Paige looked up, then scrambled to her feet. “Oh. Really? Today?”
Today was the day they were supposed to arrive.
But it was fine they were leaving. This was the amount of time she’d expected to spend with Mitch. Short and sweet. No big deal.
So why did it feel like so much had happened and that his visit had been a very big deal?
“Yeah, we need to get back,” he said, shooting a glance at Tori.
“I’m sorry,” Tori said. “It’s my fault.”
“It’s my fault,” Josh said. “I should have known taking her over to the Ryan farm was the wrong move.”
“But I wanted to meet everybody,” Tori said.
“Everybody being the alpaca—the one alpaca—that she was supposed to be taking back to Louisiana,” Mitch added.
“And now it’s four alpacas,” Paige said with a smile.
Tori nodded.
“And…” Mitch said.
Paige looked at her with wide eyes. “There’s more?”
“There was an donkey,” Tori said, lifting her shoulder.
“Who now belongs to us too,” Josh said.
Paige shook her head. “Wow.”
Tori said, lifting a shoulder. “Drew asked if I wanted him.”
Mitch laughed. “And Tori’s never met an animal she doesn’t want.”
“Anyway,” Josh said, “now that she’s met her new babies, she wants to get them home and settled.”
Paige wondered if Josh ever said no to Tori. But she couldn’t help smiling. Clearly they were both incredibly happy.
She looked up at Mitch. And now she was going to get rid of him sooner. Before she started liking him any more than she already did.
“I am sorry to be taking Mitch back to Louisiana so soon though,” Tori said, truly looking regretful. “But we do need his help with the trailers and driving that far straight through and everything.”
“It’s fine,” Paige assured her.
Mitch lifted a brow as if to ask it is, huh?
Well, it should be. He was just some guy she’d met and had some sexy fun with. Hell, he already knew more about her life than the last three guys she’d “dated”. It was time for him to go.
But she was going to miss him.
She wasn’t able to quite avoid that thought entirely.
“I need to grab my stuff from upstairs,” he said to her. “Come with me.”
There was not a question mark at the end of that sentence. Still, she nodded.
“I didn’t realize you’d left your stuff up there,” she said as she led him up the stairs.
“You thought I took it all to the bakery with me?” he asked.
“I didn’t know you went to the bakery.”
“Where did you think I went?”
“Louisiana.”
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
He grabbed her wrist and swung her around. He wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her in for a deep kiss.
Her hands slid into his hair, and she went up on tiptoe to get closer.
This is what I’m going to miss she told herself. All I’m going to miss.
You’re a freaking liar herself said right back.
When he let her go she was breathing hard.
“I’ve been dying to do that all morning,” he said.
She nodded. Hanging out at the bakery and watching him pretend to be with Tori—and being stupidly jealous of it—had been bad enough, but walking through the square and watching him hold Tori’s hand and feed her bites of cookie and brush glitter out of her hair had been irritating. Even though it was all fake. And she didn’t want any of that herself.
It was definitely good he was leaving.
He was cupping her cheek and watching her. “I’ll see you in thirty-eight days,” he said.
Her eyes widened. “Thirty-eight days? That’s not even two months.”
He grinned. “Exactly.”
“Are you coming back here for some reason?” Her heart thumped. She tried to tell herself it was because that idea made her nervous. But she was starting to think that she was not only a liar, but a pretty bad one.
“Do you want me to come back before then? I’ll be here. Just say the word,” he told her gruffly.
She wanted to say that word. Kind of. More than she did with anyone else anyway.
“Though you’ll have to somehow explain that to your mom.”
That would be interesting.
“I just… I mean…”
He finally chuckled. “Relax. I’m just giving you shit, you gorgeous commitment-phobe. The wedding is in thirty-eight days.”
She pulled back. “What? That means they’re getting married in February.”
She’d assumed the wedding would be in the spring. Or June. Like a normal wedding time. Several months in the future.
Why was nothing with this guy going according to plan?
“They’re getting married on Mardi Gras,” he said. “That’s when they met and when they got back together. So they almost have to.” He shrugged.
“Mardi Gras is in February?”
Why didn’t she know that? Why did Mardi Gras seem like a warm-weather event? Probably all the naked boobs associated with the holiday. Then again, it was a warm-weather event since it was mostly celebrated in the South. February in Louisiana was definitely warmer than February in Iowa.
Which was a major draw to this wedding for this Iowa girl.
As if the big guy who was dragging his hand down the side of her body and settling it on her hip wasn’t enough.
He is. He so is. And don’t even try to lie about it.
Yeah, yeah.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you soon, then,” she said.
He laughed and leaned in and kissed her before letting her go. “You need to work on acting enthusiastic about that before you get there, okay? My ego can only take so much.”
She grinned a genuine grin. “I’m not worried about your ego.”
It was probably a good thing he was sure of himself and cocky. He could handle her less-than-enthusiastic quirks about intimacy and commitment better than most men. The guys around here got their feelings hurt pretty easily. It was another reason she rarely said yes to dates with guys from Appleby. She mostly dated guys from other towns… the bigger and farther away, the better.
Mitch would be the farthest away of any guy she’d dated though—if that’s what they were going to call it—and that didn’t feel like a perk, exactly.
He pulled her in close again and put his mouth against her ear. “I can’t wait to see you and have you for six months straight.”
She felt tingles racing through her body and she had to focus on what he’d said. “You said six days last night,” she reminded him. And she hadn’t agreed to that. Yet.
“Okay, fine, we’ll compromise at six weeks.”
“I can’t.” Well, she shouldn’t. She could. Technically, she supposed.
He kissed her, then lifted his head. “We’ll see.”
“That should sound creepy. Like you’re going to lock me up or something.”
He didn’t grin. He cupped her face again. “Does it sound creepy?”
She wet her lips and then said honestly, “No.”
“We’ll take it… six days at a time,” he said.
She smiled. “You don’t take no for an answer very easily.”
“Actually, I’m pretty easy going about most things. Usually. But I’ve never wanted something this much.” His gaze was still serious and she felt her stomach flip. He dragged his thumb over her bottom lip. “But I won’t push you.”
“You’ll just tempt me?” she asked.
“Oh yes. That. For sure.” Now the slow, sexy smile curled his mouth.
“Thanks for the warning.”
He stepped back after another long look. Then he grabbed his bag from beside the door.
How had she not noticed that before? Well, she’d been on the phone with
her sister, panicking about Tori and Josh and Mitch being at Buttered Up.
Mitch pulled the door open and looked back. “See ya soon.”
She nodded. “Yeah.”
He smiled and then left.
As the door shut behind him, only one thought went through her head.
I already miss him.
Well, fu… fudge.
11
One week later…
Josie and Grant’s wedding was easily the most romantic thing Paige had ever witnessed.
Of course it was. It was Josie. The most in-love-with-love person Paige had ever met. And that included their own parents and grandparents.
Josie looked gorgeous, even with tears—happy tears, of course—streaming down her face. Grant had even choked up during his vows.
The flowers were gorgeous. The music was gorgeous. Josie’s dress was gorgeous. Hell, even the bridesmaids' dresses—Paige, Zoe, Jane, and Amanda wore—were gorgeous. And when did that ever happen?
The cake was, of course, gorgeous. Zoe and Josie had made it themselves, and Paige had to admit, it was a work of art.
Paige tipped back her glass of champagne. Her first, but she intended to keep the free booze flowing. They were at the reception now, and she didn’t have to make a speech—that was Zoe’s job as maid of honor—so Paige could definitely get drunk.
She really wanted to get drunk.
She was surrounded by in-love people. Her sister and Grant. Zoe and Aiden. Jane and Dax. Whitney and Cam. Max and Elliot. Even Kelsey was here with Matt, freaking glowing as they danced.
The worst part though, was that her and Josie’s parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles and, well, everyone, were so, so happy. No, it wasn’t bad that they were happy. She didn’t begrudge them that. But it did remind her that they were still sad about the Wedding Reception That Never Was.
Aka, Paige’s fuckup.
They were learning though, because only two people—and neither relatives of hers—had commented that it was her turn next. So she only needed to add two cats to her collection.
Of course, part of being around her extended family at a wedding, of all things, was she knew they were all whispering to one another about how “too bad” it was that the handsome, charming man she’d been holding hands with in the bakery last week lived so far away. What they really meant was that it was typical that Paige would finally show some interest in someone and he’d be out of reach. But Josie telling them all that Josh was from Louisiana and he owned his own business there, and, no, there was no way he could move to Iowa, did keep them from bugging Paige about holding his hand in public.
Paige set the champagne glass down and sighed.
And admitted the actual worst part.
She wished that Mitch were here.
And not just because then her Aunt Vivian would stop giving her pitying looks as she sat at the head table alone, the only single bridesmaid. She and Oliver, one of Grant’s best friends, were the only two single members of the bridal party, period, and everyone knew Ollie was in love with Piper.
Well, everyone except Ollie himself.
Ollie and Piper were dancing now too.
Paige wished Mitch were here because she’d love to dance with him. And drink champagne. And flirt and laugh and tease and just have fun.
Mitch would be fun to be with.
At the dance. At the wedding dance.
She wouldn’t even mind that her mother would be pleased and hopeful watching her and Mitch together. She might even smile and say, “We’ll see” when her mother asked if he could be The One. Instead of her usual, “You just added another year of spinsterhood to my calendar. At this rate, I won’t be married until I’m fifty.”
Her mother would always roll her eyes and mutter something under her breath, and Paige couldn’t quite hear but assumed was along the lines of “Where did I go wrong?” or “I need to stop for wine on the way home.”
“Hi, Paige.”
She looked up and blinked, pulling her attention away from her thoughts. “Oh, hi, Carter.”
“Would you like to dance?”
She looked from Carter Rogers to the dance floor then back.
No, not really. Not unless Mitch was here.
But Mitch wasn’t here, and it was her sister’s wedding dance, and, as much as she hated to do it, it would make her mom happy.
She sighed. She didn’t hate making her mom happy. She loved her mom. She just wished that making her happy didn’t involve her getting hitched. She’d given her mother plenty of grandkids to spoil. They had fur and couldn’t talk, but they also potty trained really easily and could be left alone when she went out, like to a wedding, without her having to pay a sitter.
“Paige?”
“Oh right.” She smiled at Carter. Carter had been a classmate of hers and she’d always liked him. He was one of the smartest guys in their class and he’d gone off to college on a full scholarship. He’d just moved back and started his business. Something about bringing up-and-coming tech to rural areas of the Midwest. She was sure he was going to be successful. And in Appleby for the rest of his life.
“Sure,” she finally said. They could dance though.
He led her to the dance floor and she let him pull her close. It wasn’t her fault that she instantly began comparing being against him to being against Mitch.
But as they danced she relaxed.
They talked and laughed. She’d forgotten Carter was funny. She hadn’t forgotten that he was cute and they got along well though. She was glad he’d asked her to dance.
She participated in the bouquet toss—dodging the stupid thing when her sister practically threw it right to her. Carter took part in the garter toss. They did the “Hokey Pokey” and line danced to “Achy Breaky Heart”.
And when the dance was over, she let him walk her out to her car. She would have walked all the way home if it weren’t for her heels and fancy dress and the sixteen-degree wind chill. Why her sister had wanted to get married in January was beyond her.
“This was fun,” Carter said, pulling her door open.
“It was,” Paige agreed. See? Why couldn’t people just hang out and have fun without it meaning more?
“I’ve been thinking about you since I moved back,” Carter said.
Paige froze. No. No, no, no.
“What do you mean?”
He smiled. And it did nothing to her stomach.
“I was really glad you were still single when I got back,” he said.
Paige tossed her purse onto the passenger seat with a sigh. Well, dammit.
“I’m not looking for a boyfriend, Carter,” she said.
He moved in closer. “Well, good. Because I don’t want to be your boyfriend.”
Paige narrowed her eyes. Was he thinking about a fling? She might have considered that, but… Mitch had happened. And now she wasn’t attracted to Carter at all.
“Then what do you want?” she asked, not wanting to assume anything here.
“We’re both living and working here, settling down,” Carter said. “We’re at the same place in our lives. I think we should get married.”
Paige wondered for a moment if she’d had more champagne than she’d thought. But no. This was happening.
“You’re not even going to take me out to dinner?” she asked with an eye roll. “Pretend to work up to this?”
In one way, in the back part of her brain, she kind of appreciated the no-nonsense, skip the romantic bullshit approach.
That didn’t, however, make her appreciate that she was being proposed to. Again. For fuck’s sake.
Did she have a sign on her forehead? Had her mother signed her up on an online dating site with a description that read “Ready to marry immediately. Serious offers only”?
Actually, that last one made a little sense, and Paige made a mental note to check those sites tomorrow.
“Of course I’ll take you to dinner,” Carter said. “Anything you want. But I
just don’t think we should beat around the bush. I want you to know that I’m serious about this. I’m ready to make a commitment.”
Otter yoga.
Those were the two words that went through her head.
She had to get out of here.
And there was really only one place she could even consider going.
“Well, that’s not really going to work for me,” she said, pushing Carter back and getting into the car.
“What? Why not? I’ve asked around. You’ve dated pretty much everyone here. If something was going to happen with someone here, it would have, don’t you think?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“Well, gosh, for one… I don’t want to marry you.” She reached for the door and pulled it partially shut. Then she added. “For another, I’m leaving in the morning.” Sure, it was a month early, but the idea of showing up in Autre, Louisiana and surprising Mitch made her heart pound.
“Leaving?” Carter asked, clearly confused.
“Yeah. I’m moving.” She sounded completely confident. And happy. And she maybe felt both of those things too. “Away from Appleby.”
“Where are you going? My grandma didn’t say anything about that,” Carter said with a frown.
It was actually fair, sadly, for Carter to assume his grandmother would know all about any plans like that.
Paige smiled at her fifth proposal and said with relief and a sense of anticipation that she hadn’t felt in… ever, “South. I need a break and a little… heat.”
“Just south? That’s all you know?”
“That’s all you need to know.”
“Is it a guy?” he asked with a frown.
She didn’t answer right away. That would definitely get back to his grandmother, then to her grandmother, then to her mother…
But would that be so bad? She’d be out of state, away from here, away from the drop-ins to try to get information.
“Yeah, it is,” she finally said.
“Wow,” Carter said. “You must be in love.”
“No,” she said quickly. “It’s not that.”
“Paige,” Carter said. “You’ve never so much as changed your pizza order for a guy. But now you’re moving for one? If it’s not love, what is it?”
Oh, Fudge: Hot Cakes Book Five Page 14