Nadine lined up the bottles of wine neatly on her kitchen counter and put them next to a tray of raspberry and lime flavored vodka shooters. She couldn’t wait for Keira’s wedding to be over and done with. As much as she loved her younger sister, Nadine was not fond of weddings and all that went with them.

“Why’re you stuck in here, sis?” asked Keira. She walked in slowly, trying to maintain her balance and keep to a straight line but Nadine knew the telltale signs. She watched her sister with trepidation.

“Maybe you ought to slow down a bit?” She knew Keira would be fine but she was more worried about her cream sofas and rug in the living room and hoped none of the girls had spilled any red wine anywhere.

“In case I forget to thank you later, I just wanna say thanks,” Keira said woozily. She sat down on one of the stools and buried her head in her hands. Nadine stroked her sister’s wavy hair.

“I want you to have a great time, Keira.” She ran her fingers gently down her sister’s tresses and remembered the two of them playing together and fighting just as much when they were younger. She had always wanted another sibling and had never wanted to be an only child. And she had always wanted a sister too. So when, at the age of nine, her mother had announced that they were having a little sister for her, Nadine was overjoyed. She had always felt overly protective and rather motherly towards Keira.

The sharp sound of the doorbell broke her reverie and the next thing she heard was a loud yelp from the hallway.

“They’re here!” howled Amy, Keira’s best friend and organizer of all events to do with Keira’s bachelorette parties. She rushed in excitedly, her high cheeks aflame from the excitement of imminent male strippers and too many vodka shooters. She grabbed Keira by the waist and helped her off the barstool.

Seeing Keira wobble around, Nadine warned, “Careful now,” and glanced at Amy, who was supposed to be keeping an eye on her. With an older sister’s sense of duty, she ordered, “She’s had a bit too much. Don’t let her have any more.”

Nadine followed as Amy helped Keira into the living room. She noticed there were now three tall, muscular and good-looking men who were surrounded by a highly excitable group of girls. One of them said something to Amy.

“She’s the one!” Amy pointed at Nadine and cried out in a voice that was unusually high-pitched, even for her.

The three men came dressed in US Air Force uniforms: dark navy blue shirt, metal buttons, the flight cap, Air Force seals and insignia. They looked commandingly handsome. One of them, who seemed just a little older than the others, caught Nadine’s glance. She smiled in acknowledgment, noting the blue of his eyes as he walked over. His two friends got busy setting up the music and the props and Nadine watched them carefully, praying they wouldn’t turn her living room into a mess.

“I’m Ethan,” he said, staring at her as he ran a hand through his hair. “Are you Nadine? That’s the name I have for the booking.”

She nodded and smiled. “That would be me.” She glanced over Ethan’s shoulder and watched in horror as his friends brought out various jars of oil and cream that they lined up along the floor. A look of alarm flashed across her eyes. She cried out, “You’ll need paper or liners under there!”

Ethan was amused. “No, ma’am, don’t worry. That lotion isn’t for the floor, trust me. It’ll be fine.”

Ma’am—had he just called her ma’am? How old did he think she was?

“I’ll leave you to it,” replied Nadine dryly and slunk back into the kitchen. She was almost a good ten years older than Keira and her friends but she wondered whether the stripper really thought that she was Keira’s mother.

The music thumped loudly. Nadine had warned her neighbors about the party. Luckily she was on good terms with them and didn’t have to worry about noise levels or the police.

She sat down in her kitchen, got out her laptop and carried on with the report that was due for Monday morning. The promotion to executive creative director had been a huge achievement in her career and Nadine knew she was on target with her life goals.

Her life was working out exactly as she had planned it, even though she hadn’t been prepared for the workload. That woman, Sandra Donnelly, had it in for her, she knew that much. It was up to Nadine to prove that she could handle the work as well as put up with that overbearing woman in her stride.

And that was exactly what Nadine Stefano planned to do.

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