Blush (Rockstar #2) (23 page)

He twirls the end of the scarf and does the hip thrust, step, hip thrust, step thing all the way over to Ben and then starts humping up on Ben's leg.

“Get the fuck out of here, dude,“ Ben says with a shove of his shoulder—his hands are full of grocery bags too.

“Move your ass, man,“ Kennedy chides Ben, then sees what's going on and shakes his head. “Fuckin' Xander. I shoulda known.“ He sees Xander eyeing him up and his gaze narrows. “You try fucking on me, man, and I'll beat your ass.“

Xander wiggles his eyebrows. “You know I like it rough,“ he teases and thrusts against Kennedy's ass. Kennedy pushes Ben out of the way and rushes into the kitchen area.

I see Ethan lingering in the hall, laughing his ass off next to Jace.

When
Got Your Money
by Ol' Dirty Bastard comes on, Jace makes his way into the room singing and starts dancing with us. In comes Meggie and, I stiffen a bit when Sera dances her way in but keep dancing and recording. Trace trails behind them all, avoiding the craziness.

My grandpa walks in, eyebrows raised as we all dance, but now I'm taking a break in the chair, knowing better than to overdo it. He makes his way over to where I'm sitting, leans in and kisses my cheek, then takes a seat in the chair next to mine.

“These are quite some friends you have, Luciana,“ he begins.

I nod. “They are. They're not just friends, though, Gampy. They're family.“

He nods in return. “You realize I'm allowing you to call me that because you've been critically wounded.“

I grin.

“I likely won't allow that to continue,“ he murmurs.

I continue to grin.

He lets out a sigh and I know I've won without even saying a thing.

“You may call me that as long as you like,“ he tells me and I meet his gaze. He smirks a bit. “Truth be told, I missed it.“

“I won't tell,“ I whisper to him with a wink, then go back to singing as Cage and Damian make their way into the room, both shaking their heads when Xander follows them, trying to hump them. I snicker out loud.

“So, this is our family?“ he asks as Janalee walks in. I nod and he returns the nod.

“They're all safe.“ It's a flat statement but one I know to be completely true. He's done whatever he needed to do to make sure that was true before he said it.

I walk over to him, sit on his lap and hug him close. “Thank you, Gampy.“

“Ah, Luciana. I love you,
piccola
.“

“I love you too, Gampy.“

“You got here on your own.“

I meet his gaze head on and nod. “Thank you.“

He nods and closes his eyes as he does.

“They will never touch you again. I promise you.“

I look to Sera. “What about my sister?“ I ask him.

His lips press into a thin line. “They will try and they will fail.“

“Orgasms
make such pretty bows to presents.“

—NIKITA KING

WHEN GIOVANNI RUSSO pulls me off to the side to have a "chat" I could piss myself. The man doesn't look lethal but I know in his case looks are deceiving.

“We need to discuss your father,“ the old man says and I want to hit something. Giovanni Russo. My fucking dad owes Giovanni Russo hundreds of thousands of dollars. He’s a dead man.

“He owes you money,“ I say flatly.

“A lot of money which I know he doesn't have.“

“No, he doesn't. And neither me nor Ben are giving it to him. We're done. We told him last time, he's on his own,“ I tell him point blank.

He nods. “I see. Seeing as you're
Famiglia
I need to ask how you want me to handle this. Your father is not
Famiglia
which means he has no special privileges.“

“I don't expect him to,“ I tell him. And I don't. I really don't. The man has had more than enough chances to clean up his act and Ben and I are done bailing him out.

Giovanni just stares at me.

“I know what needs to happen here and I’m okay with it so long as my sisters aren't involved. There were threats against them which is why Janalee is here and Jeni is locked down,“ I state.

He nods. “No harm will come to the girls. Your mother, however, is a different matter. She's in as deep as your father.“

“Not a surprise.“

“Business is business and he's been foolish in his business. I don't fuck around with business,“ the old man says flatly, the first curse word I heard pass through his lips but I have a feeling that means he's pushed past his limit.

“As you said, business is business and they're no longer mine. They did us no favors growing up and I'm done doing favors for them now that I've made my own way.“ I turn  to the side, running my hands through my hair and see Ben standing behind me.

“Do you agree with your brother, Ben?“ Giovanni asks.

Ben nods. “I do. They've had more than enough chances.“

The old man eyes us both. “Alright. I appreciate your candor and no leniency will be granted to Karen and Kevin Kingston.“ He holds out a hand to me and I shake it.

“You have earned my respect, Kingston brothers. That's not an easy thing to do.“ With that, he walks off, stopping only to shake Ben's hand briefly.

“What do you think they'll do to them?“ Ben asks.

I shrug. “I have no idea. I'm just glad the girls are safe.“

“Do you feel guilty?“ he asks.

I don’t hesitate. “No. Do you?“

Neither does Ben. “No. Not anymore.“ Ben turns and heads back to the other room and I lean back against the wall, scrubbing my hands over my face.

That's a hell of a first private conversation to have with your grandfather-in-law and head of the Russo family. Shit.

“What are you doing over here, babe? The rest of the food's here,“ Lucy calls out.

I shake off the bullshit and focus on Lucy. Getting her well is what I need to focus on. That and keeping her safe. With all the muscle around here, legal and illegal, I don't see that being a problem.

THE FEAST OF Chinese takeout, burgers and fries from a fast food place Lucy insisted on, ice cream, and enough cake, pie, and pastries to keep Ben in his favorite sugar rush, was a success. We had twenty people eating which included the five security members who weren't allowed to leave the suites unless every single one of us was planning on leaving. None of us were to be unprotected according to Giovanni Russo and, as I'm coming to find out quite quickly, his word is law.

I hadn't noticed but when Ethan remarked on how much more Lucy'd been eating the last couple of months and now I look back on it, he was right on. She had been eating more than normal—and she ate a lot before. She'd also been sleeping a lot. I just attributed it to the extra energy she'd been using up with the band and everything.

But now I know. Now I know there are three tiny little human beings in this tummy I'm looking at on eye-level as Lucy lays in bed.

I look up at her and she's got an amused grin on her face.

“You think they can hear us out here?“ I ask.

She nods. “I do.“

“Oh man, you better stop screaming during se—S.E.X. then.“

She laughs. “They don't know what any of it is or what it means. Likely it all sounds like it does when we have our heads underwater considering they're swimming around in a bunch of amniotic fluid.“

I tilt my head and consider. That's true.

“Luce.“

“Hmm,“ she murmurs, her eyes closed, her body relaxed as I draw circles on her baby bump with my thumb.

“There're three of them in there.“ I can't stop looking at it, the baby bump, the babies.

“Mhmm,“ she says, unfazed. How can she be so calm about this?

“Three. Lucy. Three babies. Three crying babies in the middle of the night. Three babies to feed at the same time. Oh God, are you going to breastfeed? You've only got two boobs and three kids coming. Babe, what the hell do we do about that? Oh man, what if they all have poop diapers at the same time? How do you pick which one to change first?“ Yeah, I know I'm panicking but, dude: Three. Babies. Three.

She snickers. My wife, snickers at me while I'm freaking out about our triplets. Triplets!

“Wife of mine, how can you be so damn calm about this? One baby is trying for normal people and I'd like to think we're pretty normal. Well, okay, we're not so we're already at a disadvantage. How the hell can we manage with three babies?“ I ask, sitting up on my elbows. Panic making my heart beat faster and faster.

She's got this amazingly serene smile on her face and she's so damn beautiful, even with the bruising.

“You do realize there are a minimum of ten people in our house. Let's not forget Mrs. Martinez, Spenser, Carmen, Simone, Celeste—“

“The makeup and hair people aren't going to be helping. They don't live here, Luce.“

“How long do you really think that's going to last, babe? I mean, seriously. Celeste is moving in when we get back as are Damian and more security, your sisters, need I go on?“

I let out a groan. “That's both good and bad. It's great for when the babies arrive, but how can we have sex in peace? I mean, come on, Luce. They hear you screaming outside on the patio.“

She giggles and shrugs. “I'll just have to tone it down. Besides, once the babies arrive, I'll have to be quieter anyway. I may as well get into the habit.“

“I guess. I'm panicking inside, woman, and you're giggling.“

“There's nothing we can do about it now, right?“ she asks.

“Right.“

“So why panic? Besides, do you really think my mother is going to leave me on my own with triplets?“

“No. No way, Luce. Your mom is not staying with us. Hell fucking, no.“ This I am serious about. Regina Kingston living in our fucking house, being around her 24/7? No way.

Lucy laughs. “I didn't mean she'd be living with us. I just meant that if we needed someone to help us with the babies like a nanny or something she'd be sure we got someone reliable.“

“Oh. I never thought of a nanny, but I really don't want some stranger raising my kids either.“

“Jesse, calm down, okay? Breathe. We got this.“

I nod. She stole my line. “We do.“ And now I stole hers.

“How many bedrooms are in this place anyway?“ she asks.

“Honestly? I'm not sure. I think something like eighteen or twenty.“ It's pretty damn close to the equivalent of a smaller hotel.

“Why did you buy such a big house?“ she asks.

I shrug. “I don't know. I guess we all really liked the location, how it's kind of off on its own and secluded, the overall layout and the gated community. It just fit at the time.“

“It's turning into the one place everyone wants to live.“

I nod and shrug. Honestly, I don't mind. If we need time alone, I've still got the keypad. “It's fine.“

“You sure?“

“Mhmm. I knew you came with a brood, I just didn't realize how big it was going to be,“ I tell her with a grin.

“So, uh, are you really okay with the babies? I mean, it's not like we planned it and it's pretty much all my fault for missing my doctor's appointment for my shot,“ she confesses looking guilty.

“Baby, stop. It's great. I swear. Like I said, yeah, ideally I'd have liked to have had more time with me and you, but we've got babies in there. Mini-us's.“ I kiss her abdomen. “What do you think: boys or girls and how many of each?“

“I have no idea. No guess. I think one of them for sure is a girl though. When I was talking to my Aunt Lily—“

“Who?“

“My Aunt Lily. Sera's mom.“

“Um, Luce, isn't she dead?“ I ask carefully.

“Yeah. I know this is going to sound off the wall, but when I was unconscious out here, I was in what seemed like a tunnel but it wasn't. It was like never-ending open space. It was dark and all I could see was this bright light one way and a red light the other way. I was afraid, you know? Lost and not sure where to go so I headed toward the light thinking I'd find my way out of this tunnel when I heard a voice tell me I was going the wrong way. It was Sera's mom.“

“Huh,“ is all I say. That's fucking weird. It's something I've heard people talk about before and I never really gave it much thought one way or the other but now that it happened to Luce, I'm sure it's true.

“Anyway, we were talking a lot. She mentioned a girl and said something that implied multiple babies. I assumed twins, not triplets. To say I was more than a little shocked when I heard you and Xander talking about it, well… yeah,“ she shakes her head and yawns.

“We should get some sleep, babe. We've got a busy couple of days ahead.“

“Let's watch a movie,“ she hedges, even though we both know she won't last ten minutes.

“Alright. Let's see what they've got. How about this one? Action flick and with those two starring you know you'll get your romance fix. It's win-win for us,“ I tell her.

“That works out perfectly.“

“Cool.“ I snuggle under the blankets with her and she curls into my side, her head resting on my shoulder. Sure enough, not even ten minutes later, she's snuffle snoring. On top of all the damn trauma she's been through lately, I think, massaging the fingers on her casted hand, she's got three lives growing in there. Three miracles. I swallow. Hard. I don't know shit about being a dad but I know I want to do my best for them. I want them to have everything they need and I don't mean monetarily. I want them to have all the love and support and understanding that pretty much none of us guys had growing up. I want our babies to grow up seeing their parents in love so they know how it's supposed to be. What Lucy and I have is that kind of love. As she calls it, the happily-ever-after love.

I never want our kids to feel neglected, unloved, unsupported, or have any doubts about themselves or our love for them. I just hope I can give that to them. With Lucy as my wife, I'm pretty sure that's guaranteed. There's nothing we can't get through together. There's nothing we can't do when we've got each other.

I turn the TV off and kiss Lucy's forehead. I'm exhausted. I haven't slept worth shit with Lucy in the hospital. Hospital chairs are only so comfortable and I wasn't leaving her for anything.