Love on Lavender Island (A Lavender Island Novel Book 2) (30 page)

“Okay,” she said into the quiet kitchen.

“Okay?” Natalie sat up straighter in her chair. “You’ll do it? Ooooh, this is so exciting!”

“It’s not exciting,” Paige said. “Nothing’s going to change. But you’re right. I need to have the balls to do this.”

“Is that a lovely Lauren Bacall quote?” Natalie grinned over her coffee cup.

“I’m not trying to be Lauren Bacall anymore,” Paige said. “Just me. I’m just me.”

“And that’s perfect,” Olivia said. “Go get him, girl.”

Outside, guests were arriving, hoping to get a great seat for the lavish affair. Two enormous tents had been set up—her mom always did the tents at the last possible second for celebrity events because it was an obvious marker for paparazzi—but now they were in place, and guests were starting to stream in. Dorothy had said the entire island was invited—anyone with a Lavender Island ID—because she was so grateful to everyone for their help in getting her dream setting in place. It was going to be exciting to see all the Lavender Island residents rubbing shoulders with Old Hollywood this afternoon.

Paige wove her way through the first tent, around the decorating staff, around the chairs and flowers, and tried to peer over everyone’s head for Adam. He’d said he’d be an usher today, and the ushers were supposed to be there by ten.

Not finding him in the first tent, she headed for the second, which was farther back toward the orchard where the reception was going to take place. As she trekked across the field, which had been decorated in almost a mazelike fashion with potted hydrangea shrubs, a crowd began migrating across the meadow and pointing toward the sky. She followed their gaze and saw the sun glinting off a bright-blue plane.

Noel.

Paige knew he was flying in this morning. And Adam would probably go out to meet him. She’d love to catch Adam before Noel did, though. Once the crowds started coming in—including the Colonel, George, Sugar, Doris, and Marie, some of her favorite senior citizens from Natalie’s job at Casas del Sur—and Adam got busy with his brother and other Lavender Island residents, it would get harder and harder to talk to him. And her ferry left at three p.m., right after the ceremony.

She stepped around a giant elderberry bush and rushed into the second tent. The lavish setting was draped in white tablecloths and sparkling crystal, awaiting the bride and groom, their first dance, and the fun postwedding hoopla. She scanned several tuxedo-clad men, who were either decorators or waiters setting out more china, and almost took out a whole table with her fluster, but she couldn’t spot anyone who looked like Adam. Quickly she rushed back out. Maybe he was still at his house?

She tried to make her way hurriedly across the meadow past the crowd waiting for Noel, but she got caught up in his entourage. She glanced toward the airstrip, trying to step around a group of suit-clad Nowhere Ranch wranglers who were waving him down, and somehow caught his eye.

He had the classic look of a younger brother—no responsibilities, easygoing, happy. The Nowhere Ranch people buzzed around him, clapping his back and hugging him. He had blond hair like Adam’s, only purer. While Adam’s was thick, Noel’s was soft and curled and pale. His face was round and almost cherubic—his smile spreading across his face, lighting up his eyes. He looked as if he would fit as comfortably in a bar, running with a band of boys, as sitting in a parlor to placate a grandaunt.

Paige tried to hustle faster, but, much to her horror, Noel steered his followers in her direction.

“And who are you?” He took several long strides toward her and held out his hand.

She reluctantly turned toward him. “Don’t you remember me, Noel? It’s Paige.” She offered everything quickly: her handshake, her greeting, her glance into his eyes.

He didn’t let go of her fingertips. “You’re going to have to give me more than that.”

“Paige Grant.”

“She’s here with Adam,” came Kelly’s voice from over her right shoulder.

Noel looked at Kelly as if she’d materialized right there on the lawn. “Squeaky!” he said, dropping Paige’s hand and stepping around her to scoop Kelly in his arms. He gave her a loud smack on her cheek.

Kelly laughed and shook her head, keeping a hand possessively on Noel’s chest, but the energy between them was clearly one of old friends.

“I do remember you now!” Noel turned back to Paige. “Helen’s granddaughter. So you’re here with Adam now?”

“I’m not
with
Adam, exactly,” Paige said crisply. “I’m looking for him now, though. I’m a little desperate—”

“All right.” He threw a smile Kelly’s way. “I can see some symmetry to that. And desperate for my brother sounds good.”

Paige didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t have time to ask. “I’ll see you,” she said instead and rushed toward the house.

When Adam stepped back into the path of the flowering bougainvillea vines, Paige was gone. He cursed under his breath and looked across the gathering crowd. He could have sworn he’d just seen her there.

This was going to get crazy here today. But he needed to talk to her. He wanted to at least say a proper good-bye. And give her a proper hug. And, truth be told, he’d love to give her one more thorough kiss. Because even though things hadn’t worked out for them—clearly she didn’t have enough trust in him to fall in love—he at least wanted to let her know he forgave her.

He’d taken a few long walks over the past few evenings—many to the Top of the World—and had thought everything over. He’d realized that she hadn’t known the series of events she’d been sparking when she talked to Ginger and George about him. Her actions were age appropriate, really—a young teen trying to get out of her own trouble, not blaming someone else, just trying to wriggle out of her own problems. He knew she’d meant no malice toward him personally, then or now.

But it was harder to wrap his mind around her choice to not say anything in the last few weeks. How could she have been sleeping with him—presumably growing closer—and not have told him? Did she think he’d explode with the kind of fury his dad would have unleashed? Could she not trust that he wouldn’t? Or did she simply have no plans to get closer and wanted to only stay FRED? Had she thought their sleeping arrangement would end if she said anything? Either way, all paths seemed to lead to the same place: She didn’t trust him. And if she didn’t trust him, she couldn’t love him.

But he wanted to see her today and tell her that he’d loved each day he’d spent with her. He’d loved being with her this summer.

And he might not tell her this part, but he’d loved her.

As he strained to see over everyone’s head, though, and find Paige again, he saw his brother traipsing through the meadow.

It was great to see his little brother again. He’d heard his plane and immediately looked forward to reuniting. Plus, he needed to wrestle him away from everyone at some point to tell him everything about Amanda and losing the seaplane property before he heard details from someone else. Adam had almost done it on the phone earlier, but it felt like information he should share in person, especially the being-a-new-uncle part.

But first Adam had to find Paige. He was starting to feel the clock ticking down on their time here. And he had some things he really needed to say.

The music started up with an instrumental trio, indicating the wedding was just a half hour away. And Paige was leaving right after the ceremony. Adam wandered through the crowd, starting to feel desperate. Finally, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

Noel greeted him with his trademark grin. “Hey, bro. I met your lady friend. Our old neighbor, huh? She grew up pretty.”

“Where’d you see her?”

“Meadow. I wanted to touch her hair.”

“Hands off,” Adam said, frowning.

A slow grin spread across Noel’s face. “That sounded serious. Is there something I need to know?”

Adam looked away. He didn’t want to talk to Noel about Paige. It felt too private, too surreal. Talking about summer girls at the boat dock, or summer women they’d seen at the jazz festival was one thing. But talking about Paige was different. Things between them seemed as though they needed to stay between them—their own private circle of two. He’d miss her more than he could imagine, but their summer would always be a private memory for him.

“I need to talk to you about something else, but now is not the time,” Adam said.

“So how did you two rekindle?”

“Noel, seriously.”

“Just tell me.”

“Drop it.”

Noel shrugged good-naturedly as if he had no intention of dropping this whatsoever, then smiled. “Good to see you, man.” He clapped Adam on the shoulder.

Adam smiled back. It was good to see Noel, too. And he owed him this explanation. Maybe he could rush it quickly and then get back to finding Paige. He took a deep breath as he listened to the instrumental trio playing off to the side and
tried to figure out how he was going to say this.

“So what’s your news?” Noel said over the lively violin.

Adam looked at the fake-green spray in the charred meadow grasses. He ran his fingers through his hair. He’d just have to blurt it out. He had things he needed to run to.

“I have a daughter.”

Noel’s jaw went slack.

Adam took a perverse satisfaction that he was finally able to stun an expression off his brother’s face. After twenty-nine years.

“A
daughter
?” Noel’s words came out more as expulsions of air than actual words.

“A daughter, yes. She’s sixteen.”

If Noel could have possibly looked any more shocked, Adam didn’t know how to produce it. His brother’s mind seemed to be whirling a million miles an hour. He might have been doing the math.

“Samantha?” he finally asked.

Adam nodded. “She died. And left Amanda to me. Amanda’s here now. I’ll have to introduce you. She’s great. She looks almost exactly like Mom.”

“Wow.” Noel stared at his hands, then swiveled his gaze out toward the trees. “Before you said her age, I almost thought you were going to say it was your new lady. But this is crazier.”

“And she’s not my new lady. Stop saying that. And I have to sell the seaplane property. I’m sorry for letting everyone down about that, but it had to be done.”
There.
It felt good to blurt everything out. Adam let out his breath.

When Noel didn’t respond, Adam looked up. Noel was giving him one of his don’t-bullshit-me looks.

“First, if I hear you say those words again, I’m going to beat the hell out of you,” Noel said.

“What words?”

“Anything about letting everyone down. You’re not. And you never have. You’ve been the rock of this family for a long time. Hell, since you were fifteen, I think. And you never let us down. You always saved us, in fact. Did you know Mama Mendez calls you ‘The Rock’? She says it in Spanish, of course—
La Piedra
—but she says that when she calls me.”

“She calls you?”

“Sometimes.”

“Why?”

“To tell me how you’re doing. I figure she’ll give me the real lowdown.” Noel grinned. “Anyway, no more of that. And don’t worry about the seaplane property. I’ve only been here for twenty minutes and I’ve already heard three rumors about the townspeople starting a Seaproperty Fund for you, so that explains that. I trust you. What’s meant to be will be.”

“You trust me? Just like that?”

“Adam, you’re the most trustworthy person on this island. Everyone knows that. Now on to more important things, like why you said that gorgeous friend of yours is not your new lady. And why she’s desperate to find you.”

“She’s desperate to find me?”

“I think she said desperate. Or maybe she said ‘despondent.’ Not sure.” Noel grinned.

“When did she say that?”
Adam’s blood began racing through his veins as he looked over his shoulder.

“About fifteen minutes ago. She went that way. But since we’ve been talking, I saw her walk back over there.” Noel nodded toward the orchard.

“What the hell, Noel? Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I just did. I was waiting for her to be alone. I think she is now. You’ve got fifteen minutes before the ceremony, man. Go.” He slapped Adam on the shoulder just as Adam spun away.