Substitute Bride Read online

  Camden nodded. “Yeah. Really nice.”

  Blushing, she smiled. “Well, thanks.” It was weird to be with them and not be in her usual t-shirt and jeans. She wasn’t sure whether it was a good kind of weird or not, but it was weird all the same. After an awkward moment of silence, she slipped past them and threw her jacket on the back of one of the chairs in the living room. “Oh good! You bought the veggie tray!” She ran over to the table in the middle of the room and dipped one of the carrots into the dip.

  “I remember you said you wanted that last time you were here,” Kevin said.

  Camden nudged him in the side. “What’s this about you getting married?”

  Kevin turned his gaze from Alex to Camden. “Remember my aunt’s funeral and the will?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, it turns out she left me a million dollars if I get married by Valentine’s Day.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope,” Greg said as he came out of the kitchen with a bowl of potato chips. He paused and stared at her, surprise evident on his dark-skinned face. “What are you wearing?”

  She groaned and rolled her eyes. “It’s called a dress. Seriously, you never saw a woman wearing one before?”

  Greg set the bowl down and smirked. “Sure. Normal women. But you’re not normal.”

  “Ha ha.” She sat down on the couch and crossed her legs, remembering to let the dress slip up to her mid-thigh as Nita instructed. She leaned forward, aware that she showed off some cleavage. After she snagged a stalk of celery, she dipped it, and she sat back up. Her eyes widened when she realized the three guys were watching her. She hid her amusement. Maybe men were as easy to figure out as Nita said. She took a bite of the celery and gave them a good look. “What?”

  As if on cue, they blinked and mumbled before they sat down. When Camden sat next to her so Kevin had to sit in a chair, she cleared her throat to get Camden’s attention. He looked over at her, and she motioned for him to trade places with Kevin. Greg glanced at her in curiosity, but she ignored him.

  Rolling his eyes, Camden got up and went over to Kevin. “Can I sit there?”

  Kevin shrugged and stood up. “Sure.”

  Relieved, Alex adjusted the top of her dress so that her cleavage was showing. As she flipped her hair over her shoulder, she happened to catch Greg’s amused expression as he munched on some potato chips. She motioned for him to turn his attention back to the TV where the football players were getting ready for the game. He snickered but did as she instructed.

  Kevin sat next to her and smiled. “Want to bet on this game?”

  “Not this time,” she replied.

  He settled onto the couch and put his feet up on the table, already paying more attention to the TV than to her.

  She adjusted the skirt of her dress so it revealed a little more leg and pretended to be interested in the preliminaries of the game. Within a minute, the game began, so she took that as her cue to move in subtly since Camden and Greg were adequately distracted. Licking her bottom lip, she wiggled along the couch until her arm was touching Kevin’s. She glanced at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. She wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not.

  After another couple minutes passed, she picked up a tomato and plopped it into her mouth. When she settled back into the couch, she shifted so that her breast pressed up against his arm. The contact sent a jolt through her she didn’t expect, and her skin warmed in response.

  Swallowing, she glanced at Kevin who shifted until she was no longer touching him. Disappointed, she tried to think of what else Nita told her to do. If she was any good at this, it would help. She caught Greg glancing at her and snickering again so she mouthed the words, “Stop it.” That only made him chuckle.

  She forced her attention away from him and grabbed a carrot stick. Once she dipped it, she did a partial turn, hoping to appear as if she was trying to get more comfortable, and licked the dip off the carrot stick. She dared a peak in Kevin’s direction, but he was staring straight ahead at the TV. Irritated, she bit the carrot and glowered. Why did Nita think either pressing her breast against Kevin or licking something off food would get Kevin’s attention? It was pointless.

  Greg coughed a couple of times until she looked over at him. “I need some water. Would you please get me some?”

  She almost told him to get it himself when he shot her a meaningful look. Furrowing her eyebrows, she studied his expression.

  “Go into the kitchen,” he mouthed.

  “Why?” she mouthed back.

  He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe she even had to ask the question. Finally, he mouthed, “Trust me.”

  With a quick look at Kevin who was still watching the TV with more interest than he ought to be, she shrugged and went to the kitchen. By the time she grabbed a cup from the cabinet, she heard Greg laughing behind her.

  She turned to face him and put a hand on her hip. “What is so funny?”

  “You.” He walked to the fridge and took out a soda. “You’re putting the moves on Kevin.”

  Could he say that any louder? “Shh!”

  “Hey, I don’t blame you,” he whispered. “Tammy’s awful.”

  “I know. She won’t let him see me once they’re married.”

  “It’s worse than that. She’s busy planning his life for him, and her plans don’t include me or Camden either.”

  “Why not?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe we’re not sophisticated enough for her.”

  “I thought it was just me. You know, because I’m a girl.”

  “No. I mean, that might be part of it, but we’re not her type of people.”

  She groaned. “I don’t think Kevin’s her type either.”

  “He is for a million dollars.”

  Gritting her teeth, she said, “Someone needs to get rid of her.”

  “Well, why don’t you bend down to pick up that paper towel, and I’ll see what I can do.”

  She studied the floor. “What paper towel?”

  He quickly snatched a sheet off the roll and threw it on the floor. “That one.” Then he slipped out of the kitchen.

  Wondering what in the world that was about, she bent down to pick up the towel and stood up. When she turned around, she saw Kevin in the kitchen. “Oh. Hi.” She smiled and held up the paper towel. “I had to get this off the floor.”

  “Right. You can’t let that stay down there.”

  She nodded and glanced around the kitchen, trying to think of something to say, which was ridiculous. She’d known Kevin for most of their lives, and never once did she run out of things to talk about.

  Greg came back into the kitchen. “Camden changed his mind. I’ll get it, Kevin.” He went to the refrigerator and picked out another soda. Opening it, he said, “You know how Camden is. He can’t make up his mind half the time on anything.”

  As he walked passed Alex, he spilled some soda on the front of her dress. She shrieked as the cold liquid trickled between her breasts.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” Greg ran to the paper towels, snatched a dozen sheets from the roll and gave them to Kevin. “Help her with that. I need to get this to Camden before he forgets what he wanted.”

  Embarrassed because she knew what Greg was doing, she immediately took some paper towels off the roll, put soap on them, and turned on the faucet, trying not to disturb the pile of dirty dishes in the sink as she wet the towels in her hand. Then she turned the water off and dabbed her dress. She grimaced. Greg would have to choose a brown beverage instead of a clear one! Even if she didn’t wear dresses often, she liked this one and hoped to keep it.

  “Here. Let me help.” Kevin went to the sink and dampened half the paper towels before he put some dish soap on it and opened the cabinet under the sink. He took out a bottle of white vinegar and added it to the towels. “This is what my mom does whenever I get food on my clothes.”

  She expected him to hand her the towels, but he started pressing th
e towels on the stained area. Surprised, she watched as he rubbed the towels over her dress. A strange swell of excitement rose up in her when he brushed the towels over her breasts. Her flesh responded to him, her nipples hardening as he wiped over them. He took his time, adding more soap and vinegar as he needed to, and even as a part of her thought she should call attention to which area of her body he was touching, another part wished he would continue.

  Blinking back her unbidden thoughts, she cleared her throat and stepped away from him. “It’s okay. I got it.”

  He jerked back and straightened, the towels still in his hands. “Oh! I…” He glanced from her to the towels and then to her breasts and then back to her face. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking and—”

  “It’s fine. I know it wasn’t sexual.” She laughed even as her body still tingled with the need to be touched. Inspecting her dress, she said, “I think you got most of it out.”

  “Yes. Um…there’s the vinegar and soap so you can get the rest of the stain out, and I’ll give you my shirt.” He glanced at his shirt. “Oh, not this shirt. I mean, a shirt from my bedroom, in my dresser. A clean one. I do have clean shirts from time to time.”

  Realizing he was rambling to compensate for the awkward moment, she laughed again. “I hope you have clean shirts at least once in awhile.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, of course I do. What a stupid thing for me to say. Of course, I have clean shirts around here. Let me grab one. I’ll be back. Don’t go out there. You’re wet on top and the guys will see your…” He motioned to her erect nipples. “Anyway, I’ll be right back.” Then he darted out of the room.

  She took a deep breath, her skin still flushed from his touch and from embarrassment. As she worked on getting the rest of the stain out, it occurred to her that if Kevin married her, she just might find the physical aspect of their new relationship most enticing.

  Chapter Four

  Kevin sorted through his drawer, looking for a t-shirt. This was nuts. He had to have one clean one. Glancing at the pile of dirty shirts in his hamper, he decided it was time to do laundry. But he’d have to wait until that afternoon.

  He finally found a black shirt hiding under a pair of shorts and pulled it out. It had an image of a partially open door with someone reaching up to get out and blood dripping from their arm. In bold red letters, it read Beware the Dark. It didn’t match Alex’s dress, but it was a shirt so it’d have to do. After he pushed the drawer in, he returned to the kitchen and saw that Alex was trying to dry off her dress.

  He stood there for a moment, not letting her know he was there. She had her back turned to him, giving him the perfect opportunity to check out the curves on her body. The last time he saw her in a dress, he knew she looked good but right now, she was looking better than good. Much better.

  His gaze traveled from her shoulders to her hips to her nice, round bottom that begged to be touched. Then there were her well-toned legs. Why hadn’t he ever noticed how shapely she was before?

  No. This wasn’t right. Alex was his friend. She was the sister he never had. Except she wasn’t his sister, and she was incredibly sexy in that dress.

  Cursing his errant thoughts, he went over to her. “I found a shirt, and it’s clean.”

  Dropping the damp paper towel on the counter, she smiled at him and took the shirt. “Oh, I thought you didn’t have this anymore.”

  He forced his eyes off of her breasts. Trying to clean off her dress distracted him from properly taking note of how they felt.

  She slipped the shirt on, blocking the view he had no business enjoying. “I got this for you two Christmases ago when you were going through that horror movie phase.”

  “I forgot about that,” he replied.

  “Yeah well, I didn’t. I had to come over and hold your hand because you were afraid to watch them alone.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t afraid. It’s just a bummer to watch movies by myself, okay?”

  She chuckled. “Sure. You were the one who screamed and threw popcorn on the floor.”

  “Only because I saw a giant cockroach.”

  “That conveniently ran under the couch and hid so well we never found it.”

  “The roach existed.” Feeling more like his normal self, he went to the refrigerator, took out a jar of pickles, and tried to unscrew the cap.

  “Here. Let me help.” She took it from him, tapped the edge of the lid on the counter, and twisted it off. “There you go.”

  “Thanks.” He took it and went to the cabinet to get a plate but sighed when he noticed all the clean plates were gone. “I can’t wait to get married. I’ll have clean dishes and clothes all the time.”

  Laughing, she gave him a playful shove. “Get with the times. You’ll need to help out around the place whether you like it or not. You’re getting a wife, not a mother.”

  “Yeah but it’s got to be better than living with Greg. He’s a pig.”

  She retrieved a clean bowl and set it down for him. “So says Porky.”

  “I’m not that messy.” He placed a few pickles in the bowl and put the lid back on the jar before he put it back in the fridge. “See? I’m so neat it’s scary.”

  Sighing, she rolled her eyes but didn’t argue with him, so he took that as a minor victory, collected the bowl, and headed out to the living room.

  As Alex followed him out of the kitchen, someone knocked on the door. She glanced at Greg who was eating more potato chips. “Are we expecting someone?”

  He glanced at her and shrugged. “I don’t think so.” Looking at Camden and Kevin, he asked, “Anyone order a pizza?”

  “Pizza?” Camden jumped to answer the door.

  “No one ordered a pizza,” Kevin said as he sat back on the couch.

  Alex took that as her cue and quickly sat by him, but before she could get close to him, Camden opened the door and she heard an all-too-familiar voice.

  “I believe my fiancé lives here,” Tammy said, taking off her sunglasses and smiling sweetly at Camden. “His name is Kevin Edwards.”

  “Uh, sure.” Camden stepped back. “He’s right there.”

  Alex silently cursed her luck. Since when did Tammy like football? She grimaced and gave up on her plan to sit too close to Kevin. She couldn’t make her move while Tammy was right there. Crossing her arms, she stared at the screen while Tammy snuggled up to Kevin.

  “So, this is what you do when there’s a game, huh?” Tammy asked.

  “Yep,” Kevin replied, holding the bowl of pickles to her. “Want one?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “No thanks.”

  He turned and held the bowl out to Alex.

  Alex reached out and took one. She looked at Greg to see if he wanted one, but he shook his head and ate another handful of chips.

  “Wow,” Tammy said with a chuckle in her voice, “you’re all a bunch of regular guys, aren’t you?”

  Alex shot her a pointed look.

  Tammy eyed her shirt. “Interesting choice of clothes you got there, Alex.”

  Alex narrowed her eyes at her.

  “Oh that,” Greg called out. “Yeah, she got her dress wet so Kevin had to help clean her up.”

  Kevin shifted on the couch and gave Greg a look of warning before he turned his attention back to Tammy. “It was to get the stain out.”

  “Hmm…” She glanced at Alex with a raised eyebrow. “How fortunate he was right there when the spill occurred.”

  Alex bit her tongue so she wouldn’t make an unfitting remark. The last thing she needed to do was put Kevin in the middle of an argument between her and Tammy.

  “Yeah,” Greg said, not even bothering to look in Tammy’s direction, “Kevin and Alex are real close.”

  “Well…” Tammy began with a pause, “nice.” She cleared her throat. “So, you all enjoy watching football, huh?”

  Alex gathered some more celery sticks and munched on them, figuring it was going to be a long game. She contemplated leaving but then decided she wouldn’t give Ta
mmy that kind of power over her.

  “Kevin, I saw this great apartment on my way over here,” Tammy said. “It has a pool, tennis courts, and is right on the beach!”

  Kevin looked at her. “Isn’t that expensive?”

  She wiggled into his arms, an action which made Alex want to get up and pry her off of him. Just who did Tammy think she was to be rubbing up against him like that?

  “You can afford it, can’t you?” Tammy asked in a sing-song voice that made Greg and Camden stop watching the game to give her a good look. “I mean, you do have a million dollars coming to you.”

  Alex gritted her teeth. The moron! Why did he go and tell her that part of the equation?

  Kevin shrugged. “Yeah, but I want it to last. A beachfront property will blow right through it.”

  “That’s why you’ll get a good job, isn’t it?” She pouted and ran her finger over his chest.

  “Uh…well… Actually, I want to be a gym teacher,” he said.

  She stared at him for a moment and then burst out laughing. “Oh, that is so funny! You know, you look so serious. It’s hard to tell that you’re joking.”

  While she continued to laugh, everyone stared at her.

  She flipped her hair over her shoulder and settled down.

  “What’s so funny about being a gym teacher?” Kevin asked.

  Tammy continued to run her finger up and down his chest. “Nothing if that’s a short-term plan. I mean, who does that their entire life?”

  “My dad,” Alex said, not hiding the edge in her voice.

  Tammy glared at her.

  “Her dad is a coach, and one of the best there is,” Kevin added.

  “Well, good for her,” Tammy sweetly said, though she narrowed her eyes at Alex.

  Greg picked up more potato chips. “Be careful where you sit on that couch, Tammy. We have cockroaches that periodically fall from the ceiling in this dump. I think they like to hover over the couch because the couch cushions their fall.”

  “What?” Tammy scanned the ceiling.

  “Greg.” Kevin sighed. “We don’t have cockroaches falling from the ceiling.”

  “No, they don’t,” Alex admitted. “They like to scamper around the floor, over your feet, and under the couch. At least, that’s what Kevin said happened one time when we watched a movie.”