Eruption - Chapter 28
Thursday
I stared at my reflection in the mirror as the woman clipped another veil into my hair.
"Penny..." my mom said. "Sweetie, you look so beautiful."
I immediately burst into tears. Oh God. I had made a mistake.
I needed to call James. My dress felt tight and uncomfortable.
I didn't want any of this. I never wanted a fancy wedding.
James had told me he didn't either. He said he had already done all that.
He wanted to get married in Vegas. But I had said no.
I had told him I wanted my family and friends to be there.
Why were we doing this? Why was I making him do something he didn't want to do? I didn't need any of this.
Melissa grabbed a tissue and handed it to me. "Penny, that one's perfect. The diamonds match the straps on the dress. It's absolutely gorgeous."
I nodded. They thought I was crying because I liked the veil. I blotted my eyes. "Let's get this one," I said and pulled it out of my hair.
My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I pushed the veil into the sales associate's hands so that no one would notice. Isabella still hadn't contacted me. I didn't know whether or not she had gotten the money in time. The pictures could be all over the internet already.
"Can you help me get out of this?" I asked the woman who was helping me.
She nodded and we went back into the changing room. As soon as I was back in my normal clothes, I grabbed my cell phone. Still nothing.
"Do you girls want to go get some dinner?" my mom asked. "My treat."
"I can't, Mom. I told James I'd have dinner with just him tonight."
"Of course." My mom gave me a smile. "Melissa, do you and Tyler want to join Peter and me for dinner?"
"We'd love to, Mrs. Taylor."
The sales associate handed me my dress in a bag. "You're all set."
"Thank you," I said and took the dress from her.
"Penny, your hands are shaking." My mom stood up and took the dress from me. "Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm just nervous."
"Sweetie." My mom embraced me with a huge hug.
"I was nervous before my wedding too. But you have nothing to worry about.
You and James have such a strong connection.
And you've already been through so much together.
The two of you can face anything. Everyone can see the love that you share.
I'm so happy for you." She squeezed me once more and then released me from her embrace.
"You two were made for each other," Melissa said with a smile. "There is no other way to describe what you guys have."
"How are you and Tyler doing?"
Melissa's smile got even bigger. "So good. And I think I owe you a thank you for that. He told me that he talked to you about it."
"I'm so happy that it all worked out."
Melissa threw her arms around me. "I'm so sorry about everything, Penny. I don't know why..."
"It's okay." She had already apologized a dozen times.
"I just...I love you so much and I'm so happy for you. I'm sorry if my attitude ruined anything leading up to your wedding."
"It didn't." At least, it didn't matter now. I was just happy that we were friends again. She was back just in time to be my maid of honor.
She unwrapped her arms from around me and squeezed my shoulders. "And you're going to be the most beautiful bride. Why are you crying again?"
"I'm sorry." I laughed and quickly wiped my tears away before they could stream down my cheeks.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." But I did.
I had this awful feeling in my stomach that this wedding wasn't going to happen.
I had just stolen money from James. My reasoning didn't matter.
I had probably just lost his trust. Isabella was a better villain than I had given her credit for this morning.
She had played this whole thing just right.
"You're just nervous," my mom said. "Try to get some sleep tonight. You'll just be excited tomorrow when the celebrations start. And I can't wait to meet James' parents at the rehearsal dinner."
I hadn't told my parents about the disaster at the engagement party.
I wasn't sure why. They would probably never meet James' parents.
But I didn't want them to think that reflected poorly on James.
He'd be better at explaining it to them than I would.
I still had so many unanswered questions about his childhood.
Melissa was staring at me with a funny look on her face.
When my mom turned away to grab her purse, I shook my head at Melissa.
She just shrugged and pretended to zip her mouth shut.
"Thank you," I mouthed silently.
We all made our way outside. It was still hot out. I gave my mom and Melissa both a hug goodbye. "Have fun at dinner."
"Thanks again, Penny. I really owe you one," Melissa said. "We'll see you tomorrow night."
"Mhm. Bye, Mom."
"Don't be nervous, Penny. James is one of the good ones."
I tried not to start crying again as I nodded my head. He was. But I didn't feel like I was. "See you tomorrow!" I turned away from them and walked toward the car where Ian was waiting.
Ian smiled at me. "Are you excited for the wedding?" he asked as he took the dress out of my hands.
"Yes." My voice sounded small as I hurried into the car. I just needed to get home and tell James. Everything would be fine. I'd tell him about all the pictures Isabella had sent me, and the texts. Maybe he could figure out how she seemed to know my every move. We could figure this out together.
"What kind of dress did you get?" Ian asked as he pulled away from the curb.
I laughed. "I don't really know the style. It's pretty though."
I could see Ian's smile in the rearview mirror. "I'm sure you'll look beautiful."
"Thanks, Ian."
"Do you know when Jen is coming in?"
My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my purse. There was a new text:
"Thank you for your assistance, Penny. There is one more thing, though.
You can never tell James that you transferred the money to me.
Or that I was the one that asked you to do it.
If I find out that you told him I was involved in this in any way, the photos will be leaked.
So keep my name out of it. I'm officially out of your life.
Good luck getting to know the man you're marrying. You're going to need it."
I swallowed hard. I wasn't allowed to tell him?
My chest started hurting again. I pressed my hand against it and tried to take a deep breath.
What if James found out on his own? What was I supposed to say?
I couldn't lie to him. He'd be able to tell.
Not that Ed and Bill didn't realize I was lying.
But James knew me better than anyone. He always knew if something was bothering me.
"Penny?" Ian said.
"What?"
"Do you know when Jen is coming in?"
I tried to focus on what he was saying. "Um, she's coming in tomorrow morning."
"Would you like me to pick her up from the airport and take her to the hotel?"
"That would be great, Ian. Thanks."
I couldn't even get joy out of how excited he looked. Ian had a crush on Jen for as long as I knew him. Maybe he'd finally tell her that he liked her this weekend. Weddings were romantic.
Ian turned into the parking garage beneath our apartment building. I grabbed my dress off the hook in the back seat.
"Thanks for the ride, Ian."
"Would you like me to carry that up for you?" he asked.
"No, that's okay. Thanks." I got out of the car and walked slowly toward the elevator. Please don't know. Please don't know. Please don't know.
I leaned against the side of the elevator and closed my eyes. Even if he did know, I could just tell him I couldn't tell him what had really happened. He had to believe me. He trusted me.
I unlocked the door and walked into our apartment.
James wasn't in the living room or in the kitchen.
"James?" I called as I walked upstairs and into our bedroom.
There was no answer as I hung up the dress.
Maybe he was picking up dinner somewhere.
I walked over to our bed and grabbed the box full of notes and pictures that Isabella had sent me.
I didn't want to talk about any of this.
It was time to let all of this go. I walked out of our bedroom and back down the stairs, with the box under my arm.
If I could believe James hadn't cheated on me after seeing these pictures, then he could believe me when I told him whatever ended up coming out of my mouth about his missing 20 million dollars.
God. I was so screwed. Maybe I could tell him I made an investment. Or that the dress cost a lot of money. Or just tell him the truth. But I couldn't risk it. Isabella was watching me somehow. She knew what I was doing. I didn't know how, but she did. She had eyes and ears everywhere.
"How did it go?"
I almost jumped when I heard James' voice. I put the box on the kitchen counter and turned around, shielding it from his view. "Good. I think you're going to like the dress."
James had a glass of scotch in his hand. He sat down on the couch and took a sip. He looked tired. "You look beautiful in everything, Penny." He said it without looking up at me.
I glanced down at the box and then back at him. I'd throw it away in a minute. I walked over to the couch and sat down next to James. "Are you okay?" He must already know. I could tell something was bothering him. He never drank alone unless he was upset.
"I got a few interesting phone calls tonight."
"Yeah?"
He took another sip of scotch and set it down on the coffee table. He wanted me to say something, but when I stayed silent, he said, "My parents called."
"They did?" I couldn't help the excitement in my voice.
"Apparently Isabella actually talked to them. They want to come to the wedding. They want...well, I don't know what they want. Another chance, I guess? They said they were sorry."
"James, that's great."