“Hmm . . .” She crossed her arms. “You seem to have passed it.” She pointed her thumb to the partially open door behind him.
“Huh.” He tried to sound nonchalant. “The door was closed when I went by. I heard Bart in the other room, so I decided to ask him where I could find another bathroom.”
Blair pinned him with her steely gaze.
The bedroom door opened, and Bart came out. “Oh!” he said in surprise, looking nervous. “I haven’t had a chance to say hi to you, Blair. How are you doing?”
“Good.”
“I see you met Josh. Or had you met him before?”
Josh held his breath, waiting for Blair to expose him.
“Nope. This was my first opportunity to meet Josh.”
If Bart heard the inflection, he didn’t let on. “Are you ready for Megan’s wedding excitement?”
Blair’s mouth crooked into a devious smile. “You have no idea.”
“Well . . .” He squeezed past the two of them. “I better get back out to Nicole. I’m sure she’s fit to be tied over something.” He continued toward the kitchen, but Blair didn’t budge, blocking Josh’s path.
Her eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”
“I told you. I was looking for the restroom.”
She shook her head slowly, keeping her gaze on him. “No. You’re up to something. I can feel it. The question is what?”
Josh held his hands out at his side. “I’m just trying to help Megan.”
“No. I don’t—”
“You are unbelievable!” Megan said in a loud voice, walking up behind Blair. “I told you to leave him alone!”
Blair turned to face her friend, and Josh slid past her, moving next to Megan. “I told you that I don’t trust him, and sure enough, I found him eavesdropping outside your parents’ room.”
“Eavesdropping on what? My mother’s outside, and I just passed my father.”
“Megan. Listen to me. Josh was listening to your father’s phone call.”
Josh plastered a look of what he hoped was innocence on his face. “I was looking for the restroom. I heard your dad’s voice, so I was going to ask him where it was. Then Blair showed up and accused me of . . . I’m not sure what.” Josh hated lying, but here he was, lying through his teeth. The guilt was overwhelming.
“You can’t trust this guy, Megan!”
“Blair! Keep your voice down,” Megan whisper-hissed. “Why in the world would Josh eavesdrop on my father? What could he hope to hear? Do you know how paranoid and crazy that sounds?”
“It might sound paranoid, but it’s true.”
Megan shook her head. “You’ll do anything to prove me wrong, won’t you?”
Blair looked genuinely confused. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll resort to making up lies to get me to end our arrangement.”
Blair’s mouth dropped open. “Have you lost your mind?”
Tears filled Megan’s eyes. “You’ve already decided that I have, so why do you keep asking?”
“Megan.” Blair’s voice softened.
Megan shook her head. “Stop. Just stop.” Then she took a deep breath and turned to Josh. “My mother wants my father to formally introduce us to their friends.” He started to say something, but she held up her hand. “Yes, I know. We’ve already talked to every single one of them, but nevertheless . . .” Her voice trailed off.
Blair’s anger returned. “If you think I’m going to stay here and watch this—”
“Go!” Megan said, her eyes blazing. “If you can’t watch this, then go. No one is making you stay.”
“Megan,” Josh interrupted, his guilt crushing him. He couldn’t let her ruin a decades-long friendship over him.
“You’re choosing him over me?” Blair demanded. When Megan didn’t answer, she pushed on. “You’re picking a man whom you’ve known for approximately ten hours over your friend of twenty-five years.”
“No, Blair. You chose for me.” Megan grabbed Josh’s wrist and pulled him down the hall, leaving a stunned Blair in her wake.
“Megan, really—” Josh stammered.
“It’s fine,” she said, forcing a smile. “I’m fine. Let’s go get introduced.”
By the time they reached the kitchen, her hand trembled in his clasp. She was upset whether she wanted to admit it or not.
“Megan.” He pulled her to a halt. “Hold on for a second.”
She stopped in front of him, looking up at him with questioning eyes. She was so agonizingly close, and she looked so vulnerable. All he wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss her, assuring her that everything would be okay . . . but he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure everything would be okay once the dust finally settled.
“Give me a minute, okay?” he asked, certain she would afford him the time she thought he needed to collect himself. He felt less guilt over this small duplicity. It was for her benefit, so he could live with it.
They were still holding hands, he suddenly noticed. He thought about dropping his hold, but couldn’t seem to let go. “She’ll get over it,” he finally said.
She let out a deep breath, then forced a smile. “I’m not so sure.”
“Libby will smooth things over.”
Her smile turned genuine. “Yeah, she can’t stand it when we fight.”
“I like Libby.” He reached his free hand around Megan’s back and pulled her to his chest before he realized what he was doing. Touching her was as natural as breathing, and while that was dangerous, he didn’t much care at the moment.
She relaxed into him, resting her cheek on his chest.
They stood still for nearly a minute, and with every ticking second, Josh felt more and more certain this woman was different than every other woman he had ever met. The question was what did he do with that information? He didn’t see any way to achieve a positive outcome.
Nicole Vandemeer poked her head through the back door. “There you are! Aren’t you too precious, stealing a moment for yourselves? You can hug later. Your father wants you out here for an official introduction.”
Josh wasn’t fooled. The introduction had to be Nicole’s idea, but at the moment he was Nicole Vandemeer’s golden boy, and he wasn’t about to say a word.
Chapter Ten
Josh dropped his arm but held Megan’s hand again, lacing their fingers together. She liked it more than she should, just like she’d felt when he was holding her. Somehow he’d known she couldn’t handle facing her mother’s friends immediately after her run-in with Blair. The confrontation had upset her more than she was willing to admit to either of them. Josh had used the excuse of needing a moment for himself, but she wasn’t fooled. He’d done it for her. In the entire time she’d known Jay Connors, he’d never once been intuitive about her feelings, and this man she’d known for less than a day could see right through her.
She looked up at him, suddenly feeling shy, although she wasn’t sure why.
He gave her a warm smile that reached his eyes, filling her with reassurance. “We want to keep Knickers happy, don’t we?”