59. Ari
Ari
For the next three months Brody and I barely see anything other than the inside of my flat, or his room at the place he shares with Matt.
And no, not because all we’re doing is having sex – although I will admit there is a fair bit of that – but because we’re working so hard on Only Fangs.
The launch is scheduled for two weeks and we still have so much to get done.
But I’m feeling quietly confident, almost as if being around Brody’s constant positivity is finally making me someone who doesn’t always assume the worst is about to happen.
But my quiet confidence in our ability to hit our impending deadline is shattered by the arrival of Clara on my doorstep one evening.
“We need to talk about the wedding,” she says as she thrusts a bottle of Sanguis into my hands.
“OK. Well, I guess you’d better come in.” I stand aside so she can enter the flat. Since Brody has been spending more time here I’ve given the place a bit of a spruce up and although it’s still tiny, it at least looks habitable now.
“The wedding is going to be at Hele House,” she tells me as she pours us both a glass, filling them both to the brim.
“I thought you were going to Transylvania.”
“That’s what I thought too. Then someone else could have done all the planning and I’d just turn up and smile for all the guests I didn’t know.
” She sighs and then drains half her Sanguis.
“But no. Apparently we need to get married here, Daddy wants a whole thing in the grounds of the house, with every single vampire in England invited.”
“He wants a big society do.”
“Exactly.” She takes another gulp of her drink. “Now, the only saving grace is he’s giving me more time. But he still wants it done in six months from now.”
“Wow. That’s actually not much—”
“Exactly,” she interrupts me. To be fair this is feeling like a one sided conversation anyway. I settle back into the sofa and take a sip of my own drink. Fuck, it’s been a few weeks since I had a decent quality Sanguis and I’d almost forgotten how good it can be. “It’s no time at all.”
“Do you have a list?” I ask.
“Of course.” She reaches into her bag and pulls out this huge white binder. It’s embossed with the words Our Big Day in gold. “Hideous, isn’t it?” She brandishes it towards me. “But I think needs must if I’m going to get this sorted.”
“What’s next on the list then?” I ask. There is no way I’m not getting given a tonne of different jobs.
“Wedding dress shopping.”
Even though there’s still six months until the wedding, Clara has cut it very fine to start looking for a dress.
Luckily, her daddy has sufficient clout to get her an appointment at the most prestigious bridal boutique in the city and they’ve given her every reassurance that they will be able to sort the gown of her dreams for her.
Ivan and I meet her in a cafe on Fore Street for a fortifying breakfast of pancakes with bacon and maple syrup before we go to try on dresses.
But Clara pushes her plate away after only two mouthfuls. “I’m too nervous to eat,” she says, staring wistfully at the food.
“In that case,” Ivan says, spearing an entire rasher of bacon with his fork. “Waste not want not and all that. Besides, I barely slept last night and I need the sugar to help keep me awake.”
“How come you didn’t…” Clara starts to ask but then peters out when she sees the grin on Ivan’s face. He looks like the cat that got the cream. “Gross,” she adds.
“What can I say. Matt has youth on his side and the stamina to match.”
“Double gross.” Clara makes a face. But deep down, both her and I are insanely happy for Ivan.
“We should go,” I say checking the time. “Your appointment’s in five minutes.”
The boutique is located on the ground floor of one of the oldest buildings in Exeter, and has welcomed vampires as part of its clientele for centuries, despite being owned by a human family. We’re ushered inside and shown to a small seating area.
“Would you like some champagne?” the owner, Laura, asks.
“Please,” the three of us reply in unison. It’s not like we ever turn down a drink. She serves it in crystal flutes and I’m immediately paranoid I’m going to smash mine somehow. Or spill wine down one of the dresses. I vow to be as careful as is physically possible.
“So,” Laura takes a seat and whips out a notebook. “Are you going for a traditional vampire gown?”
“I think so,” Clara answers.
“So black.” She writes this down. All vampire wedding dresses are black, it’s our tradition.
Occasionally someone will go for a very dark purple or even a deep burgundy, but it’s rare and generally becomes the subject of significant gossip for months after.
“We have a delightful selection with some fabulous new designs for this year.” My attention drifts as they talk details.
I don’t really understand what half the terms mean. I’m really only here for moral support.
Eventually Clara gets to try on some of the dresses. The first is fitted, the black silk pooling on the floor and creating a small train. It looks all wrong and both Ivan and I make a face as she comes out of the changing room.
The next is a little better. This time in a black chiffon that looks like it floats across her curves.
The boutique has invested in the new magic mirrors, so Clara’s able to scrutinise herself.
“I’m not sure…” she says, turning this way and that to get a better view.
‘I think it’s still a ‘no’.” She looks at me and Ivan and we both nod in agreement.
She sighs as she heads back into the changing room to try on another.
There’s a thumping on the window behind me and I look round to find Luca standing there.
What is Clara’s fiancée doing here? But then I realise he’s holding up a sign and gesticulating wildly to ensure I definitely read it.
I give him a thumbs up and then motion for him to leave us alone.
He can’t see her in the dress before the big day.
Clara comes out in yet another black dress and this one is stunning, with a layer of lace and a real sense of drama. But Clara’s face says she still isn’t happy.
“You don’t like it?” Ivan asks.
She shakes her head.
“Um… Luca was here.” I say, my voice rising at the end of the sentence as if it’s almost a question. “With a sign. He says you should try on a white dress? What does that mean?”
She smiles this little private grin I’ve never seen her do before. “We went out for dinner the other night and I mentioned we were coming shopping.”
“Which doesn’t answer the question in the slightest,” Ivan tells her.
“Well, vampire dresses are always black.” She looks down as she says it, the disappointment clear in her voice. “But I always imagined myself getting married in white. But it’s silly. Just a dumb childish idea.”
“Do you want a white dress?” I ask gently.
She nods and bites her lip.
“And you told Luca this? And so now he’s here with a sign to say you should do it?”
She bites her lip harder.
“Oh. My. God!” Ivan trills, standing up in his excitement. “You like him. You actually fucking like him.”
“He’s…” Clara starts. “Well, he’s… He asks me things and listens to my answers and he’s kind of sweet.”
“Well, then,” I say. “We’d better try on some of those white dresses. You can’t go disappointing your husband-to-be.”
Ten minutes later she’s standing in front of us in a brilliant white gown with a sweeping skirt, a low cut back finished with a row of covered buttons, and a pearl beaded bodice. A sparkling tiara and cathedral length veil completes the ensemble.
She looks radiant.
“This one,” she says as she looks at herself in the mirror.
Laura hands a box of tissues to Ivan and he gratefully accepts one to blot his tears.
“You look stunning,” he whispers.
Clara is eventually persuaded to change out of the dress and back into her jeans.
As we wait for her, I can’t stop myself from glancing at a dress on a mannequin in the corner, my eyes sliding towards the full skirt and sequin embroidery over the tulle.
The overskirt is classic black, but the layers underneath are a dark grey and the effect is stunning.
Coupled with a pleated corset style top and thin straps, it is the most beautiful dress in the whole world.
“That’s yours,” Ivan says and nudges me with his hip. “Brody will love it.”
I smile, but inside I’m thinking about the five months left on the clock for Brody to repay the debt to Victor. Will we get our own wedding one day or will it all end with Brody being dragged to hell for trying to help me?