45. Terra
TERRA
Terra had always wondered what it would feel like to shop for a wedding dress.
She hadn’t gotten to do it the first time. Her marriage to Jackson had begun at City Hall on a muggy Friday afternoon with a bouquet of grocery-store roses, a cream-colored dress she already owned, and three of Jackson’s friends serving as witnesses because they had happened to be available.
Two of them had been at least half-drunk by the time the ceremony started, having apparently decided that waiting outside a government building at two in the afternoon was an excellent excuse to begin celebrating early.
There had been no bridesmaids, no maid of honor helping Terra zip herself into a gown and certainly no hours spent standing in front of mirrors while someone brought her dresses to try.
At the time, she had told herself none of it mattered because she loved Jackson and the marriage was what counted, not the wedding. Looking back now, Terra suspected that had been one more example of how easily she had learned to settle for whatever he was willing to give her.
Well, today was going to be different, she told herself. Today she was going wedding-dress shopping. Fake wedding-dress shopping, admittedly, but Terra was trying very hard not to dwell on that part.
She stood outside David’s Bridal with Lucy on one side of her, Lisa practically vibrating with excitement on the other, and Cody pretending he wasn’t nearly as interested as he clearly was.
Taurex stood behind them, drawing the usual collection of startled looks from passing humans because there really was no way for an eight-foot-tall Minotaur Monstrum with a five-foot horn span to go unnoticed anywhere, much less outside a bridal store on a Saturday afternoon.
Terra had tried telling him he didn’t need to come because traditionally the groom wasn’t supposed to see the dress before the wedding, but he had reminded her, with irritating logic, that there was technically no groom and no real wedding and therefore no supernatural reason for him to stay away.
“Besides,” he’d said. “I would like to see you in the ceremonial wedding dress. Even if it is for a fake ceremony.”
More and more, Terra hated hearing him call it fake. Maybe because during the process of pulling together their “fake” wedding, things between them had begun to seem so real.
Choosing the flowers and the cake together had been wonderful—none of it had felt fake while they were doing it.
They had laughed together, held hands without thinking, and occasionally looked at each other in ways that made Terra’s pulse race.
And every time they parted, she found herself wishing afterwards that she had the courage to simply grab the enormous Monstrum by his shirt, drag him down to her level, and tell him that she didn’t want to pretend anymore.
Unfortunately, Taurex remained almost painfully careful with her.
He never assumed they were doing anything real—never pushed or took one inch more than what she offered. The qualities that had originally made Terra feel safest with him were now driving her absolutely insane.
Lucy looked up at the familiar blue-and-white David’s Bridal sign over the storefront and sighed happily.
“I got my dress here, you know,” she said, breaking Terra’s train of thought.
Terra turned toward her.
“You did? I didn’t know that.”
“Of course I did. David’s Bridal has been around forever. They’re a regular institution around here. Your grandmother came with me. I tried on seven dresses, and she hated every one of them until I found the one I wore when I married your daddy.”
Terra’s chest tightened with unexpected emotion.
“I didn’t know that.”
Her mom shrugged.
“I suppose it never came up. But it’s a happy memory.”
Lisa grabbed Terra’s hand.
“Can I help pick your dress, Mommy? Can I?”
Terra ruffled her hair.
“That’s why you’re here, baby.”
“I want you to wear a princess dress,” Lisa decided.
Cody groaned.
“Mom’s not a Disney Princess!”
Lisa jutted her chin stubbornly.
“Maybe not, but she can look as pretty as one!”
“Children,” Lucy said warningly. “If you want to come in here, you have to stay still and behave. This is a grownup place, and they won’t let you in if you fight or shout.”
Lisa hung her head.
“Okay, we’ll be good,” she promised, and Cody nodded in silent agreement.
“Now, we’re just looking at dresses—I’m not saying I’ll buy one,” Terra warned them.
She didn’t want the two of them to get their hopes up.
They were only there to add to the veracity of the scene.
If Detective Ramirez or any other police officer ever questioned them, they could honestly say that they went wedding dress shopping with their mom and Taurex.
“Mom is still going to look like a princess, though,” Lisa said.
“She will not!” Cody muttered.
“Will too!” His sister put a hand on her hip, reminding Terra of herself.
Taurex, who had been listening quietly, leaned toward Cody, who was about to continue the argument.
“I have learned that arguing with your sister when she believes herself correct is rarely productive,” he rumbled.
Cody grinned.
“You figured that out already?”
The big Monstrum nodded.
“I am an experienced negotiator. Also, your sister reminds me very much of your mother.”
His words were so much like what she had just been thinking, Terra couldn’t help laughing.
Taurex was smiling back at her—God, she loved that smile! In fact, she loved him. All eight feet of him, golden eyes and horns included. He was the one she wanted to be with forever.
The realization came so easily and naturally it almost surprised her. She had probably loved him for longer than she wanted to admit, even before the Mother Ship and the terrible misunderstanding that drove them apart, she thought.
The problem wasn’t knowing how she felt. The problem was that she had become increasingly convinced Taurex had accepted her rejection so completely that he no longer believed there was any possibility of anything real between them.
Well, at least she had today. Even if she never had a real wedding, she was going to try on wedding dresses with her mother and children beside her and Taurex watching. That was something.
They entered the store and were soon greeted by a bridal consultant named Jenna, a friendly woman with dark curls, bright pink glasses and the kind of cheerful energy Terra assumed was probably required for someone whose job involved women crying over tulle and agonizing over the exact cut of the perfect dress for eight hours a day.
Jenna did a quick double take when she saw Taurex, but recovered almost immediately and turned back to Terra.
“Welcome! You must be Terra.”
“That’s me.” Terra nodded, smiling.
“And this is your crew?”
“My mother, Lucy, my son Cody, my daughter Lisa and…” Terra hesitated for the smallest fraction of a second before looking at Taurex. “My fiancé, Taurex.”
The word did something warm and painful to her chest that she didn’t want to examine too closely.
Taurex’s golden eyes flicked toward her.
“My fiancé,” he repeated quietly.
Jenna clapped her hands.
“Perfect. Let’s find you a dress.”
She led them toward a fitting area with several chairs arranged around a low carpeted platform surrounded on three sides by tall mirrors.
Lisa immediately claimed the chair closest to the platform, Lucy settled beside her and Cody sprawled into another with all the exaggerated boredom of a ten-year-old boy who wanted everyone to know he did not care about dresses even though he kept looking around.
Taurex remained standing.
Jenna looked up at him.
“Er, we can probably find you a chair, Sir.”
Taurex glanced at the delicate-looking upholstered seats and shook his head.
“I believe standing would be safer.”
Terra laughed.
“He’s probably right. We’d better let him stand.”
Jenna turned back to her.
“So, tell me what you like.”
Terra looked around at the endless rows of white and ivory gowns helplessly.
“I honestly don’t know,” she admitted. She’d pictured buying herself a wedding gown, but she’d never really thought about what kind she wanted.
“That’s okay,” the bridal attendant said brightly. “What do you want to feel like?”
The question surprised her, and Terra glanced toward the mirrors.
What did she want to feel like?
Not younger—that was the first answer that came to mind.
She didn’t want a dress designed to disguise the fact that she was no longer a Spring chicken.
She was a woman in here with two children, full hips, a generous ass and breasts that had long ago surrendered any intention of remaining exactly where they had been at twenty-five.
She had spent too many years listening to Jackson criticize the body that had carried his children.
If she was going to pretend to be a bride, she wanted to feel beautiful exactly as she was.
“Feminine,” she said at last. “Elegant. Romantic. But not too fussy. I don’t want to look like I’m trying to be twenty because I’m not.”
Jenna nodded immediately.
“Got it.”
“And I want her to look like a princess,” Lisa added.
“Lisa,” Lucy said warningly.
“What?” Lisa asked, giving her Nana wide, innocent eyes. “I’m just saying.”
Jenna grinned at her.
“We can do elegant princess.”
Terra looked at Taurex.
“What do you think?”
His gaze moved slowly over her, and his golden eyes were suddenly half-lidded in a way that made a little shiver run down her spine.
“I think whatever makes you feel beautiful is what you should wear,” he rumbled softly.
Jenna smiled.
“Well, you’ve got him trained right, don’t you?”
“No,” Terra said softly. “He came that way.”
Taurex’s ears twitched and he gave her another look that made her shiver.
Terra wished they were alone and could talk…or maybe do more than talk. But then Jenna began pulling dresses.
The first was a traditional ball gown with a heavily beaded bodice, enormous skirt, and enough glittering appliqué to decorate a parade float. Terra put it on because Lisa loved it.
The moment she stepped onto the platform, Lisa clapped.
“Princess! Mommy, you’re a princess!”