You May Kiss the Groomsman: A Meet Me at the Altar Novel Read online

  Only…now she really wished she had someone to talk to.

  You got yourself into this; you’ll get yourself out.

  With a curt nod, she smoothed a hand over her hair and had to admit that she looked completely calm. Her little black dress was perfect for a dinner at Winston’s–the upscale steakhouse Tyler chose for them–and as she did a little spin in the full-length mirror, she had to admit that it looked good on her.

  Confidence, she mentally reminded herself, was the key to the evening. She’d listen to what Tyler had to say and then…hope that he changed his mind about needing her to secure the promotion.

  Please don’t need me…

  But…if he did, it was only on paper. Surely there was nothing wrong with that. It wouldn’t really put a crimp in her lifestyle. Occasionally she’d have to go to a business function with him, but other than that, she’d be free to come and go as she pleased, right?

  Then why did it suddenly feel so wrong?

  Why did Skylar have to go and have a baby this week when Josie needed her? She was the logical and level-headed one in their little trio, and right now she needed Skye to give her a pep talk to get through this night the right way.

  But it wasn’t going to happen so with a heavy sigh, she turned and grabbed her purse, shut off the bedroom light, and made her way down the stairs. If she left now, she’d be early, but…maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing. She could get there and get seated and have a drink before Tyler even arrived.

  “Done,” she murmured as she picked up her keys and phone and walked out of her house.

  Singing along to the radio to some classic Bon Jovi helped to distract her during the drive, but she pulled up to the valet far sooner than she was prepared for. She handed the valet her keys and walked into the restaurant like she owned the place. The hostess sat her immediately in one of those large, semi-circle booths and Josie ordered herself a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. When the waitress brought it over to her, she ordered a Crown and ginger for Tyler because she knew it was his go-to drink.

  Alone in the booth, she took a sip of her wine and did her best to relax. She was halfway through her glass when she spotted Tyler walking in. He looked completely polished and every bit the young lawyer and she couldn’t help but smile. The closer he got, however, she could tell he was tense.

  When he sat down, she gave him a sympathetic smile. “I’m glad I ordered it for you. You look like you really need it,” she said to him.

  “You have no idea.” He downed half the drink before relaxing against the back of the booth. “Thanks for making the time to meet up.”

  “You said it was important and I really couldn’t talk the other night, so…you got the promotion, right?”

  Resting one arm along the back of the booth, he said, “St. Clair came to see me the other day. In my office.”

  Okay, so he wanted to start from the beginning. Awesome.

  “Wow,” she said, forcing a smile. “That’s a big deal, right?”

  He nodded.

  “And he offered you the partnership?” she prompted.

  “Not…exactly.”

  Her smile fell. “What does that mean?”

  “It means…” He shifted in his seat, resting his arms on the table. “It means that they’ve narrowed it down to me, Marcus, and Devon.”

  “O-kay…”

  “However, he asked about you–specifically if you and I were thinking about getting married.”

  “And what did you tell him?”

  Reaching over, he rested his hand on top of hers. “I told him we were talking about it and that seemed to please him immensely.”

  She nodded, picking up her wine and downing the rest of it while internally reminding herself to breathe. Once she put the glass down, she nodded again. “Okay, so…”

  “I know we joked about this after the fundraiser because of the way everyone gushed over the two of us and, at the time, it seemed harmless. But…I think it could be a really good thing. For the both of us.”

  They’d talked about this–she knew they had–and yet now hearing him saying the words had her wondering what the hell she was thinking.

  “I don’t know, Tyler,” she began after a moment. “It’s completely unethical of him to even imply that you need this in order to get a promotion.”

  “Think about it,” he interrupted, before she could tell him all the ways this was wrong. “You know all the wives are involved with different charities. Wouldn’t you love for Meet Me at the Altar to be the one to plan the events for those charities?”

  “You can’t know that they’ll hire us,” she reasoned.

  “As a partner’s wife, it would be in poor taste and an insult if they didn’t.”

  She nodded. “Okay, fair point.”

  “Think of all the connections you’d make,” he went on. “You know it’s a whole new branch of clients that you might not otherwise get to meet.” He paused and seemed to consider his next words. “Plus, you know I’m not going to disrupt your life in any way! You’re still going to be free to be you and have your independence. I mean, occasionally we may have to host a dinner or something together but…you could just come over and throw some pictures of us around my place so it looks like you live there! Or we can do it at your place since your décor is definitely better than mine.”

  “Um…I don’t know, Ty. Doesn’t it feel wrong to you? The lying?”

  “Not at all,” he replied confidently.

  “Well, it feels wrong to me,” she told him, feeling proud of herself for saying it out loud. “I don’t think it’s right to enter into a marriage like this. Even a fake one. Maybe if you just talked to them…”

  “Josie, come on. Be real. It would be exactly like we talked about. One year. If they don’t make me partner by then, I can move on. But considering how St. Clair was talking, I think this can happen sooner rather than later.”

  Picking up her glass, she cursed that it was empty. “How do we explain our getting married so fast? Especially since they know we’re not engaged yet?”

  He shrugged. “We’ll say your busy season is coming up and we decided to elope. We’ll stage a few photos looking like the happy couple and no one will question it. If anything, it would seem very romantic.”

  He was pushing hard for this and seemed to have an answer for everything–almost as if he knew she was going to have serious doubts.

  All around them, people were coming in and sitting down to their meals and carrying on with their normal lives. Meanwhile, she felt like hers was hanging in the balance. If she said no, Josie had no idea how Tyler was going to convince his bosses to give him this promotion. And if his co-workers were married and if that were the tipping point, there was probably no way he could win.

  Could she really live with herself if she bailed on him and cost him his promotion–or worse, his job?

  Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the hostess seating some people at the table that was directly in front of their booth.

  Ugh…just what we need, an audience…

  Josie turned her attention to Tyler and watched as he reached into his pocket.

  Oh God…please don’t be what I think that is…

  “Think about it, Jos,” he went on, softening his voice. “We can go to the courthouse on our lunch break anytime and then go away for a few days. Anyplace you’d like. Then when we come back, we tell everyone we got married while we were away.” Placing the ring box on the table, he slid it toward her. “So what do you say? Want to get married?”

  “Tyler?”

  Turning his head at the sound of his name, Josie watched as he froze. And when she turned to look, she did the same. For the life of her, Josie didn’t know where to look first–at the ugly ring staring her in the face, Tyler’s parents, or the seriously hot guy standing with Tyler’s parents.

  Daniel.

  “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?” Tyler asked incredulously as he slid out of the booth to hug them. “And�
��Daniel? When did you get home?”

  “It was a surprise,” Daniel said, before reaching out and hugging his little brother, but his eyes never left Josie’s. He watched as she paled and felt a small hint of satisfaction that she was uncomfortable.

  That makes two of us.

  There was a loud buzzing in his head and he had no idea if he was supposed to say anything about having met her already or…

  “Oh my goodness!” his mother cried out. “Did we just interrupt your proposal?” Her hands flew to her mouth and then she dropped them to smile at Josie. “Please forgive us, Josie! I can’t believe we ruined your big moment!”

  “Um…”

  “Maybe we should go sit down,” his father suggested, and when Josie looked up, she gave him a weak smile. “We’ll send over some champagne!” He leaned over and squeezed her hand. “Welcome to the family!”

  Oh God…

  Then she glanced at Daniel and it was crazy how he could tell how uncomfortable she was and almost as if she was begging him not to say anything.

  He was about to introduce himself–since nobody else seemed inclined–when Tyler spoke up. “Why don’t you guys join us? We haven’t ordered yet and the booth is certainly big enough to seat us all comfortably, right?” he asked, looking at Josie.

  “Um…”

  And before he knew it, he was scooting toward the back of the booth right beside her.

  “I hope you don’t mind, sweetheart,” his mother was saying to him. “But you know I tend to get claustrophobic if I’m not on the end.”

  Alrighty then, he thought. I’m in hell.

  “So, when did all this happen?” his father asked before waving the waitress over to order champagne for the table. Then he looked directly at Tyler. “All this time you’ve been saying you’re too busy to come for dinner because of work, when it looks like you were too busy wooing this lovely young lady!”

  Beside him, he could hear Josie quietly groan and did his best to keep the smile on his face because…this was not how he envisioned dinner at all. Not the proposal and certainly not finding the woman he’d fantasized about for the last few nights here with his little brother. What a bizarre coincidence.

  As he sat and halfway listened to the conversation going on around him, Daniel could feel her hand on the seat beside his and he wondered why she hadn’t moved it.

  Or why he hadn’t moved his either.

  He was doing his best to concentrate as Tyler was going on and on about some charity event Josie helped him with when he felt the light brush of her finger against his. Swallowing hard, he glanced down and saw her pinky gently caressing his. Closing his eyes, he had to fight his own groan.

  What the hell was she doing?

  “And that’s how we got here!” Tyler said, his voice loud enough that it brought Daniel out of his head.

  “And is that the ring?” his mother asked, and when they all looked at it–still in the box and not on Josie’s finger–he fought the urge to frown.

  It was hideous. Like seriously, it was the worst engagement ring he’d ever seen. And the thought of it going on Josie’s finger bothered him way more than it should have.

  She was nothing to him–he barely knew her–and yet…her finger was still toying with his and damn if his wasn’t toying back.

  What is wrong with me?

  Forcing himself to look at his brother, he tried to tell himself that everything was fine. Everything was normal. But when Tyler wrapped his arm around Josie and pulled her close, Daniel knew he needed to stop what he was doing and pulled his hand away.

  “How amazing is this, huh?” Tyler said, beaming. “To have my whole family here to witness you saying yes and me sliding this ring on your finger.”

  Oh, right. The ring.

  There was no time to react before Tyler had her hand in his and was looking her straight in the eye with…amusement? What the hell? Was that normal for a proposal?

  “Josie Sullivan, please say yes.”

  Daniel found himself holding his breath and silently praying that she’d say no.

  “Yes,” she said weakly, and Daniel wished he could see her face but her back was currently to him. Then he had to watch as Tyler slipped the ugly ring onto her finger and then kissed her.

  On the cheek.

  They both straightened before Tyler tugged her close again and smiled at all of them. “We’re getting married!”

  The remainder of the time was a bit of a blur. He knew they had a champagne toast and ordered their meals. Any time the wedding came up, both Tyler and Josie were swift in changing the subject.

  “So you’re home!” Tyler said, leaning forward and looking at him. “Are you just on leave or is this for good?”

  “For good,” he said gruffly, forcing a smile.

  “What are you going to be doing? Are you staying here in Raleigh or settling down someplace else?”

  “I’ll be here in Raleigh, but…things are still up in the air right now.” Liar. “This is your night. Why don’t you tell me about what it’s like being a lawyer?”

  If there was one thing Daniel knew about his brother, it was how much he loved to talk about himself. And right now, that was fine with him. He didn’t want to talk about his plans for his new company in front of Josie–actually, he seriously wished he could leave. He’d kill to be anywhere but sitting next to her in this crammed booth with that tacky ring on her finger and knowing she was going to leave here and kiss his little brother the way she kissed him the other night.

  His appetite was gone and it was all he could do to get through the rest of the meal without screaming.

  By the time they were paying the check, he was desperate for air. “Mom?” he asked quietly, “I’m going to go out to the valet and get the car. I’ll meet you and Dad outside, okay?”

  She slid out of the booth and kissed him on the cheek. “You’ve been very quiet tonight,” she whispered. “Don’t forget to congratulate your brother and Josie.”

  With another forced smile, he stood and faced everyone. “Congratulations to you both.” He shook his brother’s hand and nodded at Josie before turning and walking away. It wasn’t until he was outside that he finally felt like he could breathe.

  What the hell just happened in there? How was it possible that the girl he’d met would be the girl saying yes to marrying his brother? Seriously, what were the damn odds? And worse, what was he supposed to do about it?

  Letting out a long breath, he walked over to the valet and handed him his ticket.

  Then he paced.

  How was he supposed to pretend he’d never met her before? And worse, how was he supposed to keep it to himself that his brother’s fiancé had no problem going out on a date with a stranger she’d met in a hospital cafeteria and then kissing him senseless? There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that if her phone hadn’t interrupted them, the night would have ended very differently.

  And that’s when it hit him.

  The phone.

  Tyler.

  “Shit,” he murmured, raking a hand through his hair. She’d been out with him and the call from Tyler reminded her what a cheater she was being. It would have been better if she’d just left at that point.

  No, he thought. It would have been better if she’d never agreed to go out with him at all. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

  He and Tyler had never been close–they’d been polar opposites their entire lives–but there was no way he wanted to see his brother make this kind of a mistake. If this girl was willing to sneak around with him, there wasn’t a doubt in mind she was sneaking around with other guys. No, the sooner he sat Tyler down and talked to him, the better.

  Their car arrived and when he turned back toward the restaurant entrance, he saw everyone walking his way. Everyone was smiling except Josie.

  Probably because she knows she’s been busted…

  “Tyler, Josie,” he heard his mother say when they got closer. “You need to come for dinne
r this weekend. We’re going to have everyone over for a barbecue on Sunday to celebrate Daniel coming home. It’s going to be wonderful having the whole family together, and we’ll make it a double celebration where we’ll announce your engagement!”

  Tyler’s arm banded tightly around her as he answered for them. “I will definitely be there, but Josie’s got a full schedule of weddings this weekend, right?”

  She nodded with a small smile and it left Daniel wondering if her full schedule really was work-related and he was determined to find out.

  And lucky for him, he had all the tools at his disposal to find out.

  Walking over to the car, he opened the door for his mother and helped her in and then stepped aside so his father could climb in as well. They had taken his car and as he was about to walk around to the driver’s side, he stopped in front of the happy couple and made sure he was smiling.

  Holding out his hand, he shook Tyler’s again. “It’s good to see you, Ty,” he said easily. “And I can’t wait to be able to sit down and catch up with you.”

  “That would be great,” Tyler said with a smile of his own.

  Then Daniel turned to Josie. “It was very nice meeting you tonight, Josie,” he said, his smile tightening. “And I’m looking forward to getting to know all about you.”

  She swallowed hard and paled again.

  Good.

  “You two kids have a good night,” he said as he turned and walked away, feeling smug.

  And when he climbed into the car and smiled at his parents, he felt a whole lot lighter than he had for the last two hours.

  3

  “Be yourself when you go out looking for that special someone, because true love doesn’t respond well to false advertising.”

  Unknown

  After saying their goodbyes and watching his family drive away, Josie considered her next move. “Okay, I think we need to talk and potentially do some damage control because everything that just went down was not part of the plan.”