There was a beat of silence on Dee’s end of the line. Then another.
“Mom?”
“Be there? In Autre? At the opening?”
“Yes. I… would really like for you to meet Mitch and get to know him. And his family. To see Autre and everything that’s going on there.”
“Oh.”
Paige could tell that “oh” was pure surprise.
“And I know Josie and Grant will need to be at Piper and Ollie’s wedding, but then, maybe Grant could fly you all down here Tuesday morning. I mean, he does have a private plane.” There really could be some great advantages to having a millionaire for a brother-in-law if she was going to live a few states away from her family. Her family that she would like to see once in a while. Or even more often than that.
Dee laughed. “He does, doesn’t he?”
Paige knew that Grant would do that for them. He was a good guy, and he loved her sister very much. “I would love to have you all here. The kids would love the otters and alpacas and goats,” she said of her niece and nephew. “And you’ve already met Cora and Ellie on the video call. It would be really fun to introduce you in person.”
Suddenly, her heart was beating hard. This really would be fun. She’d love to show her family everything she loved about Autre and the Landrys. But she’d also like to show her family off to the Landrys. Her family was pretty great.
She heard her mother sniff and then say, “I would love to come to Autre for the grand opening. Thank you for asking.”
Paige was smiling widely even as she felt her eyes stinging. “I’m glad.”
“I’ll talk to Josie and Grant and everyone, and… we’ll see you on Tuesday,” Dee said.
Paige swallowed hard and sniffed herself. “Great. I can’t wait.”
They met at the Love’s Travel Stop, a big truck stop off Interstate 55.
Paige had already been on the road for an hour when Mitch texted her at six a.m. to tell her they’d be in Peoria at eleven. When she’d told him to meet her at Love’s, he’d thought that was incredibly appropriate.
His heart was in his throat when he saw her car pull into the parking lot. He was out of the truck and striding toward her before she’d even shut off the ignition.
When they met in the middle of the parking lot, she just wrapped her arms around him and pressed into his body. Mitch enfolded her, nearly crushing her to his chest. And he felt like he could breathe again. As if he was warm, again. As if things were right, again.
When he tried to pull back nearly two full minutes later, she clutched him tighter, and with a happy exhale, he hugged her again.
It was at least another two minutes before she loosened her hold even slightly.
When she did, she looked up at him. “When are you going to let someone love the hell out of you the way you deserve?”
His heart knocked so hard against his chest wall that he had to work to take his next breath. But he looked her directly in the eyes when he said, “How about I start right now?”
Her smile was swift and bright. “That was a very good answer.”
He swallowed hard. Marry me was right on the tip of his tongue. He gritted his teeth, keeping it in.
After a long moment, Paige finally spoke softly.
“Ask me, Mitch.”
He shook his head. He shouldn’t have been surprised she knew what he was thinking.
“Ask me.”
“I’ve got all I need right here,” he said, hugging her close.
She squeezed him back but said against his chest, “Fine. Then I’ll ask you.”
He took such a deep breath, he knew she felt the rise and fall against her cheek.
Paige looked up at him. “Mitch?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I keep staying with you?”
The air lodged in his chest. Finally, he nodded. “Yes. Please.”
“Even past August?”
“Yes. Absolutely. Forever if you want to.”
Her eyes flickered with emotion. For a second, Mitch wondered if that was too much.
But he didn’t care.
He couldn’t keep swallowing how he felt about her.
“Paige—”
“I love you, Mitch.”
He stared down at her.
“I can’t not say it anymore. I love you. So much. I can’t believe how much. I didn’t know this kind of love really happened. But it’s real and, it took four weddings and a swamp boat tour and a bunch of otters to make me realize it, but… I really, really, really love you.”
He kept staring at her.
She loved him. She loved him.
“No, that’s a lie,” she went on before he could speak. “I loved you before any of the weddings. And I’ll be watching the fourth one in the car back to Louisiana anyway. And I would love you even if there weren’t otters. I’m not saying this just because you’re now an award-winning otter enclosure builder.”
She just watched him for several seconds.
“Mitch?” She blew out a breath. “Am I pushing? Am I going too fast? Is that even possible with a Landry?”
Finally, he crushed her to his chest and dragged in a long, shaky, deep breath. “Jesus, Paige,” was all he managed for several heartbeats.
When he thought he could speak, he pulled back and looked down at her. “I love you, too. So much. I… need you. I never want you to leave. Stay. Or I’ll come with you. Or whatever. But I love you, and I want to be with you. We don’t have to get married or anything. That’s not the important part. Just be with me. Let me be with you. Let’s just… make memories.”
“History,” she said with a smile. “Let’s make some history.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Let’s have some stories to tell in fifty years.”
“Yeah.” Her eyes were watery. “But there’s just one other thing.”
“Anything.”
“Would you let me propose to you? Eventually? In maybe a year or two? I mean, I’ll obviously do it at Ellie’s in front of everyone and make a big production out of it. But would that be okay?”
“I…”
It took him a second to really hear what she’d said.
He was fully prepared to say yes to anything she asked. But this one definitely snuck up on him.
“Are you proposing to propose to me?”
She nodded. “Yes. I mean, we’re not ready for that. We haven’t known each other that long, and it’s a big step. But eventually, I think that’s a question I would definitely like to ask you. And you never ask anyone for anything, and hell, I don’t either. Because I don’t want people to ask me for stuff. And I thought that made us the perfect match. But the thing is, I need to say yes to things. I need to be involved. And I want that. I’ve realized that.”
“Well,” he said, his heart drumming hard and his mind whirling and happiness spreading through him. “I think if you need to start saying yes to people, then I probably need to start asking people for things.”
Slowly a smile curled her mouth. “Yeah, I guess you have a point.”
“So, maybe I should ask you something right now.”
Mitch watched her take in a huge gulp of air. Now would be the moment when he’d expect her to bolt. Or at least push him back. Or start shaking her head, at least. He knew exactly what she was thinking he was thinking.