Page 120 of My Big Fat Vampire Wedding

Lucy held up a coveted bottle of synthetic blood. Since learning about it, and telling Dante about it, she’d been having a surprisingly hard time keeping a decent stock of it around. She wasn’t sure if the demand was high or if the supply was low. But she was thankful for a bottle. If things got romantic after the ceremony and she was hungry, she was worried she might accidentally slip up and nip Victor in the heat of the moment.

“They only had A negative,” Lucy said.

“That’s fine. Anything is good,” Pandora said, uncapping it and taking a long swig, not sure how long she would have before her family came back. She wanted to finish it and get rid of the evidence before they did.

With that, Lucy rinsed the bottle as Pandora swished some mouthwash, before they got started on removing half of the make-up from Pandora’s face.

“I mean, really, that was a comical amount of mascara,” Lucy said, reapplying it with a much lighter hand. “They should have been more worried about your hair,” she added, going in her bag to produce some products meant to tame the frizz and static until, finally, Lucy had Pandora’s hair falling in long auburn waves down her back. Her friend stood back and looked at her masterpiece.“There. Perfect. We had to let them fuss. But I couldn’t let you walk up to the altar looking like that. Now, I want some details about the beard burn.”

But it was right then that Pandora’s family came bursting back into the room, successfully squashing any personal conversation as the discussion went back to outfits and hair and make-up, as the other women fussed over the bridal party with the same enthusiasm they had worked on Pandora.

With some blood in her system, the nerves of the day seemed to trip into overdrive, making her feel racy and fidgety.

There was a soft knock at the door just as the crowd started to talk about getting Pandora into her gown.

Ravenna rushed to the door in a flurry of red velvet, all her assets bouncing as happily as ever.

“Oh, aren’t you so handsome!” she said, making Pandora’s belly flip-flop. Victor was on the other side of the door. “You know you can’t see your bride before the ceremony,” she went on. “But I will tell you that she is an absolute vision.”

“She always is,” Victor said, sending butterflies fluttering through Pandora’s chest. “Just wanted to bring this for her. You can give it to her.”

“Oh, aren’t you just the most thoughtful young man?” Ravenna said, reaching out. “I will give it to her. With your love. Oh, this is such a wonderful day!”

Pandora was smiling even before Ravenna made her way back to her, holding out a large steaming mug.

“Your groom brought you a little present. It smells … Well, it smells,” Ravenna said, making Pandora burst out laughing.

“It’s chamomile tea,” she said, taking it in her hands. “My favorite.”

He’d known she would be starting to freak out. Then he’d brought her tea to try to fix it.

He really was the best man she’d ever met.

And she was about to make him hers.

Legally.

Since her heart had already been his for a long time.

“Let’s get you in that gorgeous gown of yours,” Ravenna said once Pandora had the last sip of her tea.

It really was a gorgeous dress. One Lucy had actually found, since the appointments with the judgmental Sylvia had led nowhere.

The garment bag unzipped and all of the women who hadn’t yet seen the dress gasped.

It was the perfect gown, one that was traditionally bridal but also a bit gothic as well.

The lace top and arms were black that slowly melted into the white of the rest of the dress, where it was embroidered with black and crimson flowers that got more prominent around the train.

And, best of all, the women at the shop she’d gone to for her fittings had oohed and ahhed at her instead of criticizing her.

“How perfect,” Ravenna said, pulling it out of the bag, then working the hidden zipper down the back. “OK, my dear. Time to get in. We are running out of time,” she said.

“One second,” Lucy said, producing a bag that Pandora had missed before. “I have a little something for her to put on underneath.”

With that, she shoved Pandora into the bathroom withthe bag. “It’s vintage,” she said before closing the door. “Except for the knickers. Those are new, obviously.”

Alone, Pandora took the items out of the bag, finding a new pair of black lacy panties with the tags still attached, as well as a gorgeous lace bustier.