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.
“I’d like to think I’m a little miss-able too,” he said with a grin to try to lighten what he was thinking.
“Oh, you are,” she said with a mischievous smile. “I’ll definitely miss that hammock. And I love the shower at your house.”
The shower. Right. The last time they’d really had sex except for the quickie when he’d snuck into her bedroom.
So she’d miss the sex with him.
Well, that was fair. It was amazing between them. Every time. That was what he could give that the others couldn’t.
And the knot in his stomach at that thought was stupid. This was what he’d agreed to. It wasn’t Paige’s fault that it had taken him only two and a half weeks to fall in love with her.
“Call your mom,” Ellie said, pulling Mitch and Paige’s gazes apart. “I want to know about these cookies.”
“Oh.” Paige shook herself slightly.
Yes, her thoughts had drifted to Mitch’s shower, and the last time they’d