Page 36 of My Big Fat Vampire Wedding
“We need to get you hand warmers,” he said, chafing her skin.
It was meant to be kind.
It wasn’t supposed to stoke the flames of desire within her until it caught, spread, and took over her completely.
Victor’s gaze flicked up again and it was impossible for Pandora not to let her eyes drift to his lips before moving back up.
It was right that second that Lucy came back, though, making the two of them break apart almost guiltily.
“I got the perfect … Did I interrupt something?” Lucy asked, picking up on the way they were shifting away from each other. And how Pandora couldn’t quite meet her eyes.
“No. Well, yes,” Pandora said.
“Which one is it?” Lucy asked. “Because I could go … take a walk. Or you two could get a room.” She gestured toward the dressing rooms.
If Pandora could blush, she was pretty sure she’d be flaming right then.
“Victor gave me an engagement ring,” she said, thrusting her hand out in the way any newly engaged woman would.
“That makes this dress all the better,” Lucy said, after ogling the ring for a second.
She lifted the hanger.
And there it was.
The perfect dress for the occasion.
It was a long silk slip dress in a deep shade of emerald green.
“I can’t wear that,” Pandora said.
“Don’t be silly.” Lucy reached down to grab Pandora’s hand, then pulled her into the changing room with her.
“How come Victor gets to be himself, but I have to dress like … like …” Her mother. Like her mother.
“Indulge me here,” Lucy said, hanging up the dress. “If you hate it, you can just wear what you have on. But give it a chance.”
With that, Lucy exited the room to stand a few feet from Victor as Pandora stripped in the dressing room, mumbling under her breath the whole time.
She slipped into the slinky material then turned to look at herself in the mirror. She hated to admit it, but she did look more like an excited, newly engaged woman. Even the fact that the ring matched the dress seemed intentional, like she knew she would be showing off the ring all night.
Rolling some tension out of her neck, she reached for the door.
“OK, I don’t hate it, but …” She trailed off as she exited.
She’d only been expecting Lucy.
But Victor was still sitting where she’d left him a few moments before. And as soon as she walked out, his head lifted.
Her hand, which was tugging self-consciously at the fabric, fell at the way his easy posture faltered as his eyes traced over her in a slow, deliberate sweep.
Gone was his usual broody exterior. Instead, his gaze carried the weight of something unspoken, something that made her stomach flip and her chest feel tight.
If her heart could beat, she swore it would be hammering against her ribcage.
The dress suddenly felt much tighter than it had inside the dressing room.
Did she look ridiculous?
