his revenge on her husband.

Josh had to admit that Bart Vandemeer wasn’t what he’d expected. He’d envisioned someone more ruthless, although he wasn’t sure why. After all, there was no proof Megan’s father was responsible for stealing Josh’s design. In fact, his only piece of flimsy evidence pointed to Drew Peterman, Bart’s partner’s son. But even if Bart wasn’t knowingly involved, he was still responsible—he should have asked the right questions when the design was so abruptly submitted.

And then there was Megan’s wedding. Megan had told him it was a twenty-five-thousand-dollar affair, but based on the details her mother had given him, he suspected the total was much higher . . . which begged the question of where all that money was coming from.

He’d tried to quiz Bart about his business, just a future son-in-law making polite conversation, but Nicole had tried her best to steer the conversation away from business, frustrating Josh to no end.

One of the things Nicole had blathered on about had made an impression—she was hosting a massive party for him and Megan that evening. Josh hoped to take advantage of the distraction so he could search Bart’s home office. He’d heard Nicole mention that it was upstairs. Josh could pretend he needed to use the bathroom and then find the home office and search it before anyone would be the wiser. He also considered trying to steal the older man’s keys for a visit to his actual office, but Josh didn’t want to resort to such drastic measures. It was bad enough he was impersonating Megan’s fiancé; he wasn’t ready to jump the shark and resort to breaking and entering just yet. He’d save that for tomorrow night if need be.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out, not surprised to see that his own office was trying to reach him. He sent the call to voice mail. He knew it wasn’t his brother, who always called from his cell. It was probably Angie, their business manager. Though they hadn’t told anyone they were in danger of losing their investor’s support, Angie was perceptive and had somehow caught on to the fact that they were in dire straits. She’d tried to pry the truth out of both