If Colleen ever had to marry, and that was something she’d never considered before, she wanted Calla to plan it for her.

“Oh, aye,” Lady Mae—Ian’s mother—said, all smiles. “I don’t think I have ever seen my sons want to learn more about what we were up to than I did today. They are dying of curiosity.”

“So when do we decorate our flagpole?” Elaine asked.

She was the only one of the women actually descended from pirates, though she insisted that her uncles were privateers, therefore they were commissioned to do the job. But still, the rest of her family were out-and-out pirates, and that fascinated Colleen.

“Let’s do it now,” Julia said. “Before we really start celebrating and forget to! You did bring a pair of Grant’s and Enrick’s, didn’t you, Colleen?”

“Yes. Luckily, Grant was staying in a guest chamber so I was able to search for the perfect pair.” Colleen held up a pair of blue plaid boxers. She was glad the guys didn’t know about this and weren’t planning to get back at the women. “Thankfully, Grant had already taken some with him to the other room or he would have wondered why I was rummaging through his underwear. Enrick had already left his room this morning before I grabbed a pair of his.”

The ladies laughed.

“Good. We suspected Grant would follow you here sometime today. We didn’t want him to feel left out.” Julia waved a pair of red, white, and blue striped briefs she’d gotten for Ian. “I claimed him for America even if he remains in Scotland.”

“Does he wear them?” Colleen asked.

“Oh, yes. He’s great at trying to please me.”

Colleen loved him already.

Shelley twirled a pair of black, active mesh boxers. “Duncan likes black.”

“On you,” Elaine teased. She stretched out a pair of boxers—white, semitransparent. “Love these on Cearnach.”

Colleen hadn’t expected Ian’s mother to have snatched anyone’s underwear. She was widowed. But she shook out a pair of longhorn-steer-decorated boxers. “Shelley’s Uncle Ethan’s.”

Grinning, everyone clapped.

Calla showed off a pair of black briefs for Guthrie. “I didn’t want him to feel left out. I figured he’d have boxers with dollar signs all over them.”

“They would have cost too much,” Julia teased. “He’s in charge of the purse strings, Colleen. Even for this affair, he was fussing. It’s coming out of my book sales, so I told him to think of it as a promotional party. He grumbled that I wouldn’t be selling my books to any of you but giving them away free.”

Colleen laughed. She slipped her hand in her bag and pulled out another pair of briefs, this pair red. “Hot, eh, Heather? I don’t know how I’m going to explain how I was in Enrick’s underwear drawer when I return to Farraige Castle.”

“Thanks, Colleen,” Heather said, beaming.

Colleen wanted to ask if Heather had an interest in Enrick. She must or Julia wouldn’t have asked her to grab a pair of his briefs.

Everyone turned to Aunt Agnes. She smiled brightly and spread her hands. “Not me. No love interest and I certainly don’t want to snag any man’s trunks just to say I did it.”

Julia dug in a bag and pulled out a pair of hot chili pepper boxers. She tossed them to her aunt and said, “Shelley’s Uncle Jasper will do.”

Aunt Agnes caught the boxers and frowned. “I don’t want him thinking I stole his boxers,” she said with a sniff, holding them far away from her as if she might catch something while she stared at the flaming-hot chili peppers imprinted on them.

“Are we ready to hang them on the pole, ladies?” Julia asked, heading for the door.

“Aye, aye, captain!” the women all shouted.

Colleen laughed. She had missed these parties with Julia and her girlfriends, but this wasn’t anything like she’d experienced.

They headed outside into the cool mist and stood before the flagpole as Julia pronounced the pirates’ claim to the men’s underwear and then proceeded to attach them to the pole as if they were flags blowing in the chilly breeze.

“We need to starch them so they stiffen,” Heather said.

The ladies all laughed and Heather blushed. “You have dirty minds.”

They all laughed again.

“What’s next?” Elaine asked.

“Pizzas!” Calla said. “They should be arriving any moment.”

“Everyone armed and ready?” Julia asked, just for the authenticity.

“Aye,” everyone said.

Colleen suspected Julia intended to put this in a story someday. Julia had even given Colleen a sword, though she thought it was one of the lads’ practice swords, as dull and lightweight as it was.

They headed into the castle, armed and ready to confront anyone who thought to give them trouble, and saw the men with the boxes of pizza, looking as though the treasure was theirs and they weren’t eager to give it up. The whole lot of them wore smug smiles.

Ian gave Julia a challenging look. “We paid for the booty. You want it, you’ll have to fight for it or win it.”

Ian and his brothers, Grant, and two older men who must have been Shelley’s uncles Ethan and Jasper smiled back at the ladies, not appearing interested in handing over the food.

“Don’t think to spoil our party,” Julia said with a threat in her voice, though Colleen knew it was all playacting.