Chapter Text
"Come on, what’s the problem?”
Logan tugged on the hand clasped tightly in his once more, but when she didn’t budge, he turned back to face Veronica where she’d stopped climbing the stairs to the Stones’ front door. He grinned down at her as he stepped back to the riser she seemed to be stuck on.
“This is not the normal behavior of my badass girlfriend. Afraid to face a couple of pre-schoolers? Come on.”
She glared up at him. “You know the twins aren’t my issue.”
Logan tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her nose. “I know. They adore you almost as much as I do." He pressed his lips to her forehead. "Stop worrying about Camille. I’m telling you, it’s gonna be fine between the two of you. She gets how I feel about you and she’s not going to do anything bad. I promise.”
“All she did was make cutting remarks when you brought me here last time."
"Uh huh." He moved from her forehead to the crown of her head, alternating between dropping kisses and inhaling the scent of her hair. "That’s not exactly the way I remember it, and are you saying you"re the only one who gets to do that?"
"No, of course not. She just doesn’t think I’m good for you.”
“Neither does Dick, and that’s never given you a moment’s pause.” He snuggled her close. “And you know that Wallace has reservations about me, but I didn’t try to get out of going to dinner with him last week.”
“He just needs to spend time with you. He’s warming up.”
“And the exact thing is true with Camille. Charlie likes you, the kids love you, it’s gonna be fine with Camille, I promise.” She pressed her face into his chest and he stroked her back soothingly. "Veronica? What"s going on?"
She looked up and he was shocked to find her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. "I just know she"s important to you, and it would be so much easier if she would just like me."
Logan burst into laughter, but cradled the back of her head against him. "I absolutely know what you mean there. Story of my life. But here"s the thing..." He pulled away again, bending his knees to get closer to eye-to-eye with her. "You"re a thousand times more important to me than anyone else."
"You shouldn"t have to choose."
"I"m not gonna have to. She"s getting on board; she"s just a little stubborn. Like someone else I know and love." She gave him a weak smile and he chuckled, shaking his head. "All right, come on. We"re going in and I"ll run any interference that’s needed. Just settle down. It"s gonna be a great night."
"Okay." She straightened, drawing in a deep breath. "I"m not used to this. Caring what someone else thinks? Not really my style."
"Hmm, maybe, maybe not." He dropped another kiss on the top of her head. "Now come on. Let"s get in there before the kids decide you"re not coming at all and start to riot." She gave a disbelieving huff and he shrugged. “Okay, Corinne likes you now, but I don"t see her rioting, but Carver?”
“He’s probably already worked out the table seating so he gets to sit next to me.” Her face brightened. “I can see that.”
"Okay then, move it, Mars." Logan turned toward the door and led her up the walk. Reaching the front door, he rapped out the start of "shave and a haircut", grinning when from the other side he heard the pounding of running feet and giggling, then an answering double knock of "two bits". Immediately after the knocks, the door flung open and Carver barreled out.
"Verrr-onica!" he cried, throwing his arms around her legs. Logan watched her give the little boy a hug before his attention was caught by Charlie, moving at a much more restrained gait, as he stepped into the doorway.
"Remember when he actually used to greet you, little brother?" He chuckled. "Now you"re nothing but a conduit to Veronica." He gave Logan"s shoulder a friendly squeeze, but kept his focus on the scene beyond them, a smile on his face. "Hey, Veronica."
"Hi, Charlie," she said in a quiet voice. To Logan, she looked almost shy. "Thanks for inviting me tonight."
"Oh, you don"t need an invitation. Family"s always welcome."
Logan froze at her sharp intake of breath, but relaxed as her face softened back into a smile. "Thank you. That means a lot," she said to Charlie and Logan nodded.
"It does; thanks, bro."
"Verrr-onica, come on, you gotta see my art. I drew you a picture.” Carver grabbed her hand and began to pull her through the door.
"Can you at least tell your uncle hello?" Charlie said as they pushed past him and Carver paused, looking back over his shoulder.
"Hey, Unca Logan. Thanks for bringing Verrr-onica." He turned back into the house and dragged Veronica inside, as she smirked over her shoulder at Logan.
"Okay, then, I know my place." Logan stepped into the house, shaking his head at his brother. "You know, I"ve never heard him say her name with a normal amount of R"s."
"Now that you mention it, me neither." Charlie closed the door. "Hey, everything"s pretty much ready, so now that you guys are here, I"m gonna throw the meat on the grill. You might as well come on out and have a beer with me while I slave over dinner. It"s not like you"re getting your girlfriend back anytime soon."
Logan glanced into the family room as they walked past, smiling with satisfaction at the sight of Veronica pressed between the twins as they held up brightly colored papers for her inspection. "I think you"re probably right."
"Charlie, that tri-tip was amazing. I hope you were giving Logan lessons." Veronica smiled broadly at Charlie, then elbowed Logan gently in the side before turning to Camille. "And Camille, those potatoes were great too. I"ve never had them like that before. What were they called again? Parmesan..."
"Hasselback," Camille answered. She smiled back at Veronica, but Logan thought it looked a little forced. “They’re not hard; it"s just an internet recipe.” She rose from her seat and picked up a stack of empty dishes. “I’ll get these out of the way."
“I’ll have to look that up; they were delish.” Veronica’s head swiveled to follow Camille’s path into the house, then swung back to look at Logan. “I"ll try them out on my dad."
"And me," Logan said, draping his arm over her shoulders. "Or maybe you just meant you’ll make them for him as our future dinner guest, since you"ve finally agreed to move in with me."
Charlie shook his head, his eyes rolling. "That"s like the twentieth time you"ve worked that announcement into the conversation tonight. We get it. You"ve talked the poor girl into living with you. Did you rent a billboard as well?"
Veronica laughed. "Nothing so mundane. Jumbotron."
"Very funny." Logan looked down at her pointedly. "I"m excited. Sue me."
"Are you done yet?" Corinne appeared beside Veronica, a frown on her little face. "You said you"d jump with us."
"Yes, I did," Veronica agreed, rising to her feet. She turned to drop a kiss on the top of Logan"s head. "If you"ll all excuse me—" She glanced around the table. "—I am being summoned. Please be sure to call us when it"s time for dessert."
"You got it," Charlie said with a nod and Veronica held her hand out to Corinne. The little girl took it and led Veronica away from the table and off the deck. Logan laughed as he watched them skip through the yard to the enclosed trampoline where Carver was already hopping.
“That’s something I don’t think I ever even imagined seeing,” Logan said. “I didn’t tell her about any of you right at the start because I was afraid she’d be uncomfortable with the kids.”
"And we all know that wasn"t your best decision ever."
Logan huffed in irritation. "Thanks for the support, bro."
"Just calling "em like I see "em," Charlie said, his amused tone matching his smirk. "But seems like you guys got it worked out. Since she"s—oh, here"s a news flash—moving in with you."
"Shut up, dude."
Charlie threw back in head, laughing, just as Camille came back to the table. "What"s so funny?"
"Little brother"s poor decision making skills," Charlie answered, still laughing. Logan shook his head and glanced over to the trampoline. Veronica was laying on her side with the kids jumping around her, causing her to bounce in reaction to their jumps. Sure now that they wouldn"t see him, he flipped his brother off. Charlie laughed again, but Camille frowned at them both.
"How is that funny?" She shot a look at the trampoline also, then back at Charlie. "You said we shouldn’t talk about—"
"Oh no, no, no," Charlie interrupted and Logan glanced between them, eyes narrowing. "I was telling him he should have told Veronica about us sooner."
"What do you want to talk about, Camille?" Logan said sharply. "My guess is that you"re referring to my choice to make a life with Veronica." Charlie opened his mouth to interject but Logan held up a hand, stopping him. "I made that choice a long time ago, Camille, a long time before I met you. And yeah, it hasn"t always worked out like I would have liked, but it"s working now, and you need to get on board."
"I just don"t want you getting hurt." She crossed her arms and glared at him. "You know you guys have a terrible track record and you don"t deserve how she treats you."
"That was a long time ago and we both made plenty of mistakes, but it"s different now."
"But for how long?"
"Camille, this isn"t our business—"
"Yes, it is if we have to put him back together after she dumps him again." Camille looked angrily at Charlie. "You"ve heard Dick talk about how it goes when Hurricane Veronica sweeps through and upends his life. I just don"t want that for him again and you shouldn"t either."
“You really need to get a slightly less biased source,” Logan interjected. “Dick’s not exactly objective where Veronica’s concerned.”
“Because he knows she’s bad for you—“
“Because she derailed his father’s very lucrative but unfortunately criminal enterprise and because she expects him to behave like more than an arrogant frat boy.” Logan shook his head. “Yes, he takes my side whenever we have conflict, but a lot of the time those conflicts have been of my making, and he refuses to acknowledge that.”
“I think the message here is try to put more rational thought into your arguments than Dick does,” Charlie said and Logan laughed.
“Not a bad suggestion.” He reached across the table for Camille’s hand. She glared but cooperated.
“Look, I’ve been a complete and utter jerk to Veronica at times, and I can’t blame her if those times have made her hesitant about us, and you shouldn’t blame her either. We’re both working to prove ourselves every day, and your disapproval is getting in the way. I need you to keep an open mind and welcome her in. I need that from you much more than the over-protective Mama Bear thing. Okay?”
Camille looked away, eyes to the sky, jaw clenched. “All right, fine,” she muttered.
“Thank you,” Logan said, squeezing her fingers. “Despite what you think, I am a grown man and I know what, and who, I want. I promise it’s gonna be okay.”
“And if he’s wrong, he also promises not to whine to you,” Charlie teased and both Logan and Camille laughed, although Camille"s sounded somewhat begrudging. Logan stood and leaned across the table, kissing the top of her head.
“Yes, I do. Thank you guys.” Logan stepped away from the table. “And now, I’m going to go let them bounce me on the trampoline. That looks fun.”
“No making out in front of the kids,” Charlie warned.
“I wasn’t really thinking about that, but now you’ve piqued my curiosity with the thought of sneaking Veronica in here when you guys are away. That bouncy kickback seems intriguing.”
“Do not defile my children’s playthings,” Camille said in a stern voice.
Logan huffed and stuck his tongue out at her. “Fine.” He took a few steps away, then turned back. “Gonna make me buy my own, I guess.”
He closed the distance to the trampoline with Charlie’s laughter in his ears. “Hey guys, gonna let me bounce?”
“Unca Logan!” Both kids’ voices rang with excitement and Carver hopped to the side to unfasten the opening in the net guard. Veronica twisted into a seated position, grinning at him.
“Make him bounce all of us,” she suggested playfully, grabbing Corinne’s hand and pulling her into her lap. Carver abandoned the net to squish himself in beside his sister.
“Bounce us, bounce us,” all three chanted and Logan clambered up.
“Okay, hang on tight,” he warned as he bent his knees to jump.
Logan yawned and stretched as Veronica raised her head and looked around. After the trampoline and dessert, they"d piled onto the couch in the family room to watch Wreck-It Ralph and Veronica had been the first one to nod off. By now, both of the twins were also asleep, curled up on top of both he and Veronica. He"d kinda lost sensation in the arm that Carver was sprawled over, but he"d been enjoying the happy pile of love too much to worry about it.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered, kissing Veronica"s temple, "you about ready to crawl out from under this mess o" kids and go home?"
She sighed and blinked several long, slow blinks, then smiled. "It"s still only your home."
"You stayed over last night and you already said you"re spending the night tonight. Moving your boxes over from your Dad"s is a technicality. Stop being deliberately difficult."
She huffed in amusement, still smiling. "Okay, fine. We"ll go home."
"Huh." He snaked his arm out from under Carver. "I"m not sure you"re awake if you"re this agreeable."
"I agree with you and that"s how you respond." She raised one eyebrow. "That"s just rude."
"Yeah it was, but I"m starting to realize that just how you guys talk to each other," Charlie interjected with a grin. He stepped around the couch and lifted Corinne off of them. "I"ve got this one; can you carry Carver up, Lo?"
"I guess," Logan said begrudgingly. "Then you ready to go?" he directed to Veronica.
"Yeah, if we"re gonna sleep, might as well do it at home." She rolled her eyes and he gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek.
"Excellent." Logan shifted out from under Carver, then turned back to pick him up. The little boy grumbled, then opened his eyes.
"What happened?" he said blearily.
"Ralph saved the day," Veronica answered and Logan scoffed.
"You were as asleep as he was."
"Did Ralph not save the day?" she asked primly and he shrugged.
"Yeah, actually, he did. It was pretty awesome; you need to stay awake for it sometime." He turned to follow Charlie to the twins" room, but Carver protested.
"Need kiss Verrr-onica g"night."
She stood and moved to them, rising on her toes to kiss Carver"s cheek. "Sweet dreams, lil dude. We"ll see you soon, "kay?"
Carver twisted to kiss her back as Logan stood, soaking in her words. He knew that her referring to them as "we" shouldn"t thrill him like it did, but he couldn"t help himself.
"All right, bud, come on, let"s go. And you"re awake now, so you"re brushing your teeth before you get in bed." Logan smiled softly at Veronica. "I"ll be a few minutes and then we"ll go."
"Sounds good," she replied and turned back toward the couch, reaching for the blanket they’d been using.
It was closer to fifteen minutes before he was done singing rounds of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while Carver and Corinne brushed their teeth. He then had to tuck them both in even though Charlie had as well, and give about a dozen kisses.
"You"re gonna be an expert at this dad thing once you guys start having kids," Charlie said on their way back downstairs.
"I hope so, but don"t jinx us talking about it, man," Logan replied. "I don"t want you freaking Veronica out."
"I don"t think you give her enough credit," Charlie said. "I know it"s a new idea, but when the time comes I think she"s gonna be on board. She"s really great with the kids. Even Charlotte goes to her without a fuss, and she can be choosy about who she likes."
Logan chuckled. "She’s decided babies are the best people to talk things out with. Second only to dogs." Charlie snorted a laugh. "Maybe don"t repeat that to Camille."
"Yeah, maybe." They entered the living room and found it empty. "Huh. Where is the girlfriend in question?"
Logan turned toward the downstairs bathroom, but the door was ajar and the lights were off. "I don"t know. I figured she"d be asleep again."
"Probably in the kitchen with Cam."
"Oh, that"s not good." Logan turned for the kitchen. "I told her I"d run interference for her tonight. I don"t know why she"d go in there alone."
"Probably because she"s an adult," Charlie said. "Let "em talk, man. She doesn"t need you Mama Bear"ing her anymore than you need Cam doing it for you."
Logan stopped and looked back at Charlie. "I don"t know..."
"I do. Let them work things out. It"ll be better that way, I promise." He clapped Logan on the shoulder. "Come on, big brother knows best. It"ll be fine."
"Can I at least spy and break in if Veronica needs help?"
"Spy yes, break in, probably not." Charlie jerked his head toward the kitchen. "Come on, I"ll show you."
Veronica folded the blanket that Logan had thrown over all of them during the movie and looked around the living room. Their partially eaten bowl of popcorn was on the coffee table with the tiny glasses they"d all used for soda. She"d learned on the first night with the twins at Logan"s that liquid sugar was to be given in very limited quantities to rambunctious four-year-olds. She gathered up the remains of their movie party and carried them to the kitchen, but she jerked to a halt at the sight of Camille sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine.
"Oh, Camille, hey. I thought you were up with Charlotte."
Camille looked up, her eyebrows raised. "I came down a while ago, but you were snoozing."
"Oh, yeah, that makes sense."
"Just put the snack stuff on the counter. I started the dishwasher already; all that stuff can wait until the morning." Camille closed the magazine. "Thanks for bringing it in. Are you guys getting ready to go?"
"Yeah, I think so. Charlie and Logan were putting the kids to bed. I just didn"t want to leave a mess in there for you." She sat down across from Logan"s sister-in-law. "Hey, while we"ve got a minute to ourselves, I"ve been meaning to tell you that I"m really sorry about that skanky-looking comment when I was so mad at Logan a few weeks ago. Nothing could be further from the truth. That was just...me reacting."
"Oh." Camille"s lips pressed together and Veronica swallowed hard.
"But even if it was just about me being jealous again, I"m so sorry that you got dragged into it. I"ve got no excuse, except maybe I"ve still got some brunette PTSD where Logan"s concerned. I really do know that woman meant nothing to him, but there was just something about her that really made me..."
"Who are you talking about?" Camille interrupted.
"Oh, no one really. This woman that Logan took up with while we were broken up senior year of high school." Veronica wrinkled her nose. "I mean, there was no reason for him not to...well, other than the fact she was older and married, but you gotta remember, he was totally on his own, and he was still struggling with everything about Lilly, and Aaron, and then getting accused of murdering Felix. It"s not like I was actually being supportive back then. It"s my own fault, really."
"He was messing around with a married woman?" Camille sounded scandalized and Veronica winced. She hadn"t realized that she was ratting out Logan"s less than stellar behavior to Camille. It was so long ago and she realized that she really shouldn"t blame him for taking whatever comfort he could find back in those ugly days. She hadn"t been there for him back then, and instead she"d spent way too much time practically rubbing her renewed relationship with Duncan in his face. It hadn"t been intended to hurt him—she truly hadn"t realized that she could even do that back then. She had just wanted to make sure he knew that he wasn"t hurting her, even though that was an absolute lie. What was true was if Kendall Casablancas got him through that time, she should probably try being grateful to her, not resentful. She snickered to herself. Yeah, that is so not happening.
"Well, I mean, yeah, but she was barely married. And ya know, really, I"m not even sure if it was valid, because she was actually a con artist who married Big Dick under someone else"s name."
"Hang on. Big Dick? Dick"s dad, Big Dick? Logan was messing around with Dick"s stepmother?"
Veronica buried her face in her hands. How did we get here?
"Look, all I wanted to do was apologize." She sat up and gave Camille an embarrassed smile. "For what I said, I mean. I really didn"t mean to get Logan into trouble with you."
"He said that he had as much to do with the problems you guys had as you did. I guess he was right." Camille shuddered. "Dick"s step-mom?"
"Okay, yeah, I mean technically, yes, she was his step-mom, step-monster"s more like it, but you"ve gotta realize, she was only like twenty-five back then. She was way closer to our age than Big Dick"s." Veronica settled back in her chair, eyes on Camille. "It wasn"t like it was Dick"s actual mom."
Camille looked up at the ceiling, shaking her head, then leaned on the table, supporting her chin on her palm. "He gives you—what did you say?—brunette PTSD...and you"re sitting here defending his bad behavior to me. This feels like I"m talking to Logan. He"s always downplaying the negative things between you too."
Veronica frowned and looked away, worrying at the inside of her cheek as she thought about Camille"s words. "Yeah, I guess we"re both kinda idiots like that."
Camille barked out a surprised laugh and Veronica shrugged. "I mean...I"m well aware of all of our problems; I"ve spent more time that I want to admit stewing over them, deconstructing every scenario, trying to figure out what we could have done differently, and truthfully, I"ve also spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could blame Logan and maybe finally stop wanting him. But no matter what I did, how I justified my own behavior, or how much I dwelt on the shitty stuff he really did do, I"ve never been able to change how I felt. How I feel. Even when I thought he"d stopped caring, I never could. The big, stupid jerk wormed his way into my heart a long time ago and I"ve never been able to shake him. Even when I broke up with him before our senior year, or when I took off for Stanford and didn"t tell him, it was never because I didn"t care."
"If you cared so much, why"d you work so hard to hurt him?" Camille looked disgusted as she pinned Veronica in place with her glare. "You say you always cared about him, but it sure doesn"t sound like it. And I don"t get why you"re in here making promises now when you"ve never been willing to keep "em before. He"s going all in...just like always. With everything you"ve done, I have a hard time believing you"re gonna be able to be all hearts and flowers forever. And then where"s Logan? Left alone...again."
Veronica sighed and closed her eyes. There was nothing Camille was saying that was untrue, or unfair. If she were in this woman"s position, she"d probably be saying the same thing to the bitch who was threatening to hurt someone she loved. Jackie Cook flashed into her mind. Yeah, she understood Camille very well.
"I really don"t have any way to convince you that I mean what I say. Although if you knew me better, you"d know that the fact that I"m even talking about this is really different than how I"ve always been before. Admitting how I feel...admitting that I actually need him...that is not the norm for me." She huffed out a deep breath. "Can you just try to give me a chance to prove I"m serious? Prove that I"m trying to forget all the years of being sure that everyone cheats and everyone leaves, and just trust for a change? That really is what I want, I swear."
"As much as I hate it, it"s really not up to me," Camille said, rolling her eyes. "Logan believes you and I"ve reluctantly agreed to let him run his own life."
Veronica laughed. "Isn"t that the worst? I can"t get Wallace to do what I say either."
"So you know what I"m talking about." For the first time in the conversation, Camille smiled. "Look, I"m not demanding that you stay with him forever. If things don"t work out, then they don"t work out. Just don"t abandon him again. Don"t get scared and find an excuse to bail on him. Give him a fair shot. Can you do that?"
"Absolutely." Veronica had no issues with those requests. "I really do want this to work out, and I know I have to try harder this time to make that happen. I hope I"ve matured a little bit at least over the last few years and I know I"ve finally figured out that I"ve never felt anywhere close to what I feel for Logan with anyone else. Just admitting how I feel is a huge difference for me. I really never wanted to admit anything like that before. So I am hopeful. More than I"ve been before."
"I guess that"s all I can ask then," Camille said.
"And you may have told Logan that you"re going to back off, but if you see me really start to screw up, I wouldn"t mind if you let me know what you think. Logan"s never had anyone but Dick stand up for him, and I"m not exactly predisposed to listen to him, but if you noticed something and told me..." She scrunched up her nose and frowned. "I might not mind hearing that from you."
"That"s what you say now—"
"No, I really mean it! I mean, I hope you can be balanced, and accept that he"s not exactly perfect himself..." Camille burst into laughter.
"Trust me, I know that."
"Then I think we"re good." Veronica extended her hand across the table. "So we"ve got an understanding?"
"Sure." Camille reached forward to take Veronica"s hand. "You screw up, I get to tell you. Logan screws up, I get to tell him. This is perfect for me." Both women laughed as they shook on their deal.
"I"m not sure what Logan"s gonna think about this though, so we might want to keep this arrangement between us." Veronica pushed herself to her feet.
"Yeah, good idea," Camille said as she rose. "Charlie might have some thoughts on this that I don"t necessarily want to hear either. So let"s go see what"s taking so long in the putting-to-bed routine. It"s starting to get late." She moved out of the kitchen, toward the family room, with Veronica behind her, but they both stopped short at the sight of Logan jumping over the back of the couch and flopping onto the cushions as Charlie threw himself into the recliner.
“Hey, ladies, how you doing?” Charlie asked and Logan looked back at them with a casual wave. They were both exuding such an air of nonchalance that Camille and Veronica both began to laugh again.
“You buying this?” Camille asked Veronica who snorted and shook her head.
"So much for our secret deal," she said.
Logan reclined back against his pillows, his hands laced behind his head. For someone who insisted that she didn"t quite live here yet, Veronica had quite the skincare regimen in his bathroom. He was, of course, no stranger to product himself, so he could hardly begrudge her, and since she didn"t really look any older than she had when they were sixteen, he certainly wasn"t complaining.
Well, maybe a little.
"Veronica, darling, love of my life, what the hell is taking you so long?"
The bathroom door opened slightly—"You"re a fine one to talk, Mr. Seaweed Mask."—then slammed shut again.
"Okay, that"s fair." He squirmed into a more prone position on the mattress and rolled onto his side. "But if I"m asleep when you finally get out here," he called in a louder voice, "don"t wake me up."
To his surprise there was no answering retort, and he wondered if he might be playing a hand he couldn"t win, but he"d barely punched his pillow into a shape for actual sleeping when the door opened again. He closed his eyes quickly as he heard her leave the bathroom and head for the bed. He resisted the urge to look at her as she pulled the sheet and comforter back, but as she slid in and pressed against him, the smooth whisper of silk against his skin broke his will.
"Oh, look, you"re not asleep after all," she teased, resting her palms against his chest. He tipped his head back enough to get a look at her, in deep blue silk that matched her eyes.
"Holy shit. You keep coming to bed like this, I may never sleep again." He stroked her hip, gliding easily over the silk, down to the lace trim around the hem. "I like this," he said, running his hand up her back, then tracing the spaghetti strap up over her shoulder and down along the deep V of the neckline. "Is it new?"
"It is. My first inclination is always red satin when I look for sexy stuff like this, but I loved this color.”
“Well, red-satin-you looks great in blue silk. Lilly would totally approve of the choice.” He slid his hand back around her, pulling her closer. “So, since I’m still awake—“
“Since you’re still awake, you can answer some questions.” She looked up at him with a frown. “How long were you eavesdropping on me and Camille?”
“What? I don’t know what you mean.” He’d expected to be grilled in the car on the way home, but when there had been no questions, he decided maybe they’d gotten away with listening in with no repercussions after all.
“Oh, gimme a break.” She gave a slight shake of her head. "You can"t think I believe that."
“Okay, fine. I heard you call me a big stupid jerk. Not very nice of you.”
"Not very nice of you to have been one."
He made a face, knowing she was right, but she laughed and moved a hand up to cup his cheek.
"We"ve both been jerks from time to time. I"m just messing with you. What else did you hear?"
He nuzzled into her hand. "Umm, well, that even if I was a big stupid jerk, you can"t shake me. So that was good."
"Yeah."
"And you want to be in this for the long haul, so that was good too." He kissed her palm. "And, I heard you and Camille coming to an understanding of sorts. Which is really good."
"I"ve agreed to let her call me out if I start to treat you badly so I guess you can call that an understanding." She grinned up at him. "But, she gets to yell at you too, so I can live with it."
"Yeah, I heard that part too. I never agreed to that, but it"s really nothing new, so I"m good too." Logan tightened his hold on her and shifted onto his back, tugging her with him. "So, is that enough of a confession for you? Can we get back to us, or do we have to keep talking about Camille?"
She snickered and crooked her elbow to lean her head on her hand. "We weren"t talking about Camille exactly, we were talking about you spying on me."
"I was checking on you. I told you that I would run interference but then you go in there with her without me."
"Well, to be honest, I didn"t know she was in there when I went in, but then she was there, and I figured that I really needed to apologize for the skanky thing."
Logan rocked his head back, laughing. "Oh no, did you really? What did she say?"
"Nothing really. She got distracted, because I...ummm...yeah, I guess I kinda threw you under the bus, but I didn"t mean to."
He stopped laughed and frowned at her. "Hold on. What do you mean you threw me under the bus? What bus?"
She squeezed her eyes closed and wrinkled her nose, looking very apologetic. "Umm, the Kendall Casablancas bus. I had to explain why I wigged out over you hugging a brunette on the street, and I finally figured out that it was about her."
"Oh my God," he said in horror. "I am so sorry."
"Don"t worry about it," she replied. "I think we"re even now, I accidentally told your sister-in-law about one of your worst life choices. I didn"t realize she didn"t know."
"You think I go around talking about that?"
"No, I guess not." She stretched forward to kiss his chin and he scrunched down to catch her mouth with his own.
"So, we"re done with the interrogation, right?" he asked after a moment.
"Uh huh." She wriggled further up his chest. "Thanks for being ready to come to my rescue."
"I was about to bust in there, but Charlie stopped me. Told me I needed to let you guys work things out."
"Huh. Seems like Charlie"s a pretty smart guy." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I was nervous about talking to her, but it worked out. Now—" She nipped at his ear. "—can we stop talking about all these other people? They may be family now, but I got this slinky thing for you. Are you interested or not? A few minutes ago, you were ready to sleep."
Logan laughed as he stroked her back. "I might be able to stay awake for a little while longer. If you"re willing to proposition me in my own bed—"
"Excuse me, I believe it"s our bed."
“Oh, is that so?” He rolled them over again, tickling and kissing as she wriggled and shrieked.
“Logan! Logan, stop!” As she flailed and kicked, he managed to roll her under him and then lay still, holding her in place beneath him, his arms braced beside her shoulders. She managed to squirm her legs out and locked them around his back.
“What exactly do you want me to stop?” he teased. He ducked down as if going for another kiss, then pulled back suddenly with a smirk. “No more kisses?”
“Don’t be a jerk,” she scolded and darted her head up toward him, but instead of a kiss, she bit his lip.
“Wait, you’re biting and I’m the jerk?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t like it.” She tightened her legs around his back and raised her hips to grind into him.
“Okay, I won’t.” He leaned down again, this time dropping a trail of kisses along her jaw as they rocked against each other. “So our bed, huh?”
“You invited me, remember?”
“Oh yeah, I remember. I’m still so surprised you agreed. I’ve gotta keep reminding myself.”
She dropped her head back against the mattress and rolled her eyes. “Our bed. Our house. Our great big bathtub. Our dishwasher too, it’s not all about places to bang.”
“I don’t know about that, we can do it on top of the dishwasher.”
“Only if you’ve already filled it.”
“Hey, who do you think has been filling it for the last two years? Making love to you on top of it is just an added bonus.”
She snickered and kissed him, a quick brush at first, but when he rocked his hips against her, her lips parted and the kiss deepened.
He shifted so he wasn’t covering her body completely, running his hand down the silk and then under it. The kiss broke when she gasped and then sighed at his touch.
“Mmm, Logan,” she mumbled and he smiled at the contentment in her voice.
“Yes, love?”
“I think I’m going to like it here.”