Alien in the Family

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 grinned again. “Kitty, from me, Tim, and all the rest of Alpha and Airborne teams, thanks for loving this band. Now . . . ladies, all the way from Bath, England, please welcome our very special guests . . . Tears for Fears!”
    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.
    Reader got off the stage, and the curtain rose. I was already on my feet, holding Kimmie up. The band opened with “Cold,” which meant Claudia, Lorraine, and I were already singing along at the top of our lungs. In between screaming.
    I’d seen them before, and I had the T-shirts to prove it, but it was different seeing them here, and knowing they were here for, well, me . It was also a really neat surprise to discover that Martini had turned Dazzlers of all ages into TFF fans. I wouldn’t have to worry about finding someone to go with on their next concert tour.
    They did song after song, and not just all the hits, but all the ones I liked the best. I assumed Tim had had a lot to do with the song selections. After me, he knew the music I liked to listen to the best, both when and why.
    They did a full ninety-minute set without anything other than a water break. They were awesome, charming, and funny. But even great concerts have to end. They closed with “Goodnight Song.” The screams were deafening, and continued on.
    I was shocked, but they came back out for an encore. “We had a special request for this encore, from the groom-to-be.” The band went into a slow song that I recognized in a few lines: “I Choose You.” There was a lot of sniffling in the audience. I did my best not to start bawling my head off.
    The band let the end of the song hang on the air, then went into “Closest Thing to Heaven.” I was still trying not to cry. I felt someone watching me and handed Kimmie to Lorraine. Looked around and spotted him. No idea how long he’d been in the room—like the rest of the guys, he was in the shadows. He was leaning against a wall at the end of the row, watching me. I ran past the rest of the front row and jumped into his arms.
    Martini caught me and kissed me as the band rolled into “Secret World.” He kissed me all through the song. I heard the band joke that the bride seemed happy with the encore, and I could tell from the way they were laughing and the audience reaction that everyone knew Martini and I were kissing. Didn’t care.
    The band said goodnight, screams and thunderous applause were heard, concert was over, and we were still kissing. Best concert of my life.

CHAPTER 65

    THE REST OF THE NIGHT WAS A BLUR. Got to meet the band, with Martini keeping a firm hold on me, just in case. How the guys in the band didn’t drop from exhaustion was beyond me—our crowd was pretty well-behaved, but I caught that the Dazzlers felt, particularly after this concert, that musical genius was almost as good as scientific genius, and we had to do some crowd control before we ended up with a mob scene.
    Once the band was finally safe, we all went back to the main party. Martini was carrying me around on his hip, which earned us a lot of jokes, all of which he seemed to enjoy. I was just so happy to finally be with him that I didn’t care.
    He grinned. “Nice to know you pine for me every time I’m in isolation.”
    “Every single time, Jeff.” Had to make out a bit after that, which earned us more ribbing from the various family members.
    “So,” I asked after we broke the latest lip-lock, “how long were you watching?”
    “Oh, a while before you noticed. I didn’t want you to know I was there until the encore