My Vegas Groom (The Greene Family Book 3)

by Piper Rayne

  “He did have two heart attacks,” Logan says.

  “And I nursed him back to health after each one,” Pauline says and rolls her eyes.

  Their banter as son and mom is cute.

  “What happened here?” She points at Logan’s ass.

  “He has splinters,” I say, placing the blanket over his bare ass.

  “Don’t hide him on my account. I wiped that butt once upon a time.” Pauline sits in the chair in the corner.

  Logan looks at her. “Can you please leave? This is a husband-and-wife moment.”

  Pauline’s face lights up. “Oh, so you’re husband and wife. I mean, I took it as a good sign that she’d hover over your butt.”

  My face slowly heats.

  “I finally wore her down.” Logan tries again to look at me, but he can’t until I finish with this.

  “I knew he would. He’s a charmer.” Pauline beams. “In a good way, Nikki. I’d never steer you wrong.”

  “Well, thank you. It’s a little surreal and weird, but we’re going with it.”

  “Obviously. You should’ve had Craig take the splinters out. You’re ruining all the sexuality with marriage.”

  I shake my head. “It’s okay. I don’t mind.”

  “Want to tell me how it happened?” She props one foot up on the edge of the chair.

  Logan groans. “Please leave, Mom.”

  “After you tell me how it happened.”

  I pinch Logan to say I’ll be mad if he tells her, and he sighs into the pillow.

  “She won’t stop until we tell her,” he mumbles.

  “I have a feeling this is a good story,” she says, rubbing her hands together.

  I smile at her. “Logan took me camping. In the middle of the night, he had to go to the bathroom, fell on a log, and voila—splinters.”

  She points at me and laughs, standing from her chair. “Oh, you’re a tricky one. I don’t believe you for a second. There’s an interesting story behind this one, I know it.” She pats me on the shoulder. “I’ll be downstairs talking to Iris about herbs that will help with inflammation from training.”

  After Pauline leaves, Logan says, “She’s gonna figure out what really happened.”

  I remove the blanket and take out the final two splinters. “I need to get some cream.”

  I head into the master bath with the hopes of finding some ointment. Lucky me, whoever manages the Linville house has a first aid kit stocked in the bathroom. When I return, Logan’s on his back.

  “Roll over, hubby, I’ve got something that’s going to soothe that ass of yours.”

  He smiles at me. “That sounds dangerous.”

  “Don’t worry, no hemorrhoid cream.” I circle my finger for him to roll over.

  “I’m serious, I’ve never had hemorrhoids,” he says, his face red as he rolls over.

  “Don’t worry, that’s where I draw the line. I’m not sticking any cream in places I have to spread your ass cheeks to get to.”

  “Nor would I ever ask you to.”

  I put the ointment on my hands and rub it over his butt cheeks, which I have to say are pure muscle. “You might be a bit sore.”

  He rolls over and pulls up his pants, signaling for me to climb on top of him.

  “That’s what got us in trouble in the first place,” I say before kissing his lips.

  He wraps his hand around the back of my neck and keeps me pressed to his lips, sliding his tongue into my mouth. We kiss as though Pauline isn’t waiting on us downstairs, and the tingling between my legs commences as it always does now when he’s near. Then the smell of burned hair wafts to my nostrils and I remember I need to get to Posey’s to get this fixed.

  I draw back. “I have to go get my hair done. I’m crossing my fingers no one is there when I arrive.”

  He kisses me one last time. “So duo night tonight… what time do we leave?”

  I love that he remembers and seems to be looking forward to it. “Sixish. You can invite your mom if you’d like.”

  “No way, it’s our coming out.” A mischievous smile crosses his lips, and my stomach reacts as always.

  Damn, now I’ve gone and done it. I’ve really fallen for this guy.

  I enter Fringe, my sister Posey’s, hair salon, surprised to see every other Greene female in attendance. All of them are in the waiting area, pretending to read magazines.

  “Cute, guys.” I roll my eyes.

  Mandi tips down the corner of her magazine. “Emergency haircut?”

  I say nothing and walk to the back where Posey’s coming out from the back room.

  “Hey, Nik, have a seat.” She points at a shampoo station. “So, what’s the emergency?”

  I glance at my family at the front and back at her, then I take off the hat I’ve shoved all my hair into and turn around to show her.

  She gasps. “What the hell happened?”

  “Lower your voice,” I whisper. “I just want a change,” I say loud enough for my sisters and Chevelle to hear.

  “Change, my ass.” Chevelle has no qualms and comes to the back. “We already heard. Miss Hartford was my survivalist leader.” I stare blankly at her, so she continues. “She called me this morning to ask if Logan is really an MMA fighter and if my sister Nikki is married to him.”

  I groan. Seriously, I hate how small this town is sometimes. Before I moved here at fourteen, I had no idea there was such a thing as a survivalist.

  “I love Miss Hartford. Though it’s a little scary that she’s still doing it, no?” Posey asks, getting the sink ready. “She had us watching what she thought was a deer and it was a moose. She kept blowing a duck call and the thing almost stampeded us.” Posey shakes her head as though the memory is vivid.

  “Yeah, I thought she’d have packed it in by now, but I have a feeling there’s no one to take it over,” Chevelle says. “So you burned your hair from having sex too close to the fire.” She shrugs. “What’s the big deal? You’re not the first.”

  Warm water coasts over my head and I close my eyes from the sensation. “Well, I don’t much care for being caught. Those girls are young and impressionable.”

  Chevelle scoffs. “Please, the leader of them, Darcie, is Fran’s granddaughter. Once she’s old enough, she’ll probably take over the group.”

  “She’s a know-it-all just like Fran,” I say.

  Fran and her walking gang have eyes everywhere and they like to put their nose in other people’s business, but I’ve never had a problem with them. She and Chevelle once had it out over a water excursion she was setting up for tourists though. Fran said there were too many kayaks and someone was going to be killed by a fishing boat. Chevelle’s never forgiven her.

  “All I have to say is your mother-in-law is awesome. She’s been helping me in the restaurant in the mornings,” Mandi says. “Everyone loves her. She’s started reading tarot cards there before dinner.”

  I look at Posey and she nods and says, “Did mine last night. Says my Prince Charming will come to town like a thunderstorm so strong it’ll make quakes.”

  I nod. Are my sisters really believing all this?

  “She told me that mine’s from Sunrise Bay. How boring is that?” Chevelle leans back in the other shampoo chair. “All the guys in this town suck.”

  “Cam,” Posey says with a fake cough. “Wouldn’t that be hilarious?”

  We all laugh because those two fight like siblings. Maybe because Cam practically grew up in the Greene house. Every time he and Chevelle are together, they find something to argue about.

  “Bite your tongue. Never!”

  We all laugh again.

  “What about you, Mandi?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “Nah, I haven’t had her do mine yet.”

  Posey finishes shampooing me, and we go over to her chair. “Enough about that, tell us about Logan. If the rumors are true, you two are getting it on in the woods.”

  “We’re married. Married people have sex.” I shrug it off as th
ough it’s nothing.

  “We’re not stupid, Nik. You came back here without him after you were first married.” Mandi sits in the chair next to mine while Chevelle sits in the other one.

  “Come on, just be honest. Marla’s not here.” Chevelle twirls in her chair. Sometimes I wonder if she’ll ever completely grow up.

  I sigh. “We’re giving it a go. I mean, we’re dating.”

  Posey looks at me through the mirror. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you. He seems like a great guy.”

  My phone rings in my purse and I’m sure it must be my mom asking for details too. “Can you grab it, Mandi? If it’s Mom, tell her I’ll call her back.”

  Posey cuts my hair as Mandi digs in my purse but can’t find my phone. The ringing stops and we all wait because usually she’ll try one of my sisters if the one she wants doesn’t answer. We all stare at one another when no one else’s phone rings.

  “Must not have been Mom. See who it was?” I say.

  Mandi finally finds my phone and stares at the screen, her smile dimming. “Um… it was Dad.”

  Posey glances at me in the mirror, then dips her head down to concentrate on cutting my hair. My stomach sours immediately.

  What the hell does my dad want? Usually I only hear from him on holidays and my birthday.

  I shake my head. Of course, he probably wants to meet his new son-in-law, the professional MMA fighter, so he can brag to all his friends.

  I haven’t really given any thought to what my dad might think of my marriage. Besides the trust issues I carry around, he doesn’t really factor into my daily life. But I’ve got something that’s worth something to him now. Of course he’s calling. How did I just realize this now?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Jed, go inside.”

  Logan

  “My ass is going to need some lovin’ tonight,” I say to Nikki on our way into town for this duo night she’s so excited about.

  Craig snickers and Nikki quirks an eyebrow. “I take it Craig knows what happened?”

  “My training suffered a little bit today.”

  “A little?” Craig shakes his head. “I kicked his legs out from under him and you’d think he broke his tailbone.”

  They both laugh at my expense.

  “It was a lot of splinters,” Nikki says.

  “The whole reason for needing some lovin’.” I take Nikki’s hand as we approach the square, and much to my satisfaction, she doesn’t pull away.

  “Not sure what you want me to do,” she says.

  “I don’t wanna hear what he wants you to do.” With a laugh, Craig walks ahead as if he’s not with us, then he holds up and joins us again.

  We enter the square, and there are more people than usual here. From what Nikki says, Handyman Haven and The Grind are working together tonight, so they’ve put on an exhibit outside in the square where George, the owner of Handyman Haven, will show people how to do some rehab project while Zoe from The Grind serves coffee and hot chocolate.

  Immediately, we run into Nikki’s mom and Hank.

  “Hey, you two.” Marla gives us each a kiss on the cheek and a hug.

  “Marla, this is my trainer, Craig. Craig, this is Nikki’s mom, Marla,” I introduce them. “And her stepdad, Hank.”

  “You up for watching the rehab project?” Craig asks Hank.

  “Nah, I could do that with my eyes closed.”

  Marla puts her arm around her husband’s waist and pats his stomach. “Hank is the town fix-it man.”

  Her words get my mind swirling about an idea I had for Nikki. Although she and I haven’t talked at all about where we’ll live after this fight, I sense the majority of our time will be spent up here, which is fine with me. I’m starting to like this small town. But Nikki needs a place to record her podcasts, and since I have no idea where we’ll live after tourist season, I need to set something up for her soon.

  “Hank, can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask.

  “Sure, you can,” Marla answers for Hank.

  Hank laughs at his wife. “Of course.”

  “We’ll be watching the redo. I see George brought up guests to make it more entertaining.” Marla points in the direction of the crowd.

  “I’ll meet you over there.” I kiss Nikki on the cheek and step away with Hank.

  He and I weave out of the crowd and end up outside Truth or Dare Brewery. It’s filled with wall-to-wall people too.

  “You enjoying your first duo night?” Hank asks. “It’s more about getting the people out to socialize and spotlighting some businesses to help with exposure.”

  “I think it’s a great idea, and yeah, so far I’m enjoying my time in Sunrise Bay.”

  Hank nods and waves to a few people who pass by and call to him by name. What must it be like to know everyone in town? “That’s good. Sometimes people get overwhelmed in a town like this where everyone knows everything. Like the unfortunate incident with you and Nikki this morning.”

  My eyes bulge out of my head. “So people heard about that?”

  He shrugs and nods.

  “How’s your ass, Stone?” Jed, Nikki’s brother, comes out of Truth or Dare Brewery.

  “Lower your voice, Jed,” Hank says.

  “Why? Everyone knows already. Miss Hartford has the biggest mouth. You’d have been better off with the Gossip Brigade finding you two. They might’ve had sympathy for you, being men and all.” Jed laughs.

  Hank gives Jed a look, but it doesn’t stop him. I assume not much does.

  “Anyway, I called you over here to ask a question,” I say to Hank.

  “He’s the stepdad, but our dad is a cocksucker, so you can ask me for Nikki’s hand.” Jed comes to stand with us.

  That wasn’t what I was going to ask Hank. “Um…”

  “Jed, go inside,” Hank says.

  “Sure, one thing though. I hate hearing rumors about my sister being naked in the woods. If you two could keep it behind closed doors, it’d be much appreciated.” Jed dramatically shakes his entire body as though it skeeves him out to know his sister has sex.

  The sound of someone banging on the window pulls our attention to the brewery. Molly’s standing there with her hands on her hips.

  “Jed! I am not working this place alone. Get in here.” She says it so loudly, we have no problem hearing her through the glass.

  Jed walks backward. “Whatever happened to respecting your boss, am I right?” He disappears back inside.

  “You have to excuse Jed—”

  “It’s fine. I should probably ask for Nikki’s hand, but I haven’t had any contact with her father. From the sounds of it, she doesn’t much either.”

  Hank’s lips purse and he shakes his head. “The kids were old enough to know what happened between him and their mom, and they still harbor ill feelings toward Jeff. But I can get you in contact with him if you’d like.”

  “Yeah, maybe, but that’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you.”

  He waves to a few more people and some of them say hello to me too. Hank smiles at me. “Becoming a regular, huh?” He laughs at what I imagine is my surprised look. “What do you need?”

  “Nikki’s talked about wanting to do a podcast. Since we don’t own the Linville house and I have no idea where we might move, I’m thinking about building a small studio for her in an office somewhere.”

  Hank’s smile grows wider, and he pats me on the back. “I have just the spot. I heard the small shop next to Pump It Up will be coming up for purchase in a week or so. It’s been vacant for years. Was once our small newspaper office, but they can’t afford the rent, so they’re working out of their houses now. You might be interested in that.”

  “And as far as getting it soundproofed and stuff?”

  “Are you asking me to do it?” Hank asks.

  “Yeah. Or if you know a guy.”

  He’s quiet for a moment, and I wonder if I messed up somehow. I just want to show Nikki how much I want her to succeed
.

  “Can I offer you some advice?” Hank asks.

  I nod.

  “Come, let’s walk.”

  I walk in stride with Hank, and he leads us away from the town square, taking us toward the bay.

  “I’ve done my research on you, Logan.” He glances at me and shrugs. “I had to be sure I was protecting Nikki. And I know you don’t have a father, so you can take my fatherly advice however you want.”

  My stomach squirms. I respect Hank, but I never needed a father growing up and I sure don’t need one now.

  “Nikki’s dad, Jeff, is pretty rich. He doesn’t lack for much. And when the whole thing went down between him and Marla, he thought he could buy his kids’ love. They each got a brand-new car at sixteen. They were given credit cards to use how they wanted. It’s how he shows his love and it’s part of the reason things didn’t work out.”

  I nod. “I understand completely. I don’t wanna buy Nikki’s love. I want to earn it. Plus, I don’t want her to be with me just for my money.”

  He pats my shoulder. “That’s why I’m going to give you this advice. I’ll chip in and help with the studio podcast, especially since you’re not knowledgeable about building, but if you put in the blood, sweat, and tears yourself, I suspect it will mean much more to her. Thinking of her is one thing. Acting and executing it yourself is another in a woman’s eyes.”

  I stop for a moment and think about what he’s saying. He’s right. Paying someone to do things for her isn’t the same as me doing it for her. I’m going to have to roll up my sleeves and put in some sweat equity.

  “It’s just my opinion and I could be off base. Maybe I’m just old now and women don’t care, but Marla always makes sure to thank me when it’s me who hangs the picture for her instead of someone from my crew, if you know what I mean?” He winks.

  I force a smile because I’m not cool envisioning them in bed. “Thanks, Hank. It means a lot that you took the time to talk to me.”

  “You’re my son-in-law now. Our door is open anytime.”

  We walk back toward the crowd again and find Nikki with Marla and my mom. The two older women are carrying on, laughing and talking over one another.