Chapter 28

**Artemis**


What is that?

Blue struggles to adjust the dress to face the mirror and it’s more than obvious that she can’t. The thing is huge. Her description was point on, it does look like a giant marshmallow. Even the sleeves are puffy. Does anyone buy dresses like this?

“So what do you think?” The woman who followed Blue onto the small stage asks her.

“This is the fourth dress she’s tried on and I think she’s done.” Rhea whispers to me. “She’s trying to make mom happy, but I don’t want her leaving here with a dress like that.”

Neither do I. There is no way she is walking down the aisle looking like a giant cupcake.

“Blue?” Her eyes meet mine in the mirror and I see her shoulders relax.

“Artemis, you’re here!” She has to shuffle many times to turn all the way around and face me.

“Yeah, this dress is…interesting.” I say pointing at the monstrous thing.

“It’s all the rage these days. It gives brides a more fanciful experience.” The woman tries to explain but I doubt that’s true.

“I wanted the very best for my daughter-in-law and this was one of the dresses recommended for her. Doesn’t she look like a princess?” My mother says with a dramatic wave of her arms.

“Is it okay if I speak to my fiancé for a moment?” I ask but I don’t wait for any of them to answer.

I step onto the stage and grab Blue’s hand. She tries to lift the puffy bottom section of her dress, but I release her hand to help her. We head behind the curtain where she’d come out from, and I see several similar dresses hanging on one of the walls.

“Oh my god thank you for coming. Can you get me out of here? I can’t try on any more of these! Can’t we bail on the wedding and go to Vegas or something?” She’s rambling while spinning in a weird circle trying to undo the large clamps attached to the back of the dress.

Eventually she lets out a huff and looks at me with a pitiful expression on her face.

“Can you help me? I need to get out of this thing.”

I don’t hesitate. Her voice sounds strained like she’s ready to break down crying any second. I move to stand behind her and start to remove the clips one by one. Once they’re gone the dress fabric droops down to the middle of her back. There is a thick strap of fabric across her ribs and under her arms, but I can’t tell what it is. That is until the dress falls down her body and puddles on the floor.

Shit.

My eyes roam over her scantly covered body, and I have to force myself not to reach out and touch her. She’s wearing a form fitting top without straps that stops at her hips. There is about two inches of uncovered skin above her underwear which aren’t exactly a thong but also don’t cover her whole ass. Then there is some sort of belt that has two straps holding a sheer pair of stockings.

“I know I probably shouldn’t have texted you SOS but I don’t think I can take another second of your mother telling me everything I hate is perfect for me. I may lose my mind.” She says stepping out of the dress and kicking it away from her.

I watch the motion and notice she’s wearing no shoes. That almost makes me laugh but I’m still too shocked by what she’s wearing that I can’t seem to find humor in any of this.

“D-did you try on any dresses you liked?” I am barely able to ask her.

When she turns to face me I think I might have stopped breathing for a second. She looks beautiful and sexy. Is this what she has to deal with when she sees me only in my boxers because if it is no wonder she hides. I won’t be covering my eyes though, not when she looks like this.

She huffs and puts her hands on her hips. “No. I haven’t been let out of this room to look around.”

As amazing as she looks without the dress on and let me tell you…I don’t want to put clothes on her, but this is important so…

“I can tell them you want to look around-“

“Can you go?”

What? Me?

“Me?”

She nods. “You’re the one who’s going to be looking at me when we say I DO, so why not?”

Because this is a big deal for women and I don’t know of one groom who picked out his fiancé’s wedding dress.

“Please Artemis? I don’t want to do this alone.”

Shit. When she says it like that…

“Uh yes…sure. Give me a couple of minutes.” I tell her and head back toward the curtain, but I stop before walking out and turn to her. “Don’t bother putting any clothes on, it won’t take me long.”

She gives me a knowing smirk and I leave before I storm toward her and kiss her. Maybe even feel her up a little too.
“What happened?” Rhea jumps to her feet and follows me as I head back out to the main store.

“She wants me to pick something for her to try on.” I tell her which makes her stop suddenly.

“Are you serious?” She asks once she catches up with me again.

“Yes, but I don’t know a damn thing about dresses!” I pick a random section and start looking through dresses that are all the exact same color. “Aren’t there any other colors? Why do all the dresses have to be white?”

“It’s supposed to symbolize purity.” Rhea says and I stop to look at her.

She laughs at the look on my face and shrugs. “I don’t understand it either but it’s tradition. One that most brides like to continue even if they aren’t blushing virgins.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

I move past another row of dresses and give up. “This is ridiculous, they all look the same! Excuse me, are these all the dresses you have? Do you have any that aren’t white?” I ask the woman who greeted me when I came in.

She blinks at me like a stunned animal for several seconds before slowly nodding. “We have a few other dresses that are less popular.”

Rhea and I follow her to another section hidden by the rows and rows of white dresses. My eyes land on a dress that sparks a vision of Blue walking down the aisle wearing it and I know it’s the one.

“I want her to try that one.” I point at it and Rhea gasps.

“It’s beautiful! You have a good eye brother. She’ll look perfect in it.” The lady carefully removes the dress from the rack and holds it like it’s a baby.

We follow her back to the changing room and when we enter, I see my mother whispering to the other woman off to the side while Athena watches them. She doesn’t look happy by what she’s hearing. I decide not to ask and follow the woman with the dress until we are in the room where I left Blue. Just as I asked, she didn’t cover up. She stands from a small bench she had been sitting on and walks toward us.

Dear god help me get through this without a hard on. A prayer I’m afraid will go unanswered if my body has anything to say about it.

The woman walks over to a hook and hangs the dress from it. She doesn’t stay to help Blue try it on but she sends us a knowing smile before she leaves us alone. Blue walks over to the dress and reaches out to run her fingers along the fabric.

“Artemis…this is beautiful.” Her voice is soft and full of emotion. “You really picked this?”

“I saw it and thought it would look nice on you. If you don’t like it maybe you should look out there.”

She shakes her head. “This is perfect. Will you help me?”

Let’s see…do I want to help my stunning and sexy fiancé slip on a dress or say no and let her wear what she has on as long as possible? The choice is difficult, but I finally agree to help with the dress. When I touch the dress to take it off the hanger I’m surprised by how smooth the fabric is. It has several layers of the same soft sheer fabric. We work together to unzip the back and I crouch down to hold the dress so she can step into it. I glance up along her body until my eyes meet hers. She’s watching me carefully but she doesn’t move away or tell me that she can do the rest on her own.

Seeing that as permission enough I…