“Show us,” Zinzi demanded, and Lia lifted a pair of furry pink handcuffs and a satin blindfold to the squealing delight of the other women.
Daisy winced and once again eyed her gift, which lay at the bottom of the pile. She had somehow missed the fact that they would be doing naughty gifts only, and Daisy knew that her present would go down like a lead balloon. She glanced down at her phone for what felt like the thousandth time tonight and willed time to speed up. Lia had a late dinner with her fiancé and his parents tonight and had to leave at eight. It would be awesome if eight o’clock rolled by before Lia opened Daisy’s present, but her luck was never that good, and she watched nervously as her sister reached for yet another gift from the shrinking pile in the middle of the table.
“What the hell is that?” Tilda asked from the other side of the table when Lia pulled the gift out of the bag, and Daisy was grateful her friend had asked because she had no idea either. It was a weird, alien-looking silicone thing, and Daisy couldn’t quite figure out what it was for.
“Cock ring,” Shar educated smugly. “It vibrates for his pleasure and has a little rabbit attached for hers.”
Lia, who had been as red as a tomato for most of the evening, blushed even more, and Daisy felt her own cheeks heating in sympathy. This evening had certainly been . . . educational, to say the least.
There were only two gifts remaining now, and Daisy cast another desperate look down at her phone. Five minutes to eight. Lia let out yet another scandalized squeak and lifted the crotchless panties with matching demi bra and garter set that Tilda had given her.
“Oh my God, Tilda, those are so naughty.” Daff sniggered and Tilda grinned.
“I figure they’ll thrill the hell out of Clayton Edmonton the Third,” Tilda said drily.
“Best have a killer wax job done on the lady garden before you wear these,” Zinzi advised. “A full-on Hollywood.”
“Ugh, I hate going fully bald; it’s so creepy,” Daff said, wrinkling her nose. Daisy heartily concurred with her sister’s sentiment but didn’t say as much, knowing it would only drive some of the other “ladies” present to express surprise that Daisy even tended her “lady garden.”
“Ooh, one more,” Shar cooed as she lifted the huge box from the center of the table. She directed a smug little smile at Daisy, and the latter curled her fingers into the palms of her hands as she realized that Shar—tonight’s “events coordinator”—had deliberately not told her about the gifts. What a spiteful cow. Daisy had no clue why Shar and Zinzi disliked her so much, but they had always gone out of their way to make her feel like a total idiot in public.
“It’s eight o’clock, Lia,” Daisy said, properly speaking for the first time all evening. “You have to get to your dinner with the Edmontons, don’t you? My present isn’t important. You can open it at home.”
Lia, despite the company she kept, was a sweetheart, and even though she didn’t quite “get” Daisy, she was loyal to a fault. Unfortunately that trait worked against Daisy in that moment.
“Nonsense,” Lia said in her sweet voice. “I’ve been dying to see what’s in this box all evening. A few more minutes won’t do any harm. I can’t very well leave my baby sister’s gift unopened, can I?”
“Yes, you can. I don’t mind,” Daisy said, and Daff glanced at her sharply as if picking up on her desperation.
“Yeah, Lia, we can open it later,” Daff chimed in, and Daisy slanted her a grateful look.
“But we’re all really curious now,” Zinzi said with a sharklike grin, and Lia nodded, her mind made up, before tugging the bright-red ribbon off the box. Daisy sank back against the sticky leather seat of the booth and kept her face expressionless as her sister tore off the wrapping and then glanced down into the box.
“Oh,” Lia said blankly as she lifted one of the practical fawn-colored hiking boots from the box. She stared at it for a long moment. “This is . . . nice.”
“It’s for your honeymoon,” Daisy explained bleakly. “Because you guys are going . . .”
“Oh, Daisy,” Lia said softly, a beautiful smile lighting up her face. “How thoughtful. Thank you.”
Lia and Clay were going on a hiking and horseback honeymoon in Peru, which had surprised the hell out of Daisy because Dahlia was not into the great outdoors. The idea must have been Clay’s, and Daisy just wanted to get her sister something to help her prepare for an adventure Lia was totally ill-equipped to deal with.
“Guess you didn’t get the memo about the gifts,” Zinzi pointed out with a snide little smile.
“Shut up, Zinzi. I think it’s an awesome present, and I wish I’d thought of it,” Daff said. “Lia’s going to need that and more for the honeymoon from hell her future husband has planned.”
“I think it’ll be romantic,” Lia said defensively. She was always sensitive to even the slightest hint of criticism aimed at her precious Clayton.
“It will,” Daisy soothed, shooting her eldest sister a warning glare, causing Daff to roll her eyes.
“Anyway, I really love the boots, Daisy.” Lia wrapped her arms around Daisy’s shoulders and hugged her. “So sweet. Thank you.”
“Hmm,” Shar purred. “So practical. But you’re a practical kind of girl, aren’t you, Daisy? Not one for all the naughty frivolities of the evening, I suppose? Well, that’s to be expected, of course. Lack of experience and all that. I hope we haven’t embarrassed you too much?”
“Jesus, Shar, must you be such a cat?” Daff asked in disgust.