Breathe with Me (With Me in Seattle, #7)(45)

“I’d marry her tomorrow and have a house full of kids with her if that’s what she wants.”

“What if that’s not what she wants?”

“One day at a time,” I mumble. “But I think she does. She’s mentioned that she can see us having a family one day. In the meantime, we’re good with taking things one day at a time. It’s early days yet.”

“I’m happy for you.” She rests her chin in her hand and watches me with this goofy, dreamy look on her face. “It’s kind of romantic.”

“God, you’re a girl.”

“Hence the prior conversation about my vagina.”

“There was no conversation. And stop saying vagina.”

She laughs loudly then raises a brow when my phone pings again.

Thought you’d like a video of Mer doing what she does. Jax.

I tilt the phone so Lena can see and press play, and suddenly there’s Mer, counting the rhythm for Starla and calling out moves. Finally she stops her and dances it herself, telling her where she’s getting her feet wrong. The video stops right after Starla says, “Fucking A!”

“She’s pretty,” Lena says with a smile. “And did you see what she can do with her leg? Holy shit.”

“It doesn’t suck,” I agree and smile at my friend.

“This was fun. I want to meet her soon.”

“We’re heading to Vegas this weekend, but maybe next week?” We stand and throw our garbage away and step out onto the street.

“Sounds good. I’ll make my nerdy husband poke his head out of the lab long enough to interact with real people.”

“Tell him I said hi, and thanks for sharing his nerdy but gorgeous wife with me today.” I give her a quick hug and kiss her cheek, then watch to make sure she gets into her car safely and pulls away.

Just as I sit in the driver’s seat of the Jeep, my phone rings.

“Hey.”

“Who the f*ck are you having dinner with?” Meredith demands. She’s panting and I can hear Jax in the background say, “Not cool, KitKat.”

“I’m sorry, is this my loving girlfriend?” I raise a brow and push the key in the ignition but sit and wait for her reaction. I don’t think I should drive and have this conversation at the same time.

“Oh, you remember you have a girlfriend? Great. Answer my question.”

“I was having dinner with Lena.”

“Why haven’t I ever heard her name before? I don’t believe this, Mark. I leave for a few days and you can’t keep it in your pants?”

“That’s enough,” I bark and clench my fist around the steering wheel. She goes quiet but I can hear her breathing hard and I know it’s not from dancing. She’s f*cking pissed.

And so am I.

“I don’t remember being on a leash, but I was having dinner with a very old friend, Meredith.”

“Have you ever f*cked her?” Her voice is small and quivering. I lean my head against my headrest and clench my eyes closed.

“No. And the fact that those words would even come out of your mouth hurts, Mer. She’s a college friend. I worked in the same lab as her and her husband. Well, he was her boyfriend in college, but now they’re married.”

She doesn’t reply but I can imagine her cheeks darkening in embarrassment, and I’d be lying if I said that her little fit of jealousy wasn’t a balm to my ego. I’ve done my best to keep myself busy since she’s been gone and remind myself that I trust her and she’ll be home soon.

But apparently she doesn’t trust me.

“I’ve made lots of friends over the years, most of whom you don’t know. Just like I don’t know all of your friends. Am I to assume that you’ve f*cked every man you’ve met in the past ten years?”

“Of course not,” she replies. “Is this where I say I’m sorry?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. Jax told me not to jump to conclusions, but when he said he heard a woman’s voice in the background it pissed me off.”

“Maybe it was my sister. Or one of the many Montgomery girls. Are you going to always be this jealous, M?”

“No, it was just a knee-jerk reaction because I miss you and I want to be the one there with you. Also, the thought of her with her hands on you made me want to commit murder. The bloody, violent kind, not the poison your food kind.”

“She did talk about her vagina,” I say and laugh when Mer growls. “Do you honestly think that I’d screw up what we have the second you leave town for a quick lay?”

“No.”

“I love you so much it hurts to breathe, Meredith. You know me better than that.”

“I know. Like I said, it was a knee-jerk reaction.”

“I think we need to talk when you get home, sweetheart.”

“I’m really sorry,” she says. “Why haven’t you ever talked about her before?”

“Because I don’t see her often. She and her husband are workaholics.”

“Oh.”

“How was work?” I start the Jeep and pull into traffic now that the jealousy storm has passed.

“Long day.” She sighs. “I miss you.”