“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 disappointment at his confirmation. Had it really meant nothing to him? But of course it hadn’t. It was a ruse. As gorgeous as he was, he’d probably kissed plenty of women, beautiful blonds like the flight attendant. To him, kissing was likely as routine as flossing had been for Jay.
“Megan!” her mother said.
Megan broke loose and walked into the kitchen, Josh on her heels, prepared for the lecture that was sure to come.
Her mother’s nose wrinkled with a disapproving grimace. “Really, Megan. This party is for you and Jay—er, I mean Josh.” She shook her head, and—if possible—looked even more perturbed. “And why didn’t you bother to tell us he preferred Josh? We would have put it on all the invitations.”
Josh slipped an arm around her back, his hand resting on the rise of her hip. “It’s all my fault, Mrs. Vandemeer. On both counts. I insisted Megan help me figure out what to wear tonight, which made her late coming downstairs, and I told her to use Jay on everything for the wedding. My parents prefer it, and I wanted to honor that even if they couldn’t be here with us.”
Megan couldn’t believe how well the lies rolled off his tongue. She’d definitely have to keep that in mind. He might be helping her now, but he had some ulterior motive for doing so. Some instinct told her it had something to do with his mission to save his family business, but for the life of her she couldn’t make the connection.
Nicole Vandemeer’s face softened. “Aren’t you just too precious? Defending Megan like that. And I insist you call me Nicole.”
“Thank you, Nicole.” He tugged Megan closer and leaned his cheek on top of her head. “And I can’t help but defend her. She’s my damsel in distress.”
Megan wanted to kick him in the shin again for the pun he’d made for her benefit, but her mother would notice.
Megan’s mother got a dreamy look in her eyes. “Which makes you her white knight. This just makes the princess theme more perfect.”
“More like my court jester,” Megan mumbled, loud enough for only Josh to hear. But then she absorbed the second half of her mother’s statement. “Wait. What princess theme?”
Her mother scowled, picking up a tray of white bowls shaped like flowers and white candles. “Take these outside and set them up.” She handed the tray to Megan. “Be sure to light them, too.”
“Mom, what princess theme? You didn’t say anything about a princess theme last fall.”
“Now don’t you worry, Megan. I’ve got everything under control.” Without another word of explanation, she walked into the dining room, leaving Megan with the tray in her hands.
“Megan,” Josh said in a low voice. “Let’s take the candles outside.”
She glared up at him. “Why? So you can brownnose her some more?”
“That’s not fair. I was defending you.”
She shot him a hateful look. “I don’t need you to defend me.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. After all, consider why I’m here in the first place.”
“Exactly,” she spat. “Why are you here?”
Josh’s face was expressionless as he took the tray from her. “I’m here to help you, and you’re doing your best to make it difficult.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Which you’ve made abundantly clear. The way I see it, you have two options. One, we play this out, or two, I leave right now.”
He was right, which irked her to no end. Why was she so irritated with him anyway? Unless he was a secret cultist looking for recruits, so far he had been harmless enough. And he was right. He was helping her out of a situation she should have taken care of herself a month and a half ago. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
An infectious grin spread across his face. “Now was that so hard? Come on.”
He turned and headed for the French doors, leaving her to trail behind.
When she stepped out the back door, she gasped, stopping in her tracks next to an equally stunned Josh.
“What the hell . . . ?” he muttered.
“Oh. My. God.” The house had a multilayered deck with a pool at the edge. The yard had been re-landscaped a few years ago, and more features had been added since Megan’s visit last fall. A pool house/cabana had been installed, and the pool deck had been extended and was lined with flowerbeds and potted flowers. Several bistro-sized tables with chairs were arranged around the pool, and a buffet table covered in pale pink organza and a gathered white organza overlay was set up on one level of the deck. But that wasn’t what had so stunned them.
The entire area was tented with a soft white fabric lined with white twinkle lights, and a giant chandelier hung in the middle, directly over the pool.
“Does your mother think we’re already married and this is the reception?” Josh asked.
“No, she wouldn’t miss the opportunity to torture me before the wedding.”
“What the . . .” He walked down the steps to the pool deck, checking out one of the bistro tables.
Megan followed in horror. Like the other tables, this one was decorated with a single blooming rose in a crystal vase, beneath which a few petals were artfully scattered on the white tablecloth. It was the domed glass covering the flower that had caught his attention.
“Is this from Beauty and the Beast?” Josh asked, turning back to gape at her.
She shook her head in dismay. “She said it was a princess theme.”
“That must make me the Beast.”
She released a short laugh. “If she originally planned it that way, I can assure you that she’s turned the tables. She loves you. I’m the Beast.”
He set the tray of candles on the table. “Oh, God. Is that bowl of red apples on the food table a Snow White reference? And the brass lamp must be a nod to Aladdin.”
Megan shook her head, speechless.
“Seriously, Megan. What the hell?”