She is sitting in an all-white satin robe, her dark hair clipped back in a mock-updo. She looks every ounce of a bride, as she should. The ring on her hand sparkles in the lighting, and it makes my heart hurt. I took my ring off when I was at the trailer and left it for Mike, but you can still see where the ring sat on my hand for the last three years.
“Nope, we aren’t doing this today. Go, go, go.” Nyx practically picks me up from the little couch I have been watching from. “Here, chug this.” She hands me the glass of champagne I have been nursing since we got here, and I drink it in one large swallow.
I am then escorted into a large fitting room. There is plenty of room here for both Nyx and me if she wants to join me. My guess is it is for the attendant and the bride, plus room for some of the larger dresses.
Hanging on the wall to my right is a slew of bridesmaids’ dresses. Ranging in every color from bright pink to muted greens. I could have sworn Nyx said I was going to be in red. What’s with the color? Browsing through the selection, I find the first one that offends my eyes with its extreme tulle skirt. I might get lost in this dress, but let’s see what Nyx has to say.
“Oh…my…god.” Nyx’s hand shoots up to her mouth in absolute shock before she breaks out in full-body laughter. “What the fuck is that?”
“Did you not pick these? Also, why is there so much color?” We both just look at each other, confused.
“Ummm, no. I would never pick that. Where did that come from the Nutcracker? It looks like a tutu.” Nyx laughs so hard, there are tears running down her cheeks.
“These were what was in the room.”
“I just pulled a few that I thought might work based on some of the dresses you guys mentioned liking.” The attendant pops out from behind a dress rack, scaring the shit out of both of us.
“Ya, well, this is not the look we are going for today. I want something in a blood red, lace preferably.” Nyx is finally putting her foot down with this woman.
“I think I have found the perfect dress for you, Miss Bennett. Also, I have a dress in mind for Miss Kyra.” The woman spins so fast on her red-bottom heels that I am shocked she doesn’t roll an ankle.
I go back into the dressing room to remove the tutu dress and slip my arms in the baby pink robe to await her return. Nyx stands from the couch and smiles at me.
“Thank you for being a good sport today, beautiful. How are you feeling?”
”I mean I wouldn’t say I’m great, Nixie. But this is keeping my mind off things. I could go for another glass of bubbly.” We both laugh, and she refills our drinks.
“This is the last glass for me, unless we are calling the guys to come pick us up.” Nyx takes a swig before the attendant appears again with two of the most gorgeous dresses in both hands.
“Miss Bennett, let’s try this one.” She places that dress in the dressing room before coming back to give me mine. She slips back into the room with Nyx, and I take a look at the gorgeous dress in my hands.
The dress appears to hit just below my knee; the silhouette feels very fifties retro, but the entire top layer of the dress is gorgeous lace. It shimmers slightly in the light of the fitting room. The color is a deep red, with a black material beneaththe lace. It makes me feel like a vampire. Slipping the dress down over my head, I notice that the sweetheart neckline does marvelous things for my chest, and the straps sit just off shoulder.
Cal will drop dead when he sees you in this.
“Hush,” I say quietly to myself.
“You ready, babe?” Nyx calls out from the room next door. “I think this is a winner.”
I can hear the excitement in her voice, and that makes me so happy for her.
“Ready. 1…2…3.” With that, we both step out of the fitting rooms and squeal.
“These dresses fit each other so well.” Nyx starts crying instantly. Unfortunately, I think my tear ducts are dried out, but I am awestruck by her dress.
The dress is mermaid-style, fits her perfectly through the hips, and flares out gently at her knees. The material is the same light, shimmering fabric as mine, but it is black lace. She has nude material under the black lace, and a gorgeous red belt that matches my dress wrapped around her waist.
“Ok, order them. This is it.” Nyx hugs me, and for just a moment, my soul hurts a little bit less.
CHAPTER 31
CALLUM
The sun is scorching hot as we roll down the sandy street. The buildings on either side of the road have already been raided, and all the doors have been busted in.
Alexander is currently blasting some bubblegum pop from his old-school iPod. When we first arrived, we thought he was so weird bringing it with him, but little did we know that most of the Humvees didn’t offer a connection for any of the newer devices.
There is a pile of trash up ahead of us, and I make sure to call it out so we don’t run through it. That is a notorious trap for an IED. Or so I thought. We roll slowly through the middle of the street, thinking it is safer.
