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“Skittle, have I mentioned that my friends Lorraine and Claudia are my fiancé’s cousins?” My voice was starting to head to dog-only levels. Not good.
Claudia shook her head. “I’m still sort of stuck on the nicknames. You’re all named after candies?”
“Or sweet things, yeah.” I felt my cheeks getting hot. It never seemed stupid until I was telling someone outside of the sorority about it. To a girl, my sorority sisters’ eyes narrowed.
“How do you keep all the nicknames straight?” Claudia asked. She sounded like she did whenever she was discussing something scientific: interested and serious.
“Um, just do.” I enjoyed wi
Lorraine laughed. “I think it’s cute.”
Claudia gri
“And I think it’s great your sisters are going to be around to keep Jeff on his toes.” Lorraine nudged Jea
“Jeff’s not stupid.” The Dazzler brain-love was great, but not at the expense of Martini’s feelings.
“Where are your girlfriends from high school?” Tamara asked. She looked the most upset of the girls, but in a quiet way. I wasn’t sure why.
Claudia answered before I could. “They couldn’t come out, either, because Jeff and Kitty had to move their wedding date up.”
“Why?” Cathy asked. “Oh, my God, are you preggers already?”
“No!” This was devolving into that nightmare I’d hoped to miss. I scrambled for an acceptable reason for my wedding date and party being as they were and came up with nothing that was going to work.
A throat cleared behind me. “Nice to see you girls,” my mother said. She sounded pleasant and, as always, in complete control of the situation. But I wasn’t sure if I should relax or not.
The choruses of hellos and hugs took a while. When they were done, Mom went on without missing a beat. “We’re not talking about it, but Jeff’s family is quite politically co
Mom sounded totally believable, and she looked it, too. Amazingly enough, Lorraine and Claudia didn’t give away that at least the latter half of this explanation was something of a whopper.
But it worked. My sorority sisters went from upset to commiserating instantly. It dawned on me that they were hurt they hadn’t been asked to be in my wedding party, which should have dawned on me much sooner. Of course, I’d been distracted with that whole saving the world thing. Not that it would get me a free pass, because it never did.
“Jeff’s a prince,” Claudia said conspiratorially to Christie.
“Chuck said he was a great guy,” Jea
“No, a real prince,” Lorraine said. My sorority sisters looked impressed.
“Does that make you two princesses?” Kay asked.
“No,” Claudia said with a laugh. “We’re too far away from the main bloodline.”
“Will that mean Kit-Kat’s a princess, sort of like Grace Kelly?” Tamara asked, perking up. Apparently if I was marrying royalty, all was going to be forgiven.
“Um . . .” However, I had no idea and no answer. I also didn’t think Mom wanted these details discussed, and I sure didn’t. But I was saved from any further journey down the Excuses Rabbit Hole by what had been saving me from day one with Centaurion Division—rock ‘n’ roll.
CHAPTER 64
WE ALL HEARD A GUITAR BEING TUNED and wild shrieking from the little kids. “Gotta get our girl into her seat,” Lorraine called to my mother and sorority sisters. Then she and Claudia zoomed us into the theater, and there I was, front row center. I stopped worrying about anything other than figuring out who the band was going to end up being.
Kimmie, one of Martini’s many nieces, came ru
I pulled her onto my lap. “Yeah, and I don’t know who it is.”
She gri
“Your Uncle Jeff is going to get it when I see him again.”
“He said you’d say that. I can’t wait to see them—Uncle Jeff gave us all their CDs for Arrival Day.”
“He did? Why?”
“He said they helped keep you and him and Uncle Christopher alive. My mommy loves them too. Grandma does, too. Everyone likes them.” She looked very pleased. “I get to be your flower girl.”
I hugged her. “I know!” I could lie better than anyone when I had to. “And I’m so glad, too!” I was. If anyone had asked me, or, more importantly, it had dawned on me to think of it, Kimmie was who I’d have wanted. I reminded myself that Reader was the best friend in the world. He was also on the stage. “Why is James on the stage?”
Lorraine laughed. “He’s the emcee, silly.”
“Is there anything he can’t do?”
Claudia leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Turn straight. Otherwise, nothing.”
“True . . . true.” I looked around—the place was filled, at least the lower level. Looked up. Wow, we had Dazzlers up there, too. The entire A-C female population was in here. My sorority sisters were surrounded by Dazzlers. They seemed to be fitting in with no issues, and apparently they knew who the band was, because they looked as excited as everyone else.
I spotted Mom and the other mothers and grandmothers behind us a few rows. Chuckie’s mother was there, too, and waved to me. I waved back, relieved she didn’t look disappointed in my romantic decision. Mom didn’t wave—she was sca
“Can’t wait, we love them.” Claudia started to bounce in her seat. Lorraine already was.
Reader flashed the cover-boy grin. I heard a lot of squeals. Yep, even bald he was amazingly hot. “Ladies!” More squeals, a few shrieks. “I know you’re all excited to be here. I’d make a big speech, but that’s what the reception’s for.” Laughter from all the adults. “But before I get out of the way of tonight’s entertainment, let me just congratulate our bride-to-be on her musical choices.” Lots and lots of screams.
I heard music starting in the background. It was low, just the guitar riff, just the first few chords, played over and over, waiting for the intro. But they were opening chords I knew really, really well. I hugged Kimmie tight. It was a hypnotic beat, rocking, but soothing at the same time. I started bouncing. The rest of the crowd was going easily as wild as when the Beatles first hit America.
Reader gri
Okay, I admit it. I screamed. Loudly. Hey, needed to let the band know I was with them, right? It was only polite. And I was beyond excited.