His own fears and guilt could actually be worse than anything Susan and Bob—or any of the Mavericks—might think.
Yet did it change what was right for Paige? Did it change how badly he could still hurt her?
“Have you said hi to your mom yet this morning?” While Paige referred to her as Theresa, same as he did, Susan wasn’t afraid of calling her what she was.
“Tony said she’s packing up.”
Susan pushed him toward the door. “Why don’t you go tell her breakfast is almost ready?” Then she called, “Tony, you have dibs on the first batch. Get in here. And bring your sister with you.”
Susan. God, she made him smile. She always knew what was best. And never failed to let her brood know what they needed to do.
Tony practically galloped past him, Kelsey close behind.
And he found himself alone in the dining room with Theresa, who had emerged from her bedroom.
Susan might have engineered it, but he still could have turned around and followed everyone right back into the kitchen. Yet there was a part of him that acknowledged it was time.
He rested a hand on the back of a chair and said, “Have you enjoyed yourself this weekend?”
Theresa looked more than a little surprised by this, as if she hadn’t expected Evan to seek her out. But it wasn’t just Susan’s push. It was the things Paige had reminded him of last night in the bar. That Theresa had had to make a choice. If she’d tried to take him, his father would have made sure none of them escaped. In making him acknowledge that out loud, Paige had opened something up inside of him. Something small, perhaps, but it was a widening crack nonetheless.
“I have. Susan and Bob—they’re wonderful.”
“They are.” Theresa couldn’t know the half of it.
“And so is Paige. You seem so happy when you’re with her. She makes you smile.”
She almost sounded like a mother, telling him she approved of the girl he had a crush on. It was instinctual for his ruff to go up—she had no right to act “motherly.”
But how could he deny the way Paige made him feel? She was wonderful.
And he was so damned happy when he was with her, even if there were a million reasons he should keep his distance.
“Paige has always made me smile.” He couldn’t stop his gaze from gravitating to her through the kitchen door, and his heart flipped in his chest when she laughed. He’d never felt anything like this before, not with anyone. Only her. He forced his attention back to Theresa. “I’m glad we did this trip. It was great that you could meet Susan and Bob.”
Her eyes went misty with pleasure at his words—and an obvious longing for more. He knew what she wanted, for him to say he understood her choices. That he forgave her.
Words he wasn’t sure he could ever say. Just as he wasn’t sure he could say I love you to Paige.
The growing tension broke when Tony walked into the dining room with a stack of pancakes that rivaled the leaning tower of Pisa.
“Better get in there,” Evan said, “before they’re all gone.” And then he held an arm out, showing Theresa the way.
Somehow, it seemed symbolic.
The meal, as usual, was fabulous. After the lacking in their past, when they’d struggled to put enough food on the table for all the growing boys they’d lovingly invited to share their home, Susan and Bob now made sure everyone’s plates were always full.
“These pancakes are to die for,” Kelsey enthused. “How do you make them so light and fluffy?”
Susan whispered the secret recipe. Even Paige leaned in to hear.
She hadn’t taken the seat next to his. Which was probably a good thing because he’d never be able to keep his hands to himself. She could have pushed him, used his desire against him, but that was never Paige’s way. And yet, even on the other side of the table, his fingers actually tingled with the memory of how soft her skin was. With each bite of pancake smothered in syrup, he tasted Paige’s sweet lips.
And the war raged on inside him. All the things he wanted from her, wanted to give her. Versus the insurmountable reasons why he couldn’t have her. If he hurt her—when he hurt her—he’d never be able to live with himself.
“We’ll help you with the dishes,” Tony said when they were all stuffed.
“We won’t hear of it.” Susan flapped her hand. “You’ve got a plane to catch.”
Kelsey shot a glance at Evan. “I’m pretty sure that Evan’s plane can take off whenever he wants.”
Susan tutted and wouldn’t be talked into any help. “Take your coffee into the living room. Evan, can I have a quick word with you before I let you all go?”
Uh-oh.
His stomach actually fell. Then he glanced at Paige. Found her gaze on him. And somehow, everything settled inside him. They might be walking on glass, but she was so very there for him exactly when he needed her.
“I have something for you,” Susan said as she led him down the hall to her sewing room, where she retrieved a box from the closet, set it on a dresser, then pulled the lid off. “Do you remember this?”
A small plastic dinosaur sat on her palm. It was something Noah, Matt’s son, would have loved. A T-Rex, its jaws open in a big roar.
“I remember,” he said, his voice so soft he wasn’t sure he’d spoken aloud.
“You brought it with you when you came to us. You didn’t bring any other toys, just this.”