Blush (2 page)

Oh, and back to Jesse. At seventeen when we
moved to L.A. for mine and my brother Joey's acting careers, we
happened to run into none other than Jesse Kingston in the middle
of the Chicago airport. I froze up like a moron but he was so great
about it. We walked to the gate where he checked in and we had a
brief moment where I felt this amazing zing flow through my body.
Then they called for boarding. Jesse went to first class and we
went back to coach. That was the last time I saw him—until about
four months ago.

Sera and I enjoy performing in music videos
so when our friend and big-time music guru Cage Nichols asked us to
star in another for him, we jumped at the chance. It was one way
Sera and I could connect to music. She modeled and I acted and we
just needed that bonding time.

Shock of all shocks happened when we found
out the band we were working with was none other than Falling Down.
This was when Jesse and I reconnected. See, Sera and I were jamming
out to some P!nk and then some Red using their guitar and drums
when someone struck some electric chords and that sexy, sinful
voice joined mine. I swear I nearly passed out. I thought my eyes
were going to pop out of my head like they do in cartoons.
Seriously.

Anyway, that was the beginning of Jesse and
me. He and the band, along with Cage, helped us reform our band,
Blush, and we've just finished recording our first album.

We'll be going on tour with Falling Down in
two weeks.

I keep getting off track. Jesse and I had a
weekend together and that weekend ended up being never-ending due
to the media. Now, here we are. Married. It was surprising enough
to know that my man loved me and wanted to be in a serious
relationship, but now we're married. Married.

Now it's totally legit when I sign my name as
Mrs. Jesse Kingston—not like in high school where I wrote that shit
all over my notebooks.

You know how people say they woke up in Vegas
married and you're like, how the hell could that possibly happen?
Who does that? Well, us apparently.

Good times.

“I’m a firm believer
people don’t know

what they want until they get it.“

—M. SHADOWS, AVENGED SEVENFOLD

THERE'S A KNOCK on the door and I go to answer in my
robe. Sera rushes in, eyes wide. “We need to get the hell out of
Vegas like yesterday.“

“What's going on?“ I ask, more than a little
worried.

“You're freaking married for one and Grandpa
Russo is in Vegas!“

“Oh shit! Jesse! We have to pack and get the
hell out of here
now
!“ I throw on some skinny jeans and a
pretty white top.

“What's going on?“

“Media for one. We need to head out before
we're swarmed,“ Sera tells him, handing me my shoes.

“And the other?“ He raises a brow.

“Our Grandpa Russo is in town.“

“Cool. So I get to meet one more of your
family members.“

“Um, no,“ Sera tells him. “There is no
meeting Grandpa Russo—ever—if we can help it.“

“What's the big deal?“

Sera looks at me and I look at her. I shrug a
shoulder and wave at her to go on while Jesse and I close our
suitcases.

“Yeah, our grandpa? He's involved in some
less than legal activities.“

“What?“ he asks incredulously.

“See, it's like this. Grandpa is the head of
the Family or as we call it,
la Famiglia
.“

“Of course he is.“

“No. The
Family
,“ she reiterates.

It takes him a few minutes.

“Get there sooner, babe. I know you're
hungover but think laundering money, drugs, illegal arms deals,
putting hits out on people, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Think The
Godfather.“

“Are you fucking with me right now?“

“Not even for a second. Get your suitcase and
let's go.“

“Everyone's meeting us at the plane,“ Sera
tells me.

“Good. I'm guessing word of our marriage
leaked overnight?“

“Uh, yeah,“ she answers. “There are photos of
you and Jesse in Denny's with Elvis, you on one side and Jesse on
the other, and you're each kissing a cheek.“

I laugh and Jesse groans. “I don't remember
that.“

Sera laughs at him. “At least you remember
the ceremony.“

“I remember some of it. It's coming to me as
the day goes on,“ I defend.

“Mhmm.“

The elevator doors open and we rush out to
the waiting car. Just as we're hopping in, I recognize my cousin
Nico getting out of a black Town Car. Clichéd, much?

“Nico,“ Sera confirms.

“Who's Nico?“ Jesse asks as we pull away from
the hotel.

“One of our cousins. Really great with
knives,“ I tell him.

“Shit, seriously?“

“Yeah. You should see our cousin Bella. She
can shoot a moving target like a Navy SEAL.“

Jesse shakes his head and rubs a hand behind
his neck. “You're so fucking matter-of-fact about this shit.“

“Well, it's normally not a big deal unless
we're somewhere grandpa is. It just so happens he's been in Vegas
on business the last two weeks. He saw the wedding
'announcements',“ Sera tells us with air quotes, “and contacted
mama and daddy.“

“Oh shit.“ I'm freaking out.

“No worries. Apparently your husband there
already discussed marrying you with both of them.“

“What? When?“ I look over to Jesse.

He just grins. I sigh at those sexy dimples.
“At the cookout your mom had.“

“So that's where you were.“

“Yeah. We had a long talk, even though I
hadn't planned on asking, you know, now. Funny thing is, he
included all the guys in the talk as well—except Jace because
apparently he already knows the ‘rules'.“

I laugh. “That's daddy for you, covering all
his bases.“

We pull onto the tarmac of the airport and
rush to the plane. Everyone's already on board.

There are shouts of congratulations and hugs
galore. There's a banner hanging from the ceiling of the jet and
Jesse has to practically crawl under it to get past. Xander shoots
some confetti out of a toy gun then blows the barrel like he's a
gunslinger. He pulls me into a hug and grabs my ass.

“Perv,“ I say, playfully smacking him.

“Hey, it's my first Luciana Kingston grab
ass. How long did you think I was going to wait?“

“Awww,“ Sera sighs. “You're Mrs. Jesse
Kingston.“

“Just like it said all over her notebooks in
high school,“ Jace laughs.

“Again,“ Jesse says, “that's not at all
weird.“

“In multiple colors,“ Sera adds.

“Well, yeah. How's it going to be special if
it's only in one color?“ Celeste chimes in.

I snort. “This just goes to show that dreams
do come true,“ I say pointedly to Jace.

“I suppose it does.“

The fasten seat belts sign comes on and we
get ready for takeoff.

Jesse whispers, “I can't believe your
grandpa's a mafia boss.“

“Mafia boss?“ Xander asks incredulously. “Are
we talking
The Godfather
shit here?
Scarface
? Should
I be excited or pissing myself?“

I laugh. “If you're going to piss yourself,
wait until you're far away from me. And as far as my grandpa is
concerned,“ I say, sliding a look back to Sera who smirks, “he can
be pretty scary but generally only if you're on the other end of
the gun.“

“Dude,“ Xander exclaims, eyes wide.

Jace laughs.

“You've met him,“ Xander asks.

“I have,“ Jace replies. “The only advice I'll
give is this: just don't piss him off.“

Sera and I both nod in agreement.

“Why is no one else surprised by this?“
Xander asks.

Trace shrugs. “Most people know about the
Russo and Manzini families. It wasn't that far of a stretch even if
Lucy does play on the right side of the law.“

“Goodie two-shoes,“ Jace teases and I
snort.

“That's me,“ I preen.

“I didn't know either,“ Jesse tells
Xander.

I nod. “Maybe this is the part where
I
tell
you
to hold on—we're in for a bumpy ride?“

Xander laughs like a loon. “And to think it's
just beginning.“

Cage groans.

Sera taps Jesse on the shoulder. “Welcome to
the family, bro.“

“Thanks,“ he replies skeptically.

“Don't worry about Grandpa Russo. Lucy has
the old man wrapped around her finger,“ Sera assures him.

“Who doesn't she have wrapped around her
finger?“ Xander asks. I smile and kiss his cheek. “Yeah baby. Mrs.
Jesse Kingston just laid her lips on my cheek. I'm tweeting
that—and I'm not clarifying which cheek.“

I let out a laugh. “Just add to the
drama.“

“Hell yeah,“ Xander exclaims, fingers flying
over his screen.

“Cage, do we have Atlantic City, Las Vegas,
Miami, Chicago, or St. Louis as stops on the tour?“ I ask.

He nods. “All of them at one time or
another.“

“Okay.“

“Why do you ask?“

“Well, since we skipped out of Vegas without
seeing my Grandpa Russo, and after him finding out Jesse and I are
married, it's likely he's going to want to meet my new husband when
we get to one of those cities.“

Jesse groans and Cage laughs. “Which
one?“

Sera sits forward. “Oh, we never know where
he'll show up. He just does and then summons us.“

“He's really not that bad, Jesse. I've met
him before,“ Cage tells him.

Jesse grunts.

“Now their cousin Nico? He's one scary
fucker.“

“That's who the old man sent for us,“ Jesse
tells him.

“Yeah, Giovanni's pretty persuasive and
knowing you're all pretty big guys with bodyguards he probably
thought he needed muscle.“

“Meh,“ I say. “I'd have gone to meet him or
have him meet us but I'm too damn hungover and I'm still trying to
believe this isn't a dream.“

Jesse smiles and pulls me close. He kisses me
softly, innocently, and all too quickly it takes on a life of its
own. Passion, lust, want, need are all mingled in that kiss and
when Kennedy shouts, “Get a room!“ we break apart grinning like
idiots.

“It's real,“ he tells me.

I nod.

“Because Jesse Kingston is my husband and he
is so very dreamy,“ Meggie teases.

I sigh. “He totally is.“

I love this group of people so much. We've
become family. The members of Falling Down, Blush, Celeste and
Cage. The only ones missing are Spenser, Carmen, and Simone, our
hair and makeup specialists. Xander's the drummer for Falling Down
and he's the jokester of the bunch. Ben is Jesse's brother and the
lead guitarist. He's… very direct and to the point. Ethan, the bass
guitarist, is all about the facts and truth and no bullshit.
Kennedy, the rhythm guitarist, is the quiet one of the bunch, not
really speaking unless spoken to. When I talked to the guys about
this once before, they mentioned he's just always in his head…
thinking. I think he's some sort of genius who's always working
things out in there, solving puzzles and riddles. I bet he could
solve world hunger if he put his mind to it.

Trace is the drummer for Blush. We got so
lucky when Xander and Cage asked him to meet up with us for a jam
session and we instantly clicked. He was the drummer for a
different band but he bailed out when the other band members were
more into their drugs than they were into the music. Then there's
Meggie, our rhythm guitarist. We grew up with her as well and it
was just a fluke chance that she was one of the ones that Cage
asked to give us a try. With having Jace, Sera, and I already in
the band, we were solid and we are kicking ass.

Celeste—well, I stole her from Cage. I stole
Spenser, Carmen, and Simone as well but we won't get into that. I'd
just given a press conference when we headed into Nichols Records
and I spotted Celeste. I knew right then and there just from
watching her, she knew her stuff and I asked if she wanted to be
our assistant and PR person. She said yes, much to Cage's dismay. I
promised I wouldn't steal any more of his personnel. I may or may
not have had my fingers crossed when I made that promise. You never
know who you're going to meet next.

“They're going to be even more nauseating
than they already were,“ Ben scoffs.

With that, Jesse leans in and gives me a deep
kiss. I nearly moan out loud. When Jesse pulls away, he gives me a
wink and gives his brother the finger.

I look Ben in the eyes. “Is… are you okay
with this?“ I ask, gesturing between me and Jesse.

He lifts his brows in surprise. “Yeah, of
course. Ah, doll, you know I think you're the best thing that's
happened to the manwhore in… well,
ever
. He finally did
something right and I get a bonus out of it.“

“How's that?“ I ask.

“He made you my sister.“

Now the tears come and I can't help it. I
pull away from Jesse and crawl into Ben's lap. “You're my big
brother, Benny.“