Accidental Surrogate for Alpha novel Chapter 423

Chapter 423 – Wedding prep

Cora

“Ella,” I sigh, turning to my sister, who is standing behind me with her hands clutched together, tears rimming her eyes, not breathing because she’s trying so hard not to burst into tears

“You look so beautiful!” she squeaks, and I can’t help but laugh because she looks like a little cartoon character, standing there, completely undone by the sight of me in a wedding gown.

“Ells!” I laugh, taking a few steps towards her and reaching out my hands. “You can’t do this for every new dress!”

“But you look so differently beautiful in each one!” she shouts, and then a sob breaks from her and she burries her face in her hands, letting loose. I burst into laughter at this, raising my own hands to my cheeks and taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry! I can’t help it!” she cries and I just shake my head, pulling my hands away and smiling as I turn to look at myself in the mirror.

I mean, she’s not wrong – I look damn good in this sparkling white gown that hugs my body all the way to the floor and then spreads out behind me in a beautiful beaded train. But honestly – Ella is so much more sentimental than me. She has gotten choked up at every single one I’ve tried on so far – and they’re all beautiful but …I’m just not having the same reaction as she is.

“You don’t like it?” she gasps, scurrying to my side and meeting my eyes in the mirror. “But Cora – you look amazing – you look so romantic-

“I know, Ella!” I say, turning and putting a hand on her shoulder. “But I think the problem is that I’m not I’m not very romantic! You are, for sure, but-”

“Ohhh,” she says, frowning and swatting my hand away, “you are too romantic. You confessed your love for Roger in a rain storm! He swept you off your feet and carried you inside! You – ”

“Okay,” I say, raising my hands as I give in, “I will admit that that part of our story is romantic – ”

“And you conceived your little baby that very night!”

“Okay! I’m a romance novel heroine! You’ve got me!” I laugh, “But Ella! I never craved any of that – I’ve never, ever been the girl who thinks about her wedding day, or what her first dance would be. This just…means less to me, than it does you.”

“But then why do you care if we do it?” she asks, wiping away her tears. ” Why don’t you just throw you a wedding, if it doesn’t matter?”

“Because the mating does matter,” I murmur, turning back to smile at myself in the mirror. My wolf raises her sleepy head inside me and gives a little yip of confirmation, making my smile deepen. I run a mental hand over her fur, letting her know not to worry that I’m not giving in.

“Okay,” Ella sighs, standing close to me and putting her head on my shoulder as we both stare at me in the mirror. “But you should keep this dress anyway. Roger is going to flip when he sees you in it.”

“I know, right?” I murmur, turning and admiring the way the dress hugs my curves.

My sister squeals a little, throwing her arms around my shoulders. “See! You do like it!”

I laugh with her. “I always liked it,” I shrug. “I just…”

“I get it,” she says, nodding. “But let’s keep the dress. Just in case. And… maybe the ballgown too?” She gives me a big grin in the mirror, because I know that one was her favorite, even if this one is mine.

“Whatever you want,” I say with a sigh and a shrug. “It’s on the Sinclair dime anyway.”

“Yeah, let’s bankrupt ’em” Ella says, grinning and hopping away from me to move towards one of the poor stylists in the corner who has had to put up with her new queen’s hysterics while watching me try on twenty gowns. But while Ella speaks quietly with the stylists, probably purchasing four or five of the gowns just to have options, I turn to shake my head at myself in the mirror.

Because this…this just isn’t right.