I laughed. “I'm sorry; I take it back. You're nothing like him. You're nothing like anyone. You are uniquely you.”
“Thank you,” he said in a stiff but mollified tone. “Now, one other thing.”
“Yes?”
“You look absolutely beautiful.”
I beamed at him. “Thank you.”
“Except you may want to fix that small smudge just there.” He motioned his finger to my face.
I scowled and looked into the right, side panel of the mirror and saw that my eyeliner had smeared up my temple. I groaned and reached for a make-up wipe.
“You do look beautiful,” Arach said with a soft smile. “Enough to make me want to marry you all over again.”
“I love you,” I whispered. “Thank you for mirroring.”
“I love you too, A Thaisce. Be happy; be blissfully happy.” Arach's face faded away.
I was still smiling five minutes later when I'd fixed my make-up, and my bridesmaids had popped in to see if I needed any help.
“Well, you look happy,” Bastet noted.
“Blissfully,” I murmured.
“You'd better be,” Sekhmet said. “You're marrying the most eligible bachelor in the God Realm.”
These goddesses wouldn't have been my choice for bridesmaids, but they were Re's daughters and, as I may have mentioned, I've already had a wedding done my way. So, instead of asking my best female friends to attend me, I had made Re supremely pleased by asking his daughters.
Of course, things were still a little awkward between Sekhmet and me, but we were both making an effort to get past that. Her comment would have normally been scathing, but today the tone was teasing, and she gave me a playful wink.
The women were twins, although, you'd never know it to look at them. Bastet had sleek, black hair, gold cat eyes, dark Egyptian skin, and an athletic body that still managed to be curvy. Oh, and fangs; she had a delicate pair of kitty fangs.
Sekhmet, on the other hand, was a lushly curved, fair-skinned (with a gold tone to it) goddess with wavy, golden hair down to her waist and a more substantial set of fangs than her sister. It was like day and night with them; sort of like their father and me.
They were wearing silver, Egyptian-style dresses with thick beaded collars around their necks and gold, tube beads in their hair. Each woman had a small bouquet of lavender-colored flowers which they set down on the vanity so they could fuss with my veil.
When I told Re he could have the wedding of his dreams instead of catering to my wishes, I'd suggested something Egyptian. I thought he'd want that. But Ancient Egyptians didn't really have a ceremony. There was a basic acknowledgment of the couple becoming husband and wife after the bride moved into her husband's home, and then there might be a party if they were wealthy enough. But other than that, nothing. So, there were no traditions to restrain him. In short; Re went wild with his metrosexual self.
Normally, I prefer manly men. I like alphas with big muscles whose idea of fashion usually includes a lot of leather and steel. Okay, maybe not that bad. I don't go for cavemen. I like my big, muscly guys to have a brain too. But the point is; I don't normally go for pretty. And Re is pretty.
So, why was I attracted to him? Because it went further than that; Re is panty-droppingly, chest-heavingly, fan yourself at top and bottom, jawline for days, I can't look away no matter how hard I try, mouth-wateringly gorgeous. He was so damn beautiful that it took me awhile to be comfortable around him. It simply wasn't possible for a woman to not be attracted to Re. Period. Don't shake your head. You may think that it's impossible for one man to be every woman's cup of tea, and you'd be wrong. He is. It's Re tea for everyone, and when you drink it, you'll wonder how anything else will ever live up to the taste. Soon, that tea would be mine... forever.
Yes; that was enough to make me smile.
Back to my wedding. I was in a gown that Re had picked out, but I had approved. Surprisingly, it looked nothing like the gown I'd worn in our wedding in the last wrong timeline I'd been in. I had kind of expected to see some repeats. But Re had memories of that time too, and he wasn't the kind of guy to repeat himself, even if no one else knew about it. So, the only thing that had remained the same was the location; Osiris and Isis' home in Aaru. And I think that was only because Re had asked Osiris and Isis to host us way in advance. If he hadn't, we might be on a yacht somewhere in the Pacific.
I stood up, and the twins helped me smooth the layers of handmade lace that fell in swaths from my waist. Diamonds had been sewn onto the lace here and there so that I sparkled when I moved. The lace layers crisscrossed in the front, and when I walked, they spread apart to reveal the silk skirt beneath with is subtle, soft, silvery print of crescent moons. The bodice was tailored to fit me like a glove, with three-quarter length sleeves that belled out in lace at my elbows. The whole of the gown was a soft cream color accented only by a lavender-gray, velvet belt with a diamond clasp.
I stepped toward the door, and the women settled my train behind me. I had wanted to opt out of a long train—it was just too much trouble for a short walk down the aisle—but Re insisted. He wanted grandeur and promised that the aisle would be long enough to make it worth my while. So,
