Megan pushed up on her elbow. “What did she do?”
A gentle smile lit up his eyes and his hold on her hair loosened, but he continued to play with the loose strands. “It doesn’t matter. She’ll tell you tomorrow, I’m sure.” He searched her eyes. “I thought about talking to you about this first, but I’ve decided to let her. I know her version, and you know most of mine. All I ask is that you think of what we have—what I’m so desperate to keep—before you make up your mind.”
What was he talking about?
“But if you decide you believe me and you believe that I care about you, I still want to go through with the ceremony tomorrow. Let’s give Knickers her last hurrah.”
“You really want to go through with the wedding?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. I’ll stick with the plan and tell her I lost the marriage license. You’ll be off the hook, but Knickers will still get her fancy party. We’ll figure this out—you and me—later.”
It was still a crazy idea, but for some reason it didn’t seem so crazy anymore. She would do it for him. “Okay.”
He took her hand in his. “I’ll take you home in the morning, and I’ll be at the gardens in time to do my part tomorrow afternoon. If you decide to go through with it, I want to talk to you before the wedding, before you go down the aisle.”
“But—”
“Please.”
“Knickers will have a fit if she knows you’ve seen me in my dress before the wedding,” she said, trying to look serious. It didn’t last; her face broke out into a huge grin. “Count me in.”
A smile spread across his face. “That’s my girl.”
She lay her head on his chest, desperately hoping she really was.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Megan and Josh spent the night under the stars, making love until the sun rose. They went for breakfast before he drove her back to her parents’ house.
He turned to face her once they were parked in the driveway. “I feel like I should walk you to the door,” he teased, taking her hand in his.
She chuckled. “Trust me, you don’t want to do that right now.”
His smile fell. “Then maybe I should go with you. You shouldn’t have to deal with the fallout from last night on your own.”
She leaned over and kissed him, her lips lingering on his. “I love that you want to protect me from my mother. But I think it’s time I started standing up for myself.”
“Does that mean you don’t want to go through with the wedding?”
She paused, studying his face. “No, as strange as it sounds, now that I’m used to the idea, I kind of want to do it. What about you?”
He didn’t answer her for several seconds. “I want what you want, Megan. From here on out, you’re calling all the shots. You want to have the wedding, we’ll do it. If you change your mind and decide to say screw it all and hop on a plane back to Seattle, we can do that, too.” He hesitated and swallowed. “And if you decide you don’t want to see me again, you only have to text me and tell me to go to hell.”
She forced a smile. “I can’t break it off. I don’t have your number.”
How could that be? How could she have experienced so much with this man and still not have his cell phone number? Maybe because they had spent nearly every minute together.
“Give me your phone.”
She dug it out of her purse and turned it on, entering her passcode before she handed it to him.
He entered his number and gave the phone back to her. “See you at our wedding.”
She reached for the door handle, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, kissing her as though he was never going to see her again. “Josh, you’re scaring me.”
“Maybe that’s because I’m scared, Meggie.”
“Tell me what Blair’s going to tell me.”
He shook his head. “I want you to decide for yourself.”
She got out and walked to the house, checking her phone before she walked through the door—there were multiple missed calls and voice mails from her mother, as well as calls, texts, and messages from Blair, Libby, and her brother. And there was one text from Jay.
Call me.
She pressed delete. She never wanted to hear from that asshole again.
The front door opened before her hand could reach the knob.
“Where have you been?” Her mother’s voice was icy. “I’ve been worried sick about you. I was about to call the police.”
“The police? Why would you call the police?”
“Josh punched his brother in the face, then dragged you off to God-knows-where. I was frightened for you, Megan . . .” Her mother’s voice broke.
Oh, God. She really had been worried.
Megan pushed her shock aside and wrapped her mother in a hug. “I’m sorry, Mom. I’m fine. We both just needed to get away. I was getting cold feet, and Josh knew I needed some time alone with him to sort everything out.”
She shut the door behind her, then hastened her mother into the living room, where Gram sat munching from a box of fiber cereal.
They’d only just walked in when Kevin stalked in from the kitchen, a coffee cup in his hand. He set it down on the end table next to the sofa.
“Did he threaten you?” he demanded of her, the veins on his neck bulging.
Megan released her hold on her mother and turned to look at Kevin. “What? No!”
“I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Gram said, still crunching on her cereal. “So Megan wanted to have one last night as a single woman.” She grabbed another handful. “You can’t blame her for wanting wild, single sex.”
Knickers’ face turned beet-red. “Mother!”
“Gram,” Megan laughed. “I don’t think it counts if you’re having wild, single sex with the man you’re marrying.”
Kevin looked even angrier. “I do not want to hear about my little sister’s wild sex. Especially with that violent asshole.”
She shook her head. “Josh would never hurt me. His brother did something related to their business that he saw as a betrayal.”
“Their business?” he asked, incredulous. “I thought he was an investment banker. Does he own the freaking bank?”
Oh, crap.
Gram continued, oblivious to the change in topic. “I heard something on the news about how all you kids are into BS stuff because of that Fifty Shades of Steele book. I read it, you know.” She lifted her eyebrows at Megan, grabbing another handful of cereal. “Are you and Josh into whips and colored rooms?”
“Mother!” Knickers gasped in shock.
Megan began to laugh, despite her horror. She cast a glance at Kevin, who looked close to losing his breakfast. “It’s BDSM, not BS, although some people might call it that, too.” She tried to get serious. “You really don’t expect me to discuss my sex life with Josh in front of my mother, do you?”
Gram shoved some of the cereal into her mouth. “It might loosen her up. Maybe she and your father should try it.”
“Gram!” Kevin shouted.
She shrugged, reaching into the box again. “I’m just saying a little spice in the bedroom might loosen her up. Or she could put some of those contraptions in the basement. There’s room for a dungeon down there.”