Blush (4 page)

“Adults are just outdated
children.“

—DR. SEUSS

“I'VE GOT IT,“ Xander shouts and bangs his fist on
the table in the quaint little diner.

“What have you got? Herpes?“ Meggie asks with
a snort.

“Ha, ha. No, smart ass, I've got our
title.“

“What title?“ Sera asks.

“Well, you know how PR goes through and gives
the tour some fancy schmancy title, usually based on the album
title?“

“Yeah,“ Cage tells him. “I think we've got
that handled.“

“Dude, Cage. No. I've got
the
title
for our tour.“

Cage lifts a brow. “Yeah? What is it?“

“The BFD tour.“

Meggie snorts.

“The what?“ Cage asks.

“The BFD tour. See, technically it can be the
Blush-Falling Down tour but really what we'll be calling it is the
Big Fucking Deal tour.“

“Um, Xander?“ I say.

“Yeah, Luce, what's up?“

“Well, the big fucking deal thing? That can
be construed as it's really not a big fucking deal.“

He waves a hand at me. “Luce. We're talking
about
us
. There is no mistaking that.“

“True, true.“

“So what do you say, Cage my man? The BFD
tour?“ Xander asks with a grin.

“Yeah, Xander, I just don't see that working.
We can't have profanity in the slogan for the tour.“

“Dude, no one needs to
know
it's
profanity.“

“
Everyone
knows that BFD means big
fucking deal, Xander,“ Sera tells him with a laugh.

Xander pouts for a second and silence fills
the diner. Then he perks up. “You know what? Fuck you all. I'm
going to slogan the shit out of this tour all by myself and
informally call it the BFD tour. That's going to catch on so much
better than whatever bullshit your PR asshats are cooking up, Cage,
and you know it. The BFD tour is going to be a
big
fucking
deal!“

“Fuck yeah it is,“ Jesse agrees with a fist
bump. Everyone else fist bumps as well.

“That's pretty freaking clever, Xan my man,“
I tell him and he preens. Seriously, he preens.

Cage blows out a breath. “I guess there's no
choice then is there?“

“None,“ Xander smirks.

Cage nods. “The Blush-Falling Down aka BFD
tour it is.“

“This is going to be fucking awesome,“ Ethan
says.

“No, no dude,“ Xander corrects. “It's going
to be a
big fucking deal
!“

“We're going to have to listen to this until
the tour's over aren't we?“ Sera asks, leaning over and whispering
in my ear.

I sigh. “I'm afraid so. Xander's on a roll
and we don't want to hurt his feelings. I hate when he gets all
pouty.“

Sera nods. “Okay.“

A few minutes later Sera shouts out,
“BFD!“

And Xander answers her with a fist bump and a
really loud, “Yeah baby! B effing D!“

Cage wipes a hand over his face and shakes
his head in disbelief. “Bitches, fuckers, skank-ass-hoes, groupie
whores, and big fucking deal. You all are going to get me fined for
sure, possibly even sued.“

Sera bumps his shoulder with hers. “Should
make for an interesting tour, huh?“

Cage laughs. “That it will, Sunshine. That it
will.“

THE LAST TWO weeks before the tour flew by. They were
filled with practices, meetings with Cage, meetings with Irene,
meetings with Damian (hottie), working with Spenser, Carmen, and
Simone about hair, makeup, and wardrobe. I wasn't sure if they were
going to want me to hire someone to handle wardrobe but they
assured me that between the three of them they had it under
control. It works for me.

True to what Sera told me on the plane, my
parents were okay with Jesse and I getting married. There was only
one catch—my mother gets to plan a large wedding while we're on
tour. We worked out a date about two months after the tour, so my
mother had a full six months to go crazy—and she'd already started.
I didn't get much say in anything other than colors, flowers, and
we are at a cake tasting session.

Of course, Xander had to come along. That
guy. I have no idea how he eats as much as he does and looks as
good as he does. The man is built. I mean seriously built. Factor
in the body, his short brown messy hair, ice blue eyes, and full
lips—he is a chick magnet. Add the personality into the equation
and women stand no chance. Right now he is charming the women
helping and serving the samples of the different flavors of
cake.

They blush and giggle—even the owner, who is
well into her sixties. The man has no shame. He loves women and
women love him and he makes no excuses. He enjoys making women feel
special and happy. If he can bring a smile to a sad woman's face,
it makes his entire day. He thinks every woman should be happy,
smiling, and adored. One day he'll make a magnificent husband. I
tried to tempt Sera in that direction and I think she's considering
it. I raise my eyebrows just thinking about it. I bet you are
too.

“Babe.“ Jesse pulls me from my
daydreaming.

“Hmm?“ I return his smile. How can I not?
He's my husband and he's gorgeous and so sweet and attentive and
clearly enjoying every bite of cake he can get.

“Can we get different flavors for each
tier?“

I nod. “We can. How many—“

“At least six,“ my mother interrupts.

“Six tiers? Just how many people are you
inviting?“

She shrugs.

“We can do six tiers and then have the
cupcakes like we discussed,“ Mrs. Stramboli tells us. “We can do
those in multiple flavors as well, to match the cakes.“

Jesse grins and all-but bounces, reminding me
of Meggie. I snicker.

“We get to take home the extras, right?“
Xander asks.

Jesse pokes him in the chest. “
You
don't get to take home anything.
We
,“ he says, pointing
between us, “get to take home the extras.“

Xander shrugs, clearly unaffected and I know
why. I wonder if Jesse will—

“Shit. Lucy'll share with you anyway,“ Jesse
pouts.

Xander grins. “Hell yeah she will. That's my
girl.“

Jesse shoves Xander aside when he throws an
arm over my shoulders. “Get the fuck out of here. That's my
woman—my
wife
you're touching.“

“Jesse Kingston!“ mama scolds.

“Sorry mama,“ Jesse apologizes, then gives
Xander a glare.

I bite my lip so I don't laugh. Xander is
such a shit. He's riling Jesse up and Jesse's falling for the bait.
My husband is clearly too distracted by the delicious desserts in
front of him to pay any real attention to anything else.

Xander sends me a wink.

“We can order extra. I think we should order
four different cakes a week when we get back anyway. I know how you
guys love your sweets. And when we ladies are PMSing, if we don't
have our chocolate or whatever it is we're craving, you guys are
toast,“ I narrow my eyes.

“So, Mrs. Stramboli,“ Xander begins. “Do you
deliver or should we come in every week to pick up the cakes?“

Mrs. Stramboli winks at me. “We can deliver.
Just let us know at least three days in advance since you're asking
for specialty cakes and frostings.“

Xander nods. “Cool. Cool. Do we get to take
these home today?“

Now she's biting her lip to try not to laugh.
Xander looks like a kid in a candy store asking if he can have the
last piece.

“Of course.“

“Dude,“ Xander says, his cool slipping back
into place as he fist bumps Jesse.

“Fuck yeah.“

“Jesse Kingston,“ my mother scolds.

“Sorry mama.“

I snicker again. She's already told him he
has to call her mama—hell, she's making all the guys call her that.
Hilarious.

I look at the clock. “Oh shoot. We need to
get going or they're going to leave without us.“

“Babe,“ Jesse says. “They can't leave without
us. We're the singers, the drummer, and lead guitarist,“ he adds,
pointing at Sera who's currently stuffing her face full of red
velvet cake.

“True, but I don't want the tour to start off
on a bad note.“

He nods. We say our goodbyes to my mom and
everyone. Xander winks at each of the ladies and they all but
puddle at his feet.

“You are so bad,“ I tell Xander.

He grins, showing me his straight white
teeth. (He had braces as a teenager. I'm trying to get pictures.)
“Nah, I'm not. They'll be smiling for the rest of the day. My work
here is done.“

How can a person fault him for that?

“HOW MANY BUSES are there?“ Sera asks
incredulously.

Cage pats her back. “Five. Jesse is funding
the entertainment bus.“

I lift a brow. “Entertainment bus?“

Cage nods. “It's got a huge seating area in
the middle, tiny kitchenette, a few cubby beds.“

“Cool,“ Sera grins. “That'll leave space for
those who need alone time and all that too. I imagine there'll come
a point when we get on each other's nerves.“

“I'm sure.“

Xander walks up. “Sera, darlin', you could
never get on my nerves. You're too beautiful.“

“Shovel that shit somewhere else, Mackenzie,“
she tells him with a laugh.

He puts a hand over his heart. “You wound me.
Truly.“

“Aww, my Xander,“ I cajole. He walks over,
kneels on the ground, and hugs me around the waist. His head comes
just above boob level and he's leering. I laugh. “You are such a
perv.“

“Yes, yes I am.“ He reaches around and grabs
my ass just as Jesse walks up and cuffs him on the back of the
head.

“Hands off my wife, dude.“

I can't help the smile that forms. When Jesse
calls me his wife, warmth flows through me and I get butterflies in
my stomach. I love being his wife. I love him being my husband. I
sigh inwardly. My life right now is amazing. Perfect, really—and
I'm waiting for the bottom to drop.

Xander stands up and kisses me on the cheek.
“I love you, dollface. I'm glad the manwhore makes you happy.“

“Oh,“ I say as tears form in my eyes.
“Xander.“ I hug him tight.

“I don't remember if I got to say anything
meaningful in Vegas—considering we were at Denny's it was probably
something that included bacon. So, I'll tell you now. You're a
great lady, Luciana Russo-Kingston and you two are perfect for each
other.“ He pulls back and looks into my eyes. He lifts a hand and
wipes my tears with his thumb. “If he hadn't seen you first, I'd
have wooed you until you were mine.“

“Oh,“ is all I can say. I lift a hand to his
cheek. “You're so amazing Xander. One day you'll find your
princess. I promise. I'll help you when you're ready.“

He smiles and nods. “He ever does you wrong,
I'll kick his ass. You two ever split, I'm going to chase you until
I catch you.“

“Xander.“

He shakes his head. “I'm not in love with
you, Luce, but I could be if I let myself. I'll take that help
you're offering to help me find my princess. I thought I might have
found her once but…“ he trails off.

“You'll tell me the story when we get some
time, won't you?“

“I will.“ He hugs me again. “Love you,
dollface.“ He taps my nose with his finger then kisses it.

“I love you too.“

He walks away and Jesse comes over.
Oh my.
Wow
. I was not expecting that. Jesse wraps an arm around my
shoulders and kisses the top of my head.

“Everything okay?“ he asks.

I nod. “Yeah. He just gave me the wedding
moment that we both likely forgot.“

“Ah. It looked pretty intense.“

“Xander can be pretty intense.“

Jesse nods. “He can. Usually only when it's
something important to him.“ He narrows his eyes. I can tell he's
figured it out but he's not asking and I'm not telling.

“Load ‘em up,“ Cage yells.

“Want to go on the lounge bus first and deal
with organizing the other bus after we stop for dinner?“ Jesse
asks.

“Yeah, let's do that. We can relax and I can
get used to the motion of the bus.“