Josh knew he was going to have to dig himself out of this one. Part of him considered walking away from it all, throwing in the towel, but he wasn’t ready to do that. After seeing this lavish display of wealth, he was certain that Megan’s father—who genuinely seemed like a nice guy—had plenty of incentive to take Josh’s plans and make a fortune out of them, snagging away their investor to boot. Josh wasn’t sure there was enough money in the world to keep Nicole Vandemeer happy. He had to stay longer to see what he could uncover. He suspected some of Bart Vandemeer’s business associates might be at the party, and Josh hoped to sniff out information from them in the guise of polite conversation. Tonight could help him direct his investigation. He may have fallen into this role by chance, but it was showing more potential than he could have imagined at the airport earlier.
He cast a glance at the feisty brunette next to him. And then there was Megan herself . . .
No, Josh wasn’t going anywhere yet, bitchy best friend be damned.
Megan looked over her shoulder, then back at her friend. “Who told you I was drugged? And how did you find out about Josh?”
“Kevin. He wanted to know why your fiancé Josh let you get shit-faced on an afternoon flight.”
Megan’s back stiffened underneath Josh’s arm. He’d unconsciously returned his arm to the small of her back. He considered dropping it but decided it added to the illusion of a couple in love. Even so, he had to admit that wasn’t the only reason he kept it there. It felt good.
The angry woman in front of him didn’t seem appeased by the gesture; if anything, she looked angrier when her steely gaze lowered to his arm.
“What did you tell him?” Megan asked, her jaw clenched.
“What did I tell him? Why don’t we talk about what you haven’t told me?” Blair hissed. Josh wasn’t sure Blair’s eyes could squint any tighter as she shot daggers of hate at him. “What the hell is going on here?” she asked, adding emphasis to each word.
Megan rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story.”
“It can’t be that long,” Blair countered. “Eight hours ago you were single. What great love story could have unfurled in that time frame?”
“It was all a misunderstanding,” Megan said.
“Oh, really?” Blair kept her gaze on Josh. “A misunderstanding? Are you homeless?”
“What?”
“Are you mentally ill? A gigolo? A terrorist?”
“Blair, stop.” Megan put her hand on her friend’s arm. “And I already accused him of being a terrorist.”
“And you believed him when he said no?”
“Actually,” she mused, casting an ornery grin at him, “I don’t think he answered me.”
“Tricky bastard, aren’t you?”
Josh figured anything he said at this point would be used against him, so he chose to plead the fifth.
“Blair, it’s not like that. You don’t even know the story.”
“Then why don’t you tell it to me, Megan,” Blair said in a snippy tone that rubbed Josh the wrong way. Megan had already put up with a mountain of crap from her mother, princess-themed or not, and she didn’t need more from her supposed best friend.
“Instead of attacking her,” Josh countered in a deadly calm voice, “why don’t you let her actually explain.”
Blair gave him a dirty look, but she pressed her lips together and waited.
Glancing between Josh and her friend with wide eyes, Megan began. “I had a couple of drinks on the plane like you suggested, but I’d taken some Dramamine before boarding.”
“What were you thinking?”
“Obviously I wasn’t,” Megan said, looking embarrassed. “And I passed out on the plane. The flight attendant was going to have me turned over to security, but Josh—who was sitting by me and knew about the reason for my trip—helped me off the plane. But I couldn’t walk, and he ended up carrying me. People thought he might be abducting me, so he told them he was my fiancé.”
“Did he, now?”
Josh leaned in closer. “I knew her family was meeting her. All I wanted to do was make sure she made it to her mother okay, but her mom heard me say I was her fiancé, and they presumed I was Jay.”
“Oh!” Blair cooed in mock surprise. “You know his name. And you didn’t think to correct them?”
Josh’s brow furrowed in irritation. “I tried to explain, but I’m sure you’ve met Megan’s mother.”
Blair crossed her arms. “So you’re telling me that you didn’t have a single opportunity to come out and say, ‘Hey! There’s been a colossal misunderstanding. I’m not Jay Connors.’”
Megan’s eyes flew open. “Shh! Blair! Someone’s going to hear you.”
Blair shook her head, staring at her friend in disbelief. “This is insane, Megan. I expect something like this from Libby, not you.”
Josh’s hand curled tighter on Megan’s hip, and he pulled her closer. How much shit did she have to endure? First her mother, then this bitch who called herself Megan’s best friend . . . at least her psycho brother was actually trying to look out for her. Megan’s fiancé—who was sounding more and more like a first-class bastard—had cheated on her. Josh already knew that Jay Connors didn’t deserve her, but the pain and humiliation of his betrayal still had to sting. Megan deserved sympathy and comfort from Blair, who obviously knew the truth, not full-blown hostility. Nevertheless, he swallowed his words of defense, even if it left a bitter taste on his tongue. He couldn’t afford to get caught up in this drama.
Hurt filled Megan’s eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Libby is the impulsive one. Not you. You’re usually sensible and logical.”
Megan shook her head. “No, Blair. Sensible and logical is you.”
“So what does that make you?”
For a moment, he didn’t think Megan was going to say something, but she finally spoke. “After twenty-five years, you really have to ask me that? Maybe you don’t know me so well after all.”
Blair gave her an exasperated look. “Now is not the time for Teen Glamour personality tests.”
“No,” Megan said quietly. “It’s not.”
“So, what? You’re going to marry this guy to avoid a confrontation with your mom?”
“No! Of course not. He’s going to break up with me. He’s helping me.”
Blair shot him a look of disgust. “And of course he’s doing it out of the kindness of his heart.”
“You know,” Josh said, no longer able to keep quiet, “I seem to be the only person around here who’s actually trying to help her instead of tearing her down.”
Megan gasped and stared up at him, her watery eyes full of gratitude. He squeezed her side to give her reassurance.
Blair looked like she wanted to strangle him.
“Megan knows my reasons for helping her. It’s no one’s business but our own. Not even yours.”
Blair pointed her finger at his chest. “I don’t trust you.”
Josh lost count of how many times he’d heard that today, a sharp contradiction to everything he’d been told for the past twenty-nine years. Josh was the steady, reliable, trustworthy McMillan boy. The one everyone counted on to be the voice of reason. He was used to everyone trusting him, so it rubbed his pride a bit raw to be treated like a cad. “I can’t control that one way or the other.”