Substitute Bride Read online

  “There was a cockroach,” Kevin said, looking at Tammy. “No one believes me.”

  “Oh look! There goes one right now!” Greg pointed to the floor.

  Tammy shrieked and got up on the couch.

  Alex and Camden chuckled.

  “It’s not funny!” Tammy snapped. “Those things are filthy. I have to go.” She jumped off the couch and bolted for the door.

  Kevin set the bowl of pickles on the table and followed her. “There aren’t any cockroaches. Okay. I saw one this morning, but it was dead.”

  She shrieked again and opened the door to run outside.

  He turned around to his laughing friends. “You didn’t need to spook her like that.”

  Greg shrugged. “She thinks we live in a dump, so I thought I’d go along with it.”

  “She doesn’t think that,” Kevin replied.

  Rolling his eyes, Greg muttered, “Yeah right.”

  “I better console her. Let me know who’s ahead when I get back.”

  Once he left, Greg put down his bowl of chips and leaned forward in his chair. “Girl, you need to get his attention.”

  “I know,” Alex said. “I’m working on it.”

  “Well, work harder. Wear a bikini next time you come over.”

  “You’re interested in Kevin?” Camden asked her.

  “I don’t want him to marry Tammy,” she hedged, not willing to admit how excited she’d been in the kitchen.

  “There’s more than one reason to stop that marriage,” Greg said. “She’s going to dictate his life for him, and she’s going to waste his money.”

  “I know.” She shook her head. “I can’t come right out and say she’s all wrong for him. That method doesn’t work. The only thing I can think of is to convince him he’d be better off married to me.”

  “I agree with Greg,” Camden said. “You need to wear a bikini. You got a better body than her.”

  Alex gasped. “Since when did you notice my body?”

  He grinned. “I remember that time your dress ripped.”

  Greg chuckled. “I do, too.”

  She groaned. “Will I ever live that down?”

  “No,” Greg replied. “You’re doomed to be reminded of that for the rest of your life.”

  Kevin returned and grabbed his jacket. “Tammy wants to look at apartments.”

  “You’re not going to get one on the beach, are you?” Greg asked.

  Kevin shrugged into his jacket and zipped it up. “No. It’s too expensive, but we might find something we can agree on.”

  As he shut the door, Camden looked at Alex. “You need to wear a bikini because there’s no other way he’s going to remember you’re a girl.”

  “I wore a dress,” Alex protested.

  “But you covered it up with a shirt, and one that’s too loose to notice your better assets,” Camden said.

  “You can thank Greg for that,” she replied.

  “Why? What did Greg do?” he asked.

  “Spilled soda on her dress.” Greg grinned and glanced at her. “Did he take the bait and clean you up?”

  Her face grew warm.

  Greg laughed. “He did. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It was…personal,” she managed to say despite her embarrassment.

  He laughed even harder. “I knew he’d try to clean your dress. Whenever there’s a stain anywhere in this place, he runs around with a rag to clean it up. It’s like he’s on automatic when he does it. I thought the same thing might happen in there.”

  “But it didn’t work,” Camden said. “Kevin’s with Tammy.”

  She frowned. “He’s with her today. That doesn’t mean he’ll be with her at the wedding.”

  She glanced at the calendar and saw she had two weeks left. She bit off a piece of celery and turned her attention to the game. It was like football at halftime. Her team was losing, but there was still time to make up for it. The only question was, how could she pull it off?

  Chapter Five

  “Oh that one’s perfect!” Tammy exclaimed.

  Kevin gripped the dashboard as she swerved her car into an apartment parking lot. She slammed on the brake, and if it weren’t for the seatbelt, his head would have hit the dashboard. She hopped out of the car and called out for him to join her. After a long moment, he finally got out, his legs still wobbly and heart pounding.

  Next time, he was going to do the driving. There was no way he was going to risk getting into an accident. Her stunt of pulling into the parking lot was just one of the many scary things she’d done. She also tailgated everyone and changed lanes as if something was chasing her. He was sure she was going to hit the car in front of her several times.

  He shut the car door and went over to her, his steps surprisingly steady after the trauma he’d just been through. She motioned to the apartment, so he looked at it. While it was one of the nicest ones he’s seen, it was also on the beach.

  “Tammy, all the apartments on the beach are expensive,” he said. “Especially if they come with access to a country club and,” he squinted at the sign, “a spa. A spa? Really? Who needs membership to a spa?”

  “Oh, Kevin, it’ll be fun.” She took his hand and led him to the entrance. “This apartment has everything we need.”

  Though reluctant, he walked with her. “We don’t need anything fancy. We can be happy with something simple.”

  “Simple like the kind of apartment you’re living in now?” She laughed and stopped right before the door to the main office. “Kevin, you have a million dollars. We have a million dollars. We don’t have to live like rats in a hole.” Before he could respond, she added, “I’m doing you a favor by marrying you, and now you’ll do me a favor.” She gave him a quick kiss. “It’ll be fine. Come on.”

  She opened the door and tugged on his hand. With a sigh, he followed her into the office where a man in a suit stood up from his desk.

  “I see you have a special where we can be members of a country club and spa if we sign a lease,” Tammy said.

  “We do for our $1550 a month rentals, but you need to sign a year lease,” the man replied.

  Kevin thought he was going to be sick. $1550 a month? That was $18,600 a year!

  “What else comes with the $1550 rental?” Tammy asked, not bothering to look in Kevin’s direction.

  “I’m glad you asked. Pull up a seat, and I’ll show you a brochure,” the man encouraged. “Oh, and forgive me. I’m Gavin McCraw.”

  She shook his hand. “I’m Tammy Vance, but soon I’ll be Mrs. Kevin Edwards.” She motioned to Kevin. “This is my fiancé.” She nudged him in the side.

  Blinking, Kevin looked at her.

  “Aren’t you going to shake Gavin’s hand?” she asked sweetly.

  “Uh…” Kevin glanced from Gavin to her. “I need to talk to you for a minute, Tammy.” He took her by the arm and led her away from the desk. Lowering his voice, he said, “We can’t live here.”

  Her lower lip jutted out. “Why not?”

  “Are you kidding me? This place is expensive.”

  “But you can afford it. You’re rich.”

  “I won’t be rich for long with the way you want to spend the money.”

  She shot him a smile and snuggled up to him. “I just want to live the life we deserve, sweetie. We’re about to graduate from college and start a life together, as husband and wife. I want what’s best for you. You don’t need to worry. My daddy can invest some of the money in aggressive stocks that will yield huge payoffs.”

  “Aggressive stocks? Aren’t those risky?”

  “Kevin, Kevin, Kevin.” She kissed his cheek. “The bigger the risk, the better the reward. Trust me. I’ll take care of everything.”

  As she turned to go back to Gavin, Kevin grabbed her hand. “We’re not signing anything. We’re only looking at apartments.”

  “Of course,” she assured him in soothing voice. “There might be something better than this one.”

  He inwardly gr
oaned as she went back to Gavin and started listening as he explained all the great features the apartment came with. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and stopped when he realized Alex wasn’t home. She was at his apartment watching the game. And she didn’t have a cell phone. He debated whether to call his apartment but then decided against it. He was an adult. He was about to get married. He couldn’t keep running to his best friend when he needed advice. Besides, he already knew what Alex would say. She’d say he was nuts for looking at rent higher than $800 when it was just him and Tammy. And she’d be right.

  He slipped the cell phone back into his pocket. There was no way he was signing any leases today. He didn’t care how much Tammy went on and on about how secure the money was or if she kissed and hugged him. A million dollars was too much money to waste. He’d already agreed to an expensive ring, an engagement party and a big wedding. He didn’t need to spend anything else on something outlandish.

  “Kevin, they have a fitness center!” Tammy called out. “It’s perfect for you! Come and see this brochure.”

  I’m not signing anything, he reminded himself before he trudged over to the desk and sat next to her. This was going to be a long afternoon.

  ***

  It was Wednesday when Alex finally caught Kevin in the Rathskeller. He was eating a hamburger and watching the large TV. And better yet, he was alone. Alex couldn’t believe how inseparable Kevin and Tammy had been since they got engaged.

  She took a deep breath and fluffed her dark hair which fell softly around her shoulders. She wasn’t wearing a dress this time, but she was wearing the red tank top with black shorts. The clothes were tighter than she preferred, but Nita promised her Kevin would notice she was a girl if she wore them so she did. And while she’d been getting appreciative looks from other guys on the campus, there was only one she was trying to attract.

  She sat across from him at the table and crossed her legs in a way she hoped would get his attention. His gaze followed them, so it seemed to work.

  “I haven’t seen you since Sunday,” she said. “I was beginning to think you disappeared.”

  He chuckled and set his half-eaten hamburger down. After he drank some of his soda, he shook his head. “I know. It’s been crazy. I feel like I’m going all over the place.”

  “Tammy’s keeping you busy, huh?”

  “Yeah. Mostly looking at apartments. But I did get the tux yesterday.”

  “Wow.”

  “Wow, what?”

  She shrugged. “It just seems so real.”

  “I can’t quite believe it either.” He wiped his hands on his napkin and leaned forward. “Did you get the best woman’s dress yet?”

  “I ordered it.”

  “Good. I don’t want to go through the day without you there.”

  Since this wasn’t getting her to where she wanted them to be, she placed her elbows on the table and leaned forward, giving him a good view of her cleavage. “Kevin, are you sure you want to go through with this?”

  His gaze drifted to her chest before he looked back up at her. “What?”

  “This wedding with Tammy. Are you sure you want to do it?”

  In a bold move, she reached out and touched his arm, praying Nita was right and that men liked this kind of thing. Nita swore up and down flirting worked wonders, but if it was supposed to affect him, then why was it her whose stomach was suddenly doing crazy flip flops? Her fingers tingled just from touching him. She’d touched him often in the past, and she couldn’t recall getting excited over it.

  He cleared his throat. “I have to get married.”

  “I know.”

  “And I don’t have much time.”

  She gave his arm a gentle squeeze and prayed her voice didn’t tremble with uncertainty and excitement. “I know that, too. But I was wondering if Tammy’s the right one.”

  “If I don’t marry her, then who else is there?”

  Before she could answer, Tammy lifted Alex’s hand off of Kevin’s arm and plopped it on the table. Then Tammy set her hand on his arm and kissed him. Directing her gaze toward Alex, she smiled and said, “You needn’t worry about your friend. I’ll take good care of him.”

  Alex tried not to scowl at Tammy as she wrapped her arm around Kevin’s shoulders and asked if he missed her. She was so close! If Tammy had given her just a few more minutes, she might have convinced Kevin that he was better off with her. But Tammy had dug her claws into Kevin, and it was impossible to get him away from her.

  “Alex is fine, Tammy. She was asking how things are going,” Kevin said.

  “Oh, well, in that case, I’ll tell her.” Tammy turned toward Alex. “They’re going great. Kevin bought me a ring, we booked a church, planned the engagement party, and we’re close to choosing an apartment. Is there anything else you want to know?”

  “Hey, Tammy, there’s no need to get short with her. I haven’t seen Alex for days. We are allowed to talk to each other.”

  “I realize that,” Tammy replied, her voice taking on a sweetness to it that made Alex want to puke. “I was only trying to be nice. I’m sorry if you thought I was snapping at her.”

  Kevin picked up his tray of half-eaten food and stood up. “I have to get to class.”

  “Okay. Don’t forget to pick me up. You promised we’d pick a photographer today.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll be at your apartment in two hours.”

  She smiled and gave him another kiss. “I’m looking forward to it. Alex, you’ll just love how beautiful this wedding will be. Only the best for your friend.”

  Alex managed a tense smile in response.

  “I’ll see you around, Alex, okay?” Kevin asked as he flung his backpack over his shoulder.

  “Sure, Kevin,” Alex replied, pretending she didn’t notice the way Tammy glared at her.

  “I’ll go with you,” Tammy told him.

  The two headed out of the Rathskeller. Alex sat back, crossing her arms. Well, that was a complete waste of time. She wasn’t any closer to getting him to ditch Tammy than she was on the day he proposed to her. Just how was she going to accomplish her goal?

  Chapter Six

  Nine days later, Alex joined Greg and Nita for lunch at their favorite restaurant along the boardwalk. Even if the air was brisk, Alex loved being outdoors and hearing the surf as it rolled in. She turned her attention back to the crab salad and tried to gather enough of an appetite to eat it.

  From across the table, Greg lowered his cheeseburger. “What’s up, girl?”

  Alex twirled her fork around and sighed. “I only have one week to convince Kevin to drop Tammy, and I can’t get him alone. Tammy’s been hogging all of his time. How am I supposed to put the moves on him if he’s with her?”

  “Do it while she’s with him,” Greg said. Then as if that solved everything, he took another large bite from his cheeseburger.

  Alex rolled her eyes.

  Next to her, Nita put down her soda. “That’s not a bad idea, Alex. You don’t have to wait until she’s gone. Just go up to him and kiss him.”

  Alex gasped. “I can’t just go up to him and kiss him!”

  “Why not?” Nita asked with a shrug. “It’d get his attention.”

  “It’d get my attention,” Greg replied, wiggling his eyebrows.

  “But it’s too obvious.” Alex set her fork down and leaned forward, placing her elbows on the table. “I’d like to be somewhat subtle or else I’ll reek of desperation, and what guy wants a girl who’s desperate?”

  “Okay. Good point,” Greg said.

  Nita stirred the straw in her soda and placed her chin in her hand. “You know, there are ways you can flirt with him.”

  “I have been flirting,” Alex said. “But it doesn’t do any good.”

  “I doubt Kevin will notice any of your blunders if you rub your body against his.”

  Alex couldn’t believe her ears. “Seriously, Nita! I can’t go up to him and rub my body all over his!”

&nb
sp; A couple of guys from the other table glanced at Alex. Her eyes grew wide. She hadn’t meant to be that loud. The guys gave her a suggestive smile, so she quickly looked away from them.

  Greg swallowed his food and chuckled. “Believe me. No guy is going to mind you doing something like that.”

  Alex didn’t doubt that any guy would protest something like that, but there was no way she was going to do it!

  Nita giggled. “You don’t have to rub yourself all over him, but you can snuggle up to him and lightly run your finger up and down his arm or something.”

  “Tammy did a lot of that,” Greg reminded Alex. “Remember how she was during the game?”

  Alex grimaced. As if she could forget! She glanced at her salad and pushed it away.

  “Look, Alex,” Nita began, “as blind as Kevin is to the way Tammy is trying to dictate his life for him, if he marries her, it’ll be partially your fault.”

  “My fault?”

  “Yeah, because you’re not working hard enough to stop this travesty of a wedding from happening.”

  “I am trying!”

  “Nita, I had to give her a major shove during the game.” Greg looked at Alex. “It would have given you an advantage if you took the lead I gave you and ran with it.”

  Alex groaned and lowered her cap over her eyes so she wouldn’t see the two guys from the other table look in her direction anymore. She really wished they’d find something more interesting than her to keep glancing at. Turning her attention to her friends, she said, “I know. I totally blew it.”

  Nita nudged her arm. “He’s here.”

  “Really? Where?” Alex straightened in her seat and scanned the businesses lining the boardwalk.

  “On the beach.” When Alex was about to look in the opposite direction, Nita grabbed her arm. “Hold on. Tammy’s with him.”

  “What? Here? At our beach?” Alex turned and gasped. Sure enough, the two lovebirds were holding hands and walking along the gulf with their shoes off. She gritted her teeth. “How dare he bring her here where I work?”