As it kept going though, I tore my eyes from the display and looked Tex and Nancy’s way.

The big man still held his wife close and Nancy still leaned heavily into him, but their heads were tipped back, colors lighting their face.

And warmth so sweet it was difficult to process stole through me.

This was because Tex was smiling.

And completely happy.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tush

“Well?”

That was me, the afternoon after Tex and Nancy’s wedding, standing on Daisy’s stripper stage at her house, wearing a robe Daisy just threw over my shoulders that I’d pushed my arms through, tying the belt tight.

Daisy had suggested, and I agreed, that before I stepped onstage that night that I do my thing in front of a live audience so that I wouldn’t be breaking that particular seal in front of, well… a live audience.

This meant that sitting around Daisy’s stage in chairs she got Marcus’s boys to drag in were Indy, Jet, Roxie, Stella, Sadie, Daisy, Shirleen, Annette, Tod, Buddy, Lottie, Nancy, Ada, Smithie and one of Smithie’s three women (yes, three; don’t ask, just know it works) LaTeesha.

“Jumpin’ Jehosphats!” Annette shouted. “I wanna be a stripper again!”

“That. Was. Awesome,” Indy breathed.

“Blooming heck, I don’t even know what to say. That was aces,” Sadie put in.

“Child, you do the sisterhood proud,” Shirleen told me.

“I might add a striptease to my stage show,” Stella announced.

“I think I turned ungay for about two minutes,” Buddy murmured.

After all these compliments, Daisy gushed, “Momma’s so proud,” on a sideways hug.

But I knew the girls (and gay guy) would give me props.

So I only had eyes for Smithie.

“Smithie?” I called as he stared up at me, face blank. “What did you think?”

“Please,” he whispered and I blinked because I’d never heard Smithie whisper. “Dance for me full-time.”

Righteous!

He liked it.

“Will it work?” I asked and he stood.

“Bitch, it not only works, I’m givin’ you the stage for your own fuckin’ song,” he declared.

Oh shit.

Dancing with a bunch of other dancers who might take attention off me was one thing.

Dancing like Lottie danced as the headliner, having the stage all to myself and all eyes on me, was a-fucking-nother.

“Uh…” I mumbled.

“Excellent idea!” LaTeesha proclaimed on a big white smile and a clap.

“You totally have to do that!” Lottie cried.

“That would be sofa-king phat, sister!” Annette exclaimed.

Tod was giving me a sideways look, reading me, I knew, when he turned to me full-on and decreed, “You do know, if you’re only dancing for a song, you can spend the rest of your time keeping your eye on things, talking to the other girls, getting the job done and…” he paused, “only dancing for a song.”

“Three songs,” Smithie announced and looked at Lottie. “She’s lead in for you on all your sets.”

“Works for me,” Lottie replied to Smithie and turned to grin at me.

Shit.

“Decided!” Smithie yelled and pointed to me. “Three songs. You pick. Get me the music. I’ll get it to the DJ. You start tonight. Lottie’s first set is at nine. You go on at eight fifty-five. Be fuckin’ ready.”

My heart started beating. Hard.

Smithie turned to LaTeesha and pulled her out of her chair, murmuring, “Come on, baby. Gotta get you to work.”

After LaTeesha sent us a finger wave, they were gone.

I jumped off the stage, taking my life into my hands because I was wearing platform stripper shoes, and the gang gathered around.

“I sure do wish I was fifty years younger and I could strip,” Ada fortunately noted, and this was fortunately because her doing it cut through my nerves and made me smile.

“I’m sorry I’m going to miss your debut, honey,” Nancy said to me then smiled her gorgeous smile, “But I gotta get home to my hubby. A hubby, incidentally, who has stated he has your back with anything you want to do, but is not about to watch you strip.”

Tex not being there worked for me.

I moved my smile to her then everyone moved as we heard Daisy order, “Make way! Make way!”

They made way and I saw Daisy coming through carrying a big red box with a huge black satin bow.

She plopped it on the stage, turned to me and declared, “We all got together to get you these.”

“Let’s hope this case doesn’t go long or she’ll need more.” I heard Tod whisper. “Then again, maybe not. They were fun to shop for.”

But I was looking at the box because I loved presents and I wasn’t particular about what was inside.