Chapter 45

Chapter 45

My heart sk ipped a beat. I could scarcely breathe. My underwear moistened.

My mind wandered to our day at the cabin, at how close we had come to fulfilling our desires. Perhaps this was another chance at making that happen.

Then I thought about the glass in my sandwich. I couldn’t be with Andrew, not so long as Bob and Lisa served as a threat to me.

“Andrew will protect you,” Susan tried to assure me.

I wanted to believe her. The more that Andrew pressed himself into my back, the more I wanted to believe that she was right. But how could he protect me from a threat that had so easily disguised itself as a part of his household?

“We can’t do this,” I whispered back to him, “not here, not now. We could disturb Nikolas and Eliza.”

“Then we’ll have to be quiet, won’t we?”

Andrew nuzzled my n*eck and ran his thumb along the back of my hand. I groaned. He was not making this easy.

“We don’t want to be disrespectful in Eliza’s house.”

He sighed, but he released me.

“You’re right,” he relented.

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be.” He grabbed my chin and guided my head to look at him. “But do know that I always get what I want, and I want you, Crystal Blanchard.”

He k*ssed me gently on the l*ps.

“Goodnight,” he said as he released me.

“Goodnight.”

Andrew and I left early the next day, lest we get wrapped up in another day of wedding plans and wedding dresses with Eliza and Nikolas. I barely looked at

udge from Eliza and a promise to get an explan

wondered how much of our conversation in the hallway the night before Eliza must have overheard but did not dare ask for fear of learning the truth.

Andrew and I arrived home just after lunchtime, and Andrew had to rush off to a meeting. Since I didn’t have to go in to Ever After Weddings that day, I decided to spend the time catching up on my housekeeper duties.

I was elbow-deep in washing dishes when I heard one of the two voices that I absolutely did not want to hear.

“Crystal Blanchard! Where have you been?” Lisa demanded, as though I were the help. Given what I was doing at the moment, I suppose that was what I

was.

“Depending on when you were looking for me, I was doing either my wedding planning work or my housekeeping work,” I replied, trying to remain cordial and failing at it miserably. “Were you looking for me?”

“Of course I was! Bob and I have been looking for you everywhere.”

My shoulders stiffened at the mention of Bob’s name.

“Where is Bob?”

“Still looking for you. Obviously, he’s not looking in the right place.”

“Why have you two been looking for me? Last I knew, we weren’t exactly on speaking terms.”

“You are our wedding planner, aren’t you?”

I sighed and set down the plate I had been washing. I dried off my hands and turned to face Lisa. I couldn’t help but notice how well she was dressed.

compared to me.

1

I wore a faded red dress that covered me modestly and white tennis shoes that allowed me to move around easily. My hair was pulled back in a messy bun, and I wore no makeup.

Lisa, on the other hand, was dressed to the nines. Her black turtlen*eck-like dress with a black jewel in the throat was right on trend, and the stilettos hurt

my feet just looking at them. Her hair had been pulled back into a high, tight ponytail, and her immaculate smoky eye put any makeup job I could have

one to shame.

She truly was a princess.

“Yes, of course I am,” I replied.

“And yet Bob and I feel as though we have hardly seen you this entire time. since we hired you.”

“Well, your father has been handling most of the details, particularly the financial aspect-”

“But is it my father’s wedding?”

Internally, I rolled my eyes.

“No, it’s your wedding. And Bob’s.”

“Exactly. Bob and I should have a say in what is going on, and I would like to know what is going on with my dress after that fire fiasco.”

I clenched my fists behind my back, but I nodded.

“Certainly. That’s very reasonable. Would you like to set up an appointment to meet at Ever After Weddings-”

“No, that’s too far out of the way, given my current schedule. Since you’re leeching off my father anyway, why don’t we just have dinner here? That way, we can just eat while we’re looking over the plans.”

“All right. We’ll have to check with Andrew to see what works with his schedule

“Why would he need to be there?”

Lisa’s objection brought my mind to a halt. Why wouldn’t she want her own. father to be at a meeting to plan her wedding?

“I…he’s paying for the wedding, and he’s been a big part of the planning so far. I think it’s only fair that he be there when I bring you and Bob up to date.”

Lisa gaped for a moment, as though she didn’t have a response for that rationale. I still didn’t understand why she needed one in the first place.

just think that he’s done enough for this

take any changes to the plans, so you can easily tell him what we talk about after the dinner, she explained. “I don’t want to take him away from his duties.

Would it really be taking him away from his duties if we schedule it during dianer?”

“Please, I really want to do this by myself, just Bob and me. Okay?”

For a second, I no longer saw the Lisa Dubois who hated me and was possibly teaming up with Bob to edge me out of Andrew’s life-and maybe kill me. No, I now saw Lisa Dubois, the young, college-aged woman with a big name to live up to. Perhaps she deserved the benefit of the doubt.

Despite what my instincts-and Susan-were yelling at me to do, I nodded in acceptance.

“All right, we can do this without Andrew. When were you thinking?”

“Tonight. The sooner, the better.”

…

It was short notice, but I had nothing better to do that night, so I nodded. again.

“Fine, I’ll be there.”

“Great! Bob and I will meet you in the dining room-you know where that is -and you be sure to bring our binder, okay?”

“Of course. I won’t forget it.”

“I’ll see you tonight, then.”

“See you tonight.”

I watched Lisa bounce out of the room. It was probably one of the few times. that I had seen Lisa happy over something that wasn’t her wedding dress. It could be easy to forget that she was a few years younger than me and should be enjoying life.

“Don’t pity her,” Susan warned. “Andrew pampers her and loves her. Her hatred is dangerous.”

10:50 Tue, 2 Jan.

Chapter 45

“I know. I haven’t forgotten what she and Bob have done to me so far.”

“Just don’t let your guard down at this dinner.”

“I won’t. I can’t afford to.”