The Wedding Pact Box Set - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,75

most part. But then when I was in middle school, she changed. Like a light switch from off to on. She became obsessed with everything being perfect.” She forced a tight smile. “But nothing’s perfect, you know?”

Watching her now, he considered arguing with her statement. She looked as near to perfect as he could imagine. “Perfection is difficult to reach and impossible to maintain.”

“Exactly. Which is why she constantly found me lacking. I didn’t suit her new view of perfection. At first I was too stunned to argue, so I said nothing. All of us did, really. Kevin and I were stunned that our mother was gone and this Stepford wife had taken her place. Kevin got involved in sports. My dad took up camping and fishing, and for a while I was the one to deal with her on a regular basis. But I didn’t. I retreated. Then after a while, I guess I learned that it’s always been easier not to fight her. No one ever goes against her and wins. Ever. She’s beaten us down enough times that we’ve just stopped trying. I moved to Seattle to get away from her. I’ve never seen my dad more crushed than the day I told him I was moving away. I think he instinctively knew I wouldn’t be back much.”

“But what about Libby and Blair?”

“Collateral damage.”

Josh’s mother had always been supportive and loving. How would he handle it if she flipped a switch like Nicole Vandemeer had done? What had happened to turn her against her family?

“No more talk about my mother.” Her hand slipped into his hair, and her face hovered over his, her eyes bright and large. “You were a hero tonight.”

“What?”

“You probably think no one noticed in all the madness, but I did. You saved my cousin. She was drowning and you jumped in and saved her.”

He shook his head, cringing. “It wasn’t anything. Anyone could have done it.”

“But you did.”

“I suspect Noah wishes I’d left her at the bottom of the pool after the way she bit him.”

Megan tilted her head back and laughed, and Josh decided the sound of her laugh was the happiest sound that had ever existed. “Nevertheless, you saved her. You saved me, too. I’m surprised you don’t have a superhero costume on under your clothes.”

“I did,” he teased. “But spandex shrinks in water, so I had to hang it over the shower rod in your bathroom. I hope no one comes in and learns my secret.”

She laughed again, straddling his waist and leaning over him, her hair tumbling over her shoulders. “If we ever go back, will you try it on for me?”

“If we go back?”

Her smile softened. “We could run away together—just you and me—and never look back.”

Her thoughts so echoed his own that he couldn’t help but smile. “Do we end up in Seattle when we reach the end of our trip, or do we stay on some tropical island somewhere?”

“It depends. Does this island include Gram’s nudist colony?”

“God, no.”

“Hmm . . . Just how good are you at making coconut drinks?” Her eyebrows lifted playfully as she asked the question. When he started to answer, she kissed him to stop his answer. “It’s a trick question, so think carefully first.” Then she laughed again, sitting up.

He sat up, too, grabbing her hips and settling her on his thighs. The nearness of her drove him crazy and made his thoughts stray from their conversation. “I’m going to guess that you hate coconut, so I should probably answer that I make killer margaritas.”

She laughed again. “I knew you were smart.”

“The question of my intelligence is yet to be decided, but I think agreeing to be your substitute fiancé was the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“I don’t remember asking,” she teased.

“I have lots of things to offer that you might not have even considered.”

Her eyes flew open in mock surprise. “You’re full of talk, aren’t you?”

He laughed. “I’ll be happy to demonstrate.”

The amusement on her face faded. She grabbed his face in her hands and gave him a deep, lazy kiss that reached down to his soul, stirring a longing of which he’d never believed himself capable.

He wrapped an arm around her, his hand splaying on her back as he held her close. “I think I could spend the rest of my life with you and never get my fill.”

She kissed him again, this time with more urgency. In only a few minutes, he was inside her again, keeping her