bride and groom are equals who are marrying out of choice rather than one being given to the other.”
Maddie straightened. “Yes. I love that.”
Mitch smiled at his cousin’s fiancée. Her father was actually in prison and wouldn’t be a part of her wedding. Her grandfather and brother had both passed away. She had talked about walking down the aisle alone. This was perfect.
“Yes.” Juliet leaned over and hugged Maddie. “That’s exactly what we should all do.”
“What else?” Tori asked Paige.
“Oh, this one is maybe good for you all too,” Paige said. “In Swedish weddings, there is often only one bridesmaid and one groomsman and many times none at all.”
The girls all looked at one another. “Since we’re all going to be brides too, we had tried to figure out how to do that. Maybe we should just not worry about it.”
Kennedy slumped on her stool, letting out a long breath. “Yes. That’s a great idea.”
They looked over at her.
“Don’t want to play the part of bridesmaid three times on one day?” Maddie asked her.
“No offense,” Kennedy said. “But I’ll give you a great group toast. Hilarious and sappy at the same time.”
“I know you will,” Maddie said.
“At Swedish weddings, the speeches and toasts go on for a long time,” Paige said.
“Well, hell, maybe we are part Swedish way back,” Ellie said. “This group definitely goes on and on.”
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