Mitch squeezed Paige’s thigh and was pleased and surprised when her hand came to rest on top of his. She gave him a little squeeze back, then slid his hand up over her slippery yoga pants to her high inner thigh.
God, he wanted her.
He’d wanted this woman since the moment he’d met her. It had taken one look, and he’d been in lust. One night in her bed, and he’d been addicted. One week of texting with her, and he’d been captivated. One day in her hometown around her crazy family, and he’d been smitten. Now, she’d been in his hometown and around his crazy family for less than one month, and he was head over heels.
“Anything else?” Tori asked Paige.
“Well, I know we already have a ton of food, but now I’m thinking you should include some Swedish wedding cookies.”
“Oh, what are those?” Juliet asked.
“They’re buttery cookies with pecans. They come in ball shapes and are rolled in powder sugar.”
“Let’s do it,” Tori said with a nod. “You know how to make them?”
“I don’t have a recipe, but my mom makes great ones,” Paige said. “I can call her later.”
“Call her now,” Ellie said. “Put her on a video call. Then we can all meet her.”
Paige looked startled. “Oh. Uh. You want to meet her?”
“Of course,” Ellie said as if that should have been obvious. “We adore her daughter, so why wouldn’t we want to meet her?”
Paige blinked at Ellie. “You… adore me?”
Ellie frowned. “Yes.”
“You do? You adore me?”
Ellie tipped her head. “Yes.” Her tone was impatient.
“But…” Paige looked at Mitch.
He lifted a brow. He wasn’t sure what was going on. Why was she so surprised? Ellie Landry generally liked most people. No, that wasn’t true. She had a low tolerance for blowhards and assholes and absolutely no trouble telling them that they were blowhards and assholes.
But she gave people a chance and more than the benefit of the doubt. She was incredibly forgiving of mistakes and even stupidity provided the person learned from the mistake and was less stupid afterward.
But Paige had no reason to think that Ellie didn’t like her. Did she?
“But what?” Ellie prodded.
The other girls were all watching, curious now.
“You just…” Paige wet her lips. “You didn’t seem to like me much. That’s all. You’ve been standoffish. Which is fine,” she added quickly. “You don’t have to like me. I know I’m a pain with the weird food I eat and the anti-marriage thing and all the cats.” She finished weakly with a wince.
Ellie crossed the space behind the bar, coming to stand right across from Paige.
“You’re not anti-marriage. You don’t want to get married, personally. At least right now. Maybe ever. But that’s your thing. You’re not trying to talk anyone else out of it,” she said.
Paige nodded. “Right.”
“And you’re eating what you like for your reasons. But you’re not telling other people what to eat.”
“Well, except for our little disagreement the other night,” Paige muttered, her cheeks red.
“You don’t like how crawfish are cooked,” Ellie said. “It doesn’t bother me. We had a disagreement. That doesn’t make you weird or a bad person.”
“But I yelled at you.”
“I yelled back.”
“Yeah.” Paige nodded. “So… I guess I thought that kind of meant maybe I wasn’t your favorite person.”
“Yelling is just a way of saying something you really want to be sure the other person hears,” Ellie said. “And God knows, around here, yelling is simply the only option sometimes.”
Paige gave her a small smile, and Mitch squeezed her leg again. She slipped her fingers between his, folding their hands together.
“And as long as you can feed and take care of all those cats, and they make you happy, it’s nobody’s business how many you have. Someone who loves animals is my kind of person.” Ellie gave Paige an affectionate smile and then glanced at Tori as well.
“My mom thinks that I’m filling the gaps in my life and heart with cats when I should be loving people instead,” Paige said. Then she frowned. “I don’t know why I just told you that.”
“People tell Ellie a lot of stuff they don’t really mean to,” Juliet said.
Ellie shrugged as if that was just common knowledge. “Is your mom right?”
“Yeah. Maybe. Some of it might be that.”
“How come?”
“Because cats are easier to love and harder to disappoint.”
Mitch felt his heart kick hard.
Ellie just nodded. “That’s true. Seems like everything you’re doin’ makes sense.”
Paige’s eyes rounded. “Really?”
“Sure.”
“And that’s… all okay with you?”
“Why does it matter if it’s okay with me?”
“Because…” Paige trailed off. “I guess because I like you all, and I want you to like me.”
“Well, I like you just fine. You’re not eating meat doesn’t affect me. You having a bunch of cats doesn’t affect me. You not wanting to get married doesn’t affect me. As long as you’re not hurting me or anyone I love, I can like you even if we disagree about crawfish.”
Mitch was watching Paige closely and noticed how she swallowed hard before offering a weak smile. Was she thinking about him and how he felt about her not wanting to get married?
He didn’t like it. He’d love it if she wanted to fall head over heels and stay here forever. But he wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to know that whatever she needed was fine with him. If she wanted to stay here and never get married, he could be okay with that.
The thought hit him seemingly out of the blue. But he really just wanted her around, to see her, laugh with her, watch her light up, and find her place. He didn’t need to put a ring on her finger for all of that.
“Then why were you aloof when we first met?” Paige asked Ellie tentatively.
“Because I thought that’s what you wanted,” Ellie said. “Mitch said you weren’t looking to get involved. And honestly, when people get to know me, it’s very hard for them to stay detached.”
Paige laughed. “Yes. I’m learning that.”
Ellie gave her a wink. “But when I saw that the girls had pulled you in, I knew you weren’t getting out of here without leaving some of your heart behind.”
“Um, excuse me,” Mitch said. “What about me?”
“What about you?” Ellie asked.
“You don’t think I might have anything to do with that?”
“Thought you were trying not to have anything to do with that,” Ellie said.
“Well…” He glanced at Paige. She was watching him with interest.
Fuck. He was supposed to be trying not to make her attach. This was her place to lay low. And maybe everything he’d seen in her—the happiness and contentment—really was about her new friendships, and the acceptance of his family and the fun of the wedding planning.