When Camille got home that late Friday afternoon, she could hear the laughter from afar. She entered the living room with a smile and found Logan and Mia on the couch, joking around happily while Phillip was lying on the carpet with his toys.
"Well, you two are in a good mood," Camille said and laughed.
"Hi, Mommy," Mia called over from the couch and waved at her. Logan used this moment to tickle Mia's sides up and down, which elicited a happy squeal from her. Amused, Camille brought the bag with purchases into the kitchen and set it down on the table.
In the living room, Logan let go of Mia and set her down on the carpet. "Hey, sweetie. Will you do me a favor and watch your little brother for a minute while I help Mommy with the groceries?"
"Yes, Daddy," Mia said, nodding eagerly, which made Logan smile. "That's my girl."
Indeed, Mia was a great big sister. Whenever possible, she wanted to help her parents with Phillip. Be it bathing, feeding, or even changing diapers. She also never complained about her little brother crying at night. Once, when Phillip was crying again at night and it was Logan's turn to check on him, he was very surprised when he went into the room and found Mia there. She sat on the floor in front of the crib and tried to calm her brother down. After Logan returned to the bedroom some time later and told Camille about it, she began to cry. But it were tears of joy.
Logan went into the kitchen, where Camille had already started stowing away the groceries. He took a cereal box and put it on a shelf while he asked, "How was your girl's day?"
"Well ... I have good and bad news."
Logan looked puzzled. "Okay ... what's the good news?"
"The girls are all looking forward to the wedding and especially Jo and Lex have agreed to help us with the planning. In fact, they literally took over the entire planning."
"So ... what's the bad news?"
Camille grinned. "We'll probably have to come to terms with the fact that we will have their dream wedding and not ours."
"Well, as long as they also pay for it, I'm in," Logan replied with a shrug, which made Camille laugh. "How about you? Have Kendall, James, and Carlos already agreed on a topic for the bachelor party?"
"I was in the studio this morning and when I left they were still busy arguing. And I'm pretty sure I've heard the words 'bungee jumping' and 'Empire State Building', so I would say ... no."
Camille smiled. "Have you already decided on a best man?"
Logan's good mood disappeared. He sighed. "No, I haven't. It's a lot harder than I thought. I know people say Kendall and I are the closest, but if I did choose him I would leave James and Carlos out and I can't do that. I don't know ... Maybe I'll just get married without a best man."
Camille shook her head. "You can't get married without a best man, Logan. Jo and Alexa would never allow that."
Logan didn't respond to her attempt to lighten the mood. Instead he just nodded barely noticeably and sighed again. "I know. And I promise I will find a solution. I just need a few more days to think about it."
Camille nodded and walked over to him, put her arms around him. She wanted to see him smile again. "How about we forget all the wedding preparations for today and have a nice evening with the kids? And when the kids are in bed ... well, who knows? Maybe the two of us can do something nice then." She was pleased to find that she had obviously piqued Logan's curiosity.
"What do you have in mind?" He asked with a gentle smile.
Camille was woken up the next morning by someone pulling on her hand. She opened her eyes and saw Mia standing by the bed. "Hey, sweetie. What are you doing here so early?"
"It's Saturday, Mommy. Cuddle time."
Camille smiled. "Right." She lifted Mia onto the bed and laid her down between her and Logan who was still deeply asleep. They just lay there for a while, enjoying the family togetherness, until Mia looked over at Logan and then back at Camille. "Daddy's still sleeping."
"Yeah, that's weird, isn't it?"
Mia nodded.
"Shall we wake him up?" Camille asked with a grin. Mia giggled happily in response. Smiling mischievously, Camille moved to Logan's side, but before she could even touch him, Logan suddenly said very clearly, "Don't. Even. Think. About. It."
Before Camille had time to wonder, Logan had turned around in a flash, grabbed Camille's wrists and gently pushed them up so that her arms were straightened. He grinned down at her. "Please don't tell me that you were trying to wake me up with an annoying and totally mean method," he says with a twinkle in his brown eyes. Camille, still surprised by this sudden turn, heard Mia's laugh and understood. "Hey, you two tricked me," she said reproachfully and tried to wriggle out of Logan's grip, but she failed.
"Yes, we did," Logan confirmed, still grinning.
"I knew Daddy wasn't sleeping because he winked at me when you weren't looking."
Camille looked at her daughter with a smile. "Well, you got me. So what are you going to do now?"
"Well ... you didn't admit it, but I'm pretty sure how you wanted to wake me up. So it's only fair to do the same," Logan said matter-of-factly.
"That wouldn't be fair at all because I didn't do anything," Camille defended herself with a grin.
"But you wanted it ... that's enough," Logan said quietly.
"Shut up."
With playful horror, Logan inhaled sharply and turned to Mia. "Did you hear what your mommy just said?"
Mia giggled. "Yes, Daddy."
"Do we allow that?"
"No, Daddy."
"And what happens to someone who doesn't play by the rules?"
What followed was a lot of laughter. Even if Logan knew he would pay for this, the opportunity was too good to miss. But since he was also a sensitive person, he didn't want to go too far and after a few – but intense – minutes, he decided to end the whole thing. "Okay, Mia. Stop. I think that's enough."
Camille straightened up, panting, but smiling all over her face. Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "You two are so-"
"Ah ... watch your words, honey," Logan threatened playfully. Camille gave him a glowing look, then turned around to face Mia. "Come here, you ..."
Logan watched with a grin as Camille and Mia carried out their own tickle fight and leaned back against his pillow. The sound of laughter from his two favorite girls made him happy. He closed his eyes and lost himself in his thoughts. So he noticed much too late that it was suddenly strangely quiet in the room. He opened his eyes in amazement and looked directly at Mia who was lying on his stomach, while Camille leaned over him from the side, with an expression that Logan didn't like at all. "Um ... what are you two-?"
"It's called revenge, honey," Camille said with a smirk.
"Oh, come on ... That's ..." But his protest was ignored, instead hell began for him.
"You made a big mistake, honey," Camille said in a soft voice, while she ran her hand over all his sensitive spots. "Mia may have helped you, but you didn't consider that she would help me too."
Even if Logan wanted to reply, he couldn't. The only thing he could do was squirm like a fish out of water.
"I'm looking forward to the day when Phillip is old enough to join us," Camille continued to tease him. "Then there would be three people who make you laugh. I'm not sure how you will get through this, the three of us together ..."
Suddenly Logan's eyes widened and he let out a cry of triumph. "That's it!"
Camille and Mia were so surprised by this reaction that they stopped the tickling immediately. Logan jumped off the bed. "I have to go." He was almost out of the room when he turned and came back to them. "You girls are amazing," he said with an enthusiastic grin and kissed both of them quickly on the forehead before walking out of the room. They heard him rush into the bathroom and a few minutes later the front door was opened and closed.
Even though it was Saturday, Kendall, James, and Carlos were in the studio. They had already released the new album and had to meet Gustavo, Kelly, and Griffin that morning to discuss the next steps and plans. Neither of them had expected Logan's presence, so they were all surprised when he suddenly stood in front of them ... panting and with disheveled hair, dressed in a t-shirt and sweatpants.
"Logan, what are you doing here?" Kelly asked, surprised.
"Did something happen?" Kendall asked worriedly. Logan frowned. "No. Why?"
"Because you look like you just fell out of bed," James said, grinning.
"Oh ... yes ... something like that," Logan mumbled, embarrassed, but then he pulled himself together. "Um, anyway ... Can I speak to you guys for a moment?"
The boys looked at each other, then nodded and followed Logan down the hall.
"What's going on?" Carlos asked impatiently. Logan smiled. "I admit that it was really difficult for me, but thanks to my daughter and my fiancé, I finally made a decision. It's about my best man."
The confusion on the boys' faces disappeared and was replaced by curiosity.
"And? Who is it?" They asked at the same time. Logan's smile widened as he exchanged glances with each of his friends and then asked, "Would you do me the honor of being the best man at my wedding?"
"Um ..."
"What?"
"Huh?"
His friends' faces all showed the same puzzled expression.
"Who did you ask?" Carlos wanted to know. Logan's smile turned into a grin when he replied, "You."
Just as Carlos was about to cheer and Kendall and James were about to protest, Logan said, "And James. And Kendall."
Silence spread, accompanied by surprised faces.
"I have come to the conclusion that if I marry my dream woman, I only want to do that when my three best friends, my brothers, are by my side as my best men. And I will not argue about it. So what do you say?"
Kendall, James, and Carlos thought about it for a moment, then Carlos said, beaming, "I like that."
"Me too," Kendall agreed with a grin.
"James?" Logan asked. James laughed. "Sure, I'm in."
"Then I ask again: Would you do me the honor of being my best men?"
"Yes!" They exclaimed enthusiastically in chorus. But their joyous cheers were interrupted by Gustavo who approached them at that moment. "Dogs! Whatever you're doing, stop it immediately and come back to my office so we can continue the meeting."
"We can't do that, Gustavo," Carlos said happily.
"Why not?"
"Because we as best men have to plan an unforgettable and epic bachelor party!" James shouted, and Kendall and Logan enthusiastically agreed. Without paying attention to the angry expression of their producer, they left the studio, laughing, leaving their employers with helpless and resigned expressions on their faces. When they were out on the street, Logan said, "But guys, seriously, no bungee jumping!"
"Okay. We'll think of something else," Carlos said confidently.
"Hey, Logan ..." James began with a grin. "Have you ever thought about strippers? After all-"
"Not a chance," Logan said firmly before James could finish his sentence.
"Are those your words or Camille's?" Kendall asked with a wink.
"Does that matter?" Logan asked evasively.
"Camille's words," Kendall, James, and Carlos said at the same time and laughed. Logan didn't find this very funny at first, but in the end he just couldn't help it and joined the laughter of his three best men.