They both gasped at his declaration.
He loved her? But he knew it was true as soon as he said it. As impossible as it seemed, he loved Megan.
“Love her? Who are you trying to fool here? Is this a bargaining chip?”
“What? God, no!” he spat in disgust as he walked away from her. “You can take your fucking deal and ride your broom back to hell.” One persistent thought ran through his head: He had to get to Megan before Blair did.
“Your brother agreed to it.” Blair’s calm voice called out into the night air.
He froze, his eyes sinking closed.
“Oh, yeah. Noah couldn’t sign that deal fast enough.”
He turned around and watched as she squatted and picked up the paper. “You didn’t notice his signature?”
He stomped over and snatched the document from her hands. Sure enough, Noah’s unmistakable scrawl was at the bottom. Fury rushed through him.
Noah had betrayed him.
Again.
Josh ripped the paper in half, then ripped it again and threw it into the air. “Here’s what I think of your deal. And my original suggestion stands—go to hell.”
He marched toward the front door of the restaurant.
“If you hurt Megan, I will rip your balls off myself,” Blair shouted, her voice cracking. It was the first sign of genuine emotion he’d heard from her since she’d staged this little scene.
“Get in line.” Once inside, he raced to the private room and threw open the door. There he was. Noah was still in his seat beside Libby as if nothing had happened, a flirtatious grin on his face while Mitch looked at his phone.
The entire room turned to stare at Josh as he threw the door against the wall. Megan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Josh?” she gasped, getting to her feet. “Are you okay?”
He turned his attention back to Noah. The amusement in his brother’s face crumpled into an expression that clearly read oh shit. Noah stood and started around the table to intercept him.
“Josh, let’s go outside,” Noah said.
Josh strode toward his brother, stopping only when he heard Blair’s voice from behind him. She stood in the doorway now, a smug grin on her face. “Yeah, Josh. Why don’t you and Noah go outside, and I’ll have that chat with Megan.”
Megan glanced between Josh and Blair. “What’s going on?”
So this was what it felt like to really be backed into a corner.
Kevin stood next to his seat, looking ready to implement plan B to stop Megan’s wedding—beat Josh to a bloody pulp—while Gram’s eyes glittered with excitement. Poor Bart looked concerned over the second drama that was clearly about to erupt. Knickers remained shockingly silent, but perhaps that could be credited to the empty wine glass in front of her.
Noah took several cautious steps toward him. “Now, Josh. Let’s go outside and I’ll explain everything.” He started to push Josh toward the door.
But Josh dug in his feet. There was no way he was going to let Blair get to Megan first.
He turned to Noah, a wave of hurt engulfing him out of nowhere. It wasn’t the first time his brother had let him down, of course, but somehow it was the worst.
“How could you?” Josh choked out.
Noah’s eyes filled with some unnamable emotion. “When I signed . . . I didn’t realize . . . I’m sorry, but maybe it’s for the best.”
“Like hell it is,” Josh growled as he swung his fist into his brother’s face.
Noah stumbled backward, holding his hand up to his eye as the room erupted into chaos.
Knickers finally sprang into action. “Someone tell me what’s going on here. Right. This. Instant!” she shouted, standing next to her seat.
Josh turned to Megan and held out his throbbing hand toward her. “Come with me,” he pleaded. “Please.” She took one hesitant step toward him and paused for a moment before quickening her pace.
“Go? Go where?” Knickers screeched.
Blair blocked Megan’s path, but she cast a confused glance to Josh, as though no longer certain what to make of him. Josh hoped to God she realized how wrong she was, but her indecision faded, quickly replaced by cold determination. “Don’t do it, Megan. There are things you don’t know.”
“Megan, please,” Josh called to her, desperate.
Megan looked between the two of them, then shoved Blair to the side. “Sorry, Blair.”
She hurried to him, and he nearly cried with relief as she took his hand. He led her outside and to the passenger’s seat of her Explorer. Then he got into the driver’s seat and took off without a word, wanting to get the two of them as far from reality as possible.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Megan was terrified as Josh drove away from the restaurant, but not for her own safety. She knew he would never harm her. In fact, she had a feeling this was an attempt to save her somehow; she just didn’t know what he was protecting her from.
“Josh, what happened?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel, and he shook his head, his jaw clenching as he swallowed.
“Okay, we don’t have to talk about it yet. Where do you want to go?”
He was quiet for several moments. “Our spot.”
Our spot. How could two little words fill her with such contentment and hope? “Okay, we can try it. It’s a Friday night in June. It might already be taken.”
“Let’s try anyway.”
His hands relaxed on the wheel. She tried to release some of the tension in her neck. What had Noah done to elicit such rage from his brother? What had Blair done to instigate it? Because this had Blair’s handiwork all over it.
Josh reached over and grabbed her hand, squeezing with an intensity that worried her, but she kept silent. There was plenty of time to ask questions. They had all night.
Fate was on their side. The campsite was vacant. The bedding from the previous night was still in the back of the car. After Josh parked, Megan climbed out and went around to the hatch to pull it out. Josh met her and snagged it first, both of them silent as they walked to the bluff. Josh handed the pillows to Megan as he spread out the sleeping bag and sheet, then laid the blanket on the pallet. Megan tossed the pillows down and turned to Josh, waiting.
The whole night had been an overwhelming roller coaster of emotions. Something big was happening, and she was intuitive enough to realize this would be a defining moment in their relationship. Whether they moved forward or called it quits. The thought of losing him was suffocating.
She stared at him, overcome with how attractive he was. He could have his choice of just about any woman—the flirty flight attendant was proof of that—but he was here with her, dealing with her mess and all that it encompassed. Despite the huge hassle, this gorgeous, thoughtful, humorous man had chosen to be with her.
The starry sky was his backdrop, the moonlight giving him an ethereal glow. Pain and regret welled in his eyes, and she did the only thing she could to show him that she was there for him in the way he’d been there for her.
She slowly reached for his cheeks and pulled his mouth to hers.
He grabbed her hands and tried to pull away. “Megan.”
“Shhh.” She slipped her hand around to the back of his head and held him in place, her tongue probing his parted lips.