Page 96 of Peacock Me Like a Hurricane

It’s too quiet. Something is happening that I don’t know about; I guarantee it.

“Something is going on and I don’t like it.”

“Oi, Nancy, we’re here!”

I look up and smile, gesturing to the open seats at my table. Hex, Leo, and the rest of the gang pull another table over and get settled in. Hex plops a five- inch binder down and my eyes widen. “What the hell isthat?”

“It’s the party planning bible, kitty. It’s no different from any other shindig we’ve thrown.” Leo shakes his head as if I’ve lost my mind, then asks, “Drinks everyone? I’ll head up and see if anyone is even around to pour.”

“Probably not,” Philomena says, looking disgusted. “My boys have been avoiding the day crowd since their co-owners abandoned the upkeep on the place. Their family isn’t doingmuch to help, either. Janus has had it with scrubbing everything down every day to clean up messes he’d rather not identify.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, too aggravated to put words together. Why in the fuck did those two goddamned idiots force this bar open only to abandon it in less than a month?

Never mind, I know why.

Sari wanted something to piss me off, and Belle suggested re-creating DD so they could be in control. Since Belle has the attention span of a gnat and Sari’s too busy helping Wilde get a leg up on Talia, they have dropped the whole thing. I don’t blame Roman or Janus for not wanting to get left holding the mop. Their whole ‘no rules’ makes for some messy playtime in this universe. I’d hate to think about the things they’ve had to clean up.

Music plays and I look up to see Michaela singing a pop tune from the eighties. She’s belting away like she’s at her prom, beaming out at the crowd. At least the community members are having fun—the tables full of people hooting and hollering for her haven’t noticed that this went from a karaoke bar to a dive.

Philomena sighs as if it’s the most troublesome thing in the world and gets up. “I’m allowed behind the bar. Give me a list, reprobates. I’ll pour, Leo will fetch, and we will knock out the decorations and food choices so we can split up the errands. I wish the loafer were here so we could get the costume ideas and pick up what he needs, too.”

“He is not yet ready for this exposure,” Siren says, her eyes darting around the room. “The waters are deep and the sharks swim in the shallow end.”

I arch a brow, thinking for a moment I’ve hit my head since she sounds like that bloody riddle droid that Hex loves so much. “What?”

“Oh, don’t be dense, Queen D. She’s being metaphorical. The artist didn’t want to step into the spotlight yet because he doesn’twant to get swarmed. The vacuum of ladies in his life makes him shark bait,” Philomena calls over her shoulder as she walks away.

“Not that he needs to worry about it. We’ve got his back,” Sandrine says, popping an enormous bubble. “Buzz would love to find a playmate.”

I shudder and wave my hand. “Christ, not in front of me. You’ll give me a coronary. That’s the last thing I need right now.”

Hex chuckles and makes a googly face. “Not with thebayyyyy-beeeee!!”

My eyes narrow and I growl. “Baby or not, I’ll de-fang the next person who acts like I’m a piece of fine china. No. Special. Treatment.”

“Correct. No special treatment. Predators breed in the wild every day, and that does not mean that they are any less dangerous than those who are not with child. Perhaps they are even more so.” Siren gives me a small, knowing smile, as if she has every confidence that I’ll be ripping off heads until the day the baby’s born.

“Thank you, Siren. I agree.”

Leo walks up with a tray, followed by Philomena, and they hand out the drinks. “Okay, fangs and friends, let’s get down to business.”

I hold up my hand. “If anyone gets up to sing a song from a Disney movie after that, I’ll skewer you all.”

“Spoilsport,” Hex grumbles. “Fine, let’s plan.”

After the marathon design session with the family, I popped back to my other home. I’m tired and worse for the wear.

Worrying about the blowback from my announcement and the concerns the girls raised about behavior at the party are weighing on my mind. I can’t very well cancel the damned thing. They all warned me and well, I didn’t listen.

It’s all on me if it goes sideways. Yay!

Taurus stalks in like a dark cloud on the horizon. It’s odd, but I feel the irritation running through him and I wonder if he had Cuban for lunch. Indigestion makes him cranky every time.

“Bloody spicy git,” he mutters, striding into the closet.

Mystery solved: Cuban.“You okay, baby?”

He comes out of the closet after changing into more comfortable clothes He’s meticulous about his fancy duds and chides me about how not careful that I am. My problem is years of being spoiled by Hex, who’s always done all that for us. In a house as big as mine, everyone owns something and we function as a unit, taking care of our things for everyone.

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