“Behave yourself now.” Joe raised his brow.

“Us? You guys are going to be in a bar, for goodness’ sake! We’ll be in the back room at the Pumphouse.”

“You and your sisters are capable of getting into trouble anytime, anywhere.”

She may have snickered. “Says you. Who probably had a chair named after him in the principal’s office.”

He grinned. “I’ll never tell. I’ve tamed my wild ways. All for you.”

“You’re totally going to hell for lying.” Nathan poked Joe who winced and socked him back.

“Okay, boys, enough with the pokey, punchy. I need him in one piece and I’m sure Lily would also appreciate Nathan not being bruised up. Which he will be if he lets any of those big-haired, mammoth-hootered hoochies anywhere near your table. I’m just saying.” She fluttered her lashes.

Joe laughed and kissed her one more time. “I’ll do my best to avoid any of those.”

“You’d better, or I’m going to let Buck eat SpaghettiOs and then sleep on your side of the bed.”

“You’re diabolical. He loves that stuff too.” He got closer. “You sure you don’t want to ditch this stuff and spend some time at home?”

“You’re a temptation. But I have penis hats. Penis hats, Joe. Where would I use them if it wasn’t for a bachelorette party? I bet you’d be stingy and not let me wear one out to dinner. Heaven knows Nathan is too prissy to let me wear one to the wedding.”

“God, I’m glad she’s your problem now.” William ushered Nathan and Joe down the walk. “He loves you. You love him. Kiss kiss. Now go on and stay out of trouble.”

She waved, laughing, and headed into Lily’s.

“Hey, ugly, you ready to go eat too much and try to avoid birth stories?”

Lily stood with her brother Chris in the living room. He blushed. “Birth stories?”

“Dude, you don’t even want to know. I don’t even want to know, but something happens to women when they get around each other and they’re mothers. It’s like giving birth twists them and they’ve got PTSD and they have to share the most horrible stuff. Leaking. Bursting. Tearing.”

“Gross!”

Laughing, Lily tossed a pillow at Beth’s head. “Stop that. You’re going to scar him.”

“Why should I be alone? Amirite, Christopher? Sharing is loving. You coming with us tonight?”

The look of horror on his face made her laugh anew. “No! I’m spending the night at a friend’s house.”

There was a honk outside. He went to look and came back, grabbing his bag. “It’s Jesse’s mom.”

“I’ll be right back.” Lily went out with her brother.

She pulled her phone out and dialed one of her sisters. “You get the cake?”

Anne gave orders in the background and then turned her attention to Beth. “Yes. It’s already at the Pumphouse. I’m just waiting for Tate. Looks like Polly has eleven thousand presents for Lily. We invited her, by the way, and Edward assured her he could handle the kids if she wanted to come out. But we’re no competition for all these babies. I swear if she could roll around in them like a cat in catnip she would.”

Beth laughed because it was true. Polly loved children. Oh sure, people talked about how they loved kids or whatever, but it was a rare breed who loved them as much as Polly Chase did. Poopy diapers, whatever. And she had magic with them. They rarely acted up with her. They seemed to adore her—with a little fear mixed in—like everyone else did.

They’d never get love like that from Beth, Tate and Anne’s mother, so it was doubly wonderful that they had Polly in their lives.

“We’ll see you over there in a few. I’m at Lily’s now, and we’ll head over. I know Cassie and Liv are there already. I stopped over on my way here, and the room is set up. I went over the details with them and they’re on it.”

“I bet you did. I bet you made them go over the plan on a two-minute increment scale.”

Busted. “There is nothing wrong with being organized.”

“Don’t be so touchy, Miss Priss. We’ll see you guys in a bit. I’m going to say, up front, that since Tate isn’t drinking it’s only fair we drink twice as hard.”

“So noted.” She hung up as Lily came back inside.

“He’s doing great, but I feel like if I let up even a little bit he’ll backslide.”

“I don’t think going out to say hello to an adult you’re entrusting him to is you being mean. It lets him know you care and that you’re not going to fall for any old I’m sleeping at Fred’s house line when he’s staying out all night getting girls pregnant or whatever.”

“God. Let’s change that subject.” Lily looked Beth up and down. “That’s cute. And conveniently my size.”

“Come on, moocher. It’s time for your bridal shower.”

They took Beth’s car over to the Pumphouse and found a spot a block away. It was a Friday night, and Main Street businesses, especially the restaurants, were already filling up.

“I know I’m supposed to have doubts, or cold feet, but I don’t.” Lily said this quietly as they headed up the sidewalk.

Beth turned, smiling. “You have a big heart and you’re smart. It wasn’t time all those years ago between you. Not for you or for Nathan. But now? It’s perfect. You’re strong enough to deal with the stuff that comes with marrying him. Namely all of us. And he’s man enough to know what he’s got in you, and he knows to grab you and hold you close forever.”

“You’re a really good best friend, you know that?”

She opened the door and the sound of Petal on a Friday greeted them both. “I do try. Mainly because I love you. But also because I love Nathan and I love seeing him happy.”

People called out hellos as they walked through, toward the party room in the back where everyone had already gathered. When they came through the door, there was much hooting and clapping and laughing.

“Whooo! Come on in and sit down.” Anne pointed to the chair at the head of the big table that Beth had decorated earlier that afternoon.

Lily saw it and stopped, mouth agape. “A plus to you, Beth Murphy, for this astonishing array of penis and penis-related merchandise.”

“We’re just getting started. Sit!”

Laughing, Lily sat and then took the penis-festooned pink fedora hat. “You’re the guest of honor so you get the best hat.” She handed out the rest. “Don’t be jealous, there’s plenty of penis hats to go around.”

She put hers on right as the first round of beer and food came in.

Maggie laughed at the penis straws. “Where did you find all this stuff?”

“I’m sure the FBI is going to be keeping me and my internet searches on file for a while. But there is an unbelievable wealth of penis party favors. This is just about half of what was out there. Some of it I thought might get us arrested. So I refrained because even though we know the sheriff, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t want Cassie to play with us anymore if we got her in trouble.”

“I do think all the bridesmaids should wear these blinky penis pins on our dresses for the wedding though.” Anne affixed one to her shirt.

Lily nodded. “Sure. It can be our something new.”

Fresh giggles broke out, and the server just shook his head, grinning as he left.

“Why are penises evocative of bridal showers anyway? I mean, hello, none of us has one.”

“Maybe it’s for ladies who are chaste. So they might get spooked when they see one the first time. Get ’em used to what is to come. Not that we’re talking Lily. I mean hello.”

More laughter.

“We always do it in the pitch dark so I won’t get scared.” Lily couldn’t get through the whole sentence without laughing.

“Damn it, I’m trying to drink some beer but if you keep making me laugh I’m going to choke and then someone will have to give me the Heimlich and forever we’ll remember this as that one time Anne Murphy nearly choked to death at Lily’s bridal shower. Now hold on with the hardy har har long enough for me to get some beer and a nacho or two down, and then the levity may resume.”

“I like how she was so dainty just then,” Cassie said as she took a drink of her beer.

“Everyone always associates Anne with dainty. It’s a curse I bet.” Maggie blinked innocently at Anne, who snickered. “I do have so many memories of these nachos.”

“Is this a kinky sex thing, Maggie? I heard that about you, but I didn’t want to say anything.” Tate leaned forward. “Not that it should stop you from telling us if it is.”

Maggie shook her head. “No, you pervs! A long time ago I was in here and carrying nachos and Shane bumped into me and spilled them all over me and he was a total dick about it. But it wasn’t six months after that that Kyle and I ended up together.”

“Us pervs? Girl, you dated one brother before you ended up with the other one. Floozy!” Cassie, who also happened to be Shane’s wife, snorted.

“I’m not the only one!” Maggie pointed at Liv. “She did it too.”

“You’re such a tattletale.” Liv just waggled her brows.

Tate, now married to Matt, who Liv dated years before, clapped her hands over her ears. “Lalalalalala.”

“Hush you. All fecund and round with the man’s baby. Again.”

Things had been a little rocky at first between Tate and Liv. Tate had been intimidated by Liv who was ridiculously gorgeous. But after a brief back-and-forth, Liv had just kept pushing herself into Tate’s life until she gave in. The two had been good friends ever since, and as Liv absolutely adored Marc and Matt pretty much worshipped Tate, there wasn’t anything to worry over.

Lily patted Tate’s hand and stole one of her wings while she was at it. “I had a friend in Macon express dismay that someone might date two brothers, and I said, girl, have you ever lived in a small town?”