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Perhaps she should cancel their contract for the bachelor party and recommend another event planner. Yes, that was a good idea. After all, Andrew hadn’t liked any of her ideas for the party so far.
“Here we go again.” Liza’s voice drew Clara from her thoughts. “How much do you want to bet she changes her mind…again?”
“Oh, please, don’t even think it.” Clara placed her big white tote with pink flowers on it next to a chair. She kept her digital notebook in hand. It kept her life organized and on schedule.
“Sorry. I know how important this wedding is to you.” Liza unzipped the wedding dress. “I’m sure the ceremony will be beautiful.”
“I hope.” Until Tula walked down the aisle, Clara would worry. “So how’s Rob?”
“Rob who?” Liza frowned as she set a pair of dyed purple canvas tennis shoes next to the dress.
“Rob, the guy you’re dating.”
“Was dating.”
“Oh, no. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. We just weren’t right for each other. Better to find out sooner than find out when we’re about to walk down the—” Liza’s face paled as she pressed a hand to her lips as though to stop her runaway mouth.
“It’s okay. You can finish what you were about to say about walking down the aisle. I totally agree.” She’d had blinders on where Andrew was concerned. She’d wanted to believe she could change him. That he’d become the man she wanted him to be.
“Clara, I’m sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. Well, obviously I wasn’t thinking, or I wouldn’t have said something so thoughtless.”
Clara walked up to her friend and briefly placed a hand on Liza’s arm to gain her attention. “It’s really okay. Honest. It was a long time ago. I’m way past it now.”
“Are you? I mean now that he’s in town, that must be awkward.”
“Surprisingly enough, it’s not.” Clara opened the cover on her digital notebook and checked her email, hoping to drop the subject of Andrew.
“Really?” Liza’s voice drew out the one word until the air hung with a million unspoken questions.
Clara glanced up to see the worry in her friend’s eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?”
“I—”
“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Tula breezed into the chapel, saving Clara from having to answer that question. “I really hope this is our last meeting. The flight between here and LA takes up far too much time. And I know that’s why we picked this location, with it being far from the paparazzi, but I have to make this quick. I’ve got to get back for a photo shoot to promote my upcoming movie release. Funny, I don’t recall my first wedding taking up so much time.”
Clara wanted to point out that her first wedding hadn’t been much of one. She and Hugh had eloped to Vegas. There hadn’t been invitations to send or a dress to pick out. Instead, Clara said, “I understand. We’ll do our best to hurry this along.”
Tula smiled at her. “I knew you’d understand.”
Clara decided it was best to change the subject. “Liza has kindly laid everything out for you. And I believe everything is the right size.”
“Perfect.” Tula moved to the rack where the white dress hung. “How did things go with Andrew?”
“Yes, Clara,” Liza said with amusement glittering in her eyes. “How are you and Andrew doing?”
What? Surely, he hadn’t told people about the kiss. Clara’s back teeth ground together as she tried her best to maintain a smile. Talk about a difficult feat. At last trusting her voice, she said, “We visited a few venues.”
Tula nodded before turning to examine the dress. Her fingers traced the delicate embroidery on the bodice. “What have you come up with for the special evening?”
“Nothing specific, but we’re narrowing things down.” Clara gave her the highlights while leaving out their talk about Andrew’s accident and the earth-tilting kiss.
“You have to come up with something really special,” Tula said. “I want my guy to have the best night of his life, though I guess that won’t be possible since I won’t be there.” Tula’s little laugh filled the awkward silence as Clara forced a smile.
She wished her assistant would ring her phone, but then she recalled leaving instructions that under no circumstances was she to be disturbed while meeting with Tula. And since she’d handed her other clients over to Brooke, there wasn’t anyone to rescue her from this moment.
