Chapter 41
KATRINA
The Sin and Sand is packed to the brim when we arrive. Rather than attempt the front entrance and get swallowed by the crowd, Logan and I slip around to the back, waiting for someone to let us in.
The door swings open as we reach it. Knox stands in the doorway, arms crossed, wearing his usual leather jacket and a glare.
“You’re late,” he says.
“My fault,” I say quickly, flashing a smile. “I couldn’t find my lucky underwear.”
Knox grimaces. “You have lucky underwear?”
“No, but it sounded better than telling you the truth.”
He steps back with a muttered curse and a sneer at Logan. “Whatever.” He jerks a thumb toward the dressing rooms. “Shock, one of your girls sprayed something back there. Smells weird.”
“It’s just sage, brother,” Logan says.
“It’s weird. And stop calling me brother.”
“You have your pre-show rituals. We have ours.”
“Yeah, and yours are fucking weird.”
I hang back, grinning as I watch them bicker with each other.
“No need to be so hostile,” Logan says with that maddening little smirk. “I didn’t like the smell either at first, but it grew on me. Trust me, by the time we reach Europe, you’ll probably love it.”
Knox recoils. “Oh, right. You’ll be with us. The whole time.”
“Yes,” Logan says with a polite nod. “That was the point behind The Love Conquers All Tour with The Electrics and Criminal Records.”
“Eh…” Knox wrinkles his nose. “Criminal Records and The Electrics.”
“Double headliners means equal billing.”
“Yeah, but… our logo’s first on the posters. People read left to right.”
“Not everywhere in the world.”
“Well, when we get to Tokyo, you can say your band first. Okay?”
Logan grins, never one to pass up a chance to needle my brother. “Okay.” He turns to me and presses a kiss to my cheek. “Gonna check on Tessie and Goldie.”
“I’ll be here,” I say, smiling into the kiss.
“I’ll make sure they air the room out,” he tosses back at Knox as he walks off.
“Yeah,” Knox mutters. “You better.”
He keeps glowering after Logan, then turns to glare at me instead. “The hell are you grinning about?” he asks.
“Nothing,” I say, holding my smile. “I like it when you two get along, that’s all.”
He groans as we head toward our equipment. He flops down into a chair and picks up his acoustic guitar, testing the tuning with a few absent plucks.
“Sign my boyfriend’s band to our label, Knox,” he mutters in falsetto, mocking me. “It’ll be fun, Knox!”
“I never said it’d be fun ,” I say, stepping behind him and crossing my arms over his shoulders. “I said it’d be lucrative. Which it was!”
“He’s so talented, Knox.”
“He is talented, Knox.”
He answers with a grunt.
I tap my cheek thoughtfully. “Hmm. I seem to recall a highly publicized music competition that settled this on this very stage, oh… two years ago?”
“He cheated.”
I roll my eyes and lean in, my voice near his ear. “Knox. We both know you don’t actually hate Logan or his band?—”
“We do, eh?”
“So, how about you cut them some slack? Or else this is gonna be a very long year.”
I drop my hand over his on the strings, my shiny ass yellow diamond ring pointing straight up.
“Yeah, well, I?—”
His voice trails off.
Slowly, he pulls his hand from beneath mine and pinches my fingers, eyes glued to the bling that definitely wasn’t there yesterday.
Knox looks up at me over his shoulder, his face full of shock.
I nod.
His eyes widen. “Really?” he whispers.
“Yeah,” I say. “We’re going to a chapel tonight after the show.”
“Really?” he asks, his jaw dropping.
I laugh. “Yes, really.”
The guitar clatters onto its stand as he jumps up and yanks me into a hug so fast I squeak. My feet leave the ground as he lifts me and spins us in two wide circles.
“I’m so happy for you,” he says, squeezing me so tight I can barely breathe.
“Really?” I whisper, chest tightening with emotion.
“Hell yeah!” he says, setting me down but keeping hold until I’m steady. “But you sure you wanna do it tonight? We could hold off a bit. Plan something big.”
“Nah. I’m not a big wedding kinda person. Small. Intimate.” I nod with finality. “That’s my jam. You can have the big, over-the-top Benton wedding.” I grin. “And when might we expect that again?”
Knox grumbles. “Never.”
My smile falters. “Why not?”
“Because we broke up.”
I gasp. “What?! Why? What did you do?”
“Me?! Why is it always my fault? You know, most of the times we break up, it’s totally on her.”
“Well…” Panic skitters in my chest. “Is Harmony still coming on the tour?”
“Yes, she’s still coming,” he says with a wave of his hand. “She’s in the dressing room now—throwing one of her tantrums!” he shouts in that direction, then looks back to me. “But thanks to this—” he grabs my ringed hand and grins at it, “—she’ll be crawling back into my bed by the end of the night, so… go, team!”
I yank my hand back. “Will you please just marry her already?!”
He pouts. “Marriage is so not rock and roll.”
I blink at him. “Knox.”
“Well, it’s common,” he says. “Too common. Fucking everybody’s getting hitched lately. Jonah. You. Addison. It’s… trendy,” he adds with a bitter twist on the word.
“Three weddings in two years isn’t that strange—especially for our age group,” I say. “Would you please, at the very least, get back together with her before we hit the road tomorrow?”
“I’ll do my best,” he says, hands up in mock surrender.
I lift an eyebrow.
“I will!”
“You promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
“Promise what?” Jonah asks, suddenly appearing at Knox’s side.
“To get back together with Harmony before the awkwardness ruins the start of the tour,” I say.
Jonah slaps Knox’s shoulder. “You broke up again? What’d you do this time?”
“What’d I—” Knox glares at me for my betrayal. “One, I didn’t do anything. Two, by morning it’ll be like it never happened, so get off my dick. And three, Katrina’s getting hitched.”
All the anger drains from Jonah’s face. He whips to me, his eyes widening as I lift my hand to flash the ring.
“Kat!” He pulls me in for a bear hug that knocks the breath from my lungs. “When?”
“Oh,” Knox says, trying to sound annoyed but failing to hide the glee in his eyes, “in about three hours.”
Jonah gasps, gripping my shoulders. “Seriously?”
I nod. “Seriously.”
He hugs me again. “Congratulations, Kat.”
“Thanks, Jo,” I say into his shoulder, feeling warm and a little squished.
“Damn,” he says, pulling back, beaming. “What a way to launch a tour, huh?”
“What’s going on?” Addison asks, strolling up.
Knox sighs loudly. “Just my little sister making everything about her,” he mutters. “As usual.”
Jonah and I give him a glare. He smirks.
Two high-pitched screams erupt from the dressing room behind us.
I laugh. “I guess Logan just told Tesla and Goldie,” I say.
“Told them what?” Addison asks.
I show the ring. Her eyes go wide.
“Holy shit! You guys got married?!”
“Engaged,” I say. “But tonight, after the show. We’re doing it.”
“And we’re all invited, right?”
“Of course!”
Addison squeals, then hugs me tight. “That’s so awesome, Katrina,” she says into my ear. “Being a wife is so much fun. You’re gonna love it.”
“I hope so— UNGH!”
My entire skeleton collapses under the sudden weight of two more bodies slamming into us.
“Show us the ring!”
“Yeah, he wouldn’t let us see it before!”
“Sisters for liiiii-fe!”
Tesla and Goldie bounce up and down with Addison and me in the middle, all of us laughing and shrieking in a chaotic knot of limbs and joy.
“Hey, Jordan!” Knox calls, standing off to the side. “Come hear the good news!”
I thrust my hand out from our hug-pile, shouting, “I’m getting married tonight!”
“Oh,” Jordan says as she walks past, her voice thin and flat. “That’s nice, Kat.”
Addison and I both notice the strange note in her voice. We pat Goldie and Tesla’s arms to gently break free and step out of the tangle as Jordan brushes past us, pale-faced and rattled.
“Jordan?” Addison says carefully. “You okay?”
“Hm?” Jordan glances back, glasses slipping down her nose. “No, I’m good.”
Addison and I exchange a look. The others go quiet, too, all eyes watching her.
“I’m fine,” Jordan says, her laugh stiff and joyless. “Everything is fine. Weddings, yes. Marriage! Good call. Are there shots yet?”
She angles into the dressing room, bumping into Logan as he steps out.
“Oh—” Logan draws back, noticing her pale face. “Sorry, Jordan.”
“Hey, Logan,” she murmurs without meeting his eye as she passes.
He glances at us immediately. “Is she okay?”
“We were about to figure that out,” I say, my stomach twisting with unease.
“Yo, Bronson!” Knox calls out, spotting him wandering in from the bar.
“What’s wrong with Jordan?” Jonah asks.
Bronson says nothing, his expression tight, unreadable.
“Bron?” Addison prompts, eying him carefully. “You good?”
He exhales sharply, puffing out his cheeks.
Knox groans. “You’re not getting married, are you? Because you and I are the last bachelors left. We gotta stick together here!”
I flash my ring at Bronson, trying to lighten the mood. For a second, some genuine happiness flickers across his face.
“MOVE YOUR ASSES. IT’S SHOT TIME!”
Jordan’s voice cuts through the air like a whip crack.
We jerk in surprise. Bronson bolts straight toward the dressing room. The rest of us trail after him, buzzing with questions.
Inside the room, Jordan clumsily pours whiskey into red plastic cups. Harmony and Harvey stand nearby, both looking mildly alarmed. August and Chrissy sit quietly, brows knit. Priscilla lingers in the corner, her eyes tracking everything.
“Jordan, sweetie...” Addison approaches slowly. “You okay?”
“I’m fine!” she says, pouring with dramatic, messy flair. “All fine! Everything is fine!”
Bronson places one big, grounding hand on her shoulder. Jordan stills, looks at him, then slowly turns to face the rest of us.
“Okay,” she says brightly, lifting her cup. “Let’s get this out of the way. Five minutes ago, I found out I’m pregnant.”
Gasps ripple around the room.
“Oh, my god!” I say, my hands flying to my mouth.
Knox slaps Bronson’s back. “Hell yeah, boy!”
“Congratu—”
“No!” Jordan silences us with one sharp word. “No, no. We’re not gonna do that. We’re just gonna acknowledge it and move on.”
Jonah raises his brows so high they disappear under his navy blue beanie. “Move on?”
“Yup!” Jordan beams. “Gonna blow right past it. We have a show tonight! And a wedding, right?” She looks pointedly at me.
I nod slowly. “Uh-huh.”
“Well, let’s get to it, then!”
“How long is pregnancy again?” Knox asks.
“Nine months,” she replies without missing a beat.
“And how long is the world tour?”
“Twelve months.” She hoists her cup into the air. “Three-two-one! Shot time!”
Jordan throws back her whiskey alone while the rest of us stare, speechless.
“All right!” she cries, triumphant, wiping her mouth. “Let’s rock!”
She tosses the empty cup onto the floor and strides out of the room without looking back. Bronson gives us all an apologetic nod and follows her out. The others hesitate before trailing after them with nothing but whispers and wide-eyed stares.
Logan slides in beside me, hooking a hand around my waist.
“Are your tours always this chaotic?” he asks, leaning close to my ear.
“Uh...” I laugh. “Actually, yeah.”
Logan chuckles, his arm curling tighter around me. “Gonna be an interesting year, then,” he says, amused but… cautious.
I kiss him, heart pounding with nerves and joy and everything in between.
“Yes,” I say. “It is.”
And we wouldn’t have it any other way.
* * *
Catch up with Criminal Records and The Electrics in Always Wait for the Encore, a collection of epilogues that take place during the Love Conquers All World Tour!