And otter yoga? Come on. That sounded really cool.

“How about I come for Tori and Josh’s wedding and we see how it goes?” she asked.

He shook his head, but he was smiling. “Can’t even commit to six months?”

“Six months is a long time.”

“Okay… six days. Promise six days when you come to the wedding. I want to really show you the bayou.” He lowered his head and kissed her neck, then dragged his mouth up the sensitive skin to her ear. “And everything you can have if you stay there.”

She arched into him, unable to help it. The stay there gave her pause. But he meant for six months. That wasn’t too long. Not long enough to mess up any plans, anyway. Probably.

Then he dragged his mouth down her neck, past her shoulder, to her breast. He pushed his shirt up and took her nipple in his mouth, and all she could think was I’ll give you six of whatever you want, Mitch Landry.

9

Paige rolled over and eyed her clock. Then sat straight upright. Nine a.m.?

Nine? How had she slept till nine? She had yoga…

Wait, no, she didn’t. It was the first day of the festival and everything else in town shut down.

She started to lay back down. Why was she so tired though?

Then sat straight up again.

Mitch.

She was tired because of Mitch. The sex. The talking. The sex. And geez, the talking.

She looked around. Where was he? His side of the bed was still rumpled, but it was cold when she touched the sheets, and there wasn’t a sound in her apartment.

Had he actually snuck out and left?

Had he realized that everything he said last night about her going to Louisiana for a few months was batshit crazy and gotten out before she woke up and he found himself with a live-in girlfriend he barely knew? And her twenty-three cats?

Hmm… the cats. She was going to have to figure something out with the cats. She’d thought she had a few months before she moved to Colorado and had been figuring out a way to take them with her…

She shook her head. She needed to focus. She didn’t need to figure out what to do with her cats when she went to Louisiana if Mitch had snuck out and taken off for Louisiana without her.

That would be such a good thing.

So why did she feel really disappointed?

Paige threw back the sheets and got out of bed. She was not disappointed. The whole conversation had come on the heels of major orgasm endorphins in the middle of the night. No rational life decisions should be made in that circumstance.

But two minutes later, she did at least admit to herself that she was looking for a note from him.

He couldn’t even leave a note?

She reached for her phone, thinking maybe there was at least a text. Maybe he’d waited until he was safely driving through Oklahoma…

Her phone rang just then.

It was her sister’s number.

“Hello?”

“Good morning,” Josie greeted brightly.

Paige leaned back against her counter. Josie was a morning person. Paige was not. Paige got up early. But she liked quiet and meditation and slow, gentle stretching first thing. Josie was bright and bubbly and thought the day should be started with caffeine and sugar.

It made the fact that she worked in the local bakery very convenient.

“Morning,” Paige said.

Josie was calling her to come help at the bakery. Paige could feel it. She often filled in at Buttered Up. It was a block away and sometimes they needed extra hands. She was happy to do it. Usually. Right now she was feeling very unbubbly and sweet this morning.

Which was so stupid. Mitch realizing his suggestion was crazy and getting out of town, thereby keeping her from having to tell him it was crazy and say no in the morning light when she wasn’t hopped up on endorphins was a good thing.

“You should stop by the bakery this morning,” Josie said.

She knew it. “You guys swamped?”

The bakery didn’t close completely on festival day, just early. But they opened so people could get breakfast and coffee before hitting the chilly town square. In fact, it was a big business day.

“We are,” Josie said. “You should stop by.”

“I’m not really hungry.” She was grumpy. About a guy. Wow, she needed… something.

“You don’t have to eat.”

“So what would I do?” Help at the register, probably. Which would at least take her mind off Mitch. Maybe that was good.

“You could just talk.”

“Talk?” Paige frowned. “We can talk later.”

“I mean to Tori.”

Paige froze. Then straightened away from the counter. “Tori?”

“Tori Kramer. She’s here with her fiancé. And his cousin. Who is hot. You should totally come down here and meet him.”

Tori was at Buttered Up? With Josh? And… Mitch?

Paige’s heart thunked so hard in her chest she actually lifted her hand and pressed it over the spot.

Wow. She was in so much trouble here.

But… fuck.

If Tori was there with Josh, then it would be clear that Mitch was not her fiancé, and if anyone walked in who thought he was—and that was very possible—they were screwed. Linda, Carol, Melanie, Mike, Larry… hell, the whole town…were regulars at the bakery.

As was Paige’s mother.

Ugh.

“I’ll be right there,” she said quickly, heading for her bedroom.

“Awesome,” Josie said happily.

Paige stopped. Crap. She’d sounded enthusiastic about getting down there to meet Tori’s hot cousin. But… she couldn’t deal with her romance-loving sister right now. “See you soon.” She disconnected and tossed the phone on the bed and headed for the shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Paige let herself in through the back door of the bakery. That was a friends-with-the-owner privilege that Paige happily used this morning. She couldn’t just walk in through the front without checking things out.

She came up short when she found the kitchen full.

“What are you all doing here?”

Whitney and Jane both grinned.

“Packing apple pies up for the booth at the festival.”

Every business in town had a booth in the square, including the bakery. Even though everyone had spent the holidays overeating and most of the town stopped in here this morning on their way over there. The stuff at the booth was taken home and saved for when people were in the mood for sweets again. Like in a couple of days.

Jane and Whitney didn’t work at the bakery but they were Zoe and Josie’s best friends. They had big boxes and tons of packing peanuts in front of them and were filling the boxes with little mason jars. Zoe had started doing cakes and pies in jars and they’d been a big hit. They were especially great for expos and fairs.

Paige focused on Whitney. She and Whitney had also become friends over the past few months. Whitney had been a regular at yoga and a few months back had reached out for a girls’ night out. Paige had turned her down the first time but since then they’d gone out a few times.

That first time, she’d had to decline because Tori was in town. With her fiancé. And his hot cousin.

Paige had also spilled about that hot cousin to Whitney over hard ciders at Granny Smith’s, the local bar.