33. Angie

33

ANGIE

W ith only two days left until the contest, I'd pretty much given up on entering. I felt sad, but without a beer to offer, there wasn't much I could do but hope to enter next year. Besides, I was busy enough trying to keep my microbrewery afloat.

Since Tuvid and I were still pretending to be engaged and we hadn't talked about making this permanent yet, I had to put on a good show for Mom and Krunesta.

My mother wanted to line everything up now , so I met her at her seamstress friend's business, Enchanted Needles, to try on the gown she'd worn when she married Dad. I had to admit, it brought tears to my eyes when I put it on even though I wasn't sure I'd actually be wearing it.

"Aw," I said as I stood on the circular wooden stand, taking in my image in the full-length mirror.

Kylie, the seamstress with pins sticking out of her mouth and a tape measure hooked around her neck and draping down both sides of her chest, stood behind me, hemming the gown in here and there. I was thinner than Mom and shorter.

"Will you be able to have it ready in time?" Mom asked.

"Yes, no problem," Kylie said, adding yet another pin. She had a delicate touch, and I hadn't been poked yet.

"There's no rush, Mom," I said, flaring the skirt to get the full effect.

"White is odd, but I like it," Krunesta said from where she sat on the sofa nearby, watching. "We could dye it black, however, if you change your mind."

"Never," Mom vowed.

The two mothers cackled.

Great. A joke. I'd almost had a heart attack, worried they were going to start arguing about the color again.

Or bring up my lack of virginity.

We finished and left, heading to Fairytale Florals. The bell jangled overhead as we entered, and it was tough going for Krunesta inside with her wings. It was all she could do not to knock things over. She wasn't clumsy. She had a delicate way of moving I envied, but the shop was tiny, and every available surface was covered with vases or baskets or silk bouquets with ribbons and rows of candles—thankfully unlit.

"Welcome," a high-pitched voice called out, and the pixie proprietress flew over to hover in front of us.

You did not call her Tinkerbell even though she looked a lot like her. Someone in town had made that mistake the day she opened, and the man hadn't been able to open his mouth completely for two days. A few said she'd sewn his lips closed, but I'd also heard he kept his mouth closed by choice. Whenever he opened it, flowers gushed out. The spell dissipated, but the warning swept through town, and no one dared try another nickname in her presence.

"There you are, Sunbeam," Krunesta said, smiling demurely at the pixie.

Sunbeam fluttered in front of us, and I took in her pale blue, sparkly wings that wafted a light, floral-scented breeze our way. She wore a pink ballerina style dress with tulle jutting out around her waist and tiny blue shoes. She'd be about two feet high if she stood on her feet, though I'd only ever seen her in flight.

"What can I do for you today, my friend?" Whenever she spoke, tiny bells sounded. Were they part of her voice or some strange sort of accompaniment?I supposed it didn't matter.

Krunesta's arm went around my waist, and she tucked me into her side. "This is Angel—"

"Angie." I nodded to Sunbeam. "I own the microbrewery in town, Beastly Beer Co."

"I know of it," Sunbeam said with a cute little smile. "I adore your wheat beer."

"Thank you. I'm very happy to hear that."

"Angela is marrying my son, Tuvid." Krunesta patted my hip where her hand rested. "I do apologize. I'm horrible with names." She frowned and peered behind me. "I just noticed. Where's your tail?"

"Now that we don't have to remain tied any longer, I left it at home. I still wear it when we're together."

"As you should." Beaming, she turned back to Sunbeam. "Angela and my son are getting married on Sunday."

"What?" I barked. "Tuvid and I haven't discussed a date." Or making this a real engagement. "There's no way we can be ready by Sunday."

"Kylie said she can have the gown ready," Mom said. "I spoke with Bites I could barely breathe. Stunned didn't cover it—I was tumbling headfirst into love with every second that brought him closer to where I stood propped against the front of the florist shop.

He landed neatly on the road and tucked his wings into his back, striding right over to me. Before I could squeak, he lifted me, pressed me against the wall, and claimed my mouth with his own.

"Hey," he said softly when he came up for air. "I had to do that. I wasn't going to be able to pull in a breath until I kissed you."

I'd forgotten how to speak. All I could do was focus on his mouth. Would it be greedy to ask for another kiss?

"Come inside, you two," Mom said, poking her head out the door. Her frown took in my legs wrapped around Tuvid's waist, my hands stroking the crests of his wings. "Save that for the honeymoon."

"Honeymoon? Please tell me you haven't arranged that as well, because no."

She scowled and propped her fist onto her hip, jutting it out toward the road. "You're going on a honeymoon, aren't you?"

"Oh, there will definitely be a honeymoon," Tuvid said. "We'll have to wait for my boss to return from his vacation, however. I have to cover the business while he and his mate are away."

"That's reasonable enough." Mom held out her arms. "Unlatch my daughter from around your body, Tuvid, and come give me a big hug. I haven't hugged my new son yet today."

Tuvid gave me a grin. "I want to kiss Angie again instead." And he did so, making me moan, making him growl down my throat, and making me hump my body against his—even in front of my mother.

Finally, I had to let go. It didn't help that Mom kept smacking my arm, though lightly, and calling out my name.

"Truly, Angie, you're in public. I know you two tied tails, something I haven't yet forgiven you for because I didn't receive my embossed invitation, but could you do this later? Sunbeam has another appointment soon, and we need to finish selecting the flowers. If you don't get inside, you'll end up carrying a black bouquet, and I'll be crying for a different reason than complete joy that my daughter's getting married."

I unwrapped myself from around Tuvid and couldn't hold back my grin when he lifted Mom in his arms and swept her around in a big hug. She started sobbing. I started sobbing. And he pulled out tissues, handing clumps of them to both of us.

Sniffing and blubbering, we went inside.

"What did you do to your hair?" Mom asked him. "It's brown when I swear it was black."

"I was experimenting with different colors for the wedding," he said, smirking at me.

The tease.

She kept frowning at his face. "I didn't realize you wore glasses, either. Were your eyes always that color?"

"They change with the weather," he said.

"Not that's an interesting gargoyle detail I've never heard," she said.

His mom didn't even mention it, but perhaps she was used to him wearing a disguise.

Thankfully, we avoided all black floral arrangements, and we were able to extend the wedding date until a week from Sunday, citing the fact that Tuvid was running Monsters, PI while his boss was away and if he got a call, he might be forced to leave in the middle of his own wedding.

We were going to have to put a halt to our mothers soon, however, because we were not getting married a week from Sunday.

We snuck away after the flowers were settled, and since I'd ridden with Mom, Tuvid flew me back to the microbrewery where we could talk about what he'd learned so far. Mom would've followed, and Krunesta had offered to fly her, but thankfully, my mother didn't enjoy heights any more than me.

As for me and heights? I'd discovered I enjoyed them as long as I was in Tuvid's arms, my legs were secure around his waist, and I could press my face into his neck.

It also helped when I stroked the crests of his wings.

That made him groan, and then he landed and started kissing me.