by Dale Mayer
He laughed out loud. “Okay, now you’re scaring me. What are you up to?”
“Oh, I was thinking about doing a surprise party, but I figured you wouldn’t like the surprise. So, I thought if I brought it up, maybe you’d be okay with me planning a big party. But it’ll still be a surprise birthday party for the other birthday boys, okay?”
“Sure, and you’re right. I can’t say that surprises are anything I’m fond of, so thank you for letting me know.”
“Are you okay if I handle it?”
“Absolutely. The less I have to do with it, the better.”
She chuckled. She walked over to her notepad, picked it up and put it into the drawer to the side of the fridge. “I’ll finish up the veggies. You want to light the barbecue?”
He nodded and headed for the grill. From the corner of his eye, he watched as she pulled out the pad of paper and wrote down a couple notes. He was much happier and more at ease thinking that a surprise party had been in the back of her mind. He wasn’t the kind to really enjoy a surprise like that. He struggled with change. He struggled with a lot of things. And the fact that she hadn’t tried to pull something like that on him made him feel all that much better. And, besides, a surprise party wasn’t a bad thing. Particularly as several of the guys did have birthdays in September, and he thought one or two might be in August. They could have one hell of a birthday party bash. He smiled, liking the idea all the more.
Soon she stepped out to the barbecue area with two platters, one of chicken and the other of skewered veggies. He put them on the hot grill and asked, “Will you enjoy planning something like this, or is it too much for you to do alone?”
“I would love to plan it.” She looked around the backyard. “I was trying to figure out how much space you had here, whether a party would work outside or not.”
He grinned, feeling the last of his worries dropping away. That’s why the woman was here. “I did see somebody out back here with a measuring tape,” he admitted.
Sheepishly she said, “Yeah, she came because I couldn’t give her dimensions. She thought she’d run by and take a quick look. She said she knocked but didn’t get an answer, so she came around back for a quick set of measurements.”
“Do you need to hire help?”
She laughed. “No, she’s a friend of mine. She really likes to do this kind of stuff. But I will admit, she probably overstepped her boundaries by coming and measuring. I could have done that whenever I got a chance.”
“You do what makes this fun for you. And thank you for telling me. I promise I won’t tell the rest of them.”
“Good. There could be maybe five of you all having birthdays within a couple months. That sounds like a pretty decent excuse for a party to me. I’d like to do it on Labor Day weekend.”
He thought about it. “That might be doable. We have enough advance notice to not take on any jobs that might come in that weekend.”
“Can you handle making excuses to the guys? Even though you know, I still want to make it a surprise for the others.”
He thought about it and nodded. “I need to have a good reason though. That doesn’t spoil your surprise.”
She stared at him hopefully. “But you could, couldn’t you?”
He sighed. “I’ll figure it out,” he promised.
When she beamed at him, he realized just how bad he had it. Anything that made her happy, made him happy. God, he sounded like a lovesick puppy. But what he really was, was a man in love. He reached out an arm and held her close. “If you want to bring in some outside guests, you could offer a couple of our bedrooms here,” he said. “Just don’t make it too many.”
She laughed, wrapping her arms around him. “Have I told you that I love you?”
“You have,” he said, his voice thickening. “But not today.” She looked up, her eyes huge pools that he could drown in. They were so open, so welcoming and so full of love, he wondered how he’d ever gotten so lucky. He lowered his head and kissed her gently. “You know? If we hadn’t already loaded up the barbecue …”
She reached up and tugged his ear. “After dinner. You know there’s absolutely no shortage of time to see me.”
“So, pool after that?”
“Pool after that,” she confirmed. She chuckled and said, “I think I smell something burning.”
Swearing, he turned back to the grill.
Chapter 6
For the third Tuesday in a row, Kat raced into the restaurant late. As she arrived, she plunked down beside Honey. “How do you get here so fast?” Kat wailed. “I do my damnedest to make it on time, and I never seem to get there.”
Honey looked at her friend and grinned. “How long before you realize my office is around the corner?”
Kat looked at her and blinked, then blinked again. She shook her head. “Wow. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“Because you’re a little bit crazy-busy in your mind.”
She’d already shared Badger’s suggestion about keeping the massive surprise birthday party a secret from all the guys but not from him. The others had loved the idea. Last week they’d worked on wedding-related details: flower arrangements, music themes, decorating themes. It all had to be done, knowing it was a wedding for seven couples in the guise of a surprise birthday party for five guys.
So, as soon as one person got a little too far on the wedding theme line, somebody else had to pull them back. But so far, the ideas were gelling nicely.
Morning walked in just then. “I talked to Ice. While we know about the proposal setup, Levi hasn’t told Badger yet. But Ice promised that Levi is calling Badger today to set that in motion. Also she suggested that Alfred and Bailey come with them to New Mexico to help with the food prep. Even stating that much could be done in advance and could come with them, already prepared.”
“Yes, but where can they set up?” Kat asked.
“You’ve got the biggest kitchen, Kat,” Honey said quietly.
“Exactly.”
“And I’ve got the smallest,” Morning said. “But we could split it up among our homes.”
Kat nodded. “Badger did say I could bring a few people in.”
“Good enough. But we still don’t have a reason to get the men in suits for our supposed big birthday bash.”
“No, we don’t,” Minx said. “But I think just suits and no tuxes.”
“We couldn’t get them fitted for a tux if we don’t have our own reason to get them so formally set up,” Clary said.
The women all sat back and thought about it.
“All the guys really like Levi, don’t they?” Allison asked.
Kat nodded. “Not to mention they were a huge help over this last nightmare with Mouse. So, if Levi asked them to wear suits, or even tuxes, they would definitely do it.”
“But is going formal Levi’s style?” Minx asked worriedly.
“Ice did mention something like that. Levi said he would kidnap her for a honeymoon. But, because it would be completely out of the norm, he would do something like the formal engagement party because she wouldn’t be expecting it.”
“Wow, three secret parties all rolled into one production,” Honey said, her eyes wide and on Kat.
Understanding slowly dawned on all their faces.
“That’s pretty cool actually,” Minx said. “So, after’s Levi call to Badger today, all the men dress up for Levi, knowing that, at the surprise engagement/birthday/wedding party—depending on which group you are in—he’s going to ask Ice to marry him. And of course there’s absolutely no way she’d say no, so the guys all dress up and make this a big to-do. Lucky for Badger, Kat wants to do a big surprise birthday bash for the five birthday guys, which serves as Ice’s surprise engagement party too, because the guys won’t tell us about Levi’s proposal for fear we couldn’t keep that secret. But the men will all know what this is about, so they’ll all be grinning and smirking.”
Clary leaned forward. “And that’s a perfect excuse for having the p
hotographer there.”
“In the meantime, Ice has to pretend to be completely ignorant about it,” Morning said. “Well, and us too.”
“As to the supposed proposal. But Ice won’t be because she’d be part of this whole scheme to get our men there to get married,” Kat said triumphantly. “What do you guys think?”
Unanimously the women nodded.
“I think it’ll work. I like it,” Faith said. “You know something? The men won’t know what hit them.”
They all laughed.
“So we still have other things to take care of, right?” Kat asked.
“Yes, food is a big one,” Honey said, checking her notepad.
They looked over at Morning.
“Did you get a chance to come up with a menu?” Kat looked hopefully at Morning.
She shrugged. “I’ve got a list of things to suggest,” she said hesitantly. “And I’m trying to find items we can have beforehand, and then fancier items we can have afterward.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Clary said. “If we have really fancy stuff beforehand, the men will get suspicious.”
“Exactly. And the real interesting thing here,” Kat said, “is how the men need to get us dressed up for this supposed big surprise party,” she said quietly, “without telling us anything about Ice’s pending proposal in all of this. I can’t wait to see what Badger comes up with.”
Merriment crossed their faces.
“So, we need prewedding clothes,” Allison said. “And we need wedding dresses. And what about after the wedding?”
“Well, if our wedding dresses aren’t these huge billowing things with trains, then we can wear them throughout the evening too,” Faith suggested. “But let’s focus on food first.”
Morning quickly read off a few suggestions. “For the informal buffet beforehand, we keep it to finger foods, maybe ribs, maybe sliders, little desserts, individual cupcakes. But not too much. And then, after the wedding, I suggest we bring out things like canapés, maybe mini-cheesecakes. Fancier finger food again instead of a big sit-down dinner. My stomach will be completely knotted up until the final reveal, so I won’t eat too much beforehand.”
“The final reveal.” Kat rolled that idea around on her tongue. “I love it. I think that’s what we should call this episode of our lives. The great reveal.”
“Maybe the great trick,” Faith said with one raised eyebrow. “I have to admit. I’m still a little worried.”
“You don’t need to be,” Morning said gently. “Cade is completely head over heels in love with you.”
“I know,” she said. “But it does feel like we’re putting them on the spot, maybe tricking them.”
“If he did this to you, how would you feel?” Allison asked. “In my case, I’d be absolutely thrilled. But I think the guys are the ones who don’t feel 100 percent whole, and a part of them thinks we could do better. So we need to step up and set the matter straight.”
Faith nodded. “Absolutely,” she said. “And I’m not backing out. Don’t get me wrong. I really want this, but I want all the guys to be overjoyed. I want them overwhelmed, ecstatic, and I want them to fall in love with us all over again.”
Silence fell as the women thought about all that.
Kat smiled. “And I think that’s exactly what’ll happen. Of course, we might need more booze.”
Badger stared into the phone receiver. “So, hang on a second. I know there was talk about you coming soon, in another month or so.”
“Now we’re delaying it to Labor Day weekend. Kat said you’re having a big party then.”
“And of course you’re totally welcome,” Badger said, grinning. “It’ll be great to see you.”
“We don’t want to gate-crash,” Levi said modestly.
“Hell, I think Kat was looking for an end-of-summer excuse for a big party. The fact that you’re coming makes that excuse all the more viable.”
“Maybe.” There was hesitation in Levi’s voice.
“What’s going on?”
Levi groaned. “I’m planning on doing something that’s completely out of character, and I’m really afraid it’ll blow up in my face,” he said hurriedly.
Badger relaxed in his chair, propping his good leg on the top of his desk. “This sounds interesting. The big bad Levi? What’s got you scared?”
Levi took a deep breath and said, “I’m thinking about asking Ice to marry me.”
Badger just stared across the room, a huge grin breaking across his face. “Hot damn! Now that would be a reason for a party.”
“Actually I was wondering if we could make use of your party, and maybe we could dress up a little bit …” Levi said.
Badger could hear the hesitation in his voice.
“… and I could spring the question at the party.”
Badger got up and paced the room. “I think that’s an absolutely fantastic plan,” he cried out. “Ice will be thrilled.”
“But will she?” Levi asked. “Especially if I do it publicly?”
“Well, you can definitely count on her saying yes that way.”
Levi laughed. “I have to admit that’s kind of why I was thinking of doing it this way. It’s a little bit unnerving to think she might say no. But, if she’s surrounded by friends and family, who know how close we are, then I suspect she’ll say yes.”
“You know what? I think she’d also like the grand gesture.”
“Really? Because I was thinking that she’d probably expect something quiet, with dimmer lights and maybe in the middle of the night.”
“Maybe, but she’s very much somebody who likes gestures. So this would be completely over-the-top.”
“I know,” Levi said with a note of dread in his voice. “And I’m definitely on the nervous side.”
“Got it. So, what would you like us to do?”
“I was hoping to go a bit formal. No tuxes or anything. Just suits for us guys. Plain black. We all have one, right? And Ice has almost no occasion to dress up, yet I know she loves to. She has this absolutely darling little sleeveless dress in gold. She was hoping for an excuse to wear it. And I could provide all the booze,” Levi said hurriedly.
Badger chuckled. “That could be a lot of booze.”
Levi laughed. “Maybe, but this is an engagement party, and nobody knows about it yet.”
“Can I tell the guys?”
Levi hesitated. “You can tell the guys but not the girls. I can’t take the chance of it getting back to Ice. She’s incredibly astute. And, if the women have any idea, Ice will know instantly.”
Badger thought about that and nodded. “I think you’re quite right there. Ice reads people like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Exactly,” Levi said, relief in his voice. “But the thing is, we’re kind of gate-crashing your place. It’s almost like I should throw a big party here.”
Badger shook his head. “Nah. We’ve already got our party in place. Besides, you can have the wedding at your place. That whole family of yours there in Houston will be pissed off if you don’t.”
“God, can you imagine?” Levi groaned. “It’s one thing to be in the doghouse with Ice, but to be in the doghouse with all those other women? That would be scary.”
“Absolutely. So do you want to come that weekend then, and we’ll do this, what, Saturday night?”
“Yeah, and, if you’re okay with that, we’ll stay Sunday, maybe drive home on Monday.”
“You got it, absolutely. I’ll tell Kat you’re coming, and we’ll save you a room.”
“Yeah. Alfred was talking about coming too. But I don’t know.”
“Hey, if he wants to come and help out with the food, he’s more than welcome. Actually, I shouldn’t even put that on him. Alfred does so much cooking for so many as it is. He could just need the time off.”
Levi said, “I’ll run it past him, see what he says. Bailey is here if he’s gone for a few days.”
“You’re right. Maybe Bailey needs to come too,
” Badger said, laughingly. “Depending on how big this party will be, I might need a catering service.”
Levi chuckled. “I hear ya.” As he went to end the call, he stopped and said, “Badger?”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Thanks.” And Levi hung up.
Badger stared down at the phone, grinning like a madman.
Just then Kat walked in. She took one look at the big grin. “Well, you’re in a happy mood.”
He shrugged and tried to school his features to not reveal his mischievous six-year-old side.
“What’s up?”
He shrugged. “No idea. Why? Something up with you?”
She stared at him suspiciously for a long moment, her toes tapping on the floor. “I’m heading into the pool for a swim.”
He nodded. “I’ll join you in a few minutes.” As soon as he heard her footsteps retreating, he got up, walked to the doorway and checked to see that she went to the pool as she had said. Then he went back to his phone and dialed. “Erick, holy crap, have we got some fun coming.” And he quickly explained. “So all the guys need to know, but none of the women. Got that?”
Erick laughed aloud. “You know how hard it’ll be to keep that secret for weeks from our women who can read us like any profiler?”
Badger stared out at the water where Kat swam, watching her strong strokes as she powered through the water. “Oh, yeah. It’ll be so damn hard. But just think of the payout.”
“Levi and Ice? Damn, it’s about time,” Erick said. “I’m calling Laszlo right now.”
“You do that. I’ll call Cade.” Badger hung up and called Cade, relaying the news. “Now remember. The women aren’t to know a thing.”
Cade chuckled. “You know? I think I even have a black suit somewhere around here. Time to pull out that sucker and see if it still fits.”
“I don’t know if I do or not. We’ve all changed shapes. I might have to hit a tailor to see about it.”
“Perfect. We’ll be Levi’s support team. And I gotta tell you. I’m looking forward to seeing Levi pop the question. Nice to know he can get nervous too. He’s the absolute top of the top, best of the best, the most confident man in the world,” Cade said. “And I mean that in the very best way.”