41.2 Katerina

"And this dress was designed by Ricardo Tisci," the store manager said as he held out a stunning gown. It was a Givenchy Haute Couture white lace gown with sheer paneling and cutouts, along with a stunning train. I smiled and took the dress from her and walked into the changing room to switch the dress I had on for the new one before exiting the room. "Shall we go see what your family says?" I nodded, and we walked back to the showroom where my mother, Valentina, Alex's siblings, and mine were waiting with two sleeping babies.

"Oh my goodness," Mom gasped as soon as she saw me. "You look absolutely stunning in that dress!"

"Couldn't agree more," Valentina said with a warm smile.

"It's beautiful indeed," Vanessa said as I stood in front of the mirror and looked at my reflection.

"Wait, how did you get the dress?" Hayden asked, making me furrow my brows at his odd question.

"It was a donation from Kim," the sales manager replied, and I raised an eyebrow.

"Kim?" Maribel asked when we gave her a questioning look.

"Kim Kardashian," Ella replied.

"Isn't she that reality TV star or something?" I asked, and they nodded. "Huh."

"But I say that dress looks better on you than it looked on her," Hayden stated, making me chuckle while Nessa and Ella nodded in agreement with his comment.

"So, have you decided on which dress you'll like?" the male companion asked with a warm smile. We've been at the bridal store for the past hour and a half just looking at dresses, and I only liked two out of the ten dresses I had tried on, one of them being the dress I was currently wearing.

"Yes, I think I did," I replied, looking at my reflection before saying, "this one."

The others cheered, but not loud enough to startle the babies from their nap—just loud enough to make me laugh at their excitement.

"That's wonderful! We're so glad that we were able to help you pick the best dress," the lady said with a smile as her co-worker helped me get down from the table I was standing on. I returned to the dressing room and removed the dress before putting my own clothes back on. Then, I exited the room, where I was met with the two managers that had helped. "Would you like to look at some accessories to go with the dress? We'll take the dress up to the front counter and wait for you once you've got everything you'll need?"

"That would be great, thank you," I replied. They nodded and headed out of the showroom while I went to join my family.

"Where's the dress?" Hayden asked when he noticed I was empty-handed.

"The salesperson took it to the front," I replied, and they nodded before we made our way out, with Hayden pushing Savannah's stroller as I carried her diaper bag. "I was wondering if we could check some accessories before we left."

"Of course. Where should we start?" Valentina asked. With that said, we made our way to the bridal jewelry section and looked through the various accessories before I picked a gorgeous veil, along with a diamond-encrusted tiara and a pair of diamond earrings.

"Those are perfect," Mom said as she smiled, looking at the accessories I had picked. "Are you ready to head out then?"

"Yeah," I nodded. With that, we made our way to the checkout counter and paid for the dress and accessories before making our way out of the bridal store and getting in our cars.

"Thank you for having us join you today," Valentina smiled as she walked over to me, as our cars were close by, unlike my mom's and Maribel's.

"There's no need to thank me. You're family now, and having you three there today was special. I wouldn't have it any other way," I replied, giving her and the girls a warm smile that they returned. "Now, I'm sure Alex and John are waiting for the three of you to get to the restaurant for your weekly lunch."

"Ah yes, John has been texting Ella nonstop, asking when we'll arrive," Nessa said, rolling her eyes and making me laugh. "Well, we better get going, and like Valentina said, thank you for inviting us today."

"You're welcome. Can you please tell Alex to not forget to stop by David's office to grab the contracts in my office that I need to look over?" I asked.

"Of course," Valentina answered before we hugged goodbye and got into our cars.

"Alright, let's go grab some takeout?" I asked Hayden, and he grinned. This was what we always did when I didn't feel like cooking, which was rare.

"And can we have a Shadowhunters marathon?" he asked, and I grinned.

"You know it," I replied, turning on the engine and making my way out of the parking lot and down the road toward our favorite takeout restaurant before making our way home.