Paige smiled. “That’ll look odd since you can’t tell anybody why.”
Another baby. This was why Liz had come home, so she could be a part of these family moments, and it took all of her willpower not to tear up. While jumping up and down. “I’m so happy for you.”
Everybody was waiting, so Liz put the helmet on and buckled the chin strap, then took the goggles Paige offered. When she turned toward the machines, she realized she didn’t have to spend half the day with her legs wrapped around Drew after all.
“I’ll ride with you,” she said to Mitch.
He gave her an oh, hell no look. “Why?”
“Because your machine is bigger than Drew’s.” It was a sound excuse.
“His has a passenger seat on it.”
Damn. “I can sit behind you.”
“Until you fall off the back.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, hoping he got the full effect through the goggles. “I’m not going to fall off.”
“You will when I wheelie and dump you off because you’re uncomfortable on the rack and won’t sit still.”
“Fine.” She walked to the machine Drew was already sitting on and climbed into the passenger seat. Luckily there were handholds, so she was spared having to wrap her arms around his waist, but there was nothing to be done about the fact he was sitting between her legs.
“Chicken,” he said in a low voice, so only she could hear him.
“Just trying to save us both some awkwardness.”
He shifted on the seat, pushing back a little against her. “I don’t find it awkward at all.”
Because they were surrounded by her family and slapping him upside the helmet might draw attention, she reached down and pinched his ass hard. “Behave.”
“It was Rose who suggested you ride with me.”
“That’s what Katie said.” She regretted now telling him Rose might have maneuvered him next to Liz deliberately on the Fourth. It could be a little weird for him.
“Do you think she told my dad?”
So he wasn’t really thinking about the matchmaking. He was worried Andy might say something to Mitch, even an accidental slip, because the more people who knew a secret, the less likely it was to be kept. “I’m pretty positive she didn’t. And we know she didn’t tell Fran, since the entire town doesn’t know.”
He laughed and hit the throttle, falling behind the line of four-wheelers heading out of the campground to the trails. When he hit the first bump, Liz realized she was going to spend every single mile bracing herself to keep a little distance between her body and his. With her muscles already beat to crap by the water ball game, she anticipated a very long, cozy ride.
Chapter Nine
Drew had to admit the view from the picnic area they’d ridden to was worth the mile after mile of being painfully aware of Liz’s body pressed up against his. He could see for miles, the horizon line made jagged by northern New Hampshire and Vermont’s mountainous terrain and the hills littered with splotchy shadows made by puffy white clouds.
With his stomach full from hot dogs on the hibachi they’d strapped to the grill of Leo and Mary’s machine, Rose’s macaroni salad and Mary’s brownies, he found a mostly flat-topped boulder he could sit on fairly comfortably and watched the others.
It wasn’t long before Liz’s laughter caught his attention and his gaze moved to her as if she was somehow magnetized. She was standing with Mitch, Sean and Josh, and her brothers were obviously regaling her with one hell of a story, based on the expressions and exaggerated hand gestures.
It would be criminal to do anything that might come between Liz and Mitch, he told himself. Even if Mitch could eventually come to terms with the fact his best friend and little sister had some kind of thing going on, it would cause friction and she didn’t need that so soon after coming home. She was still rebuilding the family bonds after years of a long-distance relationship with them and, no matter how much he might want to, Drew couldn’t throw himself in the middle of that.
In his peripheral vision he saw Ryan approaching and tore his attention away from Liz and her other brothers. “Did you have one of those brownies?”
“I had three of those brownies and I’m sure I’ll be sorry later.” Ryan loomed over him. “Sitting over here feeling guilty?”
Drew glanced up at him, then looked around nonchalantly, as if he wasn’t trying to make sure nobody else was within earshot. “About what?”
“The fact you never told Mitch you slept with our sister?”
He didn’t want to lie to Ryan and deny it, but he didn’t want to offer up a confirmation, either, in case the guy was just fishing. So he said nothing.
Ryan snorted and shook his head. “Doesn’t take a genius, you know. You and Liz both left the reception and when she came downstairs for the cake cutting, it was pretty obvious what she’d been doing. And who she’d been doing it with. I guess I was the only one paying attention.”