Page 93 of Any Kind of Life

“And then we met.” Paige shifted closer, almost sitting in Juliet’s lap.

Juliet lifted a hand and held it against Paige’s cheek. “And then we met.”

“Best day of my life, babe.”

“Oh, mine too. Without a doubt.”

Paige grinned. “Yeah?”

“Absolutely. When you walked down those stairs, I knew I wanted you in that moment. I’d never been so captivated by anyone before. But you? I just knew you were special.”

Paige dipped her head at that. She knew Juliet loved and adored her, but it still felt like that butterfly moment all over again. A moment Paige would never forget. “I remember the moment I walked into the bar. I expected to be intimidated by you, I knew who you were, but that never happened. Not even a hint of it.”

“People often made up their minds about me without knowing me. That’s something I became used to a very long time ago.”

“I know the real you, and I think you showed that side of you very early on. From the get-go, I felt as though I could trust you implicitly.”

Juliet leaned in and kissed Paige. “And I hope you still feel that way now.”

“Of course I do. I trust you with my life.”

Juliet smiled. “And I trust you with mine. You’ve already saved it once.”

“Mm. Let’s not make that a habit, though, okay?”

“I think once was more than enough.” Juliet shifted and lifted her legs into Paige’s lap. She lay her head back on the mass of cushions, smiling as she looked up to the ceiling. “Kids, huh. Who’d have thought it?”

“I think I always had it in the back of my mind. Maybe I just never knew when the right moment was to say it.” Life had been so hectic for them since they met that Paige hadn’t really had much chance to sit and think about what she wanted next with Juliet. All she had known with certainty was that she wanted to spend forever with her. Anything else was a bonus. “But we know now. We’ve said what we wanted to say. When the time is right, we’ll know.”

“We will.” Juliet shifted to one side, encouraging Paige to lie down beside her. “The rain makes me want to do nothing at all.”

“Fine by me. I’m happy to do nothing at all.” Paige nuzzled into Juliet, grateful for these little moments. Moments she had almost lost forever very recently. “Maybe I’ll cook something nice for us tonight. I’ll see if I can be arsed later.”

Juliet kissed Paige’s hair. “There are plenty of takeout options. Don’t worry yourself about it right now.”

“Hey, babe?” Paige turned to Juliet, watching her from across the kitchen. “For the wedding, what kind of thing are you thinking of?”

“You mean where should we have it?” Juliet approached Paige and dipped a spoon into the sauce she had made for dinner. God, it was good. A creamy white wine and garlic sauce with mushrooms. Divine. She pointed the spoon at the pan and grinned. “That tastes amazing.”

“Thanks. And yes. Where do you want it? How do you want it? Big, intimate?”

Juliet inhaled a deep breath. Over the years, she had dreamt of a huge white wedding, but now? Now, she was happy to go to the registry office and then jet off somewhere hot instead. “I haven’t really thought about it. Though for the amount of time I’ve spent sitting around, I probably could have had the whole thing planned already.”

“I want you to have whatever you prefer, okay?” Paige turned her back and finished preparing dinner. “It’s all about you.”

“I…it’s about us, Paige.” Juliet hadn’t expected Paige to seem so nonchalant about the occasion. It was a huge deal for them both. “Isn’t it?”

“Of course. It’s just that I’ve been married before so…” Paige lifted a shoulder. “That went terribly.”

“Tell me about your wedding.”

“Mine? I hated it.” Paige lowered the sauce and turned back to Juliet. She rested against the counter, a tea towel in her hands. “It was all about me, even though it wasn’t. James chose the guest list, and I had three friends there. Harriet and two other people and their partners. But really, they were James’ friends. I just knew them through his job.”

“I see.” Juliet nodded slowly. Paige likely didn’t want anything too extravagant because of past experience.

“That was before everything else started to happen. Maybe that should have been the first red flag. But I wasn’t too bothered. I preferred him taking care of most of it since I wasn’t overjoyed to be marrying him. I kind of didn’t want to put my heart and soul into something that didn’t mean so much to me.”

“I understand that completely. But did you at least have a nice day?”

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