Chapter 181

We didn’t have to wait long for an opportunity to talk to Lisa. A couple days after I brought the issue up to Andrew, Lisa was scheduled to have her final dress fitting at Ever After Weddings. Andrew and I decided that we should both be there—him as her father and me as the official wedding planner—and would wait for the right moment to approach Lisa on the Bob issue.

The tension in the room was palpable as Lisa went into the changing room to try on the dress, Terri following after to assist her.

On the surface, Andrew and I were anxious to see Lisa in the dress. It would be the first time that we had seen her in the dress since it was reconstructed after the fire. I hoped that it would look as beautiful on her as the original version did, but I had faith in Nikolas’s abilities.

Deeper down, though, we were worried about confronting Lisa. At least, I knew that I was. If Andrew was, he hid it well—but I could tell that there was more going on behind those dark eyes than just concern for how well a dress would fit.

When he caught me staring at him, Andrew reached out and grabbed my hand, giving it a little squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” he said, only loud enough for me to hear. “Everything will be all right.”

I smiled slightly, but it wavered.

“I hope so.”

Terri pranced out of the changing room singing “Here Comes the Bride” and waving her arms behind herself in a grand gesture.

Slowly but confidently, Lisa followed Terri out. She smiled brightly at Andrew and me, a broad, genuine smile. Tears sparkled in her eyes.

She twirled, the skirt of the dress gently grazing the ground.

“Well, what do you think?” she asked.

Andrew released my hand and ran to his daughter. He grasped both of her hands and held them tightly, as though he would never let her go.

“Sweetheart, you look like the most beautiful fairytale princess to have ever existed.”

He reached forward and kissed her cheek. I had expected him to pull her into a hug, but he was probably too afraid of ruffling the fabric to do so.

“Thank you, Father,” Lisa said, too overjoyed to speak above a whisper. “Thank you so much.”

She glanced at me. A moment seemed to pass as we looked into each other’s eyes.

Hesitantly, Lisa asked, “What do you think, Crystal?”

I blinked in confusion. She really wanted my opinion?

“Her fondness for you is 10,” Susan intruded upon my thoughts.

It wasn’t a high level of affection, but at least it wasn’t the zero that she had felt for me when we had first met. Perhaps there was hope for us to not kill each other, after all.

“It’s gorgeous,” I finally said before she could catch on to my pause. “You’re gorgeous. You will make a beautiful bride.”

For someone other than Bob, I wanted to add, but I stopped myself.

Lisa smiled politely and nodded.

“Do you like it, Lisa?” Andrew asked.

Lisa let go of Andrew’s hands and went to stand in front of the full-sized mirrors erected for this very purpose. She gave another twirl, examining herself front and back. By the way her eyes twinkled while she smiled, I had a feeling that I already knew the answer.

She turned back to her father.

“I love it,” she said, the excitement in her voice evident. “I absolutely love it. I can’t believe that it’s the same dress.”

Andrew chuckled.

“I’m glad that you like it. It’s all yours.”

While Lisa busied herself staring at her dress in the mirror, Andrew glanced over at me and nodded almost imperceptibly. I swallowed against the knot in my throat. It was time.

“Terri,” I said, walking over to my Head Wedding Planner, “why don’t you go into the back and get some paperwork done? Andrew and I can finish up here.”

Terri looked between Andrew and me before nodding. She might not have known exactly what we were doing, but she could tell when there was about to be an uncomfortable conversation that she didn’t want to be a part of.

“Of course,” she replied. “I’ll be back in your office if you need me.”

She didn’t waste any time exiting the room, leaving Andrew, Lisa, and me alone in the front of the bridal shop.

Lisa turned to watch Terri leave. She pouted.

“Who’s going to help me get out of this?” she asked, though she didn’t look as though she wanted to get out of that dress any time soon.

“I’ll help you with that, when it’s time,” I said.

“First, though, we wanted to talk to you,” Andrew continued.

Lisa’s eyes darted between us. Her brow arched.

“The two of you wanted to talk to me…together?”

We nodded, and she tilted her head.

“About what?”

I ran my hand through my hair. I looked to Andrew for some support, but he stared at me expectantly. I supposed that it was up to me to take lead on this one.

“It’s about you…and Bob,” I started slowly. “Neither of us think that you should marry him.”

Lisa’s brow furrowed, and her lips stretched into a thin line.

“Oh, you don’t, do you?” she sneered. “I’m not surprised—”

“I don’t either, sweetheart,” Andrew clarified. “He’s not the right man for you.”

“You just don’t know him like I do—”

“You don’t know him like we do,” I said.

Lisa glared at me.

“Who asked for your opinion, anyway?”

“I did—” Andrew stepped to my side and held my hand— “and she’s right. Whatever side of him you know, it’s not all of Bob, and the Bob that you don’t know is dangerous.”

“I know Bob a lot better than you think.”

Andrew shook his head.

“No, I don’t think you do. He has made Crystal’s life a living nightmare.”

Lisa snorted and turned away from us.

“Please, you have to listen,” I implored her. “He has done horrible things. He stalked me, had me kidnapped and thrown to vampires, has tried to have me killed—”

“And he planted that bomb in your car, too.”

Andrew’s words rang throughout the shop. Lisa’s back stiffened. She did not speak for several minutes, and before she did, she cracked her neck to relieve some of her tension.

“Do you have any proof?” she asked.

I looked up at Andrew.

We did have evidence, but Andrew was still adamant that we not show Lisa any of it before we were ready to strike. He did not want to show our hand to Bob prematurely, give him time to prepare and wiggle his way out of trouble. Still, how could we convince Lisa of the truth behind our claims otherwise?

Andrew merely shook his head at me.

When we did not answer, Lisa huffed and looked to the ground.

“I should have known. You’re just making things up so that I’ll break off the engagement.”

Andrew stepped forward and placed his hand on Lisa’s shoulder.

“Lisa, you must listen—”

“No, Father.” Lisa wrenched her shoulder out of his grasp. “I’m done.”

Andrew let his hand fall to his side.

“What does that mean?”

“It means that I’m going home to my fiancé.”

Lisa charged toward the changing room. She stopped just outside the door.

“Tell Terri that I would like her assistance in changing.”

The coldness in her tone sent chills through my body. I flinched as she slammed the changing room door behind her.

Andrew’s jaw tensed. I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Andrew,” I said. “This isn’t over yet.”

I wasn’t sure who I was trying to convince more with that statement, Andrew or myself.