Page 105 of Bound

“Terrified,” I tell her with a huff of laughter. “Excited.”

“As to be expected.” She smiles warmly at me, guiding me to the table, one end of which has been set up like a dressing table, complete with a mirror surrounded by lights. “Now, Asher made it clear that my ovaries are on the line if you don’t have breakfast, so eat this all up and then we’ll get started.”

I chuckle, not surprised anymore by Ash’s dominating care of me. I do as ordered, finishing my homemade chocolate chip granola bar—Kai, you legend—and glass of fresh juice.

“Right, now comes the fun part!” Erica exclaims, leading me to the other end of the table, and sitting me down in front of the mirror. I’m kinda regretting my life choices right now, not having even put any knickers on.

For the next god knows how long, I’m primped, primed, and pampered to within an inch of my life. They even put rainbow colours in my hair to match the hem of the dress, pinning it in a complicated braided style that leaves the majority tumbling over one shoulder, my long lace edged veil pinned into place. When I look at myself in the mirror after I’m declared ‘done,’ I hardly recognise the beautiful bride sitting before me.

Willow appears in the mirror, looking ethereal after her own makeover, her eyes wide as usual.

“You look...wow,” she whispers.

“You do too,” I murmur back, and her hand comes to my shoulder, mine coming up to grasp it.

“Dresses, ladies,” Erica declares, ushering me out of my seat and up the stairs. “I’ll leave you to get your underwear on, just shout when you’re ready.”

I step inside Ash’s room once more, noticing that the bed has been made, a white gift bag sitting on top of it. There’s a notecard inside, Ash’s elegant scrawl over it.

Happy Birthday, my love

Wear this for me today, Princess.

I smile, taking the ivory silk lace out of the bag, impressed with his choices. Ivory silk and lace briefs, with a matching soft bralette with a low back so it won’t be seen underneath my dress. Matching lace edged thigh-high hold ups, the kind that just grip without needing suspenders complete the set.

There’s a flat square box at the bottom, and I open it to find a beautiful lace garter, another note nestled in the lace.

Happy Birthday, Pretty Girl

And wear this for the rest of us.

Smiling, I put it all on, marvelling at how comfortable the underwear is, and at how Ash clearly took that into account when buying it.

“Ready!” I call out, looking in the full-length mirror as Erica and the young dressmaker, Amelie, walk in.

“Excellent, now the dress,” Erica claps her hands with glee as the dressmaker helps me into the dress, doing up the buttons that fasten it at the back.

Once secure, Erica brings over my new Irregular Choice heels, a wedding gift from Loki on the understanding that I only wear them for the ceremony, and wear flats for the rest of the day and night. They’re the same style as my red sequin Dorothy heels, but are covered in white glitter, with a white bow on the toes.

“You look perfect, Lilly,” Erica tells me softly, her eyes a little misted as we stare at my reflection in the mirror. “Right, time to go.”

My fingers tingle as I walk out of the room, my nerve endings firing all at once when I walk down the stairs to see Willow and Ryan waiting.

“Lilly, you look...astonishing,” Ryan murmurs gruffly, his voice choked as he looks at me.

He talks my hand in his huge one, his eyes misty, and I choke out a laugh.

“Don’t get me started, my makeup took hours,” I tell him and he leans in, pressing a light kiss on my cheek.

“Your mother would be so proud, little one,” he whispers, and I blink furiously, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Although, I guess I can’t call you that now that you’re eighteen. Happy birthday, Lilly.”

“You can call me that for as long as you like, Ryan,” I tell him, a lump in my throat. A wave of grief crashes over me at the sudden realisation that not only will Mum miss my eighteenth, but my wedding day too.

“Time to get into the cars,” Erica interrupts quietly, helping to dispel the sadness surrounding us.

Willow steps forward, handing me my bouquet of beautiful rainbow coloured flowers, and I take a deep breath. Mum wouldn’t have wanted me to be sad on my birthday or wedding day. Keeping hold of my hand, Ryan leads us out of the mansion. An old-fashioned white car, a ribbon wrapped around the flying lady on the front, awaits us, glinting in the sun.

“Where on earth did you get a vintage Rolls?” I exclaim, eyeing up the beautiful vehicle with appreciation.

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