Chapter 199

The night before their wedding, Lisa and Bob reserved a couple tables at L’Amour for their rehearsal dinner. Made of the bridal party and immediate family only, it was an intimate gathering of family and friends. To my surprise, I received an invitation along with Andrew’s.

We sat near the head of the table, beside Lisa. Opposite us, next to Bob, was Lisa’s mother’s side of the family, the Beaumonts. A seat immediately to Bob’s right was left empty in homage to Lisa’s murdered uncle, Louis Beaumont.

The tension between Andrew and the Beaumonts was palpable. They glared at each other over the filet mignon and red wine. They hardly spoke to each other, though they spoke to Bob and Lisa.

“Bob tells us that you will be arriving at and leaving the wedding in a Rolls-Royce,” Lisa’s grandfather said to her.

“Yes, it’s a classic 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom,” Lisa replied, practically beaming at the idea. She hesitated for a moment, then added, “It was actually Crystal’s idea. She decided to add it to the wedding procession when she saw it in Father’s garage.”

Lisa’s grandfather sneered at me.

“I see.” He returned to cutting his filet mignon.

“You see…what?” Andrew asked as he took a sip of red wine.

“I can just see why someone like Crystal would think that it’s a good idea to use an old, creaky car rather than a reliable, modern car.”

Andrew’s jaw twitched.

“I assure you that my Rolls-Royce has been restored to full-working order and is completely reliable,” he growled.

Lisa put her hand on Andrew’s and smiled softly.

“Grandpa, don’t worry,” she said in a sickly-sweet tone, “I want to ride in Father’s Rolls-Royce.”

Andrew smiled back and patted Lisa’s hand.

“Whatever my daughter wants, she’ll get,” he said.

I had to suppress the urge to roll my eyes at the line. Of course, I knew that Andrew would go to the ends of the Earth for Lisa, but he didn’t want Lisa to marry Bob any more than I did at this point. He would get her anything that she wanted…so long as he could still guarantee her safety.

“So, Crystal—” Lisa’s grandmother turned her attention to me— “how does it feel to be planning the wedding of your ex-boyfriend?”

I choked slightly on my filet mignon. My eyes drifted to Andrew, begging for a way out of this.

“Mrs. Beaumont,” he said, “I don’t think that that is the most appropriate subject for a rehearsal dinner.”

Bob grinned and waved the matter away with a motion of his hand.

“We’re all friends here. I’m sure that Crystal is comfortable enough in this situation to discuss it by now, especially if she’s dating Andrew.”

I cringed. I couldn’t let it seem like I had any hard feelings against Bob, not in front of Lisa’s family, and not with the ball that Noah and I had set into motion. I especially could not let Andrew think—erroneously—that I still had feelings for him.

With a deep breath, I grabbed Andrew’s hand and twined my fingers in his.

“Bob’s right,” I said. “I’m more than comfortable enough with this situation by now. Andrew is the best thing—the best person—to ever happen to me.”

I brought Andrew’s hand to my lips and kissed his knuckles. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss me on the lips.

I glanced to the side to see Lisa looking away from us. Bob glared daggers at the two of us, and I couldn’t help but feel a little smug.

“It’s actually been quite fun to arrange this wedding,” I said. “I think that Lisa and Bob will be very surprised by what I have in store for them.”

I almost felt guilty by the glee that suddenly appeared on Lisa’s face. It made me want to warn her about what was to come, but at the same time, I knew that I could not tell anyone—not even Andrew.

“I’m sure that it will be fantastic,” Lisa said.

Andrew looked back and forth between Lisa and me. His chest seemed to swell with emotion.

He stood up and grabbed his wine glass, tapping on it lightly with his fork. The clear sound resonated across the two tables reserved for Lisa and Bob’s rehearsal dinner. Everyone turned to give him their attention.

“I was going to save my toast for the wedding, but I think that right now feels like the best moment for it.” Andrew turned to face Lisa. “Lisa, I cannot believe that you are getting married tomorrow.”

He took a deep breath to control his emotions.

“It seems like just yesterday that I was teaching you how to ride a bicycle. Now, I get to am marrying you to…to…the love of your life.”

Others would think that he was hesitating because he was choking on emotion. I knew better. Andrew did not consider Bob the love of Lisa’s life, but he was trying to behave himself, for now.

“I could not be prouder of the woman that you have become. You are strong, vibrant, and fiercely independent, and I know that anything that you want, you will go out and get it. I wish you nothing but the best in the future.

“To Lisa…and Bob.”

Everyone raised their glasses and cheered, “To Lisa and Bob!”

As I sipped at my wine, I stole a glimpse at Lisa. Tears danced at the edges of her eyes. That’s when I realized that I had tears in my eyes as well.

“Thank you, Father,” Lisa said, her voice cracking with emotion.

As the dinner wrapped up and guests started to leave, Andrew and I decided that it was time to talk to Lisa, to try one last time to convince her not to marry Bob.

We approached Lisa as she and Bob were talking with her grandparents. She saw us coming and whispered to Bob, who glared back at us. Reluctantly, he nodded and gave Lisa a kiss, his way of dismissing her to go talk with us.

“Father, Crystal, I’m so glad that you were able to make it,” she said with forced cheerfulness. I guessed that it did not matter how happy she was about the upcoming wedding or her father’s toast; she still did not like seeing Andrew and me together.

“Thank you so much for inviting us,” Andrew said, taking the lead. He grabbed his daughter’s hands and gave her a kiss on each cheek.

“Yes, it means so much to us,” I said, following suit.

“Not as much as it means to me that you’re planning the wedding, Crystal,” Lisa said, “or that you’ll be officiating it, Father. It should all be…magical.”

“Yes, well, about that,” Andrew began, “there’s something that I…that we wanted to talk to you about.”

Lisa cocked her head and scrunched her nose.

“What is it?”

“We told you before about Bob’s—” Andrew’s voice dropped to a whisper— “problems, and we really think that you need to consider—”

“Oh, Father, not this again!” Lisa snapped. She pointed an accusatory finger at me. “Did she put you up to this?”

“No, sweetheart. We both think that it would be in your best interest—”

“To what? Give up the love of my life?” she yelled, throwing Andrew’s own words back in his face.

At this point, the remaining guests had started gathering around, Bob and Lisa’s grandparents included. I shrunk under Bob’s pointed glare.

“We only want what’s best for you,” Andrew persisted.

“If you want what’s best for me, then you’d let me make my own choices and accept them!” Lisa’s hand curled into a fist. “For the last time, either accept my relationship or get out of my life forever!”

The look on Andrew’s face crushed my heart.

“Lisa, sweetheart, I—”

“No, don’t ‘sweetheart’ me,” she said. “If you want to be a part of my life, you’ll officiate my wedding tomorrow. Otherwise…I’ll know your answer when you don’t show up.”

Lisa shot me one last glare before she turned her back on us and joined Bob at his side. Bob wrapped his arm possessively around her waist and grinned smugly at me. Then they walked away from us, the rest of the guests following them.

Andrew stared after Lisa, his expression struggling to hold all his emotions back. I put my arms around him and held him tight.

“Don’t worry, Andrew,” I told him. “It’s going to be all right.”