"I can't believe you brought him along," hissed Tam to Aspen, carefully not looking at the target of her incredulity.

 "I cannot believe you dragged me along," announced Blue Malefici with fastidious dismay.

 Aspen appeared to be trying not to snigger. "Do you think you two could get along for one afternoon?" he asked, for once the adult of the trio.

 He was between the pair of them as they walked along the street. Aspen was the only one who knew where they were going, and wherever it was, it was in an excruciatingly expensive section of Florence. Aspen had whisked her off for an entirely unexpected holiday before she left Ryars Valley for medical school.

 But the surprise had been somewhat ruined when he announced Blue would be joining them for a day.

 Tam rolled up her sleeve to bare a small black spiral in the crook of her elbow. "This says not."

 "Actually, it says 'dispatch immediately, no permission required'," Blue supplied with a smugness that made her want to ram the offending elbow into his face.

 Aspen peered at the mark. "He's right, it does," he confirmed, managing to completely miss the terse atmosphere.

 "It was a metaphor," she snapped, aiming her anger at Blue. Being angry at Aspen was like being angry at a puppy; he understood the tone of voice, but more often than not, he wasn't quite sure what he'd done to deserve it.

 Blue had set the mark on her arm, and declared open season on Tamara Slone. She hadn't been happy about it at the time, and after enduring the tender attentions of an assassin, she was positively fuming about the whole affair. Blue, of course, had refused to remove it. His only concession had been to modify the mark so she could tell when someone dangerous nearby.

 Which meant that right now, her 'spider sense' was tingling so hard she felt like the dentist was drilling her teeth.

 "Why are we here?" demanded Blue. "You said it was an emergency."

 Even then, she was surprised Blue had turned up. It signified a sense of obligation to Aspen - not friendship, she wouldn't sully the word by applying it to Blue Malefici - that she hadn't suspected.

 "I lied," Aspen said happily. "It's not really."

 She had to sneak a peek around Aspen to see Blue's face, and it gave her a warm feeling inside to see the muted, murderous expression. This particular delight had the double whammy of discomfiting Blue and confirming that she wasn't the only one thrown by Aspen's erratic behaviour.

 "So you're telling me that you dragged me away from a particularly tricky negotiation for what, exactly...?

 Aspen beamed. "You'll see."

 The spiral on Tam's arm was icy cold, but for once, she felt gleeful about it. Her irritation forgotten, she took her boyfriend's hand, ignoring the waves of disapproval emanating from the vexed vampire on his other side.

~*~

 "Here we are!" Aspen pulled her inside the shop, which had nothing on display, bar a small engraving in the lower corner of the window that proclaimed it to be Lux Deluxe, whatever that was.

The interior of the store was low-lit, minimalist in its decorating, though it seemed to use shadows to garnish the austere monochrome walls, crafting pools of light from which metal and glass gleamed. A black and white floor made her feel as if she was on a chessboard, while the roof arched higher than the exterior indicated, illuminated by a vast chandelier.

 She started when a figure appeared from a dark corner. And then she stared, unable to help herself. A wizened little man in a suit he probably thought dapper, he held a monocle up to one eye, squinting at them. "Ah yes, Mr Martin. It has been a while."

 Not a trace of an accent, she noted.

 The faded grey eyes turned to her. "And this must be your young lady. Yes, yes, not bad for a mortal."

 "Excuse me?" She was shocked at his rudeness. "Who are you?"

 "Forgive me," the man murmured, moving forward to take her hand. He planted a papery kiss on it, only partly appeasing her injured pride. "I am old-fashioned, and hmph, in my day, ladies such as yourself were...uncommon."

 "Ladies such as myself?" she repeated coldly, her distaste for the little man increasing with every moment.

 "Let's put it this way," came Blue's voice from behind her, as stark and artful as the room. "Fifty years ago, if a human had walked in here, you'd only have seen them again if a customer wanted some...special decorations."

 Oh god. She stepped closer to Aspen, who put a protective arm around her, his eyes anxious.

 "Of course," Blue continued, stepping out into the light, "the times they are a-changing, and I'm sure Rothschilde will pander to you as if you were a pure-blooded lady of the most renowned family."

 She hated him at that moment: for the insinuations he left hanging unspoken, for fitting so well into this place of craftsmanship and sophistication, for being able to frighten her even though Aspen was right next to her.

 "Why Mr Malefici! I didn't recognise you for a moment." The old man scrubbed at his monocle. "My eyes are getting old."

 "So's the rest of you. But not for long, I expect."

 The old man seemed to think it a witty joke, for he gave a hoarse chuckle, before returning his attention to Tam. "And he's quite right, madam. We at Lux Deluxe have always embraced change, and I must pronounce myself proud to be patronised by such a, hmph, renowned young mortal as yourself."

 I think you're the one doing the patronising.

 However, she held her tongue, telling herself that Aspen must have had good reason for bringing her here.

 "Why," continued Rothschilde, putting his hands behind his back like a well-behaved schoolchild, "when Mr Martin sent his order through, I was pleased as punch."

 "And how pleased is that exactly?" she said, unable to stop herself.

  The old man gave her a gentle smile. "It was a metaphor, my dear. Very pleased."

 She wanted to scream that she wasn't quite as stupid as he seemed to think; she wasn't the one unable to recognise simple sarcasm. Then it occurred to her that perhaps the old man had chosen to take her words as an innocent remark rather than an insult.

 After all, she was here with two very dangerous men, and Lux Deluxe wanted to keep both their sponsorship and their own lives.

 So she swallowed down her pride, and said only, "Thank you for explaining."

 She fancied there might have been a measure more respect to Rothschilde's expression. "I'll fetch your purchase, shall I?"

 "Please," Aspen said serenely, and the old man vanished back into the darkness.

 "Remarkable place," said Blue, strolling into the centre of the room. "One of the few who cater to all tastes. They're very proud of what they do, and very skilled." His eyes fell on Tam, and she stared back, thinking that he had the unflappable indifference of a lizard. "And they should be respected for it."

 "Point taken," she snapped. "But if they really want to attract us 'mortals', they should give us a little respect."

 "You're the first mortal who's been inside this shop and lived. You're still upright and unharmed, so if I were you, I'd consider that I'd been treated with the utmost consideration."

 "Don't argue, please," muttered Aspen. His distress had a keen edge in her mind, watery greys and muddy scents. "It's not meant to be like this."

 "Then why am I here?" Blue asked, echoing a question that Tam bit back. "This is a lovers' holiday, and I remain ignorant of why you've dropped me in the middle of it. Unless - and perish the thought - you have an offer for me I certainly can refuse."

 "Don't flatter yourself!" she sputtered. "Over my dead body."

 He fixed her with that flat stare that said: it could be arranged.

 Aspen looked from one to the other, a child again, afraid he'd made some ghastly mistake. Her pity for  him warred with her loathing of Blue. "I had a good reason," he said meekly. "You need to be here."

 Both of them waited, and Aspen looked from one to the other, his lost expression entirely out of place in the boutique.

 Then he finally said, "Because you're the best man."

 What? Flabbergasted, Tam gawped at him. "The...the best man for what?" she said faintly, hoping she'd got it wrong.

 "Seconded," put in Blue, who had the look of a man who'd just found his flat world had more curvature than expected.

 "You know, the best man." Aspen gesticulated wildly. "For the wedding," he finished, eyes switching between their faces as if they were hard of hearing.

 "We're getting married?" she asked, shock beginning to be replaced by awe.

 He gave her a shy smile. "Well, engaged. Your mother made me promise I wouldn't actually try to..." he screwed up his face, and in an alarming imitation of her mother's strident tones, declared, "'entrap you in a legal partnership of vice and calamity' until you were twenty one." He paused. "If you want to, I mean," he added hurriedly.
         
 "And he's the best man?" she said, jerking a thumb at Blue.

 "In a strictly literal sense," stated the culprit. "I hope you don't expect me to make a speech."

 Aspen rocked a hand. "Maybe. Depends if you'll be any good at it or not."

 The withering look he received only made Aspen grin, though weaker people would have been trembling on the floor.

 "So you'll do it?" he asked, apprehension back in his eyes.

 Blue gave a heavy sigh. "I think you should be asking her that question. If she agrees, I suppose duty and lack of a suitable replacement compel me to accept. To be the best man, that is. If you need another bride, you'll have to find someone else."

 Ugh. This was going to be a bizarre wedding.

 Tam blinked. And there was going to be a wedding, which was even more bizarre, but not frightening. Somehow, the thought of spending her life with Aspen had become not an ominous inevitability, but a pleasant choice.

 Rothschilde toddled back out with such perfect timing that she could only suspect him of eavesdropping.

 "Now, we made it to your instructions," he cautioned, "but if it's not to your liking - or to yours, madam - just say, and we'll adjust it for you."

 He handed the box to Aspen. "I believe it's your duty to open it," he remarked, then stood back, looking on with an air of benevolence.

 This was not how she had imagined this moment; but then, everything she had imagined wouldn't have been right, because it wouldn't have been Aspen doing it, with all his quirks and oddities. He got down on one knee, and with a flourish, opened the box and presented it to her.

 The ring was as understated and glamorous as everything else here, and it sent a little thrill through at the sight of it: a plain silvery band, set with a small diamond.

 "Will you marry me?" Aspen said, eyes so hopeful she almost wanted to laugh.

 "Yes please," she said, and held out her hand so he could put it on, trying not to grin.

 "If there's going to be messy affection, tell me now, so I can avert my eyes," announced Blue, who already looked appalled at the cosiness of the scene. She could only wonder how he was going to cope with her mother and her siblings.

 "We'll save it for later," she demurred. Then she gave him a hard look and added, "If you do anything to ruin my wedding day, I'll knock all your teeth out."

A flash of fangs. "No, you won't."

 She glared.

 "If you ruin her wedding day," Aspen said with unexpected boldness, "and mine, for that matter - I'll knock all your teeth out."

 Those blue eyes held a very familiar expression, but Blue ceded the point with a flip of his hand. "I can hardly wait."

 Me too, she thought.