“I know,” Josie said, her tone dry but affectionate at the same time.
Paige nodded, even though Josie couldn’t see her. “I’ve realized that a relationship is about the two people in it, but it’s not just about them. At least not in families like ours. And Piper and Ollie are our family, even if it’s not blood.”
Paige heard Josie sniff, and she knew her soft-hearted sister was tearing up.
“So you’re telling me that you’ve become pro-marriage?” Josie asked.
Paige smiled. “Well, it’s helpful for a wedding planner to not be anti-marriage, at least.”
Josie laughed. “True. You want to keep doing the wedding planning thing, then? I think that’s great. And hilarious.”
“I know.” It was kind of hilarious. “But yeah, I really enjoy it. And I’m strangely good at it.’
“I don’t think that’s strange,” Josie said. “It’s not that you can’t be sentimental and creative and family-oriented. It’s that you’ve been choosing not to be.”
Paige was quiet. She thought about that. Finally, she said, “Yeah. You’re right. I consciously rejected all of that so that I didn’t get anyone’s hopes up.”
“It worked.”
“It did. But… I think I’m over that.”
“Over what?”
“Over not getting people’s hopes up. I want people to want things from me.”
Josie didn’t say anything for a moment. When she did answer, her voice was soft. “I’m happy and sad.”
“Sad?”
“This means you’ll be staying in Louisiana, right?”
Paige realized that was exactly what it meant. Or what she hoped it would mean. “It’s not that I don’t love Appleby.”
“I know. But Autre was able to give you something we couldn’t.”
“Is that bad?” Paige felt a little guilty.
“No.” Josie gave a soft laugh. “I’m glad Appleby could give Grant something Chicago couldn’t. It’s how it happens sometimes. I think Autre gave you the ability to figure out who you really wanted to be. In Appleby, you might have figured it out eventually, but there were a lot of people with ideas about who you were already. In Autre, you could start fresh. All of the ideas were just yours.”
Paige felt herself nodding. “Yeah. That’s it. For a place that has a ton of history and roots, the fact that I didn’t have any there was exactly what I needed so I could figure out what I want my history and roots to be like when I look back.”
“I’m going to miss you.”
“You can come visit. And I can come home a lot. My brother-in-law is loaded and has a private plane.”
“Yes, he does. And I am learning that I can talk him into almost anything.”
Paige’s laugh was loud. “You’re just now learning that? Because we’ve all known it for a long time.”
Josie’s voice was full of love and happiness when she said, “It’s all going to be great. But I think you’re going to wait for that visit home until the weather is a little nicer between there and here.”
Reminded of her current predicament, Paige groaned. “I really wanted to see the wedding.”
“I can put you on a video call, and you can watch the whole thing from the safety and warmth of that B and B,” Josie said.
Paige sighed. “Yeah, I guess. And maybe they’ll get the road cleared in the morning, and I can make it just in time.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, and Josie promised to send photos of the wedding cake before they disconnected.
Paige was smiling as she sat back against the fluffiest pillows she’d ever met.
But she sobered after only a couple of minutes.
Was she going back to Louisiana?
Of course, she was. Most of her clothes and five of her cats were still there. This trip to Iowa hadn’t been intended to be permanent.
But was she staying once she got there?
Mitch hadn’t asked her to come back.
He was probably assuming she would. For the cats, if nothing else. Temporarily.
But they hadn’t talked about when she would be back. Or how long she’d stay. If she’d stay past August. If she’d even stay until August.
He hadn’t asked. He had been quick to say no to coming to Iowa with her. He’d flat out told her not to make him any promises.
How would he feel about her being there permanently?
She’d told him she was going to stay in Autre until August. He knew she’d intended to head to Colorado eventually. That had been the plan.
She had made him a promise.
To not stay.
To not get serious.
To not commit to anything or do anything long term or to even be there past August.
She was in love with him, but he didn’t know that. And he’d certainly not said he felt anything like that for her.
He liked her. A lot. They had amazing chemistry. He was a great friend. One of her best. He understood her, he didn’t judge her, he didn’t… push.
He wouldn’t push.
If she wanted more from him, she was going to have to ask for it.
And what if he said no?
She had never asked a guy for something. Ever. Men asked her out, to go to dances and dinner, to go back to their place for the night, to meet their families. To marry them.
Hell, Mitch hadn’t even introduced her to his family.
They’d totally introduced themselves.
She’d run into Kennedy before she’d even seen Mitch.
It wasn’t as if she could have been in Autre for two and a half months and avoided them, but the only person Mitch had actually introduced her to had been his dad.
Wow, maybe she was really jumping ahead here.
She could very well ask Mitch Landry to marry her, and he might just freaking say no.
The phone rang, and when Paige saw the number, she immediately reached for it.
"Kennedy, what's going on?"
"Hey, Paige," Kennedy greeted. “I was hoping to just run into you, but I haven’t seen you yet. I was going to ask if you would be able to pick up the balloons for us Tuesday morning."
"The balloons?" Paige frowned. What balloons? What was Tuesday? "I'm on my way to Iowa for a wedding."
There was a hesitation on Kennedy's end of the phone. Then she asked, "Iowa?"
"Yes. My friend Piper is getting married tomorrow. It’s a surprise, so I didn't have time to plan for it much." She paused, but couldn't help but ask. "Didn’t Mitch tell you?"
"I didn't ask Mitch about you. I needed you, so I called you directly." Kennedy sounded puzzled, which Paige had to admit made sense. If Mitch and Kennedy hadn't talked, then Kennedy had no idea that Paige was no longer in Autre.
"I’m sorry I’m not around to help. But what are the balloons for?" It occurred to Paige how nice it was that Kennedy was calling her for help. Over the course of the last couple of months with the weddings, she had become more directly involved, and people seemed to have gotten more comfortable coming to her directly. She liked that. She wanted to be involved, and she loved the idea that they were comfortable asking, knowing that she wanted to help out.