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"This isn’t just clothes," Mallory said "It’s your wedding dress" She held up her hands "But the bridge has been crossed and I’ it personally"

"You are a little"

"I am a little But I will live So let’s see it"

I unzipped the bag, unexpectedly nervous about whether Mallory would like the dress or not I needed her to like it

"Oh," Mallory said, barely a sound, her eyes welling at the sight of it "Oh, Merit That’s just"

"It’s very you," Lindsey said, reaching out to squeeze Mallory’s hand

That hy I’d grabbed the first dress I’d tried on Because it was absolutelyit Me, but ance I’d never really felt But an elegance I iined my mother would be proud of

It was a slender dress, overlaid in delicate French lace There were short cap sleeves of the same lace, and a bodice with a sweetheart neckline The lace continued through the waist, where the underlying bias-cut silk draped to the ground and pooled in a short train of more lace It was delicate and romantic and old-fashioned, and it fit my tall frame to a tee

"It really is," Mallory said, tears falling in earnest now She stood up and wrapped her ar thatin baseball or vampire fashion," I said

"There will be tears at the wedding," Lindsey said "From those of us happy that the two of you found each other--and those jealous that both of you are off the market"

I almost snorted, until I reo’s Sheridan House, had been sufficiently in love with Ethan to try to push us apart Vampire etiquette demanded we invite her, but I wasn’t sure whether she’d RSVP’d Not that I orried overht help her move on And it would probably piss her off a little Which was fine with me

"You will knock his socks off," Mallory said, using a tissue to swipe at her eyes "I mean, he is totally crazy about you, but if you didn’t have him in the palm of your hand before, you will now"

• • •

Makeup was followed by dress, which was followed by hair By the ti, and spraying ed off my head

I winced as she adjusted a final pin, which poked right into the skin behind ive her the benefit of the doubt and assume she liked the hair, not the pain

"Here we go," Lindsey said "Mirror time"

"Oh, here!" Mallory said "For full effect" She opened a glossy white box on the counter, pulled out my bouquet

"Oh, that’s beautiful," I said, taking it There were enoreas, with sprigs of white lily of the valley The stems rapped in white satin "And it’s heavy," I said as Mallory passed it over "How does yours look?"