Page 33 of Give Me a Reason

“If you’re done teasing me, let’s go settle in before the guys get here.

” Anne walked briskly out of the living room on a sudden burst of restless energy.

Frederick would be here soon, and if she stayed still too long, she might crawl out of her skin.

Or twist herself into a pretzel. Neither option sounded appealing, so she prattled, “There are two suites upstairs and two smaller guest rooms downstairs. And a sofa bed in the living room.”

“One of the suites is obviously for the soon-to-be bride and groom,” Tessa said as they made their way upstairs. “I say the other suite goes to the bridesmaids.”

“This one has a California king.” Bethany strode into the first suite off the staircase, and the rest of them followed. “We could definitely all sleep in that bed.”

“And we could all fit in that whirlpool tub.” Tessa whistled from inside the en suite bathroom. “That’s huge.”

“I think I’ll just shower,” Anne teased, peeking into the spacious bathroom with a stand-alone shower, also big enough for three. “ Alone. ”

Then they wandered down the hallway to the other suite. It had rustic white walls and a beautiful high ceiling like the other suite, but this one had more privacy plus a stone fireplace.

“This one’s ours,” Coraline said in a rush. “I call dibs on this one.”

“We weren’t going to fight you for it.” Bethany rolled her eyes, and Coraline playfully elbowed her in the side. “Ow. Cora hit me, Anne.”

“Now, girls.” Anne played along, wagging a finger at her cousins with a schoolmarm frown. “Be nice.”

“She’s talking to you, Beth,” Coraline teased, and her sister stuck her tongue out at her.

“Honey, I’m home,” Joe hollered from downstairs, making his fiancée squeal with excitement.

Anne smiled as she watched Coraline run down the stairs as though she hadn’t seen Joe in forever.

But her smile faltered when she realized that the rest of the wedding party must be here as well.

Then she came dangerously close to scowling because Bethany scampered downstairs with as much enthusiasm as her older sister.

“Don’t be weird,” Anne scolded herself under her breath.

“Too late,” Tessa quipped, linking her arm through Anne’s. How did she even hear that? “But you are acting weirder than usual.”

“By weird , do you mean quiet?” Anne sighed as she walked down the stairs arm in arm with her sister.

Her mom had understood that Anne didn’t speak up in every conversation, because she sometimes preferred to think deeply on things rather than jumping from one subject to the next.

But the rest of her family had always found her reserve strange.

“No, you were only quiet in the car—quieter than usual—but that’s you being normal,” Tessa said with a sideways glance. “But since we got here, you’ve been really engaged and playful.”

Anne blinked in surprise. Maybe it was because she was relieved the girls loved the hacienda as much as she did, and it made her hopeful that the weekend would go well.

She’d worked hard on planning it, and she wanted everyone to enjoy themselves.

Or maybe she was enjoying herself, bubbling with nervous excitement at the prospect of spending a long weekend with Frederick.

But the latter was for her to turn over and explore in solitude.

“I’ll try to restrain my weirdness,” Anne said with wry humor.

“No, don’t.” Her sister turned to her at the bottom of the stairs. “I like you like this.”

“You do?”

“Yeah.” Tessa blushed with uncharacteristic shyness. “Sometimes you’re wound up too tight, you know? It’s good to see you let go a little.”

Anne would always be quiet and reserved—she liked that about herself—but with close friends and family, she might enjoy getting to know this side of herself as well.

“Thank you.” She tightly hugged Tessa, who wiggled free after a moment.

“Stop that. Please reserve any and all sappiness until Coraline and Joe’s wedding. Anyway , I wonder if this place has a swimming pool.” Tessa wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I wouldn’t mind seeing that hot captain shirtless.”

Anne brought her free hand to her forehead. Going from that tender moment with her sister to this felt like being whipped around like a rag doll by Godzilla. Tessa was just playing around— she hoped—but it still made Anne a little nauseous to think of her sister lusting after her ex.

Then there was the other issue of the image Tessa branded into her head. God help me. Anne wouldn’t mind seeing Frederick sans shirt either. She wanted a visual confirmation of what her hands had felt on Christmas night.

The villa felt uncomfortably warm all of a sudden.

She needed a glass of water to cool down.

Feeling distinctly hot and bothered, she pivoted from the staircase to look for the kitchen, but Frederick walked up at the same time.

They stood mere inches from each other, face-to-face, toe-to-toe.

Well, face-to-chest would be more accurate.

Unfortunately, his chest wasn’t bare, but the soft gray Henley stretched over his muscled torso didn’t help cool her down one bit.

She resisted the urge to press her hands against her flushed cheeks.

Then she remembered she had hands and was promptly at a loss as to what to do with them.

She proceeded to clasp them in front of her, then behind her back, then planted them on her hips like Wonder Woman.

Finally, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest to trap her hands against her body.

“Anne.” His throat worked to swallow as his eyes roamed her face, and a flush crept up his neck. She forgot how to breathe, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. “You’re here. I mean, of course you are. Here, that is. Because you’re a bridesmaid. And I am also here. Because I’m a groomsman.”

His voice sounded oddly croaky, and he was definitely babbling. Was he nervous? Anne peered into his face, forgetting her own nerves. The eyes that met hers didn’t burn with that ever-present edge of anger—that bruised hurt—anymore. They looked hopeful. Or was it wishful thinking on her part?

“Pete and Katie took the bigger room up front, and both suites upstairs are apparently taken.” A gangly, bespectacled man in a slightly crumpled T-shirt and loose-fitting jeans ambled toward the staircase. “So I guess we’re sharing the room in the back?”

“Not on your life, Aiden.” Frederick turned around to laugh in the younger man’s friendly, open face, half hiding Anne from view with his broad back. “You can have the sofa bed.”

“What?” Aiden pushed his horn-rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose, exuding undeniable hot-nerd vibes. But Anne hardly noticed, still distracted by the change in Frederick. “You can’t relegate me to the sofa bed.”

“Sorry, kid.” Frederick shrugged. “You’re the youngest, so you get the sofa bed.”

Aiden gave an outraged squawk at the pronouncement, but Frederick said without an ounce of sympathy, “I didn’t make the rules.”

Anne wished she could figure out a way to help Aiden. But she couldn’t very well give up her spot in the suite and have him share a bed with Bethany and Tessa. The poor guy breathed a beleaguered sigh but perked up when Anne peeked out from behind Frederick’s back.

“Hi, Aiden.” She waved. “I’m Anne.”

“Well, hello there,” he said with a charming boyish grin, practically shoving Frederick out of the way. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Nothing bad, I hope.” She returned his smile and gestured toward her younger sister. “And this is Tessa.”

“You work at ISI, right?” He pointed a finger at Tessa. “That’s really impressive.”

“Thanks.” Tessa shrugged, but a pleased smile tugged at her lips. “And kudos to you for getting into Johns Hopkins medical school. Talk about impressive.”

“Yeah, well.” Aiden huffed out a laugh, scratching the back of his head.

Anne watched the exchange with interest. Maybe she didn’t have to worry about Tessa lusting after Frederick. Aiden might steal her little sister’s attention this weekend. He seemed like a bit of a flirt, but Anne liked him already, and she’d like him even more if he continued distracting Tessa.

“I’m going to see if anyone needs help with their bags.” Tessa fluttered her eyelashes at Frederick—Anne’s stomach sank—then Aiden, and offered both men a coy smile. “Gentlemen.”

Anne watched her sister sashay up the stairs, which was an odd direction to head to help someone with their bags.

But it certainly showed off Tessa’s perky behind to great advantage.

She had underestimated her sister. It seemed she was more than capable of flirting outrageously with both Frederick and Aiden.

“So, Aiden.” Anne kept her gaze resolutely away from Frederick, not wanting to see his reaction to Tessa’s little display. “How was your flight over?”

“I didn’t miss it, so that’s good.” He shook his head with a low whistle. “It was a close call, though. I was running pretty late.”

“Well, I’m glad you were able to join us.” Anne laughed.

She stole a glance at Frederick when it felt safe again. But she was caught right away because he’d already been staring at her, his eyes dark and intent. Her pulse fluttered in her throat, and awareness washed over her.

“I’m just sorry everyone had to adjust their schedules to fit mine,” Aiden continued with a cringe. Anne forced her attention back to him with great difficulty. “It’s not like I’m out there saving lives like Joe and this guy.”

“No, you’re only studying to save lives.” Frederick clapped the younger man on the back. “We’re all very proud of you. There’s no need to apologize.”

“I one hundred percent agree.” Anne smiled at Frederick but faltered when his eyes dipped to her mouth for the briefest second. Her lips parted as though in invitation. God, she couldn’t think straight with him so near. “I… I’ll let you two get settled in. I’d love to chat some more later, Aiden.”