I dedicate this chapter to all the romantics & the shopaholics out there :-)

Thanks for keeping up the reading - I'd love to hear what you think so far!

20. The Dress

(Sonya POV)

After a very informative drive we arrived in Missoula and parked in an underground lot before taking the elevator up to the shopping mall above. It felt strange being out in the daytime; stranger still to be surrounded by human teenagers and families all going about their normal lives, completely unaware that a vampire and a trained dhampir killer with a silver stake were walking around in their local shop.

'Normally I'd prefer to have another guardian on duty with me when we're off school-grounds,' Mikhail told me in a hushed voice as he scanned the crowd for threats, 'but it's highly unlikely we will run into any strigoi in broad daylight with this many people around. He thought he was being comforting, but just the mention of strigoi made me shudder.

'Don't worry Sonechka,' he assured me softly, using the pet-name he reserved for when nobody else was listening. 'I'm trained to keep you safe. Stay close to me and I will make sure nothing happens to you.' He folded his long, tan fingers around my own pale hand and I squeezed back, grateful for the reassurance.

'Now where do you want to start?' Mikhail asked as we joined the steady stream of people in the mall, blending in with the happy shoppers as we strolled along hand in hand.

'I honestly have no idea. Shopping's not really my thing,' I winced as I took in the size of the mall and the enormity of the task hit home. 'Let's just start here and work our way to the other end,' I suggested.

'A logical plan,' he agreed with a smile, and we stepped into the first store.

'Buying something special for your wife today, Sir?' the shop assistant asked Mikhail as we passed the front counter, and my heart jumped at her innocent mistake.

Misha flashed her a smile as he squeezed my hand. 'Only the best for this one,' he inclined his head towards me. 'If we find the perfect dress we'll take it.'

The woman bustled off and came back with an armful of gowns for me to try on.

'I'll leave these in the dressing room for you to try. The black one is my favourite – I just know it will look gooooorgeous on you,' she crooned, and I followed her meekly to the change rooms feeling a sense of impending doom.

'How are you going in there, Darl?' the girl's cheery voice drifted over the door as I discarded the third dress she had selected for me.

'Um, okay I guess,' I replied dubiously, before straightening my own clothes and stepping back out into the store.

'Well?' she asked expectantly. 'Was the black one your favourite?'

'I'm not really convinced yet,' I threw a desperate look to Mikhail who intervened on my behalf.

'Don't stress. It's only the first shop we've been to,' he reassured me smoothly. 'We can walk around a bit more then come back when you've made up your mind.' He thanked the shop assistant for her help and led me quickly to the door.

'I don't think I can do that too many times,' I said, already feeling jaded by the experience. 'I haven't bought a proper dress in at least five years. I don't even know what I'm looking for. And besides, they all cost way too much to wear for just one night.'

Mikhail came to a halt and angled me around to face him, placing a hand on each of my shoulders.

'Sonya Karp. We are going shopping. You will find the dress you love. And I will buy it for you. Simple.'

'Don't be ridiculous,' I hissed back, trying not to make a scene. 'You can't buy me a dress. They are too expensive... and it's inappropriate,' I finished weakly.

'There is nothing inappropriate about a man buying a woman a dress,' he retorted. 'I have a right to spend my salary however I like. The only difference is that, unlike you, I believe a good dress is worth the money. Plus, it's traditional to buy a girl a gift on the first date so I'm pretty sure this qualifies.'

A date? I guess it was. I never guessed I would have Ellen Kirova to thank for finally bringing us together. Still, a formal gown was a bit more extravagant than a bunch of flowers or a box of chocolates. How could I possibly accept? I tried to dismiss his arguments, but he had an ace up his sleeve.

'And seeing as the only one of us with a set of car keys I think I'm the one in charge today. If you don't like it you will have to call The Academy and wait for one of the other guardians to come and collect you.'

I was defeated. 'Okay. Your car, your rules I guess,' I conceded ungraciously, then apologised by tentatively wrapping my arm around his waist. Misha looked down at me with an expression of triumph and contentment as his arm slid over my shoulder, dropping a light kiss into my hair before we continued on with our shopping spree as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world.

We ended up weaving our way from one end of the mall to the other, walking into each store and browsing through every last rack, but I seemed to have no luck finding the right dress. There were plenty that fit me but they just didn't seem… right. A plunge neckline wouldn't be suitable for a school function, and most of the dresses were just ghastly – too bright, too glittery, too short, too see-through.

When I realised we'd been shopping for over two hours I felt it was time to give up. The trip home would take at least two and a half hours, and at this rate Mikhail would barely get four hours sleep before his evening shift started.

'Just one more,' my slave-driver insisted, steering me into a bridal store.

'I don't think this is the right place for us,' I said wearily as I scanned the mannequins covered in yards of white tulle and taffeta. A group of giggling women in pink sparkly veils sipped champagne while their leader flounced about in a hideous puffy, strapless gown. A pair of shop girls oohed and aahed at the bride to be, and I pulled Misha hastily towards the door when a tall, well-manicured man in a waistcoat minced over, blocking our exit.

'And how can I help this beautiful couple?' he asked in a slippery smooth voice.

Mikhail, ever patient, smiled at the man and told him what we were after.

'Oh daaarling,' he practically sang the words as he flapped his hands flamboyantly and looked me up and down. 'We've just had a new range of formal wear come in, and I have just the thing for you.'

I threw a doubtful glance at Misha and mouthed 'last one' before following the shop assistant to the change room. After a few minutes of struggling with the fabric I heard a voice call out to me.

'Do you need some help in there?' the man asked in a bright, almost cheeky voice.

'Actually, I could use a hand straightening out the straps at the back,' I replied.

'Coming in!' he sang, and the curtain opened. 'Oh. My. God,' he gasped dramatically.

'What?' I looked up in dismay, worried I might have torn the seam while pulling the skirt over my hips.

'See for yourself,' he replied as he made a few final adjustments.

I turned to look in the mirror and froze. The woman looking back at me was beautiful. I didn't think it could actually be me. The dress clung in all the right places and revealed just enough to suggest a figure without giving all of my secrets away. It was elegant, timeless, classic, unique.

'This is the one,' I whispered.

'Yesss,' the man hissed in agreement. 'Now, you'd better take that off before you ruin the surprise. Your gentleman friend out there has a look about him like a parched man in the desert, and if he sees you in this before the big occasion I don't think you'll have a dress left to wear if you catch my drift,' he warned knowingly.

I was too entranced by the dress to pay much attention to the rambling shop assistant, but I followed his instructions and changed back into my own plain clothing while the heavenly garment was whisked away and tucked neatly into a large box stuffed with tissue paper.

I soon found Mikhail waiting for me outside the change room and he beamed at my approach, easily reading my expression of exhilaration and relief.

'Success at last - congratulations!' his eyes crinkled at the corners and I smiled tiredly in return.

'I can't believe people actually do this for fun. I'm exhausted,' I sighed theatrically, making him laugh. As we went up to the counter to pay I tried to sneak my credit card out before Misha noticed but I was too late.

'I already paid for it while you were getting changed,' he smirked at my attempt to sabotage his gift.

Mikhail collected the parcel from the counter, now fastened with a wide silk ribbon, and tucked it under his arm as we made our way to the exit. Just before we stepped back into the bright, noisy mall there was a bustling sound behind us.

'Wait!' the shop-assistant called out as he hurried towards us. 'The perfect dress should have the perfect accessory. Here - a gift from me,' and he thrust a small gift bag into my hands. 'Have fun,' he winked before swanning back to the counter, leaving me standing speechlessly in the doorway.

'That was nice of him,' Mikhail looked as surprised as me, and we made our way slowly back to the carpark, stopping off to grab a couple of coffees and some bagels to share on the drive home.

When we reached the car he placed the pearly white box carefully on the backseat. 'I might just take a tiny peek,' he said and reached down to untie the large silk bow.

'No!' I shouted out a little too loudly, springing between him and the dress.

The dhampir looked at me quizzically as I turned and bent down to carefully re-tie the ribbon.

'The man in the shop told me I should keep it as a surprise,' I explained over my shoulder, leaving out the part about parched men in the desert. When I turned back around to face Mikhail I suddenly realised how close we were standing. Normally being in this proximity to another person would make me feel threatened, trapped, but right now I was filled with a very different sort of sensation. My pulse quickened and a warm shiver coursed through my body.

'Very well...,' Misha conceded, 'but I would like something in return for my hours of shopping hell,' he concluded cheekily, and I felt his hands settle carefully on my waist. His face softened and his clear blue eyes sought mine, silently asking my permission.

I raised my chin the slightest fraction and unconsciously ran my tongue over my lips. In the next moment I felt the warm, gentle press of his mouth against mine as he showed me what he'd been trying to tell me for weeks. He cared for me. He was here for me. He wanted me. I closed my eyes and felt my hands slip around his neck, drawing him closer.

Author's Note:

These chapters are seriously getting more enjoyable to write.

Obviously this is a parallel to Rose & Lissa's shopping trip, but the grown-ups get to have far more fun!

The camp shop-assistant is one of my favourite original characters ever. No hints on the dress yet – I'll give you a web link in the next chapter!