The Wedding Pact Box Set

by Denise Grover Swank

  Without intending to, Blair found herself staring at them. “Yet you came anyway.”

  He lifted his face, keeping his gaze on his beaming wife. “Megan and I have been apart for two nights and three days. If she’s going to be here, so am I.”

  “But the real reason he’s here is because of Dad,” Megan added. “Dad was worried about being outnumbered, so he wanted Josh to keep him company.”

  “Funny,” Blair said dryly. “I’m sure Noah’s in there too. How much company does your dad need?”

  “Neither of them are staying for the shower, Blair,” Libby said, giving Megan a quick glance. “They’ll be in the house with Megan’s dad. If you want Neil to come over, why don’t you give him a call? It’s not too late.”

  “I don’t want Neil to come.” It came out a bit too harsh, but the thought of Neil showing up sounded suffocating.

  Megan’s eyes widened slightly, and she gave Josh a quick glance.

  They must have come up with some secret eye contact language in the few months they’d been together, because Josh nodded and headed for the back door. “I’m going to check on your dad.”

  That pissed off Blair even more. “For the love of God, can’t you two stop the goo-goo eyes for more than two seconds?”

  “Blair,” Megan said quietly. “What’s going on?”

  Her heart pounded an uneven dance in her chest as she looked into the earnest faces of her best friends. Could she tell them how Garrett’s sudden re-arrival into her life had incited her conflicting feelings? They thought she was cold, calculating, and heartless, and honestly, how could she blame them? She’d spent the better part of ten years convincing them and everyone else around her that she encompassed all of those traits. The only person she’d allowed to see her truly vulnerable was Garrett.

  The thought of him made her eyes burn and her chest constrict. Oh, God. Why did she have to feel this way? Her relationship with Neil was fine; it was steady, and it was reliable. Sure, the energy between them was lukewarm at best, and they didn’t have sex very often, but she was fine with their arrangement. Besides, if Neil wasn’t interested in sex, he was less likely to stray. The problem was that an increasingly vocal part of her craved a hot, physical relationship like the one she’d shared with Garrett. Did she really want to live the rest of her life with nothing but mediocre sex?

  “Blair, darling,” Knickers called out the back door. “Your mother-in-law’s here.”

  Oh, shit. People were starting to arrive. She had to pull herself together. “Future mother-in-law,” Blair muttered under the breath, then started to panic even more. She wasn’t sure she could play nice with Debra Fredrick two nights in a row, let alone for the three more days she had left. Even worse, her mother hadn’t been able to get off work, and now Neil’s mother was likely to make a big deal of it. “I need a drink.”

  Something in her tone must have alarmed her friends. They exchanged a quick glance before Libby said, “I’ll go get it.”

  “You better not bring me back some damn girly drink,” Blair said, eyeing the punch bowl with radioactive pink liquid on the food table.

  Of course, Debra had already slipped out the back door. Without any preliminaries, she reached into her monstrous purse and pulled out the Curse Kitty. “That will be a dollar, Blair.”

  Libby started laughing as soon as she saw the plastic cat bank. The top corner of the mailing tape had pulled away and was covered in black lint. “What in the hell is that?”

  “It’s the Curse Kitty, of course,” Blair said dryly. “See? It’s printed as plain as day on the label.”

  Debra’s eyebrows arched as she turned her gaze on Libby. “And you owe me a dollar, too.”

  Blair sucked in a breath. “Debra, when most people meet someone for the first time, they start off with introductions—they don’t extort them for money.”

  Debra’s face flushed, but her mouth was pinched tight with determination.

  Blair waved her hand toward Neil’s mother. “Debra Fredrick, these are my best friends, Megan McMillan and Libby St. Clair. This is Neil’s mother.”

  Megan held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Fredrick.”

  Debra took her hand, beaming. “What a sweet girl you are.” She looked down at the wedding ring on her hand. “You’re married? That must be why you’re so much more civilized than your friends. I keep hoping marriage will make Blair more domestic.”

  Libby coughed and shot Blair a grin. Thank God she’d thought to warn them about her future monster-in-law.

  “How long have you been married?” Debra asked.

  Megan smiled, but even a blind man could see it was forced. “Two months.”

  “Isn’t that precious,” Debra cooed, oblivious to the tension she was creating. “And when are you having babies? Soon, I hope? Maybe you’ll be a positive influence on Blair.”

  “Debra,” Blair scolded. “Megan just got married. She’s not in any hurry.”

  “We’re going to wait,” Megan said, looking uncomfortable. “We’d like to spend more time together first.”

  Debra looked over all three women, her mouth pinched into a disapproving frown. “Aren’t you girls worried about your biological clocks? You’re not getting any younger, you know.”

  Libby struggled to keep a straight face. “Maybe I should get Blair her drink before we start planning a joint baby shower.”

  Debra shook the cat jar, the coins rattling against the sides. “Pay your dollar first. You too, Blair.”

  Libby grinned, trying not to laugh. “I don’t have any money on me, so I’ll just run inside and get some from Noah. I’m sure he’ll appreciate this story.” She snickered. “And I’ll get you a drink you’re guaranteed to like, Blair.”

  “Oh!” Debra’s eyes lit up. “Will you get one for me too? Do you have hard water? I’d love a hard lemonade.” She nodded her head with approval. “I had a few last night, and they were so relaxing.”

  Libby burst out laughing. After hearing Blair rant about Debra being a teetotaler, she knew the older woman would never knowingly ask for an alcoholic drink. “One hard lemonade coming right up.”

  Debra held out her cat. “Blair.”

  Groaning, Blair pulled a dollar from the wad of cash in her skirt pocket and stuffed it into the slot. Everything in her screamed in protest, but she’d promised Neil to try her best to keep his mother happy. If she refused to go along with this damn kitty scheme, she was liable to create family drama. And with the partners watching, it was more important than ever to keep the peace. Thank God she’d asked Melissa to get her more dollar bills. She had a feeling the nine dollars she had left in her pockets wouldn’t be enough.

  The back door opened again, and a woman who looked remarkably like Garrett walked onto the deck. Debra turned to face the woman, and her face instantly scrunched with irritation. “Hello, Barb. Nice to see you dressed up, but I specifically told you to wear something other than blue and white.” The sarcasm was heavy in her voice.

  Barb glanced down at her white eyelet shirt and blue capris, then scanned her sister’s plain blue and white dress. “Some of us choose quality, Debbie Sue. I’m sure that dress came from the Dollar General, while mine came from Target.”

  “It’s Debra now,” Neil’s mother snarled. “How many times do I have to tell you that?” Her jaw tightened as she lifted her chin and gave her sister a haughty look. “And besides, I got this dress at Sears.”

  “You may call yourself Debra now because you think it’ll help you sell more plastic containers for your Tupperware business, but it doesn’t mean the rest of us have to follow suit. For heaven’s sake, your birth certificate says Debbie Sue.”

  Debra’s face turned red, and she looked like she was about to have a heat stroke.

  “I wonder where Libby is with that lemonade,” Megan murmured, looking around. “Or where my mother is. Maybe I should go check.”

  Blair grabbed her arm as she started to walk away, her nails digging i
nto Megan’s flesh. “Don’t you even think about it.”

  Megan laughed, but there was a nervous hitch to it.

  Barb shifted her attention toward Blair, and she resisted the urge to squirm under her scrutiny. “So you’re Blair.”

  “You know who I am?” she choked out. In the year she and Garrett had dated, she’d never met his mother. They’d talked about going to see Garrett’s family for Christmas, but they’d visited her mother instead. At Garrett’s insistence. He’d claimed it was because his mother and aunt were crazy, but after their breakup, she’d wondered if he’d maybe been ashamed of her.

  Megan gave her a concerned glance, and Barb looked at her like she was flat-out crazy. “Well, you are the bride.” She laughed. “Debbie Sue and I may have our differences, but I know about Neil’s fiancée.”

  “Oh,” she mumbled, the blood suddenly rushing from her head. She was totally losing it.

  “Blair, are you okay?” Megan whispered. “You don’t look like you’re feeling well.”

  “I’m fine.”

  Barb seemed oblivious to her distress. Turned out the two sisters weren’t so different after all. “Debbie Sue says you’re a lawyer,” Barb said, glancing around the elaborately decorated yard. “My son Garrett is a lawyer too. What type of law do you do?”

  “You mean practice?” Megan asked, sounding uncharacteristically snippy.

  Barb waved her hand back and forth. “Whatever.”

  Blair’s chest felt like someone was tightening a clamp, a quarter turn at a time, until all the air was squeezed out of her chest. Should she admit that she’d dated Garrett? Pretend she’d only just met him? “I . . . divorce law . . .” She wasn’t sure she could spend the rest of the evening with Garrett’s mother.

  “Blair.” Megan sounded more insistent. “Let’s get you something to eat before the party gets started.”

  Blair shook her head. “Knickers’ll have a fit if we mess up her display.”

  “Let her.” Megan turned to the two sisters, who were currently shooting glares at each other that perfectly punctuated the sharply worded barbs they continued to volley. “If you’ll excuse us, I need to get the bride-to-be something to eat.”

  “Of course. We’ll get a chance to chat later,” Barb said, then glanced around the yard, already dismissing the two women. “Where’s Dena? Is she bringing her ill-behaved children with her?”

  Debra bristled at her sister’s remark. “Dena will be here soon. The real question is where is Kelsey? Too busy with her poor fatherless baby?”

  “And that’s our cue . . .” Megan looped her arm through Blair’s and tugged her toward the food table, casting another worried look in her direction. “When was the last time you ate something?”

  “I don’t know. Lunch, I guess, but I didn’t eat very much. Nerves.”

  Megan grabbed a pink paper plate and stacked it with a couple of quartered sandwiches and some raw vegetables. “What’s going on, Blair? This is totally unlike you. You’re never affected by nerves.”

  “I’m getting married,” Blair said. “I think I’m entitled.”

  Megan didn’t say anything as she handed over the plate.

  Even Blair knew she was acting like a bitch. “God, I’m sorry, Megs. I’ve got a lot on my mind, and I’m taking it out on you.”

  “Now I’m really scared if you’re apologizing.” She grinned, but her eyes were full of worry.

  Blair took a bite of one of the sandwiches. “This is delicious.”

  Megan’s eyes narrowed. “Cut the crap, Blair. It’s not like you to change the subject. You always tell it like it is. What are you hiding?”

  The back door banged against the house, and Debra shouted a greeting from the middle of the deck. “Momma, you came! And Dena . . . you brought him with you?” Her voice trailed off.

  Great. The infamous Nana Ruby was here.

  And so were Dena’s kids.

  “I came across him as he was strolling up to the door,” Dena said, speaking in a tight drawl that conveyed her disgust.

  Dena was the spitting image of her mother, right down to the way she curled her upper lip when dealing with someone she didn’t like, which not so surprisingly included a great many people. Blair still had her back to the deck, but she was certain Dena’s lip had curled into her trademark sneer, and she was equally certain she knew who’d put it there. She wouldn’t turn around yet. If she kept her back turned, maybe everything would be okay.

  The high-pitched screaming of Dena’s children made Blair cringe. “Great. Dena did bring her wonder brats. They’re the most ill-behaved children I’ve ever met, but she thinks they’re absolutely perfect.”

  “Blair,” Megan reprimanded. “They’re children.” She eyed them running all around the deck like a set of wild banshees. “They’re bound to have some energy.”

  “Ha. We’ll see if you’re still saying that by the end of the evening. Ten dollars says one of them will end up in the pool.”

  “Only a fool would take that bet,” a familiar male voice said from behind her. “And I wager you’d push one of them in to make sure you won.”

  A chill ran down Blair’s spine. She clenched her fists at her sides, her fingernails digging into her palms. Oh, how she wanted to take in the sight of him, but she knew it would be safer if she kept her back to him while she tried to resuscitate her dying self-control.

  Surprise filled Megan’s eyes as she stared at the man behind Blair. “I didn’t know my mother had invited any men to the party.”

  “Technically, she didn’t invite any men,” Blair said, wishing Libby would show up with her drink already. Hopefully it would be whiskey. “They just keep dropping in.”

  “Like that song about raining men.” He laughed, a rich warm sound that sent a fire racing through her blood. “That sounds like a single woman’s dream come true.”

  “No,” she said, slowly spinning to face him, glad her anger had kicked into gear. It made it easier for her to fight her reaction to him. “Change it to women, and it sounds like your dream come true. Player.” The word was jagged and sharp, like a weapon, but she needed the reminder.

  He looked even more gorgeous than he had this afternoon. He’d changed into a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips, making her imagination run wild, and a blue button-down shirt. The top two buttons were undone, revealing a smattering of hair on his chest, and his long sleeves were rolled up, showing her that his forearms were just as built as they’d been when they dated.

  Her body was about to combust.

  “Blair,” Megan said, jolting her back to reality. “I take it you know him?” Of course Megan hadn’t met him. She’d run off to Seattle by then, running away from her mother.

  So Libby hadn’t squealed. She’d love to run away and hide from this, but running had never been her style. No need to start now. “Megan McMillan. Meet Garrett Lowry. My ex-boyfriend.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The moment Garrett stepped onto the deck, his eyes instantly found Blair. Her back was to him, but he had no doubt it was her. He ignored the chaos his aunt and mother were creating while Nana watched with narrowed eyes. As far as he was concerned, he’d fulfilled his duty by escorting Nana to the party.

  Common sense told him that pursuing Blair at her own wedding shower was a bad idea, yet he was as drawn to her as a plant was to sunlight. She’d changed into a simple peach dress and a pair of white sandals, and her hair hung down her back in loose waves.

  The pretty brunette next to Blair watched him closely as he approached, probably wondering why there was a man at a wedding shower. Blair was talking about his cousin’s bratty children, so he decided to lead with a joke about her pushing one of Dena’s kids into the pool.

  Smooth, Garrett.

  Instead of stomping off, she introduced him to her friend Megan. The way she did it insinuated she didn’t want him there, but he noticed a couple of things, both in his favor. One, the way she moved a little bit closer when she
turned to him, as if she felt as helplessly drawn to him as he did her, and two, her eyes had turned that enthralling shade of sky blue.

  But he was struggling to stay focused on the conversation. She was gorgeous in peach. It brought out the color in her pale skin and made her eyes even bluer.

  He could tell her friend—Megan—had already heard about him, not that he was surprised. Blair had told him plenty about her two best friends. “Garrett from law school?” the woman gasped.

  Blair’s lips pinched as she slightly stuck out her leg and crossed her arms. “The one and the same.”

  Megan lowered her voice to a hiss. “What’s he doing here?”

  “Stirring up shit. What he does best.”

  “That’s not entirely true,” Garrett said. Her words didn’t faze him—he knew that every second she continued to talk to him was a second in his favor. “I’m here because Nana insisted I bring her to the shower. You know me, Blair. The last thing I would choose to do with my night is play what’s in your purse with a bunch of women.”

  “The fact you know a shower game is a bit frightening.”

  He shrugged. “I’m a wealth of information.”

  A sardonic smile lifted the corners of her lips. “Looks like you’ve done your duty. I’m sure you’re free to leave.”

  He shook his head and gave her a smug grin. “No can do. Nana says she owns me for the night.” He scanned the food table. “Got anything to drink besides that pink punch on the table? Is it spiked? I think we’re all gonna need it if we’re going to endure a couple of hours with my mother and my aunt.”

  He glanced over his shoulder at the argument still raging behind him. The hostess was probably regretting throwing this party right about now. Or at least inviting those two.

  “You still haven’t explained how he ended up here,” Megan said, addressing them both.

  Blair sighed, rolling her eyes. “It’s actually very convoluted.”

  “Oh!” a woman exclaimed from behind him. “I arrived just in time. I love convoluted stories.”