by Helen Scott
A knock sounded at the door a moment before it swung open. Ellie couldn’t even see the woman underneath the pile of dresses. There was just a hand peeking out at the top, clutching the hangers.
“Here you are!” Linda sighed as she settled the dresses on hooks that hung along the wall.
The first one she was bundled into had spaghetti straps that she knew would be digging into her shoulders in no time, so she vetoed it before even showing the girls. The next one she put on was strapless, which made her uncomfortable, but if she found the right bra, she could make it work. The bodice was fitted and the skirt flared out just above her knees. As she looked at the back, she almost snickered. It made her feel like a peacock, with all the ruffles and feathers sticking out back there.
Linda opened the door after successfully clamping the thing to the back of her bra, and the girls all shook their heads before she even made it to the raised platform. Ellie swore she saw Aster shudder in distaste before getting up and marching out to the showroom floor, her little bump leading the way. Turning back around, Ellie was back in the room and out of the dress before she even knew what was going on.
The next dress looked promising. It had sleeves and a flowy skirt. She knew she shouldn’t be, but she was hopeful. Besides, Linda seemed to be getting tired. They were on their tenth—or was it twelfth?— dress with not even a hint of joy. As she was stuffed into the new dress, she thought it looked okay, but she wasn’t in love with it. No big wave of emotion overcame her as she looked at herself in the mirror. She didn’t feel like a bride. In fact, she felt more like one of those old-timey barmaids frequently seen at Oktoberfest events carrying steins with beer sloshing out of them to very drunk men. She sighed.
Once again, Linda ushered her out and onto the small pedestal. Cin and Robin both looked at the dress quizzically.
“Well, ladies, what do you think?” Linda gushed. “Isn’t she beautiful in this lovely cream and lace?”
The whole dress was a creamy color, and the bodice was covered in matching lace, which went all the way down the skirt as well.
“It’s okay,” Robin said before trailing off.
“You can do better,” Cin added, and Ellie could swear she saw Linda roll her eyes. When Cin’s phone buzzed, Ellie tensed. If it was her Hades Only phone, then the whole situation could turn into a disaster, with Cin going full fury, which would make Robin go full banshee, and the sales associate would probably lose her mind.
“Back in we go.” Linda smiled, but it was forced, and Ellie couldn’t help but wonder if this woman really enjoyed her job, or if it was just a paycheck.
“I’ll be right back,” Cin muttered to Robin before heading down the hall.
The room was starting to annoy Ellie. It was slowly filling with white and cream dresses. Silk, satin, taffeta, organza, lace, tulle, chiffon, it was all there, but none of it was right. When Linda went to pull out the next dress, Ellie laughed. She didn’t mean to, but she couldn’t help it. The thing looked like it must have weighed a ton from the way the fabric sat on the hanger, not to mention the fact that it would blind anyone there with the sheer number of crystals and sequins on the thing.
“I, uh, I don’t think that’s for me,” Ellie said with an apologetic smile.
“Okay, then, let me clear some of these out and we will see what else we can find.” Linda practically huffed as she lifted the load of dresses up and exited the room.
Ellie slipped the robe on and opened the door, only to find Robin sitting alone, scrolling through something on her phone. The lithe redhead looked up at the sound of the door swinging open again so quickly, and her gray eyes assessed Ellie.
“Not having fun, are you?” Robin asked. Her eyebrows pinched together in sympathy as she patted the chair next to her. “Come look at puppy pictures with me.”
“Puppy pictures?” Ellie couldn’t help but smile. She’d always wanted a dog or a cat, but it had always been too cost prohibitive, especially living in an apartment. The security deposits were enough that she never even entertained the idea. She could probably have one now, but didn’t think Alec would really want a pet underfoot.
Sitting next to her friend, Ellie looked down, and a sea of adorable faces assaulted her. There was everything from purebred dogs to complete mutts, from the chocolate-brown eyes of a lab to the piercing blue of a husky, even young puppies to senior dogs. Each face looked full of love, and when Ellie saw that they were all adoptable, she had to look away before her heart broke. As she looked down the hall, she saw Cin and Aster coming back with a different woman. Aster grinned impishly when she saw Ellie waiting for them.
“Ellie, my love, this is Kelly. She’s going to be helping you from now on. I think we’ve picked a couple good ones,” Aster said, rubbing her belly in an excited circular motion.
“Ellie, it’s my pleasure,” Kelly said, extending her free hand while her other held the dresses Aster had mentioned.
“Nice to meet ye,” she said, and scolded herself for not practicing her American accent. When Kelly didn’t bat an eye, she was relieved.
The first dress was a beautiful gauzy, lace gown that she thought looked promising. Her heart stuttered when she put it on. It was off the shoulder, with short sleeves and a straight lace neckline that met with the sleeves flawlessly. The skirt swirled out around her and had a top layer of lace that covered it all the way to the floor. It was understated and beautiful. She looked regal, but the other dress caught her eye as they left the room.
“Oh, sweetie!” Cin cried when she saw Ellie.
A shy smile spread over her face as she looked at their expressions. This was the best one yet, and they all knew it. As she stood on the platform, she looked down, avoiding looking in the mirror until everything was ready. The scratchy carpet tickled her bare feet as she waited. When Kelly was done fluffing the material out so it rested gently against the floor, Ellie looked up. Seeing herself in the mirror for the first time in a dress she liked was something else. She no longer felt like a beached whale in a dress. All she felt like now was a lady, a beautiful, elegant lady, which wasn’t something she was used to.
“You look beautiful,” Robin said quietly, and Aster nodded her head in agreement.
They all sat in silence for a moment before Ellie asked, “Can I try the last one on?”
“Of course, sweetheart! Whatever you want,” Kelly said in a warm yet professional tone.
They went back into the room, and her touch was gentle as she loosened the clasps that had held the dress to her bra. She was out of it and into the other one before she could let her mind wander. When she caught herself in the small mirror in the dressing room, her heart completely stopped and she almost felt lightheaded.
The sales associate smiled at her, and it was like she was watching the world through a different lens. There was no way she could wear a dress like the one on her right now. It just wasn’t the kind of woman she was, but it didn’t hurt to dream a little.
Kelly opened the door and stepped outside. Ellie took a deep breath and followed, waiting for the laughter to come at her being in such a frivolous, borderline ridiculous gown. It never came. When she looked up at the other women, all of their mouths were agape. There was no squealing, no clapping, no sneering, and certainly no laughing. As she stood on the riser once more, Kelly fluffed the fabric around her.
The skirt had a wavy edge with vines of embroidered leaves and three-dimensional roses set every so often all the way around amid a sea of chiffon. It looked like they were reaching up to the tendrils of small roses and beads that descended from the bodice. Just under her bust was a thick chiffon band dotted with the same small flowers, leaves, and beads, but in a way that made her waist look tiny. Above that was the bust, which had an almost scalloped neckline, except there were small flowers and lace patterns appliqued onto an almost invisible piece of tulle that was the same color as her skin, so it looked like the roses were winding their way over the very tops of her breasts, onto her u
pper arms, and around to her back. The embroidery and applique pieces gave the gown an off-the-shoulder look, even though the tinted material came midway to her neck and over her shoulders. Small trails of leaves and tiny flowers wound down her arm in sleeves that came to a point over the backs of her hands.
Cin and Aster slowly rose from their seats, silent and staring.
“You look like a princess,” Robin said, wiping a tear from her cheek.
Ellie didn’t know what to say, so she smiled and stood as tall and straight as she possibly could.
“Let’s try this, shall we?” Kelly had found a veil somewhere and placed it on the back of her head with a comb covered in flowery lace similar to her dress. The thin material hung down her back, having an almost gossamer look to it. There was no detailing to it to speak of, just a few beads here and there around the edge.
“Oh, Ellie, sweetie, you look . . . I don’t even have words to adequately express how stunning you are.” Cin smiled from ear to ear as she spoke, while Aster just continued to stare, taking in every detail of the dress.
“Who’s walking you down the aisle, hon?” Kelly asked, trying to make conversation and probably get everyone’s jaws up off the floor.
Ellie’s face fell. She hadn’t even thought of that. Nausea rolled in her gut. Forcing a smile, she said, “Not sure yet.”
The woman could sense that she’d put her foot in her mouth, and while Ellie didn’t want to draw attention to the issue, her breath was coming shallow and fast. She did the only thing she could think of to move everything along—asked a dumb question. “Could you work up an estimate for me?”
“Sure, I’ll just have to take a couple measurements.” The woman nodded, not quite smiling, but seemingly happy that she made progress toward a sale.
They ducked back into the room, and Kelly carefully helped her out of the beautiful dress. Once it was off, she felt like she could breathe a little better. Kelly whipped out her tape measure and grabbed the clipboard off the side table and began moving Ellie about like a doll while she jotted down the different numbers. When she was done, she turned to go. “I’m just going to go to the office and get the total cost. It will only take a moment.” She paused. “I’m sorry if I put my foot in my mouth earlier. I was just thinking about how beautiful you looked in the dress. I hope I didn’t upset you.”
“Not at all.” Ellie smiled at the woman. It didn’t reach her eyes, but it was enough to reassure Kelly, who ducked out the door.
She took a deep, ragged breath. Crying at the bridal salon was something that happened, sure, but not the kind of tears that she needed to shed in that moment, not the heart-wrenching sobs. Ellie pulled her clothes on as quickly as possible before a few tears escaped down her cheeks. The problem was the others that followed.
She slumped back onto the chair, and the grief swamped her. Nothing was the way it was supposed to be. Granddad wasn’t going to be walking her down the aisle, and Gran wasn’t there to make sure the ceremony was up to snuff. She would have been very picky about where and how Ellie got married. Ellie herself? Not so much. But Gran had always been an opinionated woman.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Shit.
Ellie sniffed and called, “I’ll be right out.”
“It’s Cin. Can I come in?” her friend asked, and without waiting for an answer, opened the door.
“I’m fine, dinnae fash,” she said, her grandmother’s favorite phrase popping out before she could sensor herself. When Cin just stared at her for a moment, Ellie added, “Don’t worry.”
“Right, cause I totally would have gotten that one.” Pity shone in her eyes as she squatted in front of the chair Ellie had landed on, which only made her cry harder. “Want to talk about it?”
She thought she was going to say no, but the words that came tumbling out of her mouth couldn’t have been more different. “I have no one. No one to walk me down the aisle, no one to plan the wedding with me, no bridesmaids, no friends or family to invite . . . Please tell me what the point of having this wedding is, because to me, it just feels like someone’s shining a spotlight on the fact that I’m alone in the world.”
“Hey now, what am I? I’m your friend. Someday we will be as close as sisters, but that takes time. And what about Alec? And the brothers? Aren’t we all family?”
“Yes, but there’s no one who’s just mine. No one who’s just there for me. I know it sounds stupid, but I don’t want to do all of this alone. I don’t want to spend the day alone before the wedding, and I don’t want to walk down the aisle alone. Right now, I don’t even know if I want to get married.” The last part came out in the rant. She hadn’t meant to say it; it just popped out. “Please don’t tell Alec I said that. It’s nothing to do with him. I love him completely. I just don’t know if I want a wedding.”
“Have you talked to him about it?”
“No, it’ll only hurt him. He won’t be able to differentiate between the wedding and me marrying him. I do want to marry him, but the wedding just makes me sad and anxious.” Ellie sniffled as the tears slowed.
“I get it. I do—”
“Can you take me to the store?” Ellie asked before Cin could try to explain how she understood what it felt like to be alone in the world. In that moment, it was the last thing she wanted to hear.
“I can, but I can’t stay with you since I’ve got to take these two home, as well.” Cin gestured to the hall with a nod of her head.
“That’s okay. I want to be alone, anyway. I just want to be around Granddad’s things for a while. Can I message you later to pick me up?”
“Sure.” With that, they disappeared from the pastel-covered room.
Chapter 4
Alec watched Robin twirl a thick lock of flaming red hair around her finger as she talked to his brother. Hal hadn’t responded to any of his texts or calls, but he knew the man would respond to his soulmate whether he had time or not. It was just something he couldn’t deny. Hell, the man had barely left her side since they’d returned from Ireland. The only reason he wasn’t there at that moment was because he’d been tracking something that was a pet project of his, not that he ever shared what it was with Alec, or any of the brothers, for that matter.
“Sweetie, Alec’s here. Can you talk with him for a moment?” Robin’s voice brought Alec back to the present. “I know, but he really needs to talk to you and said you’ve been ignoring him. I wish you would tell me what’s going on.” She sighed as she ended the thought.
A few beats later, and the phone was outstretched between her delicate fingers.
Alec plucked it from her hand and held it up to his ear. “Hey, Brother.”
“Using Robin to reach me is low. If I don’t answer, it’s because I can’t,” Hal’s baritone growled through the speaker.
“Yeah, well, all you had to do was text me back and it wouldn’t have come to this. Besides, I knew you couldn’t resist her, so why not use all the options at my disposal?”
Hal mumbled something under his breath before asking, “What’s going on?”
Summarizing the situation as briefly as he could, Alec waited to see if Hal had any bright ideas on how to track the missing fae. The sound of what he thought was the stubble Hal had been sporting the last few weeks being rubbed echoed through the phone.
“Don’t think I’ve ever had to track fae before, especially not ones who might have fallen off the grid. You remember where you dropped them?”
Alec grunted a confirmation.
“I can put you in touch with the shifter pack I met in Ireland. They could smell exactly where Robin had disappeared, so one of them may be able to help you out, or at least put you in touch with a shifter on this side of the pond.”
“You going to be my wingman on this?”
“Sorry, Brother, I’ve got pressing business where I am. Besides, once I’m done here, I need to check in on Robin.”
“Thad’s off on a mission and Dem has gone into full-on pro
tective mode, so either it’s you and me or I’m flying solo on this one.”
“Then you’re flying solo.” Hal sniffed and responded in a quieter tone. “I need to move, so here’s Aiden’s number.”
When he hung up, Alec looked at the number on the pad of paper in front of him. He didn’t want to call this Aiden guy, and he didn’t want to run this operation solo. It was too important to screw it up. If he failed, it could mean that the Morrigan rescinded Ellie’s freedom, or that she closed the pathway between the mortal realm and Tír na nÓg, which could also put Ellie in harm’s way.
“Why don’t you ask Ben?” Robin’s voice sounded as she plucked the phone from his fingers.
“Ben?” Alec repeated, his thoughts too jumbled to follow for a moment.
“You know, Cin’s brother, the fury. The guy who’s been coming to brunch for the last couple months. The one Dem decimated when he flirted with Aster. Ben.”
“I know who Ben is,” Alec said a little more sharply than he’d intended. He softened and added, “I just don’t know if he’s up for this kind of thing.”
“Only one way to find out.” Robin grinned at him in victory.
“I’ll get right on that,” Alec grumbled before he said goodbye to Robin and made his way back home.
The Morrigan was asleep on one of their couches since breaking through their wards had drained her energy, and Aster had whisked Ellie away for a wedding dress appointment that had apparently been made months ago and would ruin friendships if missed. Now that he thought about it, he was surprised that Robin was home and not at the appointment too. Maybe it was a limited number of people thing? He didn’t know, nor did he understand what the big deal was with the appointment. Dem was, no doubt, anxious about Aster being out in public unguarded. Hopefully, he would finally get it through his thick skull that Cin was a full-blown fury and could kick anyone’s ass if they so much as looked at her little sister wrong.