“I really don’t see why we have to stay in Blackstone to go dress shopping,” Christina said as they walked down Main Street. Catherine had driven them to the downtown area and parked a few blocks away from the wedding shop. “You know dad would have lent us the jet to go to Paris or London so you could have your trousseau. Mama would have wanted you to have the best.”

“Chrissy,” her sister said in an impatient voice. “This is a legit bridal shop, I swear. And the owner is really nice. She has all the latest gowns from New York and LA. Besides, I wanted you to meet the girls, and Sybil and Kate can’t just take off a few days to go with us to Paris.”

Christina snorted. “Fine.”

“C’mon, we’re already running late. And we still have to look over the flowers after this. If you’d have woken up on time—”

“I’m jet-lagged and tired,” Christina whined. “Give me a break.”

Irritation had been building in her since she arrived in Blackstone. Aside from having another confrontation Jason, Catherine was taking her sweet time. It turned out the wedding emergency that meant she couldn’t pick her up from the airport was merely a case of the caterer throwing a fit over the lack of enoki mushrooms for the appetizers. When Catherine had finally arrived at Blackstone Castle two hours after Christina did, all she would talk about was Matthew and Blackstone, and all her new friends.

Christina knew that after being apart for a year, her sister would have changed, but she just hadn’t realized how much. She wanted her sister back. She didn’t want to feel resentful, but she wished it was like old times. Just her, Catherine, Cordy, their brothers, and Papa back home in Lykos.

“Catherine!” A petite older woman greeted when they entered The Foxy Bridal Boutique. “I’m glad you made it!”

“Sorry we’re late, Angela,” she said. “This is my sister, Christina.”

“Nice to meet you,” Angela said, extending her hand.

“Likewise.” Christina took the other woman’s hand gingerly. Maybe it was because she’d been around them all her life, but her instinct told her what the woman was. Shifter. Based on the cheeky little animal emblazoned on the boutique’s sign, it was easy to guess what kind.

“Oh, you two are just gorgeous! Twins! And you’re marrying a twin,” Angela giggled then winked at Christina. “Care to make it a double wedding?”

“Er, no,” she said coldly, ignoring the woman’s puzzled look. “So, are we going to try on dresses or just stand here doing nothing?”

“Christina,” Catherine hissed. “Sorry, Angela. She hasn’t had her cup of coffee yet, hence the crankiness.”

“That’s quite all right,” Angela said with a smile. “Your friends are already inside the dressing room.” She pointed toward the door on the other side of the main floor. “Go right ahead and I’ll take out the dresses.”

“Thank you.”

Catherine tugged her toward the dressing room, and as soon as her sister opened the door, she knew this was a mistake. “Oh no. Them?” The two women waiting inside were very familiar.

Her sister gave her a puzzled look. “You’ve met Sybil and Kate?”

“You could say that.” They were there the day she arrived at Blackstone Hospital and had her confrontation with Matthew. Apparently, they were all part of the conspiracy to get her away.

“Catherine!” One of the women hopped up from the couch, champagne glass in hand. “We started the party without you!” The bubble drink sloshed over the side of the glass, nearly spilling on Christina as the exuberant young woman hugged Catherine. “Where the hell have you been? Oh,” she said when she looked at Christina. “Nice to see you. Again. Maybe we can be introduced this time.”

“Chrissy,” Catherine said. “This is Kate Caldwell.”

“Hello, Kate.” Another shifter, of course.

“Chrissy, good to meet you.”

“Actually, only I get to call her Chrissy,” Catherine laughed. “She hates it when anyone else shortens her name.”

“Well, we can change that, can’t we?” Kate asked, her green eyes twinkling. “After all, we’ve already plotted against her, poisoned her bodyguard, and now we’re all going to be family.”

“Please excuse my friend,” the other woman interrupted as she came over to them. “She thought it was a good idea to start on the champagne.”

“At ten in the morning?” Christina asked.

“No better time!” Kate said as she grabbed the bottle from the bucket and topped off her glass.

The other young woman rolled her eyes then turned to Christina. “I’m Sybil.”

Now that she had time for more than a fleeting glance, there was no mistaking who Sybil was related to. Silvery-gray eyes. Dark hair. That stubborn chin and full mouth. “You’re Jason and Matthew’s sister.” Of course, she was a shifter as well. A rare female dragon.

She nodded. “Yup.” Instead of offering her hand she hugged Christina. “It’s nice to be introduced to you. And I’m really happy to be gaining not just one, but two sisters.”

“Technically, only Catherine will be your sister-in-law,” Kate pointed out.

“Technical, schmecnical,” Sybil said. “It’ll be awesome. More girls in the family. I’m so done with being outnumbered. And you have another sister, right?”

“Cordelia. Cordy,” Catherine said. “She’ll be here before the wedding, with Papa and our brothers.”

“Awesome! Are your brothers hot?” Kate asked.

“Kate!”

A delicate throat clearing caught their attention. “Excuse me, ladies. I’m so sorry to rush, but I do have another appointment after you.” Angela had come in with a rack of dresses. “I’ll do my best to delay them.”

“I’m really sorry, Angela,” Catherine said. “We’ll try to finish right away.”

“You can always come in another day,” Angela said. “I’ll work day and night to have the dress finished in time.”

“You don’t have to, really. I’ll find something today.” Catherine walked over to the rack of dresses. “These are all beautiful. I don’t know where to begin.” She picked something out of the rack, something long with a delicately beaded belt. “What do you think?” she asked them.

“Try it on!” Kate urged. “C’mon, I didn’t get up early for nothing!”

“Kate, you live five minutes from here,” Sybil pointed out. “You were up at nine, tops.”

“Meh.” She took another sip of champagne. “On with the show.”

Catherine disappeared into the back with Angela and the dress, while the rest of them sat down on the comfy couch.

“Champagne?” Kate offered.

“No, thank you,” Christina said.

“More for me then,” the younger woman said cheerfully.

Christina rolled her eyes. Sybil seemed nice enough, but this Kate … she wasn’t sure what to think of her. She was coarse, inappropriate, and too familiar. She couldn’t believe that she had to share this special moment with these people. It should have been her, Cordy, and if she were alive, Mama, watching Catherine try on dresses for her big day.

“What do you think?”

Christina looked up, watching as her sister paraded the gown she’d selected. A lump caught in her throat. Catherine had never looked more beautiful, and it wasn’t just the dress. Her face was glowing and her eyes sparkled. For the first time, she realized that yes, Catherine had changed—she was truly happy. She was free, not stifled as she had been back in Lykos. “Catherine … you look … ”

“Perfect,” Angela finished, beaming at them.

Christina nodded and sniffed. She stood up and walked toward her sister. Catherine pulled her in for a hug. “I think … Mama would have … ”

“I know,” Catherine said, as she pulled away. There were tears forming in her eyes. “But you’re here, with me. That’s all that matters.”

Shame filled her, and Christina realized how selfish she’d been. She should be happy that Catherine had finally found a place where she belonged, with someone she loved. Matthew Lennox really was a good man and she knew her sister would always be loved and safe with him.

Angela handed them a tissue. “Don’t worry, ladies, I’m always prepared.”

Everyone burst into laughter, and Christina accepted the tissue gratefully and wiped her eyes.

“Ugh, c’mon,” Kate said. “Enough with this sentimental crap! We want more dresses! More dresses! More dresses!”

Sybil rolled her eyes and took the champagne glass away from Kate. “That’s enough. Time to sober up, Kate.”

The other woman pouted and sank down onto the couch. “You’re such a wet blanket.”

Catherine tried on several more gowns. Indeed, Angela had outdone herself. All the wedding gowns looked gorgeous on her.

“I just can’t decide,” she said as she tried on the last gown. “Should I try on my favorite ones again?”

“No, wait!” Kate said. “I have a better idea. You need to be able to see what you look like from other people’s perspective.”

“And how is she supposed to do that?” Sybil asked.

“Duh,” Kate jerked a thumb at Christina. “Catherine has a real live look-alike mannequin.”

“Huh?” Sybil asked.

“That’s a great idea!” Catherine clapped her hands together. “Chrissy, you try the gowns and then I can see how it looks on me.”

Christina’s eyes widened. “No way. I’m not trying on wedding gowns!”

“Please, Chrissy?”

“Yes,” Kate said. “Please, Chrissy?”

Christina looked at Angela. “Surely you have some store policy against that?”

The fox shifter shook her head. “Not at all. I think it’s a great idea.”

“Yay!” Kate stood up and grabbed one of the dresses. “Let’s go, Chrissy.”

Christina had trained during the past year to be a field agent, working out and even going to boot camp for a month with other recruits. Her brothers had also taught her self-defense and martial arts for years before that. Still, she was no match for Kate’s brute strength and sheer determination, and found herself being dragged into the back of the dressing room.

“What are you—hey!”

Kate was unbuttoning the front of her blouse. “You’re not shy, are you? Don’t worry, I don’t play for the other team. Though I have to admit, your tits are pretty hot.”

“What? Stop it!” But Kate was relentless and had already made quick work of her blouse. “Fine! Just let me do it,” she grumbled. There was no way she was getting out of this, so she quickly undressed and put on the gown. It was the third one Catherine had tried. The top was made entirely of lace with a sweetheart neckline and puffy ball gown skirt with a long train.

“Ah, good, good,” Kate said, fiddling her fingers together. “Excellent. Let’s go show the girls.”

She followed Kate outside and then stood on the small dais. “Well?” she asked the other women.

“This was a great idea,” Sybil said. “What do you think, Catherine?”

“Hmmm…” Catherine tapped her finger on her chin. “You know, I really liked wearing this one and I thought it looked good on me. But now that I think about it, it seems like something you would wear, Chrissy.”

“Excuse me?” she asked. “We’re shopping for you, remember?”

“I know,” her sister said. “But, you’ve always been the more traditional one, I think. I feel like this is the gown you’d pick if you were getting married.”

Christina looked at herself in the mirror. Hmmm. Catherine knew her well. A little too well. It was something a princess would wear and she had been the more girly of the two of them growing up.

“Excuse me, ladies, I hate to intrude, but are you…”

Christina turned around at the sound of the familiar voice, the voluminous skirts whipping around her. “What are you doing here?”

Jason stared up, his eyes darkening as his gaze raked over her in the white gown. Heat crept up her neck and suddenly the dress felt too tight and the room too small.

“You can’t see your bride in her gown before the wedding day!” Kate shrieked as she lunged in front of Christina.

Jason shook his head. “I’m not Matthew.”

“And she’s not me,” Catherine said, getting to her feet. “What are you doing here, Jason?”

“Matthew’s waiting outside. He wanted to surprise you and take you girls to lunch,” he explained. “He didn’t want to accidentally see the gown, so he sent me to check on you.”

“Aww, that’s sweet,” Sybil said.

“We’re not done yet,” Catherine said. “Could you guys wait a little longer?

“Sure,” he said with a shrug.

Christina stared after him, watching his retreating back as he left without even giving her a second glance. She still couldn’t believe he saw her in a wedding gown, of all things.

“Chrissy?” Catherine asked, waving her hand in front of her face. “Are you okay?”

“Huh? Uh, yeah, I’m fine.” She cleared her head and gave her sister a weak smile. “So, which one should I try next?”