The Mate Mistake(The Woolven Secret 3)(26)

It looked good on her. Randi still glowed with health and life.

"When I was a young girl in Ur, the women said if you were hungry all the time, it would be a girl."

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"You were feeding her to face a world where she would have to give and give, so you make her strong before she has to face it."

"Sugar and spice and everything nice?" Randi picked up another piece of chocolate, inspected it, and put it down. "Okay, if I eat any more I'm going to hurl."

"We'd be a pair, wouldn't we? Me with blood on my dress and you with vomit. Just another day in the Wonderful World of Woolven."

"You know, don't even joke about that. That would happen to me." Randi nodded. "I just know I'm going to trip going up the aisle. Stupid investors. Stupid board. Stupid stock," she growled.

"Randi, you look beautiful. You're not going to trip. You're not going to puke." She narrowed her eyes. "Well, if you stop now."

"You don't understand. You were probably born graceful. Me? I trip up stairs."

"I think everyone's done that at least once. The first time was on the temple steps when my father sent me to greet our supplicants." She sighed. "He ripped out all of their throats so none could report back I was anything less than a goddess on earth. But it wasn't the last time. I'm sure It'll happen to me again before this life is done with me."

"Seriously? I wonder if that's a thing I can do. Can I legit kill everyone who has seen me make an ass out of myself?" Randi looked thoughtful.

"I guess you can, I mean, there's no one to stop you. But is it worth it?"

Randi grinned. "Maybe."

"This is all going to be okay, you know."

Randi's expression softened. "Yeah, it will."

"Are you ready for me to zip you up? It's almost time for us to walk down the aisle."

"I guess you better strap me in." She stood up.

Belle made sure her hands were clean, no blood, and she zipped her up.

"Can't breathe..." Randi wheezed.

"You're fine. Just wait until you see what you look like."

She took another gulpful of air. "So can you vampires do that look into my eyes thing?"

"Sometimes?" She answered as if asking a question herself. "It depends on the person."

"Do you think you could just hypnotize me to...."

"Not a chance."

"Why not?" Randi pouted.

"Because you're going to remember this day for the rest of your life. I wouldn't take that from you."

"Okay, you see the problem? If I bomb this... I'm going to remember it for the rest of my life. My humiliation in Dolby Surround Sound."

"It's going to be fine. Really." Belle hoped she wasn't making promises she couldn't keep. "What did you expect? You're marrying a billionaire. Everyone wants to be you today. You're a princess."

"Nah, I'm not the princess. Princesses wait to be saved. I'm the dragon." Randi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"Are you really? Parker was telling me about the Drago Knights and--"

Randi cackled. "No, not really. But you'll get to see them. They'll be accompanying the cars to our rendezvous point."

"That's cool. I guess marrying Parker is worth it for the dragons."

"Totally," Randi agreed easily. "That's why I'm doing it, too. The dragons."

Eleanor Westwood suddenly appeared in a puff of smoke that smelled like hydrangeas, of all things. She too was eating wedding truffles. "Okay, my lovelies. What do you need from me to get this show on the road?"

When neither of them responded, she spoke again. "This is a wedding. I know there is a last minute fire to put out somewhere."

"No fires, yet." Belle was tentative. She was sure she was forgetting something and by the expression on Eleanor Westwood's face, she was sure of it, too.

"Oh, I know." She nodded. "After the ceremony, before we go to the reception, we've set up a greeting line for the press. There will be a lot of pictures. I'm going to give you both a charm so that the flashes from the cameras don't blind you." Addressing Belle in particular she added, "You did say they already know you were with Parker, right?" Your family, I mean."

She pressed her lips together and nodded, once again doubting the sanity of this plan.

"Good. Are you two ready?"

Randi nodded.

Westwood whispered a few words and blew some powder from her outstretched palm into their faces.

"It smells like lemonade." Randi blinked.

"I've warded this place out the ass, but I couldn't ward it with the same parameters as I do Aphelion. People who mean you harm may enter, but if they move to act upon that harm, they'll be forcibly ejected."