The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,22

lips with an intensity and urgency she hadn’t expected. And while some sane part of her knew she should resist, the rest of her eagerly welcomed it.

“Uh . . . Megan . . .” Her brother’s voice broke through her lust-filled haze.

That’s when reality set in. She was kissing this man, someone she’d only known for a matter of hours, in the upstairs hallway in her parents’ house. She tried to pull away from Josh, but his arms held her tight against him as she glanced over her shoulder.

Kevin stood at the top of the stairs, his bag in hand, looking very uncomfortable while he studied the wall. “I need to change.” His gaze returned to her. “And you’re in the way.”

Josh dropped one of his hands but kept the other around her as he pulled her out of Kevin’s way.

“Sorry,” he said, sounding like he’d been caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do.

Kevin moved toward them, looking into Josh’s eyes. “At least I know you love her. Megan likes to paint a pretty picture of you, but Gram and I talk . . . and what we’ve pieced together has left me with some major doubts about you.” His eyes grew cold. “Fair warning, buddy. If I find out that you hurt my sister in any way, I’m going to kick your ass. Is that clear?”

“Kevin!” Megan protested, even though guilt flooded through her for deceiving him. “I’m not fourteen years old, you know.”

Kevin’s face softened as he turned his attention to her. “Megan, you can be ninety and you’ll never stop being my baby sister. I will always kick the ass of any guy who hurts you.”

Pulling away from Josh, Megan rushed to her big brother and threw her arms around his neck, hanging onto him for dear life.

“Where were you last month?” Her voice cracked with emotion.

Kevin pulled her back and glared at Josh. “What happened last month?” His voice took on an ominous tone.

Oh, crap. What had possessed her to say that? But she hadn’t seen Kevin for years and she’d forgotten what an intimidating presence he had. Sometimes it was nice to think someone else, like her alpha male big brother, could help her with her problems. But at the moment, she needed to dig herself out of the hole she’d just dug. The problem was that Kevin tended to be perceptive as hell.

Megan gave him a reassuring smile. “Nothing.” She dropped her hold on him. “I’m just all emotional with Mom and her big wedding plans.”

“Did he—?”

“No.” She grabbed Josh’s arm with both hands and leaned into him. “He’s great. A project at work had some issues, so it was a terrible month. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

Josh kissed the top of her head.

Kevin studied them, looking like he was still unsure whether to believe her.

“Megan!” her mother shouted.

“Crap,” Megan muttered. “She’s up to level three. She raised her voice.”

Kevin didn’t look like he wanted to let the subject drop, but he waved to the stairs behind him. “You better get down there. Her split personality is in full bloom.”

“Great.”

Kevin grimaced. “She may have been Miss Georgia, but she would have been much more effective as a third-world dictator.”

Didn’t Megan know it? She started down the stairs, but Josh snagged her hand and she looked back at him, searching his face for an explanation. What had happened back there? Her conversation with Kevin hadn’t done a thing to make her forget that kiss. She had to admit to herself she’d never reacted to a kiss like that. Part of her wanted to throw herself at him, even here on the steps, for a repeat performance.

Then it hit her.

She was an idiot. Josh had given her the single best kiss of her life to keep her brother from hearing their argument. That was the reason . . . the only one.

She tried to drop his hand, but he hung on, stopping at the bottom of the stairs and pulling her into an embrace. She tried to resist, but he leaned into her ear and whispered, “Your mother is watching.”

She forced herself to relax.

“I’m sorry about what just happened,” he continued, “but your brother was about to overhear us. In fact, from the look on his face and the way he wouldn’t let it drop, I think he heard some of our conversation. I didn’t mean to violate you like that. I was desperate.”

“I know,” she whispered back, fighting her