Blush (12 page)

“How do you know that?“ the doc asks with
that sigh-worthy Irish accent Jesse is so not going to like him.
Well, not him so much as the fact that I find him extremely hot and
his voice makes my panties want to fall off.

“Because if I'm sizing you up correctly, and
I'm usually right—“

“She is,“ Sera interrupts.

“—then you won't put up with anyone's shit
and do what needs to be done and make sure everyone else does the
same.“

The doc nods and I nod back.

I hold out my hand, the left, which makes it
awkward. “Luciana Antonia Russo-Kingston, but you can call me
Lucy.“

“Kane Finnegan Donovan, M.D., but you can
call me Kane or doc if you prefer.“

“Dr. Hot Stuff,“ Sera mumbles.

I nod. “A pleasure. Welcome aboard.“

“It's not a cruise ship,“ Sera teases.

“Nope, it's not.“ Then I yell out, “All
aboard! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!“

“Hell yeah,“ Xander grins and whips out his
phone. Within seconds
Crazy Train
by Ozzy Osbourne fills the
air.

“I'm going off the rails on a crazy train!“ I
sing. “Won't you join me, doc?“

“Don't mind if I do, Lucy. I don't mind if I
do.“

“There’s always a
learning curve, where you’ve got to learn what your subject is all
about.“

—BRAD GILBERT

“WHAT DID YOU just do, jackass?“ Ben asks me, clearly
pissed off.

“I don't know. I just—“

“You just thought only of yourself,“ Regina
scolds. “You are now married, Jesse, and that type of behavior is
unacceptable.“

“I didn't even think—“

“That much is clear,“ Kennedy interrupts.

Fuck. Is there anyone here who's going to
bother to
try
to see where I'm coming from? I run a hand
along the back of my neck.

“You can no longer let these,“ Regina pauses,
“
ladies
, and I use the term loosely—“

Jace snorts. “Loosely.“ He holds up a fist
for Regina who actually bumps knuckles with him. Holy hell. I'm so
screwed.

“You can't allow them to do what they've done
in the past. You are no longer just you. You are half of a couple.
How would you feel if some of the men here were rubbing their hands
over Lucy in inappropriate places?“

I see red. My fists clench. That shit better
never happen.

She nods. “Exactly.“

“It didn't even register. I've never paid
attention to that sort of thing unless I was looking to hook up
with someone.“

Meggie crosses her arms and raises a brow.
“And what do you think that looked like to Lucy? Letting that bitch
rub up on your dick. Are you fucking serious right now, Jesse?“

“I seriously didn't even pay attention! I'm
so used to being groped it doesn't even affect me anymore. If I
hadn't been hard from watching Lucy, I wouldn't have been hard at
all. Those chicks can rub me up and down all night and it does
nothing for me unless I want it to,“ I defend.

“Well, from Lucy's perspective it looked like
you wanted it to whether you did or not. I've only see that look in
her eyes once before and that was when the whole phone numbers
thing happened,“ Ethan tells me.

“Fuck!“ I run my hands through my hair and
pace. “What the fuck am I supposed to do? How the fuck do I stop
them from that shit? How do I get Lucy to understand what
really
happened here tonight?“

Regina steps up. “You have an assistant with
you at all times who will keep a respectable distance between you
and the
ladies
.“

That's a good idea. “Yeah. Yeah, I can do
that,“ I nod.

“As far as Luciana,“ Anthony, Lucy's dad,
begins, “you might begin with groveling on your knees and I'm not
sure even that will work. You'd just proposed to her on that stage
and less than fifteen minutes later you let other women touch you
inappropriately. What kind of message is that sending Lucy?“

“Fuck,“ I whisper.

“Yeah, buddy. I'd say you're pretty well
fucked,“ Kennedy tells me. “But you two love each other so you can
get through this if you're serious about wanting to make it
together
. If you want to go solo and just date, then don't
pursue the marriage avenue, dude.“

“I meant every fucking word I said up there.
I can't imagine my life without her, not for a single fucking
second. Do you know how much it's killing me right now to not be
there for her when she's hurt? For her to lean on. It should be
me
there with her. Not Cage, Damian, and Xander. Fuck!“

“I can try to talk to her when she comes to
the hotel in the morning, to try to help her understand, but you
have to remember one thing about Luciana,“ Anthony tells me.

“What's that?“

“She doesn't feel she's good enough. Remember
your conversation that evening on the patio?“

I nod. I do. Who can forget a conversation
where the woman you love tells you that a guy, her first, the guy
she thought she loved, abused her emotionally and physically to the
point she lost a piece of herself. To the point where she ended up
in the hospital so battered she could barely move. To the point she
still hasn't gotten back to that sweet, confident girl I met back
in Chicago. My baby's confidence and self-worth are less than
perfect and my wife is so fucking amazing she should never doubt.
Anything. Ever. Including me and my love for her. But I just gave
her a reason.

Fuck me.

I hadn't even been thinking about any of
that. I need to get over myself and think of only her.

“Shit. You know I could give a rat's fucking
ass if those chicks hung around or come to the next show or not. If
they don't, someone else will fill the seats.“

Regina nods. “You are no longer just a sex
object, Jesse. You are a husband. You are Lucy's other half. You
are the one Lucy should be able to turn to with her fears,
especially about these things, but now I'm afraid you've elevated
those fears. This isn't going to be easy to fix.“

I nod, still pacing.

“All you can do now is reassure her and treat
her how she should always be treated. The way you treated her out
there on that stage—with reverence, admiration, tenderness, and
love. With every move you make you should be considering Lucy and
how it will affect her. Every single thing you do affects her
because you aren't two anymore, you are one,“ Ethan tells me.

“Damn dude,“ Ben says. “I didn't know you had
that in that blackened heart of yours.“

Ethan smiles a humorless smile. “Yeah, well,
considering…“

Ben nods. “The whole been-there-done-that
thing, only you were on the same end as Lucy.“

Ethan's lips thin and he nods once.

“We'll speak with Luciana in the morning,
Jesse. Just remember, she appears strong but underneath it all is
that frightened girl who always feels she isn't good enough. If I
had the opportunity, I'd kill Ian Marston,“ Anthony tells no one in
particular. I can see he's lost in what that Ian fucker stole from
Lucy. I remember what she was like. Even that hour in the Chicago
airport was enough to see the confidant, sure young woman Lucy was
back then. Now I could only wonder as I look at her, just how much
was the real Lucy and how much was actress Lucy.

My phone rings and it's Cage.

“How is she?“

“She's feeling no pain. Good pain meds. Her
hand is fractured in two spots. They're able to align with a little
manipulation and they're going to cast her.“

I blow out a breath relieved she doesn't need
surgery but still pissed and guilty as hell she's got a broken
fucking hand because of my actions, because of what I allowed to
happen.

“At least she doesn't need surgery,“ I tell
him.

“Yeah.“

“How is she otherwise? About all the
shit.“

Cage blows out a breath, clearly
uncomfortable. “It's not good, man.“

“I didn't think it would be. How bad?“ I need
to know even though I'm pretty sure I already do.

“Really fucking bad.“

I nod even though he can't see me. “Thanks
man. Take care of her for me?“

“Always. You never have to ask.“ With that,
he hangs up and ends the conversation.

“Cage?“ Kennedy asks.

“Yeah. Her hand's fractured in two spots but
she won't need surgery. She'll be casted.
Fuck!
“ And it's
all my fault. My wife broke her hand punching a slut in the face
because she was groping my package while I let her. Christ. I'm an
asshole. It would serve me right if she bailed, but I'm not going
to allow that to happen. I can't let her go. I love her with
everything I am and it would kill me to lose her.

“I've never been in a relationship before—of
any kind. I don't—“

Regina touches my shoulder. “Just be here for
her and don't let her push you away too far. We'll talk to her in
the morning. Now, we need to go get some rest.“

“Thanks for that.“

She smiles a small smile of pity and Anthony
nods slightly.

“It'll work out, Jesse,“ Ben says, clamping a
hand on my shoulder.

“I fucking hope so. I don't even know how to
be
without her anymore,“ I tell him.

He nods. “Let's head back to the bus.“

I look around and note the building has
cleared out. Shit. What the hell time is it anyway? And how much of
this is already out there on display for the world? Only one way to
find out.

WHEN WE GET back to the bus, Kennedy fires up the
laptop while I grab a beer from the fridge.

We all stand around waiting to see what the
media's done with this story. He enters Lucy's name into Google and
presses search.

“Holy fuck,“ I yell. “How do they know her
hand is broken when we just found out?“

Kennedy raises an eyebrow. “Really dude?
She's Luciana Russo-Kingston. That shit got leaked the minute she
entered the ER.“

I grunt. True.

“There's video,“ Ethan tells me.

“Great.“

Kennedy chuckles and presses play. We watch
the entire scene as it unfolded before us earlier and damn if I
don't get hard watching Lucy all assertive.

“Damn, that's hot,“ Ben states as if reading
my mind.

“Right?“ Ethan agrees.

“Jesus, did you see that? No wonder she broke
her hand. She slugged the fuck out of that chick. Not only did she
hit her nose, she hit her cheekbone. I bet that chick has broken
both,“ Kennedy tells us.

“Hell. I don't want to be on the receiving
end of that fist,“ Ben notes. He looks in my direction. “Duck and
weave, motherfucker. Duck and weave.“

“No shit,“ I reply.

“They're back,“ Ethan tells us, looking out
the window.

Kennedy powers off the laptop and turns on
the TV. Not a good plan with us as the starring attraction.

They all board the bus and Xander's got an
arm around Lucy, helping her up the steps. She's giggling and I
want to grin, but I don't. I know a grin on my part will stop her
laughter. I don't want her to be sad or angry. She's got pain to
deal with and I'm talking the physical kind. Tonight we'll focus on
that. Tomorrow we'll focus on the emotional.

“Dude, Lucy's high as fuck,“ Xander
laughs.

Sera giggles. “She's been singing
Crazy
Train
for the last hour and she's not the biggest fan of the
Oz-man.“

“Look, Jesse!“ she giggles, bounding forward
to me. “I've got a pink cast!“

“Perfect for you, Luce.“

She nods. “I need white, silver, and gold
markers. I'm going to decorate it tomorrow.“

“Do you need me to go get that for you?“

“No, no,“ she says, patting my chest.
“Damian's going.“

I bite my tongue and Ben smirks. Fucker. He
knows that this pisses me off majorly. And I know that Lucy's still
pissed beyond belief–right now she's just high and feeling no
pain.

When she starts singing again, this time
singing
Shock the Monkey
, Xander sighs, “Thank Christ.“