Chapter 20
Cara
I didn’t expect dress shopping to make me this nervous.
But I’m looking for the dress. The one that I’ll walk down the aisle in. The one that’ll make Dmitri’s jaw literally drop when he sees me.
It has to be perfect.
“Thanks for coming,” I tell my father as he finds a seat. We’re in a private suite where I’ll try on dresses away from the main part of the dress shop.
“Of course,” he says as he gives me a small but grateful smile. “I’m glad you asked me.”
It’s probably unorthodox to have my father here with me, but my mom is dead, and I’ve lost pretty much any of the friends that I used to have over the past year because of everything that has happened. I didn’t want to endanger any of them living their normal lives up in Boston.
Maybe when things calm down, I can actually have somewhat of a social life.
“Cara! Hello!”
I spin around to see a young woman with bouncy blonde hair and a radiant smile striding out from the back. “Oh, hi.”
“I’m Lindsey. We were talking online about what kind of dresses you were interested in trying on today,” she says as she happily shakes my hand. “And who is your guest?”
“This is my father, Sean,” I reply, watching her shake his hand as he stands to greet her.
“Hi, Dad. Thanks for joining us!” Lindsey tells him before turning back to me. “I’ve pulled some selections from our most beautiful collection. Want to take a look and try some on?”
I nod, feeling a flutter of nervousness within me as I follow her into the back where there are more changing rooms and a big rack of dresses.
“So, you told me that you were interested in a fitted bodice,” Lindsey recalls as she flips through the dresses on the rack. “And you also said that you liked lace.”
“There are so many different styles that I got a little overwhelmed. Those are the only details that I’m somewhat sure about,” I admit, my skin already starting to warm up from anxiety.
I know it’s not just the dress I’m worried about.
I want our wedding to be perfect. Our lives to be long, safe, and happy.
But I’m just not sure if that’s the future life has in store for us.
“Let’s try this one first,” Lindsey replies before pulling one dress off the rack and showing me back to the dressing room. “This is an A-line gown with a lace bodice. It’ll be fitted around your bust with this sweetheart neckline, and it has thin straps.”
A lot of those details go over my head, but once she unveils the dress, I see what she’s talking about. It’s gorgeous, but will it look good on me?
“I’ll let you change. When you need help, just give me a shout!” Lindsey tells me before stepping out of the dressing room and sliding the curtain back into place to give me some privacy.
I glance around at the three mirrors facing me, my heart racing as I start getting undressed.
Finally, I pull the first dress on and hug the front against my chest before calling Lindsey in for help zipping up the back.
“It’s beautiful! What do you think?” Lindsey asks once she zips me up and fluffs out the bottom.
I turn every which way, admiring how my bust looks and how the dress flows. But I don’t love it. “It’s really nice. I just think the train’s too simple. There’s barely any lace on it.”
Lindsey snaps her fingers. “I know exactly what you mean. Let me get you something else to try on.”
I lose count of how many dresses I try, but I keep at it until my feet start to ache.
I only like two enough to walk out and show my father, and he’s no help because he assures me that both of them look perfect on me. It’ll be down to me and my gut feeling to decide on the best dress.
“I’m sorry. I hope I’m not being too picky.” I sigh as I watch Lindsey flip through the few remaining dresses on the rack in my size that I haven’t tried on yet.
Lindsey smiles at me. “You’re supposed to be picky when it comes to wedding dresses. We have hundreds of choices for a reason.”
“I think I just want something elegant, but I don’t want a fluffy ball gown,” I explain to her. It’s hard to know exactly what I want because I haven’t seen it yet.
Lindsey pauses. “I think I might have something out front that you might like. Let me go get it.”
I nod and thank her before fanning my face, trying to cool myself down. Dress shopping is stressful. If this next one isn’t the dress, I’ll probably have to make another appointment.
Lindsey returns a few minutes later and holds up the dress. “Full lace bodice sheath gown. Off the shoulder sleeves and sequined appliques woven into the lace.”
My eyes widen as they roam over the beautiful dress. “I love it.”
“Let’s give it a try!” she suggests before handing the dress over to me.
I disappear behind the curtain and change into it, carefully slipping my arms through the off the shoulder sleeves.
It hugs me perfectly from my bust to my hips before falling elegantly around my legs all the way to the floor.
There are so many details in the lace pattern that keep the dress from looking boring and bland like some of the others.
“I think this could be the one,” I tell Lindsey once I pull back the curtain.
Lindsey joins her hands together in awe. “It looks so gorgeous on you! Show your dad!”
I carefully gather the material of the train in my hands and lift it off the ground before walking out to the small platform in front of the seating area. My eyes lift to see the stunned look on my father’s face. “What do you think?”
“That’s the one, yeah,” Sean says without hesitance. “Wow. You look beautiful.”
I smile at him before turning around to look at the mirrors behind me, my heart pounding. I think this really is the one. It suits me, and I have to admit that it complements my best assets very well.
“What do we think?” Lindsey asks as she stands off to the side.
I take a deep breath and nod. “I want to get this one.”
Lindsey claps joyfully. “Amazing! Let’s order it!”
The rest of the appointment is a blur as I get changed back into my regular clothes and talk to Lindsey about the next steps. Dmitri gave me one of his credit cards to pay for the dress at any cost, but I don’t even get the chance to pull it out of my purse.
“I’ve got it,” Sean says as he hands one of his cards over to Lindsey.
I frown. “You don’t have to do that. Dmitri gave me his card.”
My father shakes his head as he signs the receipt. “It’s your wedding dress, Cara. Probably the most important piece of clothing that you’ll ever buy. I want to get it for you. It’s the least I can do to try and make amends, yeah?”
I hope that he doesn’t think that he has to buy my affection. I’d much rather him earn it in other ways like supporting my decisions and spending time with me on his own accord.
“Are you sure? It’s expensive,” I reply.
Sean scoffs. “And you think that I can’t afford it?”
A smirk tugs at my lips. “If you’re certain…”
We thank Lindsey before walking out of the store together. Sean places his hand high on my upper back as he gives me a warm look.
Leo and Mark were stationed nearby outside with the car, Dmitri’s compromise for letting me come at all.
“You deserve the perfect wedding day,” he tells me as we head down the sidewalk to reach the car parked around the corner. “No amount of expense matters, and I’m sure that Dmitri would say the same thing.”
For a second, it almost feels like I have a father again.
I’ve been insanely spoiled lately. I can only imagine how spoiled our baby will be. “You’re not wrong—”
An engine roars too close to my left, low and aggressive. A black sedan surges up beside the curb. The back window glides down an inch, just enough for a gun barrel to appear.
My heart plummets at the sight.
My body locks up.
All I can do is stare at the end of the barrel, time slowing.
“Cara!”
The gun cracks, and I squeeze my eyes shut, preparing for the bullet to rip through me.
But a hard impact slams into me instead, a strong arm wrapping around me to keep my head from hitting the ground.
Tires squeal as the car races off, and I finally open my eyes to find my father holding me against his chest, his back facing the street.
“What the hell was that?” I breathe out in shock as I lift my gaze, expecting Sean to look furious, to already have his gun out.
Instead, he looks pained, his face pinched tight. He releases me and drops down to his knees in front of me, grasping at his shoulder.
My stomach twists as I pull his suit jacket down his arm, seeing blood blooming high on his chest, near the shoulder. That bullet almost hit his heart.
“Oh, my God…Dad.”
Sean groans in pain as blood soaks his shirt, his breathing growing ragged.
“Dad? Dad!” I say as he starts to sway. I look down the sidewalk to see Leo and Mark coming around the corner with their guns drawn, along with some of my father’s men. They must’ve heard the gunshot. “Help! He’s been shot!”
The guys break out into a sprint, reaching me and my father in just a few seconds. Leo guides Sean onto his back and puts pressure on the wound.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” Mark asks, his eyes sweeping over me.
“I’m fine. Someone just drove up and shot at us!” I tell him, my voice starting to shake. “He-he shielded me. He protected me.”
“We need to get him to the hospital,” Leo says, blood already covering his hands. “He’s losing too much blood.”
“Should we call an ambulance?” I ask as I frantically pull out my phone.
Mark puts his hand over mine as my dad lets out a weak sound of protest. “We’ll drive him. We’ll get him there faster than an ambulance can get here.”
“Then, let’s go!” I urge them.
“I’ll get the car,” Mark says before taking off around the corner.
I kneel down next to my father as the color starts to drain from his face. Worry twists and churns in my stomach as I grab his hand, squeezing tightly to keep him grounded to reality. “You are not dying on me today! I will never forgive you if you do.”
Sean lets out a weak laugh as his glassy eyes shift to me. “That’s just not fair.”
“No, it is fair,” I argue as my eyes start to sting. “You owe it to me to survive this like everything else….”
Sean breathes in shakily as he gazes at me for a few quiet seconds. He then nods and squeezes my hand back as much as he can.
When Mark pulls the car around, he hops out and helps Leo and the others get my dad into the back seat just as some nosy bystanders start to show up. “Hurry!” I tell them as I climb into the passenger’s seat while Leo stays in the back to keep pressure on Dad’s wound.
Mark hits the gas and tears down the road toward the closest hospital, weaving through traffic effortlessly. “If people ask what happened, give the vaguest answer you can. Not too many details.”
I nod in understanding, knowing we don’t want to get the local cops involved. I just want Sean to be okay.
How many times in my life have I wished my father were dead because he was being an asshole? Now that the possibility is here, I hate that I ever wanted it.
Mark pulls in front of the emergency room entrance and parks before rushing through the double doors to flag down whoever he can find while I get the passenger doors open. Two nurses and a doctor follow him out a minute later with a gurney rolling behind them.
My throat grows tight as I watch them haul my father onto the gurney and rush him back inside, my legs feeling numb.
“Come on, Cara,” Leo says as he motions for me to follow him inside. “Mark will go talk to Dmitri, but I’ll stay with you and your dad’s guys.”
I swallow hard and nod before joining him, my heart sinking as we’re directed to the waiting area where they’ll give us updates. I force myself to sit down despite feeling like I want to either pace or run away, my knee bouncing anxiously.
“He’ll be okay,” Leo says quietly.
I want to believe him. But Dad isn’t twenty anymore, and that bullet was too close.
If he dies because he threw himself in front of me, the guilt will never let me breathe again.
My feelings toward my father are complicated and probably always will be, but I know that the guilt will eat me alive.
I don’t want anyone to die for me or because of me.
After what feels like an hour, a doctor strides into the waiting room. “O’Malley?”
One look at his face and my stomach drops, but I still manage to get myself out of the chair and walk over to him on wobbling legs.
I brace myself for what happens next.
Whether I’m ready for it or not.