Chapter 31
Paige
A sickening nervousness bubbled in Paige's belly as her plane circled Logan International Airport. They were stuck in a holding pattern, waiting for traffic on the runway to clear before they could touch down.
But Paige knew she didn't truly have a reason to feel anxious. She wasn't meeting Lance at the airport. She'd purposely not told him the details of her flight because she didn't want him there to greet her.
She viewed the stay in Boston as if it were a business trip. She and Irie were in town for one night only, and the first order of business was simple: they were going to take that paternity test to finally prove that Lance was the father.
The second order of business was taking a stroll around the city and seeing if she could actually picture herself starting a new life in the city with Irie. Her parents had encouraged her to move to Boston. She was against the idea at first, but the more she thought about it, the more it started to make sense. Lance would be closer to Irie, which would make his visits a heck of a lot easier, rather than trying to fly Irie back and forth between cities every other weekend.
And it wasn't like she had much tying to her Nashville—sure, she had her parents and her friends. But beyond that? She no longer had a job and she wasn't in school anymore. Why not start over in a new city? Once Lance had his proof, he could start paying child support. That'd sweep away Paige's financial burden, and she could finally go back to nursing school.
The future was looking up.
The only thing that wasn't certain was how Lance would react to all this.
And maybe that was why she had a sick feeling in her stomach when the plane's tires touched down on the ground.
Stay strong, Paige.
She had an inkling in her gut that Lance would try to win her over somehow. His silence the past few days was telling. She knew he was planning something. He'd said as much. But she wouldn't just move in with him on a whim. That ship had sailed.
And all she could hope for was that he'd understand.
Watching the city whiz past the window of the cab, Boston didn't feel like one of the biggest cities in the country. Paige imagined the city would be more like New York—towering skyscrapers, stinky and polluted air, snarling traffic jams, crowded with people.
One of the first billboards they passed featured a familiar name and face. “Welcome to BOSTON! Home of LANCE COUTURE and the BOSTON BRAWLERS.” It was strange, seeing him already. Having him smile upon them from sixty feet in the sky, like some kind of Boston saint.
The cab meandered through the compact streets of downtown Boston and dropped Paige and Irie off outside the hotel. Once Paige checked into her room and settled down, she took a deep breath and called Lance.
He answered right away, sounding excited. “Paige! Hi! Where are you?”
Paige replied in a tone that was true to her mindset: all business. “Hi Lance. We just made it to our hotel. You still have time to take the paternity test today, I hope?”
Her directness threw him off balance. “Well, uh, yeah, we could do that …”
“That'd be great. You have the address here, correct?”
“Er, yeah.”
“So, can you meet us here at one o'clock?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
“See you then. Bye.”
Paige hung up, feeling proud and in control.
***
Right on time at one o'clock, there was a knock on her hotel door.
Paige swung the door open, holding Irie on her side. The tall hockey star, dressed in a navy Armani suit with chalky white pinstripes, greeted her with a radiant smile and a massive bouquet of red roses that he thrust forward.
“For you, Paige.”
Irie smiled and laughed at the sight of her father.
“Hi, Irie! Come here, baby girl, lemme hold you.” He reached out and took Irie into his arms.
Paige took the bouquet from him with a frown. “You shouldn't have, you know. We're only staying one night.”
His confident smile was suddenly lost. “One night?”
“Yes. We're only here so we can take your paternity test.”
He reached for her hand. “But Paige, I wanted to show you around. There's so many places I wanted to take you two—”
Paige freed her hand. “We'll take this one step at a time, Lance, so we don't rush into anything. Before anything else happens, the first thing we need to do is take your paternity test.”
He frowned. “You know, I've been thinking about that, and it's really not necessary—”
Her eyes grew. “What? Yes, it is! It's the whole reason I came out here.”
Lance paused to blow raspberries on Irie's cheek, making her howl with laughter. “But the thing is … I don't need it, Paige. I really don't. I feel like the act of getting that damned test only proves I don't trust you or something. Which isn't the case. At all. Paige, you have no idea how much I want to take that day at the airport back. I'd do anything to go back to our old plan, to have you move in—”
She sighed. “Lance. Please. The paternity isn't just for your sake. It's for mine, too. I might need it for legal recourse if you decide you don't want to help out with Irie.”
Lance swallowed. “But trust me, that's—”
“Please, Lance.” She grabbed her coat and put it on. “Can we just go get that test over with now? For our peace of mind?”
He dropped his gaze. “Yeah, I guess so.”