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“They also didn’t foresee the bride marrying another bride,” Ari muttered. My best friend was gay and had gotten married to one of our childhood nemeses, proving thatyes—people could change for the better. Meagan was a perfectly wonderful person now, and she treated Ari like a queen.
“Well, when I walk down that aisle to Killian, I want to feel like I’m my most beautiful self. The dress matters. I know some people could happily get married in a gunny sack, but not me. What I see in the mirror sets my mood.” I glanced over at the door, waiting.
I was marrying my wolf-shifter fiancé on the Winter Solstice. It would be near our two-year anniversary of being together. He’d never once said a negative word about my looks. In fact, he thought I was beautiful. And he supported me keeping my last name, and he had also maintained his equilibrium throughout all the harrowing cases I’d investigated in my job with Conjure Ink. In fact, he’d helped out on several of them with no complaint, including a search for Bigfoot and ghosts up the wazoo.
Shifters and witchblood didn’t always mesh well, but Killian and I had crossed that divide comfortably, and the fact that his family accepted who I was meant the world to me. I loved being auntie to his two baby-girl nieces, and had even volunteered to babysit a few times without being asked. Which—for me—was huge.
The door opened and Sally returned. She was carrying a plastic-covered dress, and at first glance, the dress caught my attention. The material looked to be silk—almost gauzy—and the color was periwinkle blue.
I straightened, my interest piqued. “So far, so good.”
“I thought you might like the color.” She hung it on the wall hook and unzipped the cover. As she brought the dress out for me to take a look, I gasped.
The dress was made of chiffon, organza, and tulle. The neckline was low, a sweetheart style, and it had off-the-shoulder cap sleeves. The bodice was boned, and subtle leaf appliques made of lace covered it. The back of the bodice laced up like a corset with matching ribbon. The skirt swept out in draped pleats—layers of organza and tulle adorned with crystal beads, and lace appliques in the shapes of flowers circled the skirt, a shade lighter than the dress. The hem flared out into a cathedral train that stretched a good two feet behind the dress.
I couldn’t look away. “If I don’t fit in that, I’m going to cry.”
Ari gasped, too. “That’s incredible.
“Come, let’s see if it fits. I think it should.” Sally bade me to stand.
I slipped off my robe as she loosened the lacing on the back. She waited till I was ready, then brought the dress over my head. I held my arms up, letting her maneuver my arms into the sleeves. I was wearing a strapless bra—heavy-duty underwire to hold up my boobs—and I held my breath, whispering a prayer that the dress would fit.
Sally gently tugged the dress down over my stomach, and I waited as she walked around to my back and began to tighten the laces. Finally, she tied them off and stood back.
“Oh, I can’t imagine anybody wearing it better,” she said, her eyes shining.
I turned toward the mirror and my heart felt like it stopped in my throat. The dress looked like it had been made for me, and with my pale skin, dark hair, and green eyes, I looked like some beautiful woodland faerie, fresh out of the forest wild.
Turning around to face Ari and my aunt, I hoped they’d love it as much as I did. I waited, scanning their faces. To my relief, they both clapped.
“It’s so you,” Aunt Teran said, tearing up. “You’re so beautiful.”
“It’sperfect,” Ari said.
I caught my breath. “Youreallythink so? Because I love it. I absolutely love it. I have to have it!” I turned back to Sally. “I’m almost afraid to ask, but how much is it?”
I’d set myself a budget of three thousand dollars, and even that made me wince. It seemed like a huge amount to spend on a dress I’d wear once in my life. Hell, my dress for my first marriage had been simple, cost my parents five hundred, and that had ended up in the burn barrel when I walked away from the tattered remains of the relationship.
She smiled. “I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised. This is vintage, you know—so it’s…pre-owned—”
“Used,” I said, dryly. “Yes, I know.”
“We’re asking eight hundred for it.”
“Sold!” I said. I knew I could probably talk her down from there by a couple hundred, but given the dress was well under my budget, and given it was perfect, I saw no reason to be churlish about the price.
“It doesn’t even need any alterations,” Sally said. “Do you want to wear it longer?”
I lingered in the mirror, feeling like I was in some faerie tale. “No,” I finally said, sighing. “Let’s get this off and back safely under plastic, where I won’t accidentally destroy it.”
As Sally helped me take it off, she showed both Teran and Ari how to lace it up right. There was a hidden zipper behind the modesty panel, which made fastening it much simpler. The only thing I’d have to watch would be to avoid gaining or losing more than a few pounds during the next five months. It was July now and the wedding was on the Winter Solstice.
As I handed Sally my credit card, my thoughts turned to accessories, but those would keep for a while. I was relieved to have my dress, and I wanted to get it home and tucked into a closet where nothing would touch it until I was ready to walk down the aisle.
* * *
“And it’s perfect—but you don’t get to see it until the wedding day,” I said, setting plates out for dinner. “I can’t believe that it fit with no alterations!” I paused, glancing at Killian. He had that polite look on his face that told me he was trying to listen but was too tired to manage my enthusiastic conversation. I knew the look all too well. Killian was a vet and he dealt with a variety of pet owners, but I also knew that some of them could be hell to deal with.
