Page 7 of My Big Fat Vampire Wedding

“T hat’s what you’re wearing?” Lucy asked the following evening, her gaze panning down over Pandora’s work uniform over which she’d thrown a warm red cardigan that had been a gift from her mother – a woman who believed only three colours existed: black, grey, and red.

“What’s wrong with it? He’s seen me in it every day since he started coming to the shop.”

“Therein lies the problem,” Lucy said with a huff. “This is your first date. You need to look the part.”

“Luce, it’s a fake first date,” Pandora said, reminding her friend.

Lucy frowned. “It’s still supposed to look like a real first date.”

She had a point.

Would her parents be suspicious that she hadn’t at least gone home to run a brush through her hair and slapped on something cute? Maybe a little make-up or perfume.

That was the kind of thing Ophelia would find suspicious. Even with her strange, nontraditional daughter.

Every woman wanted to look as nice as possible for a date, right?

“I mean, you’ve been alive, what? One hundred and twenty-four years.

You’ve got to have some cute outfits in your wardrobe.

But to be clear.” Lucy held up a hand, a smirk on her lips.

“By ‘cute outfit’ I don’t mean one of those floor-skirting numbers from the nineteen hundreds, when ankles were the epitome of sexy scandal. ”

To be fair, Pandora had chests full of clothing from her long life. Even her first pair of pants, when those had finally become acceptable for women to wear.

But, well, she’d also always been a creature of comfort. Meaning almost everything she did have was of the casual variety, not the kind of things she’d wear on a first date.

“OK, come on,” Lucy said, slinging her handbag up on her shoulder.

The two of them had swapped shifts with the afternoon staff because of Pandora’s date and Lucy’s need to head out of town for the full moon.

Thankfully, the awnings on the windows made it possible for Pandora to be inside without burning when the afternoon sun beat down on the street.

“I’ll give you a ride home before I head out to the country. ”

“OK.” Pandora grabbed her own bag before following her friend toward the front door.

Lucy was parked on the street right out front, having nabbed a coveted spot between the lunch and afternoon rush, and the sun had just about set, so Pandora didn’t need to duck and run like hell.

“What?” Pandora asked when Lucy just sat there behind the wheel.

“I’ve never been to your house,” Lucy said. “I need directions.”

“Oh, right.” Pandora shook her head at herself before telling Lucy which way to go.

She wondered if she should invite Lucy in, as they made their way down the street toward her house.

Her aunt, uncle and dreaded cousin weren’t supposed to be there for another day, but they could have shown up while Pandora had been at work.

And the last thing she wanted to worry about right then was her family potentially showing preju-dice toward Lucy because she was a werewolf.

In Pandora’s opinion, the whole vampire–werewolf--rivalry thing was completely overblown and ridiculous. But she knew some of her family would have things to say.

She knew she would have to deal with that eventually, since Lucy was going to be her chief bridesmaid. She just didn’t want that kind of thing to sour her mood right before her first, very important, date with Victor.

“I hope you don’t mind me just dropping you off,” Lucy said. “I’m racing the clock here.” She looked down at her watch.

“That’s totally fine,” Pandora said, thankful not to have to find an excuse for why she wasn’t inviting Lucy in. “That’s it right there.” She pointed toward the Von Ashmore estate.

“That’s your house?” Lucy gaped.

“Technically, it’s my parents’ house,” Pandora said, nodding.

“It’s a castle.”

Having visited many a castle in her travels with her parents, Pandora couldn’t agree with that, but it was def-initely much larger than the average London home, that was for sure.

“Out of curiosity, is there a hunched man in the belfry?”

“We don’t have a belfry,” Pandora said with a little chuckle. “But we do have an undead raven who likes to recite poetry.”

“I mean, who doesn’t?” Lucy smiled at her friend. “All right. Go. Get something pretty on. Preferably something that shows Victor your hunter’s moons .” she purred as Pandora climbed out of the car.

“Have a good full moon,” Pandora called to her friend, eyes rolling, before rushing up the cobblestone path toward the front door.

“Whoa,” she said a moment later, nearly trampling Dante as she made her way inside.

Her brother jolted, turning around to look at her with oddly guilty eyes.

What was he up to these days?

It looked like he’d been out all day again.

And he looked a little paler than usual.

“What are you doing coming in at this time?” he asked, sounding accusatory. Meanwhile, he was the one being sneaky.

“I have a date,” Pandora said, feeling herself straighten a bit with her excitement.

“A real date?”

“It’s a real date with a real man, yes,” she said.

“A man?” Dante asked, brows lifting. “A human man?”

“Yes …”

“Good luck with that,” he said, wincing, then rushed up the stairs before she could ask him to clarify.

Trying to shake off the interaction, Pandora made her way up to her room, immediately starting to fret over her wardrobe.

She didn’t want to put on one of the many floor-length, figure-hugging, silk or velvet dresses her mother had gifted her over the years. But she didn’t want to be wearing jeans and a tee, either.

Eventually, she settled on a simple plum-coloured dress and leggings with some low-heeled boots and a heavy cardigan to complete the look.

Dressy, but not trying too hard.

She fiddled with her hair and make-up, spritzed on some perfume, then rushed back out of her room, knowing she had to take the Underground back toward Luna Bean to meet Victor.

“Well, don’t you look lovely?” her father called from the sitting room as she rushed past, making her pause and turn to give him a smile.

“Thank you.”

“Where are you going?” Ophelia asked, her gaze sliding down Pandora’s outfit with more approval than usual.

“I have a date,” she said. She didn’t even have to fake the smile that tugged at her lips.

“A date?” her mother asked, perfectly arched brows lifting. “Why is this the first I am hearing about it?”

Because I am one hundred and twenty-four years old and don’t share everything in my life with my parents .

“We just set it up last night. We’ve … known each other for a while.” Pandora knew she needed to lay the framework for a believable relationship moving forward. “I always kind of … had a thing for him, but I didn’t think he returned my feelings.”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Lucian asked, stiffening. He was a man who believed the moon rose purely for the enjoyment of the women in his life, and couldn’t fathom anyone not feeling the same way.

Pandora felt her mother’s probing eyes watching her, looking for any sign of deception.

But there was none to be found. Because Pandora genuinely had been dealing with a crush on Victor for months.

She was also much more excited about this date than she should have been, given the fact that it wasn’t a real one.

“Is he coming to pick you up?” Lucian asked.

“I am meeting him back at work,” Pandora told him, knowing he would be disappointed not to get the chance to scare her date. “I just wanted to run home to change. I have to get going.”

“Have a good time,” her father said.

“Yes,” her mother said, but Pandora didn’t like the way she was looking at her. “Have a good time. I expect to hear all the details.”

That was absolutely not happening.

Pandora had to run to catch her train back to Luna Bean and as she made her way down the street, she saw that Victor was already on the pavement, waiting for her.

He was dressed smartly in a cozy burnt-orange jumper and a pair of black trousers, with a black peacoat.

“Sorry I’m late,” Pandora called out as she approached, watching Victor turn at the sound of her voice.

His green eyes moved over her, taking in her legging-clad legs and the way her dress clung a bit to her chest.

She wouldn’t say her hunter’s moons were on display, per se, but they were definitely peeking.

And she felt a warmth tease over the areas of her body that Victor’s eyes had roamed, making desire pool in her lower belly. She hoped it wasn’t reflected in her eyes, as his gaze finally held hers.

“I haven’t been here long,” he told her, tucking his hands into his front pockets and making his shoulders hunch forward in a way that had no right to be as charming as it was. “So, did you just want to … walk?” He looked down the street.

“Sure.” She fell into step with him.

The street cleaners had been out in force earlier that day, but the trees had already dumped piles of more orange, red, and yellow leaves all along the streets and pavements, and Pandora couldn’t help but smile at how Victor seemed to go out of his way to step on them, clearly enjoying that crunch as much as she did.

“So … what should we be talking about?” he asked.

“The basics, I guess. Full names, ages, families, interests.”

“OK. You first.”

“I’m Pandora Von Ashmore.” Technically, she was Pandora Louanna Morrigan Van Ashmore.

But she wasn’t about to open up that can of worms. “I’m twenty-four.

I work at Luna Bean because I’m a bit of a, you know, night owl.

I like bright, happy colours. I have a pet raven named Vlad.

And I have a mother named Ophelia and a father named Lucian.

As well as a little brother named Dante. ”

“I should probably be taking notes,” he said, glancing over at her.