"Russell! What are you doing?"
"Prettying you up, doll baby! As naturally lovely as you are, I would not be a good friend if I let you go out there without a stitch of makeup."
Alisha sighed. It wasn't a battle she wanted to fight. "I'm too tired to argue with you."
"That's my girl," he smiled victoriously, patting her on the shoulder. He pulled out the rest of her makeup and went to work. "He seemed rather floored, you know."
"Who?"
Russell rolled his eyes dramatically. "Who? You know good and well, who, Alisha Larrington. That sex-on-a-stick fireman who thought you were just a chorus girl. He seemed rather gob smacked when you came on stage as the star."
She smiled smugly then. A part of her had wanted to stick it to him and she was happy to learn she'd knocked him down a peg or two. "Good," she giggled.
Russell worked quickly and a few minutes and one more heated argument about the sweatshirt later, the duo exited the dressing room.
"I still say you should ditch the sweatshirt. It's not sophisticated," he whined as they approached the group.
"Shut up about the damn sweatshirt already. Seriously. I wasn't aware I was entertaining the queen after the show. Christ almighty, Russell."
The lobby was nearly empty, so she quickly spotted the group. Her palms went damp when she spotted Big smiling down at the woman she assumed was his mother. God, he was good looking—even from his profile. Her fingers itched to run along his jaw line and she mentally slapped herself. Guys who looked and acted like he did were nothing but trouble and trouble was the last thing she wanted or needed.
"Here's our little starlet," Russell said merrily.
Alisha's cheeks flushed hot and she made a mental note later to slap him. But she smiled as five pairs of eyes all turned her direction. Maggie must have sensed her unease because she walked over and kissed her cheek, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Great show, Lisha!" She flashed a grateful smile at her best friend. "Thanks."
"You really were terrific," James chimed in, flashing a kind, dimpled grin. He was as cute as a basket full of puppies.
"Thank you," she politely replied. She felt Big's eyes on her and she turned. The sexy smirk on his face was offset by the mischievous gleam dancing around in those hazel eyes of his. She wasn't sure what that look meant, but it was wholly unnerving. There wasn't time to even give it a second thought though, since the mothers in the group quickly approached, happy grins plastered on their faces. "Hello," she greeted kindly. "I'm Alisha."
"Oh, sweetie, you were just truly spectacular on stage," Rosemary gushed, while Annie nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "I'm Rosemary Biggerman." She gripped Alisha's hand tightly and shook it vigorously. "And this is Annie Keller. We're the mothers of these two handsome men."
Alisha smiled genuinely then. It was clear that they both loved their sons deeply and the mental image she got of Rosemary going off on her son in a Jewish rant had her biting back a laugh. "It's very nice to meet the both of you. I'm glad you enjoyed the show."
"I understand that you grew up in Findlay," Annie said.
"I did," Alisha nodded. "Small world, isn't it?" She slanted a quick look at Big who looked on, embarrassed at what his mother might say.
"Absolutely," Rosemary agreed. "I also understand that my Jake helped you in a fire not too long ago."
My Jake. Rosemary reminded her so much of her grandmother just then. She glanced at him and he was looking back smugly at her. "He did—due to my own stupidity, I'm afraid. I ran in after my neighbor's cat. My Jewish guilt just got the better of me, I guess." There. Take that. His expression soured when his mother's face lit up like the Fourth of July and Alisha wanted to laugh so badly.
"What is she doing?" Russell whispered to Maggie, who merely shrugged and went back to talking to James.
"You're Jewish?" Rosemary asked, clasping her hands together.
"Mmm hmm," Alisha hummed, biting the inside of her lip. She smiled at Big who was shooting daggers at her.
"We're Jewish, too," Rosemary said proudly.
"Well, this is a small world. Two New York Jews in New York City." Alisha could practically see the wheels turning in Rosemary Biggerman's head and it was hilarious. She looked over and smiled wickedly at Big.
Big stared heatedly at her, the muscles in his jaw twitching. Turns out that Alisha Larrington? Is evil incarnate. The score was now Alisha: 2, Big: 0. Damn woman. He was thinking of ways to extract payback when his mother opened her mouth and said:
"Did you know that my Jake is a musician?"
Alisha raised her eyebrows in surprise and looked over at him. "No, I had no idea."
"He's very talented. He and James have a band."
"Really?"
"Yeah," James nodded. "We're Fire Extinguishers," he said happily.
Big sighed and shook his head. He still can't believe he went along with that name. Alisha's face lit up and she laughed, big and bright, just like she had at the station the other day. It was a good laugh.
"Hilarious," she said, flashing him a toothy grin, her laughter slowly subsiding. "What kind of music do you play?"
"Covers," Big shrugged. "It's not our livelihood—we just like to play."
"You should go see them sometime," Annie suggested.
"Oh, yes, you must," Rosemary agreed.
"Maybe we will," Alisha said, casting a quick look at Maggie and Russell, before looking at Big who was curiously studying her.
"We've taken up enough of your time, Alisha. It was so nice meeting you and seeing you perform tonight. Utterly amazing!" Rosemary Biggerman gushed.
"Thank you, Rosemary. It was lovely meeting you. You, too, Annie," she smiled.
"We're going to go back to our hotel," Rosemary informed her son, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. "What a lovely Jewish girl,
