Eva swiveled the ice cubes in her glass. “It sucks to watch you girls guzzle up drinks while I have to make do with the non-alcoholic version.”

Not that the drinks Amanda’s butler had made for her were bad. Onidu knew how to mix almost any drink with alcohol or without.

As always, Amanda didn’t skimp on anything. The food had been catered by Gerard, the chef and co-owner of By Invitation Only, and the bar had been stocked with everything any of the girls could have dreamed of.

The only thing missing was the male stripper, or strippers.

The party needed entertainment.

“I hope the guys are having fun,” Syssi said.

What she hadn’t said was more fun than the girls were having. Bhathian’s bachelor party was happening a few houses over, at Nathalie and Andrew’s, and it was probably just as boring as this one.

Unless Anandur was stripping for them. That could have been fun to watch. At least she would have had a few laughs.

Nathalie frowned. “I hope they are keeping it quiet. If they wake up Phoenix, it will take hours for her to fall asleep again.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Syssi waved a hand. “If that happens, I’ll watch her.”

“Okay, girls,” Amanda clapped her hands. “Who wants to play charades?”

Sharon groaned, Syssi hid behind her hair, and Bridget stuffed another hors d'oeuvre into her mouth.

Good sports that they were, Tessa, Callie, and Nathalie lifted their fingers.

“I’ll start.” Amanda clicked the music on with a remote.

She lifted one finger up.

“One word,” Tessa said.

Swirling her hips from side to side, Amanda reached for the buttons of her blouse and began opening them one by one. When there were no more buttons left, she parted the blouse’s halves, exposing the stylish camisole she was wearing underneath.

Eva let out a long, suffering breath.

When she’d imagined a striptease, it wasn’t by Amanda. Bhathian, with his incredible muscles and hulking body would have been perfect for the role, but having Nathalie, Sharon, and Tessa look at him doing something sexy was inappropriate.

Heck, it was disturbing to even think about it.

She didn’t mind the immortal females, who considered him a cousin, except for Syssi who wasn’t a relative but who had eyes only for her husband. Nathalie, however, was Bhathian’s daughter, and Sharon and Tessa thought of him as a substitute father.

Amanda twirled the blouse over her head, then tossed it to Syssi who giggled as she caught it.

“Striptease!” Sharon called out. “But please, no more! We don’t want to see you naked. We want hunky guys!”

“Cover it up.” Syssi threw the blouse back at Amanda.

“Tsk, tsk. You hurt my feelings, girls.” Amanda shrugged the blouse over her shoulders and did up a few of the buttons. “Since you’re not interested in seeing me perform for you, I have no choice but to call in reinforcements.” She clicked the music off and turned to the door. “Come in, boys!”

Oh, no, what had Amanda done? Eva was ready for Anandur’s comic relief, but boys implied more than one.

A trumpet, or a similarly loud instrument, started playing outside, and a moment later the front door burst open.

A lineup of skirt-wearing hunks marched in.

At the head of the procession, Anandur was blowing bagpipes so loudly that Eva had to stop the peel of giggles to cover her belly with both hands, protecting the baby from the vibrations.

Behind him was no other than her Bhathian, followed by Kian, Brundar, Andrew, Robert, and Turner. Jackson, who had a drum strapped to his torso, closed the procession while banging on it to the beat of Anandur’s piping.

They were all wearing kilts with white shirts tucked in, knee-high socks with tassels, funny-looking ballet style black shoes, and wide belts. Each had two swords strapped to his back.

“Who is babysitting Phoenix?” Nathalie looked at her husband. “Don’t tell me you left Phoenix with Fernando...”

“Of course not. Okidu is watching her.”

“Are you nuts? He is a machine!”

“Eh, no,” Amanda interrupted the argument. “That machine raised Kian, same as Onidu raised me. Phoenix is perfectly safe with him.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Positive. Okidu is like a nanny and a bodyguard combined.”

“If that’s the case, can I have him?”

“He is not for sale,” Kian grumbled.

Naturally.

Bhathian had told Eva the story behind the Odus.

They were priceless. Out of the original seven, Annani had parted with four, one for each of her children, and retained three for herself. None of them was ever going to part with that treasure.

As the guys formed a line in the middle of the living room, stopped the music and took a bow, Eva finally understood what had bothered her about Amanda’s living room.

She had been wondering why their hostess had gotten rid of the couches and the coffee table, lining the walls with chairs and small side tables instead. There weren’t that many of them. Now it all made sense.

“Ladies,” Anandur started. “I know you wanted a striptease, but you’re getting something even better. A traditional Scottish sword dance.”

The guys stepped forward, unsheathed their swords, and put them down on the floor, one across the other, forming an X.

“Andrew, Robert, Dalhu, and Turner didn’t have much time to practice, so you’ll have to forgive their clumsiness.”

Sharon started clapping. “You show them, baby.” A moment later the other women joined her in applauding the men.

Robert didn’t look too happy about being dragged into the show, and neither did Turner. Dalhu seemed as stoic as usual, and Andrew was grinning from ear to ear.

Her son-in-law never shied away from a challenge.

“Take a bow, men.” Anandur started his piping again.

“I hope you guys are wearing underwear,” Sharon called out.

Without missing a note, Anandur turned around and bent at the waist, showing her his tighty-whities.

Jackson snickered. “I was all for going commando, but I’ve been outvoted.”

Blowing a particularly loud note, Anandur signaled the guys that the time for talking was over.

“Let the show begin,” Andrew called out, then put his hands on his hips and started dancing.

Not bad for a beginner.

Her Bhathian, however, was a pro.

Eva clapped so hard her hands started itching.

The dance was short, no longer than two or three minutes, probably on account of the novices. When the guys were done, they took another bow, and parted into two lines, clearing the middle.

Anandur handed the pipes to his brother, and Jackson transferred the drum to Bhathian.

The big guy clapped Jackson on the back. “Now for the solo number of the evening. Get ready to be dazzled.”

Well, she was duly impressed. The two danced and jumped and performed acrobatics as if they were part of a professional dance team. Eva only wondered where and when someone as young as Jackson had learned to dance a traditional dance like that.

When the two were done, the room erupted in applause and hollers.

Jackson and Anandur bowed again, and the entire group lined up behind Brundar, who had taken over the piping.

“Where are you going?” Tessa asked.

Jackson pointed his finger in the general direction of Nathalie and Andrew’s home. “Back to our party.”

“You were amazing!” She blew him a kiss. “See you later.”

Eva waved at Bhathian who departed with a wink.

“That was one of your best ideas ever!” Bridget clapped Amanda on her back. “I recorded everything.”

Amanda snickered. “I’m good, ain't I?”

“The best,” Syssi agreed.

“That’s right. That’s why I’m going to plan your wedding and Syssi is going to help.” She looked at Eva. “Between the two of us, we planned Syssi’s grand wedding in the span of two weeks, or rather Syssi did most of the work and I only helped a little because, well, that's a story for another time. What I'm trying to say is that we can do the same for you.”

Eva wasn’t a woman quick to panic, but Amanda was stressing her to the max. “Are you nuts? Why?”

Amanda chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know, it’s not as if you are not pregnant and not starting to show. How long are you going to make poor Bhathian wait?”

Crossing her arms over her chest, Eva pushed her chin out. “According to your laws we are already legally married, and I have no intention of having a church wedding with a priest presiding. The last time didn’t work out so well for me that I would want a repeat.”

“I understand that.” Amanda crouched in front of Eva and took hold of her hands. “Dalhu and I are not having a ceremony either, but that’s because neither of us wants it. Bhathian, however, would be very disappointed if you wiggle out of it, which is exactly what you’re trying to do.”

With a sigh, Eva let her head drop back. “Ugh.”

Amanda gave her hands a gentle squeeze. “Syssi and I can handle everything. We are pros at this. All you’ll need to do is choose the dress and come for the fittings.”

“I can help,” Nathalie said.

Callie lifted a finger. “Me too. Just give me a list of things to do, and it will be done.”

Eva looked down into Amanda’s big blue eyes. “I’m very tempted to take you up on your offer. But I don’t feel it’s right to fob it off on someone else. It’s my wedding. I should be the one to organize it.”

Amanda patted her knee. “You, darling, need to stay calm and positive for the baby you’re carrying. It wouldn’t do it any good for its mother to be stressed and doing something she hates. I love organizing parties, and Syssi does too as long as she is not the center of attention. Right, Syssi?” Amanda cast a glance at her sister-in-law.

“Right. Unfortunately, it’s not like Amanda and I are overly busy at the lab. Nothing interesting is happening over there.”

Eva nodded. “So I guess a small wedding is out.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“What about Nick?”

“He can come and we will thrall him after.”

“Is it going to be the whole clan?”

“We can limit it to the locals, but I’ll ask Kian. He may want to use the opportunity to show off the village to the others.”