Connor frowned. “Lyric isn’t that bad.”
Nathan chuckled. “He wasn’t referring to Lyric. Interesting things happen when our women get together.”
Gray knocked on the door and the three waited. A moment later, Sam opened the door and gave them a slightly wary look. He crossed his arms and managed to fill most of the doorway as if he was reluctant to let them past.
“The ladies are currently unavailable.”
“Oh shit,” Nathan muttered.
Gray wiped a hand over his face and just shook his head.
Connor eyed them all in confusion.
“Perhaps it would be best if you waited in the sitting room while I inform the ladies that you are here,” Sam said.
“Hell, Sam, we’re not going to beat them,” Gray grumbled.
“He’s way protective of the women,” Nathan whispered to Connor. “He spoils them shamelessly and indulges them in their every whim.”
Sam glared at Nathan. “I do not.”
“Sam, what’s going on?” Damon asked from behind Sam. “Why haven’t you invited them in?”
Sam turned and grimaced. “Have you been in to see the ladies yet, sir?”
Damon frowned and shook his head. “Micah and I have left them to their own devices.”
Sam sighed and stepped back so that Connor, Nathan and Gray could enter. “They’re having fun. Remember that.”
Micah muttered an expletive, and Damon’s forehead creased with worry.
Connor fell into step between Micah and Damon and Nathan and Gray as they headed farther inside the house. As they drew closer, peals of laughter filled the air. Then there was quiet. And suddenly another chorus of laughter.
Damon held up a finger, motioning for the men to be quiet as they rounded the corner and stood back from the doorway to the living room.
Connor blinked as he absorbed the scene in front of him. “What the ever-loving hell?”
He stared in astonishment as all five women, each holding a wineglass with the exception of Angelina, were gathered in the middle of the room dancing. Perhaps more notably, every last one of them had blue hair! Or at least partially blue. The last two inches of their hair looked like it had been dipped in blue dye, and he supposed that was what had happened given that Julie was a stylist.
Faith and Serena each had an arm around Lyric while Angelina and Julie stood across from them, and they were all singing loudly. Or trying to. They’d get a few lines out and then dissolve into laughter.
They swayed and danced, though it was obvious copious amounts of alcohol had compromised any grace they possessed. Faith nearly went down and Lyric made a grab for her. Faith held up her wineglass—it was a miracle the floors weren’t covered with wine—and the women cheered.
“It’s a sin to waste good wine,” Serena said solemnly. “Damon always says so.”
“This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said that,” Damon muttered beside Connor.
“I’ll drink to that!” Faith said as she raised her glass.
Julie held up her glass with exaggerated solemnity. Lyric followed suit, then Serena. Connor gaped as they drained their glasses, then set them down with a bang.
Angelina shot them disgruntled looks and stuck out her bottom lip.
Julie patted her. “We’ll get together after Nia is born. Micah can babysit and we’ll take you out. Lyric could even fly in for the occasion. Don’t all you rock stars have private jets and the like?”
Lyric held up her empty glass and peered inside it as if wondering how it got that way. “Yeah, sure. I’ll tell my manager I want one. Should be a snap.” She tried to snap her fingers and giggled when she couldn’t get her fingers to perform right.
“Well, if not, I’ll make Damon send his jet for you,” Serena promised.
“I’m not letting you forget this,” Angelina said.
“Well hell,” Micah muttered from his position behind Connor.
Nathan snickered and Gray wiped at his wide grin.
“Boy, does this bring back memories,” Gray said with a chuckle. “The last time they got this drunk, Nathan found them all on the floor of Cattleman’s.”
Connor sighed. Then he laughed. He couldn’t help it. They were all pretty damn cute. Drunk as skunks and about as steady as an alcoholic who hadn’t had a drink in twenty-four hours.
“So who’s going to break this up?” Nathan asked.
“Or we could just leave them,” Damon said.
Serena pulled loose from Lyric and Faith and stumbled over to the coffee table where several empty wine bottles rested. “Uh-oh. We’re out of wine. Sam? Sam! Sam, we need more wine. Can you bring us some?” she called.
Connor looked at Sam with new respect. “What all have they had you bring them, anyway?”
Sam straightened his stance. “It would be disloyal of me to give any detail of their afternoon.”
“Is that hair color sticking out of your pocket?” Damon asked as he stared down at Sam’s pants.
Sam clamped his hand over his pocket and backed away. “I’ll go see to their wine if you have no objections, sir.”
Damon laughed and looked up at the other men. “Well, what do you say? We can go out on the patio and have a beer or two while we wait for them to wind down. Unless you need to go, Connor?”
“Nah. I’m having her stuff removed from her hotel right now and transferred to the house we’ll be staying at. Her label has rented a place for her to stay and the team has gone ahead to take make it ready and take position.”
“Then let’s go have a beer. Sam will take good care of them and we can check on them later.”
“I have a confession to make,” Lyric said as she flopped onto the couch. She leaned forward and put her finger over her lips. “But shhhh! You can’t tell anyone. If it shows up in the tabloids, I’ll know you told.”
“Of course we won’t tell,” Faith said as she slashed her fingers over her chest in a cross-my-heart gesture.
“Spill,” Julie said. “I’ve always wanted to know the deep, dark secrets of the rich and famous.”
“I can’t dance,” Lyric slurred out.
The other women broke into laughter.
“What do you call what we’ve been doing for the last hour?” Serena demanded.