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She asked the makeup artist for a brush and pretended to dip it in some powder then dusted it over Cara's tawny brown nose. "See? How's that?"
Cara looked in the mirror and clapped. "Oh, Cara is so pretty."
Ariel nodded and kissed her forehead. "Well, Cara is always pretty. With or without makeup. Makeup is for fun and enhancement. But beauty comes from the inside."
Cara looked down at her chest as if she could see the beauty pouring out. It made me smile.
Would I have kids like that one day? Sweet, innocent, and pure?
Why don't you worry about surviving first?
That was the plan.
With the women of the Winston Isles helping me get ready, I felt like I had an army behind me. And while I didn't have Clarissa, and my mom was gone, at least I had family.
There was a knock at the door, and Morgan squealed, "Ooh, I hope that’s what I've been waiting for."
"Oh, God, what now?" I asked.
Penny and Ariel exchanged a knowing look, and I knew something was up. "Morgan, what did you do?"
"Well, I made a call since you're running around here looking all mopey and shit." And then she opened the door.
When I saw the black oxfords and the hint of a black tuxedo, I knew what she’d done, and tears welled in my eyes. "You always did look good in a tux, Lance."
He dropped his hands and blinked to adjust to the light, smiling at everyone. And then when his gaze turned to me, he teared up too. "Ah, Jesus. Gwenyth Christin-Becker, you look absolutely stunning."
He sounded more than a little choked up, and I pushed to my feet, walking over to him in my mermaid-cut dress. When I wrapped my arms around him, it felt like home. I may have only seen him a few days ago, but with everything that had happened, it felt like months.
"You're here,” I sighed.
"Of course, I'm here. Who the hell else is going to give you away?"
I pulled back and blinked up at him in surprise. "What? You go from not being able to make it to my wedding to being the one to give me away?"
He gave me a sharp nod. "Yeah. What are best friends for? Besides, I figure if you have to go through with this, you need my full support."
The tears threatened to fall, and Ariel was right there with a makeup brush. "You ruin all this work, and I'll shoot you myself."
I barked out a laugh. And then one by one, Penny and the girls gave me a quick, tight squeeze and let themselves out. Baby Cara had abandoned Ariel for Lance though.
"Up."
Lance bent down and scooped her up. "Hello, beautiful princess."
She beamed at him. "Auntie Ariel says, I'm beautiful because I am a princess."
I chuckled because that was not at all what Ariel had said.
Lance tried to get the true story. "Um, are we sure that's what she said?"
Cara wrinkled her nose, trying to figure it out. "No, she said, beauty comes from inside. I'm not just a princess but a princess who is beautiful."
Lance nodded. "Ah, yes, that makes more sense. I agree with that one. You know what, princess? I need to help Gwen here become a princess too. So why don't you go find all your aunts and your mom, and then you can watch how princesses are made."
Her eyes went wide with wonder. "You're going to make a princess?"
He shook his head as he put her downthen boopedher nose. "No. I'm just going to help her make herself a princess."
