The Meltdown Match (A Romance Novella) by Rachael Anderson Page A

taking away the heaviness and weaving in peace and joy. Her sister was right. What she and Mitch had went way beyond superstitions and magic and fantasy.
    What she and Mitch had was real.
    Her arms went around her sister as she simultaneously laughed and cried. “Thank you so much for pointing out how stupid I am.” She sniffed and wiped at her eyes. “You really are the best.”
    “Duh.”
     

Mitch sat in his boat in the middle of the lake and flung his fishing pole forward, casting his line as far as he could. Then he reeled it in, too fast to actually catch anything. Not that he wanted to. What he wanted was for the unsettled feeling in his gut to go away and for the image of Courtney backing away from him to leave his mind.
    Normally after a bad day, fishing had a calming effect on him, but today was different. Today he’d lived with the worry that Courtney could walk out of his life yet again. That she’d show up at any moment with the news that it was time for her to move on.
    His stomach in knots, Mitch cast the line again before turning the reel as fast as he could, as if retrieving the hook would somehow bring her back. But when the hook resurfaced empty, all it did was serve as a reminder of how he felt. Empty.
    Over and over, he cast and reeled, cast and reeled, looking for a solace he couldn’t find. She needed some time. She needed space. She needed distance. From him.
    The sick feeling returned with a vengeance, and Mitch threw his fishing pole to the bottom of the boat. It was no use. Not even fishing helped.
    “Mitch!” The faraway voice seemed to echo off the lake and surrounding trees.
    He looked around, finally spotting long, blonde hair blowing in the breeze and two arms waving at him. Courtney was here. Ready to talk? About what? Mitch still had no clue what had gone wrong. Queasiness filled his stomach as he started the engine and headed for the dock. He pulled up moments later, avoiding her gaze, too afraid of what he’d see.
    “Hey.” She sounded happy and light. Possibly even bipolar.
    Mitch felt more confused than ever. He tied up his boat slowly before stepping onto the dock and eyeing her warily.
    She started to move toward him, but stopped and clasped her fingers together, looking suddenly nervous. “I guess you probably want an explanation.”
    “That all depends on what your explanation is,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his khaki shorts.
    Courtney took a tentative step toward him and drew in a deep breath. “Okay, so here goes. When I found out that you were behind the contest, I sort of freaked out about, well, everything. I wanted to believe the contest was real, that we really were destined to be together, and then I found out it wasn’t. It threw me a little.”
    Mitch wanted to pull her to him, give her a good shake and tell her that they were destined to be together. It was something he’d known for years. But his hands remained at his side and his mouth shut.
    “But then Hannah bluntly pointed out that I’ve been wrong about everything. Especially you.”
    Him? Courtney had been wrong about him? What was that supposed to mean?
    “I don’t understand,” Mitch finally said.
    She approached him and took his hands in hers. “ You’re my inspiration. Not Heimel. Not coming home. You.”
    For the first time since Courtney had walked out on him earlier, Mitch felt his chest lighten. He had no idea how she’d come to that conclusion, but if it meant she wasn’t going anywhere, he’d take it. Or did she mean that?
    “Wait, what does that mean, exactly?” Mitch said. “Do you still feel the need to move away and come home to me instead of Heimel? Like I’m some... I really don’t know what to compare it to. All I know is that I wouldn’t be okay with it.”
    Her lips drew into a smile. “What I’m saying is that I’m here to stay. For good.”
    “But what about the whole needing to be re-inspired thing?” Mitch wasn’t quite ready to