Going wedding dress shopping was not on my bingo card for my life, but here I was, looking through dress after dress with Stephanie. We were at our third bridal shop, and the woman in front of us was staring at us like we were shit on her shoe.
"Can I help you?" she asked, her face twitching as she tried to keep her disdain under control.
"Probably not," sighed Stephanie as she started looking along the racks of dresses. "This place won't have what we are looking for in our budget."
Letting out a low groan, I turned to my assistant. "You are enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Very much so," agreed Stephanie, not bothering to look at me. "Making you miserable is one of my pleasures."
"Evil witch," I grumbled under my breath as the shop clerk couldn't stop the sneer on her face.
"I am not sure what your budget is, but we don't have any dresses under $10,000 in this store. There is a cheap—more budget friendly place down the street if you would like to try there," grinned the clerk as she held out her hand to the door.
The 'don't let the door hit you on your way out' part was written all over her face.
"I'm sorry," I grunted, my eyes going wide as I stared at the clerk, her black dress and cardigan standing out in the sea of white. "Did you say that there was nothing under $10,000 here?"
Seriously?!? Who the fuck would pay that much for a dress that they were only going to wear once?
"If you want, you can wear yours eight times to get your money's worth," replied Stephanie as she pulled out a dress.
"I said that part out loud, didn't I?" I sighed. Walking over to where there was a couch in front of a small circular stage, I sat down.
"You did. But that is fine. I figured you would freak out over the price," continued Stephanie as she studied the lace mermaid style dress in her hand. Cocking her head to the side, she gave the clerk the side eye. "Do you have this in any other color?"
"This is a wedding store," sniffed the clerk, clearly offended by Stephanie's request.
"And?" demanded Stephanie, giving the woman a look that should have removed a layer of skin. "It is a simple yes or no question."
"No," announced the clerk. "We don't carry any other color than white. You do know why the dresses are white… right?"
Stephanie snorted at that statement before throwing the dress on the floor. "If it came in black, you could have worn it for the after-party."
"I'm sorry," I sputtered, blinking rapidly. "There is an after-party?"
"Of course there is," chuckled Stephanie as she looked over her shoulder and saw the dread on my face. "It's not every day that Viktor Singer gets married. There are pictures, dinner, dancing, more pictures, media interviews, the before party, the ceremony, the after-party. And that is just for the business side of things. The ceremony with the… family… will be a lot longer."
"No," I stated, my face going white and my hands turning clammy. "I'm not doing all that I said that I would walk down the aisle and get married in the church, but not everything else."
"I'm sorry," sputtered the clerk, looking back and forth between me and Stephanie. "But did you really say that you will be marrying Viktor Singer? The CEO of Knights Securities? Are you delusional? If he were engaged, all of New York would hear about it."
Stephanie snorted before taking one last look at the dresses. "None of these will do. We'll have to make one last stop."
----
Looking up at the massive sign in front of me, I couldn't help but gulp. The storefront was huge, easily taking up the entire block, and there was nothing but dresses in the front window.
"Do you trust me?" asked Stephanie, linking her arm with mine.
"You run my entire life," I chuckled, looking at the woman who, somehow, became my only female friend. Hell, except for Mike, she was my only friend. My mates didn't count. "Of course I trust you."
"Perfect," squealed Stephanie as she rushed forward and opened the door. Walking up to the receptionist, she smiled at the woman. "We would like to see some dresses, please."
"Do you have an appointment?" asked the woman, a kind smile on her face.
"I'm afraid that we don't," sighed Stephanie. "But what we do have is a very limited timeframe and a very unlimited budget."
The receptionist blinked at Stephanie, and I could see the dollar signs in her eyes. "This way, please. I'll see if I can find an associate to help you."
Taking in a deep breath, I entered the world of white dresses and bridezillas.
However, before the day was over, I had fallen in love with a dress that I couldn't help but say yes to.
-----
Gabriel looked at Haniel as he stood in front of him, trembling. "What did you say?" he asked, sure that he had misheard. "What about Mikael?"
Haniel cleared his throat and looked down at the notes in front of him. "According to our sources," he started, not looking up at the demonic angel in front of him. "Mikael will be attending the wedding ceremony of the abomination and the Hunter. In a church. The day our attack is planned."
Maybe, just maybe, if he got it out fast enough, Gabriel wouldn't kill him. He was already the longest-living assistant, and he had only been on the job for the past six months.
"And why is Mikael going? His job was simply to watch and keep us informed about what was going on on Earth. Not attend ceremonies when he knows damn well our armies will descend on the desecrated realm and annihilate everyone in our path."
"Ah," nodded Haniel. "You see, we haven't actually been able to get in contact with him to tell him the plans. So he doesn't know when our armies are going to descend on the desecrated realm and annihilate everyone in our path."
"Our General, the one and only one who leads our armies, has no idea that a war will be starting in less than seven days?" repeated Gabriel, sure that he had misheard. "Is that what you are telling me?!?"