Or girlfriends.
Marcus grins.
I can’t go now. What am I supposed to do—leave Wade to figure out Greyshell by himself? He’ll be forced to take Oliver, and then Oliver will steal the glory that rightfully belongs to me. Plus, Jaxi and Rosie are too raw to fend for themselves. They need me.
Besides, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay there, and I don’t have any interest in that right now.
“I’m going to have to opt out,” I tell him. “I was going to call you tomorrow.”
“Sure you were.” His chest rumbles with his laugh. “I get it. It looks like you have something worth staying home for.”
Jaxi lifts her eyes to meet mine. Our gazes dance together over the table.
“I most certainly do,” I tell Marcus.
“Alright. Well, I’m going to get out of here,” he says. “It was nice meeting you, Jaxi.”
“You too.”
“If he gives you any problems, you give me a call.” Marcus winks at her. “Later, Mason.”
“See ya around,” I say as he walks away. Once he’s out of earshot, I lean toward her. “Don’t give him a call. He’s a lot of trouble.”
“Then why were you going to Vegas with him?” She lifts her brow, teasing me.
“Who am I supposed to take to Vegas? Oliver? Wade?” I cringe. “Vegas is for fun, not calculating the odds and stressing yourself out because of how much money you’re losing.”
She laughs.
Lola, the waitress, arrives with our food. She sets a plate in front of each of us and warns Rosie not to touch hers because it’s warm.
“Can I get you anything else?” Lola asks.
“A zoo,” Rosie says between blows on her chicken strip.
“I think we’re out of those,” Lola says. “Any water? Ketchup?”
“I think we’re fine,” Jaxi says. “Thank you so much.”
“No problem. Enjoy.”
We sit quietly for a few minutes. My burger was sent out with vegetables on it, so I pick them off. I get the pickle off the bun when Jaxi’s stare catches my attention.
I raise a brow.
“You know,” she says, “you should go to Vegas if you want to. I don’t want you canceling stuff because of us.”
I bite off the end of a fry. “If I wanted to go, I would. Unfortunately for Vegas, it’s being outshined at the moment.”
She grins. “Is that so?”
“Yup. Unless you want to go. We can have a lot of fun there.” I wiggle my brows.
“I want to go,” Rosie says, a glob of barbecue sauce pooled at the edge of her mouth. “Take me with you.”
“I thought you wanted the zoo? Will you make up your mind?” I ask her.
“Zoo! Zoo!”
Jaxi laughs as she wipes Rosie’s face. She’s an unwilling participant in getting a clean face.
“Did you give your mother my phone number?” Jaxi asks.
“Maybe.” I eat another fry. “Why?”
“She called me today and asked if I thought Rosie would like to play with a little girl named Bree.”
“Bree is the little girl who Bellamy babysits. She’s a little wild but fun. I think Rosie might like her even though she’s quite a bit older. Might be good for her.”
“Well, apparently your mom is going to Coy’s tomorrow with Wade.”
Rosie perks up. “I like Wade.”
“We know,” I deadpan.
Jaxi chuckles.
“I want to play with Wade,” Rosie says, dancing in her seat. “Can I?”
Jaxi looks at me as if she’s waiting on an answer.
“I think she might have fun,” I offer. “Might be good for her to start making some friends.”
“Do you wanna go?” Jaxi asks. “Do you want to go with Siggy and meet a little girl tomorrow?”
“And Wade?” she asks through a mouthful of chicken.
“And Wade,” Jaxi agrees.
“Then yup!”
I sit back in my seat and laugh.
I never knew I would be so grateful for Wade.
Life just gets weirder by the second.
Nineteen
Boone
“You good?” I make a face at Rosie all strapped in her car seat in the back of Mom’s car. “Need anything?”
“Nope. We’re going to see Wade!”
I lean out of the car. “I’ve never been that excited to see Wade.”
She giggles, pulling her Glo Worm up against her face. “Bye, Boone.”
“So, that’s it? You’re done?”
“Wade!”
“Fine. See ya later, alligator.”
“After a while, donut pile.”
I laugh and close the door.
Mom laughs too. “Where did she hear that?”
“Jaxi. We were making up goofy rhymes this morning as I left for work, and she latched on to that one.”
“It is cute,” Mom says.
The breeze picks up and ruffles my mother’s hair. It reminds me of a movie … one that’s not getting over quickly enough.
Jaxi is inside the house. Alone. Waiting on me. And I’ve been waiting on this moment too fucking long to be standing outside talking to my mommy.
“You’re good then?” I ask her. “Don’t give her too much chocolate or sugar. It hypes the shit out of her.”
Mom rolls her eyes. “I raised five children. They all turned out just fine.”
“Not all of them. Something is wrong with Oliver.”