But she did none of those things.
In fact, she put her hands on his chest and gripped his shirt in her fists.
She met his gaze directly and took another deep breath. “Okay. I’m ready.”
His heart expanded, almost painfully. “Will you be my otter enclosure grand opening planner?”
She didn’t even blink.
She said nothing.
“With the weddings, everything with this has been kind of thrown together on the side, and we’ve got like cookies and balloons and that might be it, and… I’ve decided I want it to be a big deal.” He really did. Now that he’d admitted it, it felt good. “And you’d be perfect at it. You have a gift. It’s not that different from a wedding, right?”
She took a breath. But still said nothing.
“Okay, it’s different from a wedding. It’s not that big of a deal, but—”
“Are the cookies at least shaped like otters?”
He stopped. Frowned. And then shook his head. “Regular round cookies, I’m pretty sure.”
“That will not do,” she said. “I’m going to have to see if Josie knows where we can get an otter cookie-cutter shipped overnight, and then we’re going to be up baking in Cora’s kitchen late tonight.”
Happiness and love spread through him. “We’ve got plenty of hands to help out.”
She nodded. She was playing with the front of his shirt, but clearly, her mental wheels were turning. About the party. Not about how her hands on him drove him crazy.
“I think we should tell the story about how Gus became part of the family,” she said.
Gus was the first otter who had adopted the Landrys. He’d been orphaned and had lived under the Boys of the Bayou dock. Everyone had a Gus story.
“I think we should take people down to the dock and show them his first home. Then we can take them out on a boat tour and show them how otters live in the wild. We then come back and tell them the story of Juliet braving her fear of the water to save Gus. And how the otter babies brought Bailey and Chase together.” Paige was smiling now. “I loved hearing all those stories. The visitors to the grand opening will too. We need to tell everyone how the otters are a part of the Landry family stories. That will help them understand why this enclosure is a big deal.”
Yes. That’s exactly what they should do.
He took that all in, feeling amazed, in love, and relieved. “You sat up last night writing down all the stories everyone has told you while you’ve been in Autre, didn’t you?”
She smiled up at him. “Well, not all of them. Just the otter stories. So far.”
He felt his eyes stinging again as he looked down at the woman he was certain was the love of his life.
“That all sounds perfect.”
She smiled. “Then let’s go home.”
Home.
That was almost as good as the L-word.
They needed five of the big airboats to get everyone out onto the bayou for their tour of the otters’ natural environment.
The grand opening was a huge success. Of course, the Landry family could fill five airboats up, but they’d left the boats to their guests from the town and surrounding area. And Paige’s family.
Paige had started crying the moment she’d seen her family. Mitch had been clearly choked up as well as he shook her father’s and Grant’s hands and accepted hugs from Dee and Josie. Her other sister and her family hadn’t been able to get away on such short notice, but she’d promised to come visit when she and the kids had a break from school.
It really did help to have a brother-in-law who had a private plane sometimes.
She’d been incredibly touched, as had Mitch, that they’d come for this. Even knowing they’d be there, it was emotional to see them. They’d come without really knowing Mitch and only briefly meeting any of the Landrys over the phone.
But she understood that they’d come for her. And for the man who would, probably, someday be a part of their family.
Paige sat with her mom and dad as they observed the huge gathering of people at Ellie’s after the boat ride and walking tour from the docks to the new enclosure.
Because Griffin had refused to do a public talk, Tori had led a presentation about the otters and everything that was included in the enclosure for them, from the shelter to the swimming areas to enrichment activities. And she’d definitely singled Mitch out as the creative genius behind it all.
Right now, Josie and Grant were chatting with Kennedy and Bennett across the room. Kennedy was, no doubt, telling Grant all the reasons he should donate to Bennett’s foundation. Which he really should.
“This is quite the place,” Dee said.
There was food everywhere, including otter shaped cookies. And drinks, of course. And music. People were talking and laughing. It was family and friends, coming together and commemorating another piece of their history.
“It really is,” Paige agreed. “And they are quite the family.” Paige glanced to where Mitch was accepting congratulations from more of the guests. He was flanked by Tori and Josh on one side, and he’d insisted Fletcher and Zeke stand with him since they’d done a lot of the manual labor for the enclosure too.
She loved that he was getting so much attention. And was accepting it. Or at least tolerating it.
“Well, I’m here to support you as you support Mitch,” Dee said. “And I’m thrilled that this is where you landed.”
Paige smiled at her mom. “I really did it, huh? I finally let my guard down a little, and I ended up with all of… this.” She looked around the bar, full of people that she knew were already a part of her heart. And her future.
Dee squeezed her hand. “Well, I don’t know if you really let your guard down. Seems these people can get past even a seemingly well-protected heart.”
Paige nodded. “True.”
It really was. She wasn’t sure if she’d finally opened her heart or if the Landrys had applied a crowbar, but it was wide-open now, and she knew it was never going to be shut… or empty… again.
“So, Mom,” she said, her eyes on Mitch again. He looked over and caught her gaze. He gave her a little smile, and she knew he was okay. But that he needed a hug and maybe a few words of “you’re doing great” from her soon.
“Yes?”
“Before you all leave on Wednesday, I’d like to take you down Main Street and show you a couple of little shops. There’s a great pizza place where we could have lunch.”
“Are we allowed to not have lunch here at Ellie’s?” Dee asked, picking up one of the meat pies that she’d earlier declared one of the most delicious things she’d ever eaten.
“Well, it’s next door to an available space that I’d love your opinion on.”
Dee smiled at her. “A possible yoga studio-cat café?”
“And a wedding planning business.”
Her mom nodded. “Absolutely.”
“And…”
Dee lifted a brow.
“I do happen to have some wedding dress catalogs now.”
“For the business.”
“Yes,” Paige said. “But… maybe we could flip through a couple of them together.”