Four Weddings and a Swamp Boat Tour - Erin Nicholas Page 0,96

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