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“True, but he’s still dead,” Lev says with a laugh. “Dead is dead, doesn’t really matter how you end up that way.”
I smile at his logic. “Come on, I need you to help me pick out a wedding dress.”
He pulls out his phone. “No way in hell am I doing this on my own. If we’re doing this, then we’re doing it as a family.”
By the time we get to the bridal store, it’s just opening and a very sleepy Vitaly is leaning against the building next to Danil and Matvey. Danil is chugging what is probably his fifth cup of coffee this morning, and Matvey looks like his usual cheery self.
When we walk in, the young women behind the counter look like they don’t know whether it’s their lucky day or if they should call the cops. The muscles and tattoos win, and soon they’re smiling and sauntering over.
“How can we help you?”
The saleswoman looks to be early thirties with her honey-blonde hair pulled back in some sort of complicated braid, and as soon as she sees Lev, she smiles and focuses on him. She must like piercings. The other woman is a few years younger with dark hair, and all her attention is on Matvey. Poor girl is about to get her hopes dashed. Matvey turns away from her without a word, and she eventually takes the hint and smiles up at me.
“I need to get a dress for my fiancée,” I tell her.
“Oh, well what size is she? Does she want to come in and try something on?”
Fuck. I hadn’t really thought about sizes. I know exactly what she feels like beneath my hands. I could easily map out her body to the minutest detail, but I don’t know how in the hell that translates into dress sizes.
I hold my hands out like I’m gripping Emily’s waist. “This is her waist.” I widen my hands a bit. “These are her hips.”
The woman looks stunned. I’m guessing no one’s ever done this before.
“Um, well, maybe you can put your hands around some dresses and see which is closest.”
“Sounds good.”
Vitaly laughs and says, “I really wish I’d recorded that.”
Lev winks at the blonde woman, making her blush before he says in Russian, “Women love the piercings. It always makes them so curious to know if my dick is pierced too.” He leans closer to the woman and whispers in English loud enough for everyone to hear, “It is.”
Her face turns beet red, but the interest in her eyes is plain to see. I can’t help but laugh as we all step further into the store. My brothers and I fan out, looking at all the dresses, and not a single one of us knows what in the fuck we’re doing, but we’re trying like hell, and that’s got to count for something.
“What about this one?” Vitaly asks, holding up a dress that looks like something she could’ve worn to the Red Viper. I didn’t even know they made wedding dresses that tiny. I tell him in Russian to fuck off. He laughs and puts the dress back.
Danil holds up the exact opposite. It looks like something a nun might wear to say her vows in, making sure every inch of her body is covered so as not to incite lustful thoughts. I also tell him to fuck off. They both laugh, but I ignore them and focus on the rack in front of me.
“Want to come feel this dress up and see if it’s the right fit?” Vitaly asks, making everyone laugh.
I point my finger at him. “One day these roles are going to be reversed.” I tap the side of my head. “I’m storing away all these details, and the payback is going to be so fucking sweet.”
“That’ll be the fucking day,” Vitaly says with a laugh.
I see Matvey eyeing a dress, but he doesn’t ask me what I think of it. He runs his finger over the delicate neckline, and I can tell by the faraway look in his eyes that he’s not thinking about Emily right now. He drops his finger and pushes the dress aside with more force than necessary before starting on another rack.
Guilt threatens to crash over me, but I push it away. I love my sister and I miss her and I’ll never stop looking for her, but today I’m going to be happy, and I refuse to feel guilty about it. One day, just one fucking day, that’s all I ask.
Once the darkness starts to recede, I flip through the dresses on the rack in front of me. After looking at, I swear, over a hundred goddamn dresses, I finally find it. It’s strapless, making me immediately envision her beautiful bare shoulders and back, and the fabric is silky soft. There’s some sort of delicate beadwork on it, and it just feels like her.
Ignoring Vitaly when he stars laughing, I run my hands down the sides of the dress, gripping it as if she were wearing it, and it’s a perfect fit, like it was made just for her.
“Want us to leave you alone for a bit?” Vitaly asks.
I turn to him, scowling at the huge grin he’s giving me.
He ignores me and turns to one of the ladies, “So do you sell lingerie here too? We’re going to want to look at the sluttiest stuff you have. Isn’t that right, Roman?”
Danil laughs and pats my back. “Try not to kill him on your wedding day.”
