The Wedding Pact Box Set

by Denise Grover Swank

  Garrett’s eyes widened.

  Noah chuckled. “I’m an engineer, and contrary to what my younger brother thinks, I did pay attention in a few of my college courses.”

  “Heat, huh?” He might be right, but he still needed a plan.

  “Are you going to their party tomorrow night?”

  “Yeah. Nana’s insisted that I attend all of the wedding functions, but I would have been there anyway. I’m going to take every opportunity I can to see her. In fact, we have a deposition together tomorrow.”

  “We’ll come up with something by the party. Just keep trying to charm her in the meantime.”

  Noah was being a little too friendly—why was this total stranger so gung-ho to lend his assistance? “Why are you helping me? We’re plotting to break up a wedding.”

  He grinned. “Instigating trouble is something I’m good at, and Libby’s a perfect partner in crime. The two of us made sure Josh and Megan were officially married, and if we managed to do that, we can definitely break up Blair and Neil’s wedding.”

  Garrett’s hand tightened around his beer bottle. “So this is all some game to you?” His voice rose with his anger.

  Noah shook his head. “Hell, no. I’m doing it because there’s no way she’s happy with that dickhead.”

  Garrett’s gaze jerked up to his. “How do you know?”

  “I spent time with them a couple of months ago at Josh’s wedding. The guy’s a total douchebag. Blair might come across as a bitch—no offense, dude—”

  He shrugged. He knew how she came across. “None taken.”

  “—but she doesn’t seem like the type to tolerate a guy like him for very long.”

  Garrett took a long drink. “And yet she has . . . she is.” Could their arrangement be as practical as Neil had suggested?

  “Look, I don’t know you, man, but I saw my brother with Megan in June. When he thought he was going to lose her, he was totally messed up. I can’t imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t taken a chance.” He paused, twisting the bottle in his hand. “If you love her, win her over. You still have a couple of days, and the two of you have history. Josh had less than that with Megan. Hell, the two of them met on the plane on her way to her wedding.” He flashed a grin. “But I bet beating the crap out of Blair’s fiancé in front of her friends isn’t going to win you any favors. Not with a pistol like her.” He laughed at the surprise on Garrett’s face. “Yeah, it was pretty easy to see your intention.”

  Garrett grinned. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  Noah’s smile widened, and he held out his hands. “Why can’t more people see that?”

  His grin morphed into a laugh. “Won’t your girlfriend be looking for you soon?”

  Noah took sip of his beer, then lowered his bottle. “Libby’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a friend.”

  Garrett studied him for a moment. Given the way those two acted around each other, he was pretty sure Noah might need a straight talk of his own.

  “Libby’s worried about her and would do anything to protect her. That’s why she and Megan were so quick to jump in when Neil showed up.”

  That got Garrett’s attention. “Blair’s not the type to tolerate people hovering and taking care of her. She’s too independent for that. I can’t believe she let Megan drag her off like that.”

  “Blair hasn’t been acting like herself lately, and like I said, they’re worried about her. They think she’s making a mistake but is too scared to admit it. If they push too hard, she’ll do it anyway just to prove them wrong.”

  Garrett suspected they were right.

  “I’m sure the way Neil was acting in the kitchen hasn’t done much to set them at ease.” Noah drained his bottle, then stood. “Let’s go out there and keep an eye on the douchebag. Libby doesn’t trust him, and neither do I.”

  Though the last thing he wanted to do was watch Neil parade around with Blair, he forced himself to rise from the stoop. If he truly wanted a chance with her, what choice did he have? Maybe it was time to tell her that Neil was cheating on her. Perhaps it would ease the guilt she was sure to be feeling. But he worried it would harden her heart against love even more, or worse, she’d accuse him of lying about her worst fear in a desperate attempt to win her back.

  He’d sit on the information and hope he could win her over his way. He only hoped his way didn’t take too long.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Blair didn’t have a lot of experience with showers, but this had to be the strangest one she’d ever attended. After the gifts, Knickers divided the attendees into three teams and set them to work draping one team member with toilet paper in an attempt to create a wedding dress.

  Knickers insisted that if Josh and Neil were going to sit in on the shower, they had to join a team. So Josh was sent to Megan and Libby’s group with a couple of other partygoers, and Neil joined forces with his mother and sister and a few others. Of course, Neil’s mother decided it would be cute if Neil was the bride, and soon he was draped in long ribbons of paper. He shot a grin at Blair, who was waiting by the food table. Her job was to judge at the end. She was sure his amusement was supposed to give her warm fuzzies or fill her with reassurance after the kitchen debacle, but all she felt was disgust, directed at both Neil and herself.

  Libby was the model for their group, and Megan and the others wasted no time before slapping toilet paper on her in a haphazard manner.

  Dena’s kids were out in the yard, each with a roll of toilet paper, throwing streamers up into the trees. Knickers watched in dismay, gnawing on a knuckle. “Oh, dear.”

  The back door burst open, and Megan’s grandmother let out a shout. “Ho, boy! You’re playing dress-up. I wanna play.” She was dressed in a hot pink bowling shirt, paired with silver sparkly leggings and orthopedic shoes. Her gray hair was accented with pink streaks, and her arms were wrapped around a present wrapped in purple paper. She set the gift on the presents table and hurried over. “Is the theme Vegas-style weddings? I want to be the bride.” She started to lift up her shirt.

  Knickers cringed. “Mother, stop! There are children present.”

  Her mother looked taken aback. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

  Several people laughed, much to Knickers’s chagrin.

  “You can be on our team, Gram,” Libby said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her closer. “Where have you been? It’s not a party without you.”

  “It’s bowling night. I couldn’t let my team down, but I decided to come home early.” She pinched Libby and Megan’s cheeks. “I couldn’t miss my girls.”

  Megan gave her grandmother a hug. “I’ve missed you, Gram.”

  “Then you and Josh need to get your hienies back in K.C. I’m not getting any younger.”

  Blair was surprised by the sorrow that crept into her as she watched the exchange. The only real family she had left was her mother, and she hadn’t expected to miss her so much, especially at her stupid wedding shower. In fact, her mother had been more upset than Blair that she was missing it. Blair had truthfully assured her it was no big deal, so she was shocked at the sudden realization that she now felt very alone.

  Gram looked over at Blair and reached for her, pulling her into a bear hug. “You think you’re getting out of some lovin’?”

  Blair found herself hugging the woman back. Gram held tight and whispered in her ear, “You got a lot of people who love you, girl, me included. Don’t you ever forget it.”

  Blair leaned back and looked up into her face. Gram had been around as long as the three women had been friends. And while she and Libby were much closer, Blair had always loved her antics. Still, she’d never guessed that Gram was so sentimental about her. “Thank you,” she whispered. It was as if Gram had known exactly what she’d needed to hear.

  Gram winked. “Now someone make me a bride!”

  Megan laughed and handed her a roll.

  Neil’s grandmother sat close to his group, of which she was technically
a member, but she didn’t participate. She watched everything around her with an expressionless face, and Blair couldn’t help but wonder what the older woman was plotting. She was definitely the polar opposite of Megan’s grandmother.

  “Hold still, Neil!” Debra cried out, stumbling as she tried to wrap the toilet paper more firmly around his chest. “I think the patio must be uneven. I can’t seem to stay upright.”

  Neil rolled his eyes, then turned his attention to Blair. “Do we get to play-act the wedding ceremony, Blair?” There was a huge grin on his face as held out his arms so his sister could give him sleeves. “We can practice our kiss.”

  “Only if you win!” someone in the third group shouted.

  Blair watched him, wondering what in the hell she was doing. Neil wasn’t fireworks and rollercoaster feelings, but did she really want that? There was no doubt she and Garrett still had chemistry, but a fire could only burn so long before it became a pile of ashes—a lesson she’d already learned the hard way.

  And as she watched Neil good-naturedly play along with the game, she realized he really was a great guy. He had a respectable career. He was responsible. He was good-looking. And he was capable of adapting to social situations. Neil wasn’t a stupid man. He had to know something had happened between her and Garrett, and yet here he was making an effort to have fun.

  Was she really willing to throw away everything they had together? And for what? A few months with Garrett before he changed his mind again? She needed stability and respect, and she got both of those things from the man she was engaged to marry in a few days.

  “You can have one now.” It went against her nature to show public displays of affection, but she wanted to offer him an olive branch. She walked over and lifted her mouth to his, expecting a brief kiss. But Neil glanced over her head as she moved to kiss him. Something flickered in his eyes, and his arms snaked around her back, pulling her tight against him, his kiss all teeth and tongue, catching her off guard. When she tried to pull loose, he held her close for a couple seconds longer before finally lifting his head.

  Several of the women squealed and tittered, but Blair’s face burned with embarrassment.

  “Neil!” his mother shouted, throwing up her hands in disgust. “Look what you’ve done! You’ve gone and ruined your dress.”

  “But I got the girl,” he said smugly, glancing back toward the deck again. “That’s all that really matters.”

  It was only then that Blair realized Noah and Garrett were on the deck. They’d seen the whole thing. Garrett’s body was rigid, but he let Noah lead him to the patio area.

  Neil had staged the entire thing to prove a point to Garrett. They saw her as the prize for a competition. Was that why Garrett was pressing her so hard? To get one up on his cousin? Anger simmered below the surface, but guilt rose above it, catching her by surprise. Sure she had reason to feel guilty over her kiss with Garrett, but strangely enough, her guilt was over the way Garrett was watching her now. He didn’t look like besting Neil was his end goal.

  “Hot damn!” Gram shouted. “Somebody needs to hose that boy down!”

  Debra gasped, grabbing her cat and shaking it. “One dollar!”

  “WTF?” Gram asked, walking toward her.

  “Gram!” Megan gasped, but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

  She looked back at her granddaughter. “What? Isn’t that what you kids say?”

  Libby giggled. “Do you even know what WTF means, Gram?”

  “Yeah. Wild turkey fun.”

  The women burst out laughing. But Knickers was wringing her hands as she assessed the situation.

  One of Blair’s old friends groaned. “What’s the point of doing this if Blair’s just going to pick her fiancé anyway?” Then, as if in agreement, everyone stopped decorating their models.

  Knickers’s eyes were wild with dismay. She was used to running things her way, and everything she’d planned was going to shit. “Well, okay . . . We can move to the next game.”

  Blair stifled a groan. She wasn’t sure how much more of this evening she could take. Especially with the way Neil was clinging to her.

  Knickers grabbed several trash bags and handed them out. “Let’s clean up, and then we’ll start.” She turned to look at the new additions and frowned. “Even the men can play this one.”

  The toilet paper was cleaned up within minutes, and now that everyone was listening to Megan’s mother, she seemed much more self-assured. She picked up a shallow bowl filled with small pieces of paper and pens. “Everyone sit down and take two pieces of paper and a pen.” She walked around with the bowl, allowing each guest to pick his or her own slips. “Answer the questions you’ve selected, and then we’ll put them into the bowl. I’ll read the answers out loud, and Blair will have to guess who wrote them.”

  Blair couldn’t restrain her groan this time. This sounded like pure torture. She hadn’t seen half the women in this group since high school and early college, and she’d spent as little time as possible with Neil’s family.

  Knickers heard her sound of dismay and flashed her a toothy smile. There was no way she was getting out of this. Part of Blair couldn’t help wondering if this was Megan’s mother’s way of seeking revenge for all the shit the three of them had given her over the years. Truth be told, Blair probably deserved it.

  She sat dutifully in the tall stool Knickers had assigned her, watching as everyone scrawled down their responses. Some finished quickly, and Blair took note of who they were, hoping it would give her a better chance at guessing who had written the short answers. Neil kept looking up at her with playful eyes that caught her off guard. What was he doing? Their relationship had been many things over the last two years, but it had never been playful. Megan and Libby looked tense, splitting their attention between their assigned task and the two men who were vying for Blair’s attention.

  Garrett. Her gaze landed on the man who made her want to forget about responsibility and just say to hell with it all. But she was scared. Garrett Lowry was about the furthest thing from a safe bet, and while Blair might play high stakes with her work, she always thought through every move carefully before making it, even if she appeared to do otherwise. There would be no safety net with Garrett. Yet watching him now, bent over his paper, still writing when everyone else had finished and handed their papers to Knickers, part of her wondered . . . what if?

  Finally, Garrett looked up and handed his sheets to Megan’s mother. His eyes met hers, and she could feel her resolve weaken, but then her gaze shifted to Neil, and she knew he’d seen it all.

  Her chest tightened, squeezing the air from her lungs until her head felt fuzzy.

  “Blair, dear,” Knickers said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  No. She was nowhere near okay, but Blair Anne Myers Hansen never showed signs of weakness. She lifted her chin, defiance filling her and easing the clamp on her lungs. “Of course. I’m fine.”

  Her two best friends didn’t believe her, but she could tell they weren’t sure what to do about it.

  Knickers reached into the bowl and handed her a paper. “Let’s get started!”

  Sucking in a deep breath, Blair reached into the bowl and pulled out a slip, then opened it and read out loud, “When did you first meet Blair?” A slow smile spread across her face. “The first day of kindergarten. I was crying after my mom dropped me off, and Tim Eagers called me a crybaby. Blair walked in with her blonde curls and blue dress, headed straight over to Tim, and told him she’d beat his ass if he ever talked shit to her best friend again.” Blair looked up, surprised by the burning in her eyes. What the hell was going on with her? All this sentimental shit was coming out of nowhere. “Megan.”

  Megan laughed. “And that’s exactly how it happened. You got sent to the principal’s office the very first day for cursing.”

  Neil gave her a disapproving look, but Garrett was beaming.

  Debra cleared her throat. “That’s two dollars
, Blair.” She passed the kitty to her daughter, who leaned forward and reached it out toward her.

  Blair chuckled and pulled two dollars from her pocket and stuck them in the jar. Then she winked at Megan, who was wiping her eyes. “Best two dollars I ever spent.”

  Hopefully most of the questions and answers wouldn’t be like that—otherwise, Blair was doomed to embarrass herself with tears. Blair grabbed another question.

  “What is Blair’s idea of a fun night?” She looked over the one-sentence answer, then read it out loud. “Working in her office.” She glanced up. “Debra.” Even if she hadn’t known, the tight loopy handwriting would have given it away.

  Debra’s mouth pinched into a frown. “You really need to get a hobby, dear. Like quilting or couponing . . . so you’ll have something to occupy your time when the babies come.”

  Garrett looked like he was going to combust, but Josh and Noah now sat on either side of him, and they each grabbed hold of him.

  Gram’s mouth twisted with worry. “Maybe I should take my present back if you’re already pregnant. It’s a box full of edible underwear and lotions.”

  “I am not pregnant,” Blair said, vehemently shaking her head.

  Libby giggled and patted Gram’s arm. “And even if she were pregnant, she could still eat it . . . I mean wear it.” She and half their friends broke out into hysterical laughter.

  Blair might have joined them if she wasn’t about to bolt out of the chair.

  Knickers patted her shoulder. “Maybe we should read another question.”

  Blair went through several more papers, most of them easy to guess. And even if she couldn’t guess who’d written the answer, all she had to do was keep an eye on the group as she read the paper. She was used to reading people, and the person usually gave himself or herself away without realizing it.

  After about ten minutes, the crowd was getting restless, so Knickers handed her the bowl and said, “Last one, Blair. Make it a good one.”