“I don’t want you to get hurt by your rock star boyfriend either, you know. What are we supposed to do? Stay single forever so no one gets hurt? Maybe it’ll work out.”

She nods and then shrugs. “I wasn’t a bitch to her.”

“I appreciate that. I’d also appreciate it if you continued not being a bitch to her, especially this weekend in Vegas.”

“You’re bringing her?”

“Yes.”

She nods again and blinks, thinking it over. “Okay. It could be fun.”

“You’ll probably like her.”

“Let’s not go crazy now.”

I laugh and snatch my bag of chips out of her hands before she eats the whole damn bag. “You talk a big game, but you’re just a big softie.”

“I am not!” She gasps and glares at me. “How dare you call me that?”

“Because you are. You just want us all to think you’re badass.”

“I don’t have to sit here and take this from you.”

“Blah blah blah…” I roll my eyes and pull her off the stool. “Come on, let’s watch a movie.”

“Only if you order pizza.” Her phone rings and she answers. “Hi, Mom. Yep, I’m actually with him right now. Okay.”

She hands the phone to me and cackles like a witch as she passes me in the hallway and drops into my recliner.

“Hi, Mom.” I’ve been on the phone more today than I have been in the last ten years combined.

“Hi, darling. I’m having dinner here tomorrow and I want you to bring Meredith.”

“On a Wednesday?”

“You’re all going on your little adventure in Vegas this weekend,” she reminds me. “I want to see Meredith. Bring her over. Luke, Nat and the babies are coming along with Sam and Leo too.”

“She gets home from LA tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll ask her when I pick her up from the airport.” Sam chooses a cheesy ’80s movie on the on-demand menu, making me roll my eyes.

“Don’t ask. Just bring her. I mean it. I always loved that girl.”

“Okay. Do you want to harass Sam now?”

“Sure. Love you, sweet boy.”

“Love you too, Mom.”

I pass Sam her phone and steal the remote from her hands.

“Mom! Mark just stole the remote and I had it first!”

“Seriously? You’re tattling?”

She sticks her tongue out at me and talks to Mom about dinner tomorrow while I give in and settle back to watch a bunch of kids in detention on a Saturday. At least the music’s good.

“Molly Ringwald was kind of hot,” I say when Sam ends the call with Mom.

“Judd Nelson was hot,” she says and kicks her feet up.

“How late is Leo gonna be?”

She shrugs and doesn’t meet my eyes.

“Sam?”

“He’s been working late a lot,” she says. “I don’t know when he’ll be done.”

“Is everything okay there?”

“Sure.” She offers me a fake smile but it falls from her face when I simply sit and watch her. “I think so. He’s been quiet this week, and busy so I haven’t had a chance to ask him what’s going on.”

“He loves you.”

“I know. I’m just worried about him.”

“Keep me updated.”

“Okay. Now shush. This is the part where Judd Nelson pushes his face into Molly’s crotch. It’s hilarious.”

“I didn’t realize it was porn.”

“You’re gross.”

Chapter Twelve

“Hey, man.” Logan claps me on the shoulder and shakes my hand. We’re standing in the airport, at the baggage claim carousel that has Mer’s flight number listed for pick up. They landed five minutes ago, and I can’t wait for her to get her sexy ass down here.

“How’s it going?”

“Good, thanks.” Logan nods and pushes his glasses up his nose. “I thought I was going to be late. Traffic was horrible.”

“Came from work?” I gesture to his suit and tie.

“Yeah. I took off early today and I’m taking the rest of the week off.”

“Good for you. Do you have plans?”

“Jax has been gone for a few days, and he’s leaving again on Friday for Vegas, so I thought I’d take some vacation time to hang with him.” He smiles shyly and loosens the top button of his dress shirt.

“Actually, I was going to talk to you about this weekend. How do you feel about meeting us down there? Jax and the girls would love it.”

Logan smiles softly. “I was going to ask you if it would be inappropriate if I surprised him. I was thinking about coming down Saturday afternoon, if that’s okay with you and your family.”

I smile widely and shake my head. “If it were Mer, you couldn’t keep me away. Feel free to come down. I’ll give you my cell number and I’ll keep you updated on where we are on Saturday so you know where to find him.”

“Thank you. Isn’t the news of Starla asking Jax and Mer to go back on tour crazy?” He shakes his head and grins, but my heart stops. Meredith didn’t mention this to me. She’s going back on tour?

When? Is she planning to break things off again, or does she think we’ll do the long-distance thing while she’s gone for fucking months at a time?

“They’re here!” I turn at the sound of Mer’s voice just in time to catch her mid-air. “Oh my God, I missed you so much.”

She wraps herself around me and kisses me hard before burying her face in my neck, right where she needs to be. My hands are full of lush woman as her scent floats around me, and my nerves settle some.

“Hi, baby. How was your flight?”

“Too long.”

I glance over in time to see Jax and Logan with their foreheads together and a soft smile passing between them.

“I’m happy to see you,” I whisper and kiss her cheek just as the carousel begins to spin.

“Me too.” She kisses me again, her lips linger on mine for a long minute.

“Here’s your bag, lollypop,” Jax says as I lower Mer to the floor. “And we were only gone for three days. Not three months.”

But you’ll be gone for three months in the near future?

“Bite me,” Mer says with a big smile.

“It was a long three days,” Logan adds as he links his fingers with Jax’s and raises them to his lips. “Let’s go.”