Vampires Among Us [Vampires Among Us 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

remembered the shape Erica was in when she first arrived, now decided her brother was a saint to have the willpower to hold off and give Erica a chance to heal.
    “Well then, I guess a double congratulation is called for! And yes, I will get you taken care of. Just leave everything to me!” Jennifer breathed, and then stopped for just a moment to glance over to Erica. “I’ll take care of things for now, but you are going to promise me that we will go lingerie shopping before the wedding. Do we have a deal?”
    “Okay, deal,” Erica agreed, quickly glancing over to Jennifer to see her eyes dancing with excitement and just a hint of mischief. “Meantime, I think we had better get back down to business here,” she pointed to the massive stack of clothing still to be tried on.
    By the time the girls finished shopping, Jennifer had helped Erica pick out enough clothing to fill a closet. Among everything else, they were able to find six different evening gowns, and had narrowed the wedding dress selection down to two different styles. All the gowns were being ordered in the color Erica had chosen, or needed to be altered in some way. They would be delivered to the house within a week. Erica promised Marge she would make a final decision on the wedding gown quickly so it could be ordered.
    “Now, we must have shoes to go with these new clothes!” Jennifer exclaimed, glancing over to Erica, while handing Kevin’s credit card to the shop owner.
    Having heard Jennifer’s statement regarding new shoes, Marge smiled as she processed the credit card and started folding Erica’s new wardrobe. “My best friend owns a shoe shop just down the street. If you would like, I can quickly email her pictures of your outfits and she will be happy to help you pick out shoes to match.”
    “Thanks, Marge ; that would be wonderful!” Jennifer stated with a smile on her face, as she quickly gathered up their purchases and headed to the door.
    Kevin was parked right outside under the awning where Jennifer told him to wait. Looking up from his book as the girls walked out of the little dress shop, he asked, “Are you done already?”
    “Not at all!” Jennifer replied, flashing her brother a quick grin. “We are just finished with the first stop. Now, we are off to find shoes to match the outfits!” She quickly handed over all the garment bags she had been toting. “Why don’t you be a gem and place these in the car? We are heading down the block to the shoe shop.”
    “Do you two want a ride, or are you walking?” Kevin inquired as he took the many bags from his sister and quickly headed for the car. It was such a pretty day, Erica was hoping she would opt for walking.
    As if reading her mind, Jennifer glanced over her shoulder at her brother, and stated, “We’re walking.” She then added quickly, “Meet you there shortly.”
    As the girls headed down the street, Kevin watched their retreating figures for just a few seconds. Erica looked genuinely pleased to have Jennifer with her today, and she seemed to be having fun. With Jennifer involved, he was sure the damage on his credit card would be a healthy amount. A small smile stole over his lips. It didn’t matter how much damage those two women did today, it was worth it all to see the smile on Erica’s face. He chuckled softly, recalling Jennifer’s comment about only being finished with one stop. Now on to shoes! Oh yes, they must have shoes to match the clothes. We are talking about women here!
    As the two women stepped into the shoe shop, a quick smile stole over Erica’s face. Maggie, the shoe shop owner, met them at the door, and quickly introduced herself. She wasted no time informing the girls that Marge from the dress shop had already emailed her the pictures, and she had numerous pairs of shoes ready to show them.
    By the time they were finished shoe shopping, Erica was exhausted. She ended up picking out twelve pairs of shoes! She was sure she had never owned this many shoes in her entire life! She chose three pairs of cute comfortable sandals, the remainder being pumps and heeled shoes to go with the different dresses and suits. Maggie showed her a couple of tricks, including using small cushioned inserts that lined the bottom of the shoe. These inserts were narrow enough to be worn with open shoes, and never be noticed. Erica found herself able to wear heels for the first time in her life without being in pain. When the shopping was completed and the