AllFreeNovel
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Not that I knit.
But I would kind of like to learn . . .
The clearing and cleaning is about twenty minutes of joking and light wrestling, the brothers-in-law occasionally capturing each other in head locks or snapping each other with towels. They act as if they’ve grown up in this family, not married into it in the last two years, and I envy it. I was always a quiet kid, and after my grandmother, I got quieter.
When we join the women in the living room, Sawyer and Noah tuck themselves in with their wives on the sofa. Bill and Lisa have taken the armchairs. Paige and Evie chose the love seat, but even Evie’s boundless energy was no match for the post-turkey tryptophan, and she’s sound asleep with her head in Paige’s lap.
I smile at the picture they make. “She’s out cold.”
Paige returns the smile, and for a half a second, our eyes meet and hold, but I blink and drop my gaze. I think that love study was done on people who stared into each other’s eyes for four consecutive minutes, but I don’t want to risk it being cumulative.
“She goes hard and crashes hard,” Paige says. “And honestly, I probably need to get home.” She glances outside. “I have to get up before dawn to make sure the store is ready for Black Friday.”
“Bill,” Lisa says, swatting his arm. “Why did you schedule her so early?”
“He didn’t,” Paige says. “I scheduled myself. He’s done it for enough years. But if it’s okay with you, Evie wants to sleep over here, and then Noah and Grace will bring her back and watch her at my house when she wakes up tomorrow.”
“Of course, honey,” Lisa says. “But you can’t leave yet. There’s still dessert.”
Paige glances at me. “It’s up to you,” she says, barely fighting a yawn. “I wouldn’t want to pull you away early, and I’m not going to leave you here to fend for yourself against them.”
“No, that’s fine. I’m on the verge of a turkey coma too.” In truth, the only space left to sit is on the sofa with the Winters girls and their husbands, and that feels even more awkward than lipstick-matching talk.
Well,almostas awkward.
“Then it’s decided.” Paige slips from beneath Evie and makes sure she’s settled comfortably before she straightens. “We’ll head out.”
“Together,” Tabitha notes.
“Knock it off, Tab,” Grace says, and Sawyer pinches his wife.
“Yes, together, Tab. That’s what happens sometimes when two people live next door to each other and are ready to go to their own, separate houses.”
Paige delivers the retort without any heat, and yet, I feel the slightest twinge when she says the word “separate.” It’s never struck me as a lonely word until now.
“At least take a pie home with you,” Lisa says, climbing to her feet. “Each,” she adds. “We’ve got so many.”
“You’re welcome,” Tabitha singsongs.
“Show-off,” Grace says, then she pinches her sister, who seems to find it less cute than when her husband does it.
“I’m definitely taking home a pie made by Tabitha Winters, Queen ofDinner Reborn, and I’m definitely not sharing,” I say with a stern look at Paige.
She snorts. “I’ll have to settle for eating my own whole pie by myself, I guess.”
After several minutes of goodbyes and leave-taking, we walk back to our place, side-by-side, our hands full of pie, reviewing the best dish of the meal, which turns out to be all of them—except for the beets, although Paige even liked those.
I pause at the foot of my front walk. “I’m glad Lisa invited me. Thanks for letting me tag along.”
“No problem,” she says turning to face me. “Remember how much you enjoyed it tomorrow when the lights blaze to life and stay up for six weeks.”
I grimace. “I’ll try.”
“And definitely remember next week when I’m working on Project: Office Goddess.”
“That is not what it’s called.”
“Oh, it is,” she says, giving my foot a light kick.
