Lindsay stepped out of the room with her belly taped beneath her slip-top, wondering how long she could keep it a surprise from Adam. He loved getting her naked and she knew he would be more than a little suspicious if she balked at one-more-time sex before the wedding. Then again, he would be coming home to finishing up a case with the gnarliest twists and turns that she might just be able to pull it off. No, no, she couldn't do that; they never kept secrets from each other, except birthdays and Christmas.

Maybe she could compromise and tell him she'd gotten the piercing done but he couldn't see it until their wedding night. Yes, that would be pretty damn sweet, to see the googly-eyed look on his face when he saw her naughty little surprise for him, and he would surely appreciate the wedding-bells decoration she'd decided on. The urge to itch and poke at her new addition was strong but Lindsay had been raised a preacher's daughter and self-restraint was as second-nature to her as breathing. Or at least, it had been until she and Adam had finally taken the final step of intimacy, she thought with a giggle. Then she'd practically forgot such a thing existed.

'Hey girl!' Alexis bounded up looking fresh as a daisy. 'Can we see it yet?'

'It has to stay taped up for another twenty-four hours to make sure it starts healing properly.'

'Damn.'

'Don't worry, you'll see it next weekend when we're in Bermuda,' Lindsay assured her with a wink, then looked around. 'Where is everyone?'

'Downstairs. Your piercing was the last thing on the schedule and I waited so you and Andrea wouldn't leave alone.'

Lindsay looked over her shoulder, saw Andrea come out with a little paper bag as she thanked Juvela for everything. 'You get yourself a new little something for the beach, Lady Nurse Brick?'

'Yes I did.' Andrea held up the paper bag, gave it a little shake so the contents shook. 'I haven't gotten a new bobble for my belly in a while so I figure what the hell, it's a great weekend for indulging. How's the belly feeling?'

'Itchy.'

'That'll pass in a little while. Come on. Time for more surprises, bride.'

They headed down to the locker room and when they arrived back on the street fully dressed, Lindsay stopped short when she saw the trio of sleek black town-cars waiting by the curb, along with a glistening silver limo. Each driver stood by the passenger doors with a little sign upon which was written the surnames of the girls' party. Naturally, in the limo was Lindsay, and she was apparently being joined by Alexis and Beckett.

'What are those for?' she asked Andrea, circling her finger at the luxury cars.

'Those are part of the surprise. Or the method of transpo for the surprise,' Robina told her, wandering up as she hung up her cellphone. 'Our food will be ready by the time we get over there.'

'Sweet.' Andrea patted her friend's shoulder. 'See you in a few.'

'See me in a few what?' Lindsay looked around, then felt Alexis tug on her arm. 'What is going on?'

'We'll tell you on the way,' Alexis replied smugly, glad to finally get to surprise the always intuitive Lindsay. It was imposible to plan surprises for her so this weekend was her chance at revenge on her friend. 'Hop in,'

The driver opened the door and Lindsay crawled into the back seat; she knew she shouldn't have been surprised by the champagne already waiting on ice but she was nonetheless. She absently rubbed her fingers over her taped belly and grinned. 'Are we going somewhere ordinary and getting to show up the regular people by hanging out in a limo?'

'That's part one.' Beckett slipped into the seat beside Lindsay picked up the intercom phone. 'We're all set back here, Myers.'

Lindsay barely felt it as the limo glided away like a silent giant into traffic, following the other cards. She looked from Beckett to Alexis who were both trying not to look excited as little girls on Christmas. 'Okay, out with it. I thought we were going out for a wild girls night on the town tonight.'

'We are, we just failed to mention that town is Atlantic City, that's all,' Alexis trilled and got an immense satisfaction from watching her friend's jaw drop in slack shock.

'No fucking way.'

'Yep we have a special reservation just for our group at the Mariott Mystique, we are having dinner at the Portage Sea-Side Lodge, and then we are going to a strip club.'

'A female-performers strip club,' Beckett added for clarification; when she'd been using her husband's contacts to get this part of the trip planned Alexis had mentioned Lindsay loathed going to strip clubs with male performers because they reminded her far too much of the man who had attacked her. 'Everything we see in the shower every day on display for oggling pleasure.'

'Thank you, Lex,' Lindsay said in gratitude knowing that her friend made sure they didn't put her emotional well-being at risk for the sake of some stupid tradition. 'I know it's not exactly something you ladies would enjoy but-'

'On the contrary, I think it's going to be great fun,' Beckett said with genuine interest. 'We've gone to the Grindhouse a few times and another place called The Package Store and those are all about men getting naked. Plus we've got a little game to play while we're there too.'

'Oh boy,' Lindsay laughed; she'd experienced their 'games' before and they were definitely not for children. She settled back against the side-bench of the limo, looked out the window, then wrinkled her brow when they slowed outside a busy little bistro. 'Why are we stopping.'

'Part of the dee-luxe treatment of today. Just wait for it.'

Curious as a little girl waiting for Christmas, Lindsay looked out the window and watched as the patrons on the sidewalk patio stared at the limo, whispered behind their hands when the driver stepped out along with the other cars' drivers and they all went into the restaurant. They reappeared ten minutes later, each carrying two bags to their respective cars. Beckett opened the door and smiled as she took the bags of food from their chauffeur.

'Thanks, Myers.'

'Of course, Detective. Next stop, Atlantic City, or unless one of you needs a potty break.'

His phrasing had Lindsay in a fit of giggles as Beckett passed around containers of hearty gourmet sandwiches and Caesar salads; they were chowing down with exuberance before the motor was even running. Between bites of prime rib beef dip and crispy fresh lettuce, Beckett asked the bride, 'So refresh me again, why do you not want to spend your last single weekend ogling other naked women instead of naked men?'

'Because I know the kind of men they have as dancers in those clubs and all I can think of is that ass-fuck who hurt me when I look at men like that. My man, my dream man that I'm marrying next week...' Lindsay trailed off as she took a sip of the root beer that had been chilling in the mini-bar of the limo. 'That's the kind of man I like to look at, and since he isn't the kind of man who would be considered stripper material and this weekend is about feeling good about myself, I told my maid of honour I wanted to go see some fellow broads get naked.'

'Makes perfect sense.' Beckett nibbled a carrot stick, took a bite of her salmon salad in puff pastry. 'We're all grown-ups and perfectly comfortable in our own skin that appreciating women getting naked isn't weird.'

'Are you sure?' Lindsay fretted a little. 'We can always-'

'Lindsay. This weekend is about you. We are celebrating you, and you've been through a lot. The fact you have found a loving, committed relationship that is rooted in respect and fun and intimacy shows just how strong you are.'

'It really does,' Alexis agreed. She set aside her pear-and-brie baguette and scooted closer to hug Lindsay around her middle. 'I was so proud of you when you told me you were going on a second and third date with Adam, and then when he came down and stayed over the night with you, I knew you two were going to work it out.'

'Aw, damn Lex,' Lindsay sighed dramatically with a smile. 'You getting all this mush-mush out of the way now so that when we're out drinking tonight we won't get all sentimental while chatting about our sex lives?'

'Exactly.'