“I’ll go in with you,” he says.

“It’s a waste of money,” I insist, but he takes my hand in his and kisses my knuckles gently, making me go all gooey inside.

“No it’s not. I’m not going to be able to touch you for more than forty-eight hours, Meredith. I’ll take every minute I can now.”

“Damn, you have it bad, man,” Jax says with a laugh from the back seat earning a grin from Mark.

“And you don’t?” Mark challenges him.

Jax shrugs. “I said all my mushy stuff in private this morning.”

“Aww, you’re mushy?” I squeal and bounce in my seat. “I’ve never seen you be mushy before.”

“And you won’t see it now,” he replies dryly. Mark parks the Jeep and the guys pull our suitcases out of the back and pull them behind us as we walk into the terminal.

We print our boarding passes, check our bags, and Jax shakes Mark’s hand. “Thanks for the ride, man. I’ll meet you at the gate, tootsie roll. I don’t want to witness any more of the mush.” He winks and walks away, leaving Mark and me alone.

“I’ll text you when we get in.”

“Good. I’ll worry.” He links our fingers on both hands and loops them around my back then leans in and kisses me, not giving a shit who might be watching. Finally he releases one of my hands and cups my neck, his thumb making little circles on my cheek as his lips nibble and make me forget where I am.

With one kiss, he can completely disarm me.

“Be safe,” he whispers against my lips.

“You too,” I reply and brush my fingers through his hair. “I’ll see you soon.”

He nods and frowns slightly, but then smiles widely, in that naughty way and winks down at me. “I love you, Meredith Agatha.”

“I love you too. But Jax is gonna die.”

***

“Christ on a cracker, Jax, you’re trying to fucking kill me.” Starla growls before guzzling half a water bottle. I raise my brows at Jax and plant my hands on my hips.

“I told you.”

He glares at me and shakes his head. “Trust me, you’ll get it.”

“Oh, I’ll get it alright,” she agrees. “But it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a sadistic asshole.”

“I’ve missed you,” I say and wrap my arms around Starla’s shoulders. “I love that you can tell Jax he’s an asshole.”

“You tell me I’m an asshole all the time,” he reminds me.

“I’ve missed you guys too. This routine is stellar. Seriously perfect for the song. Thank you for doing this.”

“It’s all him.” I point to Jax and wink at him. “I’m just his puppet.”

“You’re a gorgeous puppet,” she says. “I want you guys to come back to my place tonight for dinner and to chat. It’s been too long.”

“I’m up for that,” I reply. “Thank you!”

Jax nods and then turns at the sound of his name. Brian Kellogg, the dancer who will be dancing Jax’s part in the routine just came in from taking a phone call.

“Let’s get back to it,” Starla says.

***

“God, I’m exhausted,” Starla says and exhales deeply. We’re settled in her family room, sprawled over couches and chaise lounges, stuffed with fresh fish and salad.

“You worked hard today, baby,” her fiancé, Rick, murmurs and kisses her temple. Rick is great. He’s not in the music business at all. He’s a racecar driver, of all things, and they met at a charity function about two years ago. He’s tall and thin and all tattooed up, even on his neck.

He looks like he could be a rocker.

“How do you know? You weren’t there.”

“You always work hard.”

“You guys are too cute,” I say and smile at them. “How are the wedding plans coming?”

“I hired a girl,” Starla replies and rolls her blue eyes. Starla is stunning, with chin-length platinum blond hair, smooth white skin and her signature bright red lips. She’s in fantastic shape. She always danced just as hard as the rest of us. Starla isn’t just a singer, she’s one of the top entertainers in the world, and she works her ass off. “I like her ideas and she’s great about checking in with me on stuff, so it’s working for us.”

“Good.”

“And you guys are coming,” she says while pointing at us.

“We wouldn’t miss it,” Jax assures her.

“How is Brian doing with the shows?” I ask and pick a hangnail on my right hand.

“He’s fine. He’s a damn good dancer, but he’s no Jax.”

“He’s a drama queen,” Rick says with a roll of the eyes.

“Yeah, he is that,” Starla agrees. “But he’s hot and the audience loves him, so as long as he doesn’t piss me off too bad, I’ll keep him around. Until I can talk Jax into coming back, that is.”

Jax laughs and shakes his head, but Starla isn’t laughing. She sits up straight and leans her elbows on her knees.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you guys about something.”

Jax and I share a look and then watch her quietly.

“Mer, I’m so sorry about your mama. I’m sorry I couldn’t come to the funeral. I was stuck in a blizzard in New York and couldn’t get a flight out.”