“I don’t mind.”
“You all go sit down,” Rosie said, making a shooing motion with her towel. “It’s almost ready and I can’t move in this kitchen with you all underfoot.”
Liz trailed the others into the big dining room, where Rose had already set out the good dishes. She cringed a little because the good dishes couldn’t go in the new dishwasher Andy had installed for her and that was a lot of hand-washing.
There was a lot of shuffling before everybody was seated where they wanted to be. Even though he was the youngest, as the one who’d stayed and run the lodge, Josh had sat at the head of the table since their dad passed away. Mitch sat at the foot and they all paired off around the table.
Somebody had counted wrong, Liz thought as she looked around the table. There were two seats across from her she guessed were for Rose and Andy, who would help her serve, and then there was a place set next to her with nobody in the chair.
Then Drew walked in and it made sense. And lucky her, she got to sit next to him since everybody else was paired off as couples.
Once everybody had hollered out a greeting to Drew and he’d popped into the kitchen to say hello before being shooed back out, he pulled out his chair and sat down. There wasn’t a lot of space and Liz realized she’d probably spend the entire meal trying to avoid her leg brushing his.
They all cheered when Andy carried in the huge soup tureen filled with boiled goodness, and Rose followed with a basket of buttered bread slices from what Liz would bet were freshly baked loaves.
It wasn’t the kind of dish that could be passed around the table, so they took turns standing and leaning in to ladle the ham and veggies into their bowls.
“It looks amazing,” Liz said as she watched Mitch fill his bowl and then Paige’s, before handing the ladle to Ryan who also filled Lauren’s. “Smells good, too.”
“I don’t usually make it in the summer, but my girl’s home, so her favorite dish it is.”
“You’re the best, Rose.”
When the ladle came around the table, Drew stood and took it. He filled Liz’s bowl first, and then his own, before passing it on.
“Thanks,” she said, feeling oddly pleased he’d done the same for her that the other guys had done for their women. Not that she was Drew’s woman, but it made her feel good to not be the only female who ladled her own soup.
Then she looked across the table and saw Rose watching her with what could only be described as rampant speculation. Uh-oh.
If Rose got it in her head Liz and Drew would make a good couple, especially considering she knew there was physical attraction between them, they were doomed. If not for the fact Liz’d watched her family mill around, deciding where to sit, she would wonder if being next to Drew was Rosie’s doing.
“Did I tell you I Skyped with Emma yesterday?” Katie asked once everybody was served. “Johnny’s getting so big.”
“I need to go see them again soon,” Rose said, and Liz was relieved to see her focus shift away. “My sweet grandbaby and he’s hours away. And Nick’s not only in Massachusetts, but teenage boys are fast on their feet when you’re trying to smother them with kisses.”
Even though she sounded mournful, Liz smiled. It didn’t matter that there was no blood between Rose and the Kowalskis. She was Grammy Rose and Liz had no doubt Sean felt as strongly about that as Rosie did. They all would.
“I need some grandchildren here in Maine, too,” she continued with a pointed look in Mitch and Paige’s direction.
“Hey, we’re working on it,” Paige said. “Maybe Katie or Liz will beat me to it.”
Liz swallowed a chunk of bread that went down hard, shaking her head. “Maybe you don’t get how the whole making a baby thing works, Paige.”
“Explains why she’s not pregnant yet,” Ryan said, and they all laughed.
But Paige was always the optimist. “Hey, you could fall in love tomorrow and start making babies.”
Now Rose was giving her that look again, and Liz fought the urge to squirm in her chair as the woman’s gaze bounced between her and Drew. That so wasn’t happening. “I really doubt I’ll fall in love tomorrow but, even if I did, there won’t be any babies. Not for a while. I’m doing other things right now.”
“Like what?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know. I might go back to school or take some online classes or take up skydiving. Since I don’t know yet, it would be pretty dumb to have a baby.” She wanted out of this conversation. Badly. “I can picture a playpen in the corner of the barbershop, though.”
Katie pointed her spoon at Liz. “Oh, no you don’t. Josh and I aren’t having a baby until after our honeymoon.”
“Where are you going?” Liz asked.
“We don’t know yet.”
“When are you going?”
“After the wedding,” Josh replied.