“The grand opening of the otter enclosure,” Kennedy told her.
Paige sat straight up in bed. The otter enclosure? There was a grand opening planned? She hadn't heard anything about it. It was happening on Tuesday? “I had no idea that was happening.”
“I guess I just assumed that you knew. It was crazy trying to plan it with all the wedding stuff going on, but you were handling all of that for us, so we were able to put together the grand opening when Mitch got the enclosure done ahead of schedule. Maybe no one thought to mention it to you because you were so busy with wedding preparations.”
There was a long pause where neither woman said anything.
Then Kennedy voiced exactly what Paige was thinking.
“But Mitch didn't say anything to you?”
Paige shook her head, even though the other woman couldn’t see her. “No.”
Again, there was a pause. Then Paige and Kennedy said simultaneously, “Of course he didn't.”
Paige sighed. Of course, Mitch wouldn't have mentioned to her that they were making a big deal out of something he had done. She'd known that the otter enclosure was finished and that plans had been underway to open it to visitors soon. But she’d had no idea there would be a formal event for it.
“Is Mitch with you?” Kennedy asked. “Because I'm going to kill him if he left town with this grand opening happening. That would be just like him, to skip out when we were trying to praise and acknowledge him.”
Paige had to agree that that seemed very in character for Mitch. She thought for a moment. Was this why he had turned down going to the wedding with her? But she immediately knew the answer to that. Mitch would never put something of his own ahead of something of hers. In fact, he never put himself ahead of anyone else. But certainly not her. Even if he had been excited about the grand opening, which she very much doubted that he was, he still would have skipped it to accompany her to her best friend's wedding in Appleby.
“No,” Paige told Kennedy. “He sent me to Iowa alone.”
Kennedy let out a breath. “Well, that's good. At least he’s still here.” She paused. “But you left him? You didn't insist he go with you? You didn't stay for the otter enclosure opening?”
Paige frowned. “I didn't know about the otter enclosure opening. And he seemed very adamant about me going home to Iowa alone and working out my relationship with my parents.”
“I told you not to hurt him,” Kennedy said. “I like you. I don't want to have to kill you.”
“I don't think I hurt him,” Paige said, knowing that she sounded as sad as she felt. “I don't think he is as brokenhearted about us being apart as I am.”
Kennedy snorted into the phone. “Mitchell Landry is madly in love with you, Paige,” she said. “If you left town, he is for sure worried that you're not coming back, and he's brokenhearted about that.”
Paige felt her heart flip. Not because she wanted Mitch to be brokenhearted, of course, but the idea that he was madly in love with her made her feel warm in a way she’d never felt before.
But in the next moment, she took a deep breath and felt everything in her calm. Much the way she felt after a really great yoga practice. All of the tension and worry and confusion flowed right out of her.
Of course, he was in love with her. They were in love with each other. And if he had a big opening of a huge project he'd been working on and everyone wanted to acknowledge and praise him, she needed to be there. In fact, she needed to be there and insist he show up so that he could be loved and lifted up.
“I will be there on Tuesday. Actually, I'll be there tomorrow,” Paige told Kennedy.
“But what about your friend’s wedding?”
“They have a lot of people there for them. They don't need me.”
“Mitch has a lot of people here for him too.”
Paige smiled. Yes, he did. But he needed her there too. “Yes, but Piper and Ollie are with their most important person on this big day—each other. If I'm not there in Autre, Mitch won’t have his most important person.”
“He won't?” Kennedy asked. “Are you sure?”
Paige knew Kennedy’s question wasn’t because she wasn’t sure. Kennedy wanted to know that Paige was sure. “Yes. I need to be there for his big days. I help make those days even bigger. This is a part of his story, and I want to be part of every page. From here on.”
Kennedy laughed. “Unintended pun with the whole page thing?”
Paige grinned. “Nope.”
“Wow, that sounds like a commitment from the girl who was only to be here for a few months.”
“Yeah. It is a commitment, and one that I'm very ready to make.”
“Great. So how far is it from Appleby back here?”
“Well, it's about fourteen hours from Appleby to Autre,” Paige told her. “But I'm not in Appleby. I only made it as far as Peoria, Illinois because of a snowstorm. I'm pulled up in a bed and breakfast, but I should be able to get out tomorrow morning. Especially if I'm coming back that direction. The weather and road should be fine.”
“Great. So can you pick up the damn balloons or not?”
“I don't know. I might be kind of busy convincing the guest of honor that he needs to show up.”
“Good point,” Kennedy admitted. “And I know a little bit about convincing stubborn men that they need to do things differently than they think they need to. But if anyone can convince him. I know that it's you.”
“Damn right.”
“Okay, I'll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes you will. And hey, thanks for calling, Kennedy.”
“No problem. Like I told you in the beginning, Mitch is my favorite, and I feel like I just did him a huge favor.”
The women disconnected, and Paige sat staring at the swirling pattern on the comforter on the bed. The room was very quiet. Very, very quiet.
Wow.
She was alone. For the first time in months.
And that was the last thing she wanted to be.
There were two places that she wanted to be. Two groups of people she really wanted to be with. She would rather be anywhere but alone.
She also knew exactly which of those two places she needed to be most. She needed to go to Mitch. She also knew if she turned around now and went back to Louisiana, she would not be leaving Autre again. At least, not for good. Mitch would know he had her heart and that she was not going to be taking it away with her ever again.
And, as supportive as he’d been about her going home, and as great as he’d been about giving her space, she knew that once Mitch knew she was his, he was never going to let her go.
That thought made her all the more anxious to get back to Autre as soon as possible.
19
“Hey.”
Mitch turned to find Kennedy approaching.
“Hey,” he said softly, then put a finger to his lips, indicating she should be quiet. He pointed, and her gaze followed his finger.
She smiled as she noticed Griffin inside the otter enclosure.
“Is he talking to the otters?”
Mitch nodded. His roommate, and friend, talked to the otters all the time. But only when he didn’t think any other human was around.