Hen Party 1 (Hen Party #1) (4 page)

She stumbled forward, almost lost her balance and righted herself. “I have to stop this silly entertainment before it goes any further,” she said to Joe over her shoulder, and rushed toward her petite friend. “Elin…hello,” she called. “I’m over here. It’s Kyra.” She waved her hand, but the actor stood in the way and flexed his biceps in a display of macho.

“Elin, can we talk?” she called.

“We’ll talk soon, Kyra,” Elin chirped, “after we watch the babe action, okay?”

A moment later, the actor ripped open the front of his blue police shirt to the sound of ear-piercing, wolf-whistles from the Henriettas.

Her fears about a wild night had become a reality.
Volcanic heat flushed through Kyra’s body at the sight of his naked, ripped torso. The show of oiled, tanned, male flesh had changed the whole group of women into ditzy girls. Joe’s comment about the party girls was spot on. He reappeared at her side with mind-blowing timing.

“
What if Marco finds out about the stripper?”
she asked him. Her head turned fuzzy, and she grasped Joe’s arm for something solid to hold onto.

* * *

Jovanni smarted from the impulsive decision he’d made to rush from the airport and privately meet with Elin and Kyra before the pre-wedding get-togethers on the weekend. Now he was smack bang in the middle of a stripper crisis he shouldn’t know about.

This dilemma could have been avoided if Marco hadn’t forgotten to include Jovanni as a member of the wedding party. He grimaced at the deliberate negligence. The invitation also got lost in the mail for tomorrow night’s dinner party and Sunday’s picnic with family and friends, meaning Marco didn’t want Jovanni anywhere near his bride.

Jovanni was never going to stay away from the important events in Marco’s life. Marco knew it and refused to accept it. Blood was thicker than water, no matter what. Family was family, through the good and bad times. You didn’t give up on each other, even if there was nothing you could do to improve the relations.

Jovanni could have spent time getting to know these two women, the wedding party VIPs, under less racy circumstances. Instead, his suspicions had festered, his impatience had grown legs, and he’d walked into the Ainslie Hotel to meet the ladies and make his own judgements about them.

Butting heads with Marco came with consequences. Exclusion.
Stay in Sydney, Jovanni, and eat your pride because I found a wife and you can’t
was the gist of Marco’s messages.
No woman can put up with the devil in you.

Kowtowing to Marco’s manipulation wasn’t an option either. Bad decisions had their price, and Jovanni wasn’t afraid to get in Marco’s way in order to stop him making another mistake in his life or in business.

Who would believe he wanted the best of both for Marco? Prejudice and long memories from the Gina affair worked against Jovanni, only he’d learnt to harness the angst to get what he wanted.

Jovanni’s mouth turned dry, and he drank more whiskey.

Was Elin madly in love with Marco like he boasted? Would the vivacious, blond, Warehouse Supervisor freak out during the strip act? Or would Marco’s fiancée enjoy the raunchy stud performing imitation sex moves for her pleasure?

Jovanni gazed at the beautiful Kyra. When he took her hand in his, he forgot about the fierce emotions that had driven him to the airport and even deeper into anguish. She hadn’t recognized him yet. He had no doubt that she was smart enough to put the clues together and work out his identity before the night was over, even though she’d accepted him at face-value as a businessman on a working holiday. He felt like a man who’d temporarily lost his tarnished reputation and been given a weekend get-out-of-jail pass.

He wasn’t going anywhere until he solved the puzzle of his instant rapport with Kyra Jamieson. She was too important to his future plans. During the last six months he’d come to depend on her honest, monthly write-ups to compare the sales figures with the expenses of the business. She was the only member of the executive team that he trusted to drive his expansion plans in the west of the country.

In person, the chief bridesmaid made his head swim and his heart drum a jungle jive. His body charged with a desire to be near the uptown brunette, and his mouth opened to say yes to anything she asked of him.

She’d caught him unawares and slipped past his defenses to stroke warmth into the cold heart Gina had left in his chest. No other woman had achieved a near-miracle like that. He curled an arm around Kyra’s waist to hold her steady on her feet.

Kyra inhaled a lungful of air to recover. “What can I do to stop the bride from acting like an idiot and jeopardizing her future?” she asked Joe.

“Nothing,” he said stoically. “The true character of a person can only be hidden for so long before cracks appear in the mask.”

He seemed to be saying the strip act was inevitable and he was staying to watch the women behave like ladettes. She’d assumed he was staying by her side to act as her rock during the difficult conversations about cancelling the stripper she had to have with Maddy and Elin.

“Can’t you see that the pressure from Elin’s so-called buddies is forcing her into making a huge mistake?” Kyra asked.

There was fire in his eyes as he drawled, “If you think you know what’s best for Elin, then act on your beliefs.”

Yes, the mixture of Maddy’s antics, Elin’s fantasies, and free-flowing cocktails were all the elements of a disaster gathered in one room. What sort of chief bridesmaid would she be if she ignored the signs and did nothing to stop the party going off the rails?

Kyra smoothed her dress over her hips. “Watch me.”

For a second, there was a provocative light in his eyes. The black stubble on his jaw looked raspy and rough now. His shoulders were wide-set, and he looked more than capable of taking on a fight. He loomed over her, his lean figure taller than hers by a hand span. To a shorter woman, his physicality might come across as daunting, but Kyra was used to working with men of similar stature.

He arched an eyebrow. “How can I refuse your dare?”

A pesky voice in her head warned her that she was in the company of a tiger of a man who was sheathing his claws and not baring his teeth. Acting on her protective instinct for Elin, Kyra made her way toward the end of the room where stripper Paul was now standing on the small parquetry dance floor, surrounded by the Henriettas.

She ducked under his arm as he swung his police shirt in a circle above his head. A volley of air kisses and deafening squeals from the women raised the roof of the lounge. She continued hurrying toward the bride-to-be who was standing close to the wall.

“Ka-Ka, help me stand up on the chair so I can see all of Sergeant Paul’s muscle-man action,” Elin said.

Kyra took hold of Elin’s hand. “Please don’t put one finger on Paul’s body,” she pleaded. “Think of Marco, and how much you want to marry him.”

“I love Marco heaps, but I’m thinking about my last hooray,” Elin said.

“Tonight belongs to Elin, not you, piker.” Maddy elbowed Kyra out of the way to help Elin climb on top of the wooden dining seat.

“Why are you being so rude to me?” Kyra asked. “You’re behaving like a bossy cow from hell.” She couldn’t understand where Maddy’s overblown animosity was coming from. They weren’t enemies—just unlikely to ever become close friends.

The fullback bared her teeth with the dazzle of a she-devil.

“Stop being gross,” Kyra snapped.

Maddy tilted her head to the side. “I’m giving you the nudge. Keep your nose out of where it doesn’t belong.” With crazy eyes, she bobbed her head up and down, taunting, giving the appearance of a mad woman. “I’m running the party,” Maddy said as if Kyra was stupid and needed it repeated over and over again. “Got any questions about that? No! Smile and we’re good.” She closed her hands and gave Kyra two thumbs up.

Kyra rolled her eyes and looked to the bride-to-be for support against Maddy’s menacing behavior.

“Don’t stress, Kyra. Chill out and go with the flow,” Elin said. “Have a fun time with me tonight and catch up with your worries tomorrow.”

“Elin, I’m concerned that you’re not thinking clearly about the stripper,” Kyra said, pained. “I can’t help it. That’s how I’m made.”

Elin bent down on the chair and squatted on her haunches. She touched Kyra on the arm. “I know you care about me. Please, this is not a life or death moment. Everything will work out okay, believe me.” Elin rubbed her hand up and down Kyra’s forearm, but she didn’t draw comfort from her friend’s touch. In the pit of Kyra’s stomach, there was a churning instinct that this gig was crossing a boundary, and there would be…repercussions.

“Now laugh at the madness and cheer me on so we can get this party swinging,” Elin said, flashing her big blue eyes.

Kyra swallowed down her reservations and gave a reluctant nod.

Elin stood up straight and towered over the Henriettas. “Okay girls.” She waved her hands in the air. “Let’s rewind and let go.” Excitement bubbled in her voice.

Cheers and chaotic sounds blasted Kyra’s ears. Her argument was lost as the Henriettas raised their arms high to applaud their captain’s decision.

Despite the ill feelings simmering inside of her, Kyra gave a sigh of resignation. While she had no doubts that Marco was seriously committed to marrying Elin and becoming a family man, she didn’t know if he was open-minded about Elin enjoying sleaze with a male stripper. The niggling thought that Marco held some traditional views on marriage and family wouldn’t go away. She adjusted her stance, trying hard to suppress the instinct that Elin was flaunting trouble that could jeopardize her happiness.

Paul’s chiseled face split into a saucy grin as he honed in on Elin. Blushing like a schoolgirl, she clapped her hands in time with the drumbeats to encourage him to whoop it up.

Kyra’s stomach roiled with unease at the ticking time bomb of disaster. A chief bridesmaid was supposed to act in the bride’s best interests. A foul taste welled in her mouth. She had to stop the gig.

“Get rid of Sergeant Paul,” Kyra ordered Maddy.

“You don’t have to watch him get into his birthday suit. Put a bag over your head,” Maddy said with another stab of her elbow.

“Ouch!” Kyra’s temper flared. “I’m sick of your rudeness. Stop pushing me around.” She jabbed Maddy back.

“Kyra, please stop arguing with Maddy. She’s only trying to give me a fun party. What’s wrong with that?” Elin said, shrugging.

“But what if the good times get out of control and cause a heap of problems?” Kyra said.

Paul stopped his performance. “Make up your minds, lovelies. Do you want me to strip or not?” He went to fetch his shirt from Elin.

“Just ignore whiney Princess Ka-Ka,” Maddy said. “She’s a party-wrecker.”

Kyra tapped her foot on the floor. “I am not.”

There was no mistaking the agitation in Elin’s voice when she said, “Kyra, you don’t have to take responsibility for what happens tonight.”

Kyra swallowed down the yucky taste in her mouth. She was creating drama because she refused to let Maddy have her way and threaten Elin’s rosy nuptials. “But I’m your bridesmaid and your friend, and I’m looking out for you.”

Elin stared down at Kyra. “All of us are here to kick up our heels and forget the daily grind of earning a living, paying bills and housework. Please Kyra, stop your protests.”

“I can’t.” Kyra couldn’t ignore her strong gut instinct. “I have a bad feeling about this stripper gig, and I can’t switch off my concerns,” she pleaded. “I wouldn’t forgive myself if I didn’t speak up and warn you tonight might not end in laughs.”

“Kyra, I’m sorry you have a different opinion,” Elin said, and the radiant bridal joy that had previously lit up her face was fading to grey. She twirled one of the curls at the side of her face. “I’ll take a chance on celebrating the end of my bachelorette days with my friends and making a night we won’t forget,” she said sadly but with stubborn conviction.

The Henriettas cheered Elin, and Kyra had to wait for the unruly noise to die down before she said, “I don’t think you’ve thought about the consequences of the party gig.”

“I haven’t, and why should I?” Elin spread out her arms toward Kyra. “This is my last excuse for a wild party before I settle down into marriage and kids with the love of my life,” she said, her words choked with emotion.

The Henriettas oohed and aahed in the background.

It seemed that no one shared Kyra’s anxieties and everyone was against her point of view. Bleakness spread through like a cold winter wind.

“That’s enough of the great debate,” Maddy said. “Shut it, Ka-Ka!”

Kyra locked eyes with Maddy and refused to be the first to look away. “No, I won’t leave it alone,” she said with a shake of her head. “I know about your appetite for trouble-making and laughing it off as a good time. We are not playing on a hockey field and chasing adrenaline rushes now.”

“Then I’ll help you understand the situation.” The intimidation in Maddy’s voice was naked and raw. “Elin knows what she wants, so quit interfering.”

Kyra inhaled deeply and stood her ground. “No, the stripper gig is tacky entertainment for a bride-to-be,” she said, with enough ice in her voice to drop the chill factor below zero. “You’re leading Elin into unnecessary conflict with Marco.”

“That does it. I’m taking you out of the circle of friends.” The fullback grabbed a fistful of Kyra’s dress and physically dragged her away from Elin and through a gap in the Henriettas to the middle of the lounge. The rest of the women rubbernecked after them because surprise, surprise, the clash with Maddy had become the main event.

“Let go of me,” Kyra cried out and balled her hand into Maddy’s green sack dress.

“Go on, get out of here,” Maddy barked.

“You’re a bully without a conscience!” Kyra accused.

“You’re a frigid prude who can’t keep a man!”

“What the hell?” Kyra’s emotions crashed at the mention of her love life in front of the other women and Joe. “That’s a dirty, low-down, dig about my relationships. I’m moving your bad mouth out of here.”

The fullback held her arm out to the side. “Yeah, go this way.” She gave Kyra a shove toward the front bar door.

Caught off-guard, the jolt caused the chunk of green dress to yank out of Kyra’s hands. She stumbled in her high-heels, lurched forward and almost fell down to the floor. Around her, the chatter in the lounge quietened. A dozen sets of ruthless feminine eyes looked her up and down.

Maddy’s harsh criticism had exposed her as a flawed woman who couldn’t stay in a relationship with a guy, but who the hell needed to know that anyway? She could hold her head higher than Maddy, any day, especially right now.

“How dare you call me a frigid prude when your hook-ups deserve far worse names?” Kyra took another step toward the fullback. “But I won’t shame you, as long as you keep your loose lips zipped.”

“Which ones do you mean—my north or my south?” Maddy chortled as she pointed at her mouth and then at the top of her legs.

“Both of them flap too much,” Kyra stormed.

“Purr-lease, your jealous pussy-cat is out of its cage.” Maddy laughed riotously with the Henriettas.

Joe wedged his buff body into the gap between Kyra and Maddy. “Is the catfight part of the night’s entertainment?” he asked. “If it is, then I’m sure the men in the public bar will cheer you on while you rip apart each other’s dresses.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea. Let’s try it out,” Maddy joked.

“No! You two will
not
be taking your arguments out of this room,” Elin called out. The faces of the Henriettas turned back to the dance area where she stood, hipshot on the chair with Paul close by. “Maddy, calm down and stop picking on Kyra.”

“Peace be with you, sister,” Maddy said, and gave Kyra a forked finger sign which roused more giggles from the Henriettas.

Kyra’s face burned from being the brunt of another joke, but she wasn’t going to let the fullback destroy all of her dignity. “We weren’t fighting,” she said to Joe. “Maddy and I aren’t enemies. We were swapping relationship advice.” She sidestepped him and stretched one arm out in front of the fullback’s body. “Stay here!”

Kyra strode back toward Elin. All of a sudden, Kyra felt a pair of hands pat along the top of her shoulders and continue underneath her hair. The unsolicited touch on her skin made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She flicked her head to the side to find Maddy was standing right behind her.

“Maddy, stop!” Elin yelled.

Panic raced through Kyra, and she couldn’t move her legs fast enough to get away from the fullback. A split second later there was a tugging sensation around her throat and the halter bow of her dress came undone. The panels of chiffon flopped to her waist, exposing her bare bosom. She shrieked in horror. With fumbling fingers she clutched at the fabric to hide her bust as Maddy sashayed away.

“Well lookey-here, someone skimped on wearing a bra tonight,” Maddy drawled from the other side of the lounge where the Henriettas had gathered around her. “My eyes are hurting from the instant breast stardom I’m seeing.” With a triumphant punch in the air, she turned in a circle. “Ka-Ka, your naked double-D’s earn double merit points on the Henrietta’s Honor Board for outstanding achievement.”

A double-D bra cup was an exaggeration. She was a standard C size. Nevertheless, raucous laughter filled the room as Kyra pinned one arm across the swirly red and purple material to keep her chest covered. She looked to Elin, who was white-faced as Paul helped her down from the chair.

Kyra blurted out, “If you put my name on your tart-shaming board, I’ll throw it into the Swan River to wash away the smutty scores you keep on each other.”