Shelly’s pain and her mom’s clear disappointment, and her distrust of every decision Paige made from there on, had made Paige very leery of relationships and making promises in general.
She didn’t like disappointing people. She might sometimes annoy them or even piss them off when she wouldn’t make a promise or commit to something, but she’d rather be upfront about it and not have them depending on her to do something she wasn’t certain she could do.
So laying everything out with how things were going to proceed with her and Mitch was good. She appreciated it. It seemed like walking a tightrope, but it was the best solution. She knew what he expected from her, and she just needed to stay true to that. She wouldn’t wear that sweatshirt anymore. She wouldn’t sit next to him on the couch. She wouldn’t kiss him on any day but Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday.
She could do that.
She liked it a lot, she’d decided by the time they got to the Boys of the Bayou office. She was determined to adhere to all of the rules.
“Kennedy is going to show you everything you need in here today,” Mitch said as he shut the truck off.
“Okay.” She’d at least already met Kennedy. Though she definitely got the impression not much was going to get past Mitch’s cousin.
“I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do with the enclosure today and have to pick up a couple of busloads of tourists,” he said. “But I’ll be around if you need anything.”
“Okay.” She was studying the front of the tour company office.
The office was a simple wooden building that sat upon the slight hill above a few wooden docks. She could just see the end of a couple of boats. There was a tiny gravel parking lot a few yards to the north with a walkway leading to the deck that surrounded the building. There were three small buses parked in the lot at the moment. They were white with large windows and looked to seat about forty people or so. The side sported the Boys of the Bayou logo. A large bright green cartoon alligator that was walking upright and grinning with BOYS OF THE BAYOU in black lettering across his stomach.
“Hey.”
She looked over at Mitch.
He seemed about to say something. Instead, he leaned over, cupped the back of her head, and pulled her into a kiss. It was sweet. No tongue. No moaning or wandering hands. It was just a kiss. But it made her feel warm.
She was smiling when he pulled back. “What was that for?”
“I’m glad you’re here. I love the idea of you working here. Which is stupid, I know. But just having you around feels good. And—” He gave her a grin that made her feel more than warm. “It’s Tuesday. I’m going to take advantage.”
For just a second, she felt her throat tighten. He liked having her around. That was the kind of stuff that felt like an expectation without it actually being an expectation.
“I haven’t even started the job,” she said. “I might really suck at it and get fired, and then I won’t really be around.”
She felt a flicker of panic that was very unusual. She was laid back and calm. Dammit. But she also didn’t work for other people. She’d been a waitress at the café in Appleby for a short time in high school. She’d babysat for a few kids here and there. But her only real job had been working for herself.
It was those stupid expectations and letting-people-down thing again.
And she’d just now realized it. Sitting in Mitch Landry’s truck, about to go into her new job for his family, she’d just realized a huge reason she hadn’t wanted to work for other people.
Besides being able to set her own schedule. And the cats, of course.
She was going to be working for Mitch’s family. They were going to expect her to help them. To answer the phones and not screw up the schedule and not upset their customers.
Ugh. Why had she agreed to this?
She knew she was being a little ridiculous. Working for other people wasn’t the same thing as saying yes to spending the rest of her life as someone’s wife. And daughter-in-law. And sister-in-law. And mom. Yeah, Garrett had wanted kids. Their moms had talked about their shared grandchildren all the time. That had absolutely added to the pressure.
But this was a job. Answering phones. Booking tours.
The worst thing that would happen would be she’d put someone on a tour that was already full, and they’d have to refund their tickets.
It wasn’t like agreeing to spend the rest of her life with someone and then backing out. And costing two families thousands of dollars. And making it so that a really great guy wouldn’t even go on a date for two solid years after.
“Hey.”
Mitch was frowning when she focused on his face again.
“You okay?” he asked.
Damn, she’d gotten lost in those thoughts for a second. And the regrets. She typically just avoided thinking about all of that.
She forced a smile. “Yeah. Fine.”
“Are you nervous about today?”
She wasn’t not nervous, she supposed. And that sounded better than I’m really hoping that you and your family don’t regret having me here and investing in me.
It was just a part-time job. They knew it was temporary. She was helping them out.
This wasn’t them making a long-term commitment to her any more than it was her making one to them.
But yeah, she couldn’t shake the memory of Garrett telling her she’d stolen two years of his life that he could have been with someone else. Someone good for him.
Mitch still looked concerned, so she nodded. “Yeah. I’m a little nervous.”
Nervous that me being here is a huge fucking mistake.
She was being selfish. She didn’t want to deal with her mom and family… and town… for a little while, so she’d run away and was now here complicating things for Mitch.
“It’s going to be great. My family is the best.”
Yep. Exactly what she was afraid of.
But she followed him out of the truck and up to the office.
“Mornin’, Ken,” Mitch greeted.
Kennedy looked over from where she was perched behind the tall counter that clearly served as the front desk. There was a computer monitor to one side. A phone, a big schedule book, and several piles of papers were set along the top. Kennedy sat on a tall stool. She was wearing jeans and a dark green polo with the Boys of the Bayou logo on the left side.
“Did you bring coffee?” she asked.
“Nope.” He glanced to where there was a refreshment station set up.
There was a single-serve coffee pot with a whole display of coffee pods, tea bags, and packets of hot cocoa. There was also a pitcher of water and some alligator-shaped cookies.
“You’ve got coffee,” he said, gesturing at the station.
“That’s tourist coffee,” Kennedy said. “I need real coffee.”
Mitch looked at Paige. “She means strong and with some chicory in it.”
“I’ve never had chicory coffee,” Paige told him. She’d read about it in her Louisiana research.
“You gotta try it,” he said. “Some people love it and some hate it. But you eat some weird stuff, so you might think it’s great.”
She laughed. He wasn’t wrong.
“So go get us some,” Kennedy said with a frown. As if Mitch should already be on his way to fetch coffee.