Page 40 of Give Me a Reason

“How was the drive?” Bethany came to stand next to him at the same time Anne took a step toward him. “Near the end, Anne kept shushing us—nicely, of course—because she had to focus on maneuvering down the winding road.”

As he reluctantly shifted his gaze to Bethany, Anne pivoted and headed toward Pete and Katie.

The acrid taste of disappointment coated the back of his throat, and the smile he offered Bethany was strained around the edges.

“Joe and Aiden were passed out in the back, so I only had to shut Pete up to focus on the turns. But that was more than difficult enough.”

Bethany giggled behind her hand, and he wondered why she hid her joy. Anne laughed with her whole body, lighting up everyone around her. But not everyone was like her. There’s no one like Anne. A beat of awkward silence passed between him and Bethany, then Tessa linked her arm through her cousin’s.

“Come on, girl.” She tugged Bethany toward the ramp to the beach. “Let’s go collect some moonstones so we can put them in a pretty glass bottle and forget about their existence.”

“Nice chatting with you, Frederick,” Bethany said over her shoulder as she skipped along with Tessa.

He waved at the pair before they disappeared down the ramp.

Aiden, Coraline, and Joe must’ve gone down already, because there was no sign of them in the parking lot.

Frederick searched for Anne again and was relieved to find her trailing a few feet behind Pete and Katie, who walked hand in hand toward the ramp.

Frederick took several long strides to catch up with Anne. He had no reason to sound winded as he said, “Hey.”

“Hello.” A shy smile tugged at her lips, and he imagined kissing each corner of her mouth to coax it into a full-blown smile.

“Hi,” he half sighed like a lovesick fool.

The barest hint of a squint touched her eyes, but it was gone with a light shake of her head.

He slowed his steps, greedy to have Anne to himself for as long as possible, and to his delight, she matched his snail’s pace as they made their way down the ramp.

They were the last ones to reach the beach—the rest of their group already frolicked far ahead of them—but he wouldn’t have minded if the ramp had gone on forever.

“This beach is stunning.” Her hand rose to her chest as she took in the jewel-like stones blanketing the beach, the ebb and flow of the waves staining them even richer.

You are stunning. If he could only think along these lines around Anne, he might as well walk into the ocean right now. But he made his best effort to tame his unruly thoughts because the water looked very cold.

“It is beautiful, isn’t it?” He forced his gaze away from Anne and out to the vast sea beneath the gray skies. “I like how different it is from the sunny, sandy beaches in Southern California.”

“It’s so melancholic.” She stared at the stormy horizon, watching the waves crash against the jagged cliffs. “ Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. ”

“Mary Oliver?” He glanced down at her.

“Yes,” she said, both surprised and pleased. “‘Wild Geese.’”

“I picked up some poetry, dating an English major a while back,” he said with a playful grin.

She returned his smile, her eyes crinkling at the edges.

He saw fine lines that hadn’t been there when they were in college, and his heart twisted with sorrow for all the smiles he’d missed in the last ten years.

For all the smiles he would miss in the next ten years. But… did he have to miss them?

“I can’t even blame you for reciting poetry.” He turned his eyes back toward the horizon. “The scenery practically demands it.”

Anne sighed happily. “I think this is my new favorite place.”

“You enjoy being melancholy?” he teased. “I still prefer our sunny beaches. They brim with so much life and joy.”

“I know you do.” She knelt to pick up a jade-colored stone the size of a squished jelly bean. “You remind me of those Southern California beaches. You’ve always exuded that kind of warmth and energy.”

Frederick glanced down at her bent head, not knowing what to think.

He crouched beside her and picked through the colorful stones.

He found a pink stone shaped like a heart and handed it to her, thinking she’d find it pretty.

Then he had a moment of panic, worried that she would take it the wrong way.

What wrong way? It wasn’t like he’d passed her a heart-shaped candy asking her to be his.

“Thank you.” She smiled down at the stone. “It’s so cute.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He preened like a peacock. Over a fucking rock. “You can show it off to Tessa and Bethany later. They’re on a mission to collect a bottleful of moonstones.”

“Tessa’s going to want it if she sees it.” Anne peeked down the beach to where her sister and cousin picked through stones, their laugher drifting over, and tucked the pink stone inside her pocket. “I’d better hide it to keep it safe.”

His chest warmed with pleasure that she wanted to treasure the rock he gave her. He passed his palm across the stones in front of him, hoping to come across another one worthy of gifting to Anne. He wanted to fill her pockets with rocks he found for her.

Was he a fool for wanting her to have something to remind her of him? Of course. Was he going to crawl across the whole fucking beach to find pretty stones for her? Yes. Yes, he was.

Side by side, they quietly searched for treasures with the gray sky above them and the sea lapping at their side. Their group had broken up into twos—Coraline and Joe, Katie and Pete—except for Aiden, who hovered around Tessa and Bethany.

With everyone spread so far apart, it felt as though Frederick and Anne had the beach to themselves. He clenched five more special stones in one hand as he dug around for more with his other. His heart stuttered as he imagined Anne’s happy laugh when he surprised her with them.

Frederick hadn’t felt this at peace—and content—in years.

Ten years. He was being a sentimental fool, but having Anne back in his life, even as a friend, made him feel more whole.

He stole a glance at her, and his chest constricted.

Her cheeks were rosy from the chilly air, and a soft smile played around her lips.

She was so lovely it hurt to look at her.

Well, he’d better get used to it if he wanted to spend more time with his beautiful friend.

“Frederick.” Bethany sounded out of breath from running across the beach.

Tessa skidded to a stop beside her and parroted, “Frederick.”

“I need to borrow your pockets,” they said at the same time.

He got to his feet and frowned. Anne’s hand was getting full, and she would need his pockets soon. “Uh…”

“Is that why you ran all the way here?” Aiden joined them and pointed his hands at his cargo pants. “You should’ve asked me. I’ve got pockets aplenty.”

“Oh, goodie.” Tessa rolled her eyes but held out her rocks to Aiden. “I’m going to count them when we get back to the villa, so don’t try to steal any of them.”

“What? I would never.” His mischievous grin belied his words. “But the shiny black one looks so much like a licorice jelly bean. I might be tempted to swipe it.”

“Eww.” Tessa crinkled her nose. “Who eats licorice jelly beans? Unless you’re an alien from Planet Licorice.”

Aiden burst out laughing so hard that he folded in on himself, and Tessa joined him.

Frederick glanced at Anne and found her studying her sister and Aiden with a contemplative look on her face.

He cocked his head to the side and wondered if she was onto something.

They might have a new romance blooming. The corners of his lips turned down as envy pinched his insides. Seriously? He’d hit rock bottom.

“Frederick, will you hang on to mine?” Bethany held out her stones.

“Yeah… sure,” he said with another glance at Anne’s hand. He took the rocks from Bethany and poured them into his jacket pocket. Luckily, he was able to fit them all into one, leaving his other pocket free for Anne’s stones.

“Do you want me to hold yours, Anne?” Aiden asked. “Pick a pocket. Any pocket.”

“I…” Anne bit her lip and looked at Frederick from beneath her lashes. She wanted him, too. He halted his thoughts with a record screech. She didn’t want him . She just wanted his pocket.

Even so, Frederick offered his hand to help Anne to her feet with a smug smirk at Aiden. “Stop bragging about your abundant pockets.”

But he forgot what he had been smug about when she placed her soft, warm hand in his. He forgot everything but the feel of her.

Electric currents running up his arm, he pulled her to her feet harder than he’d meant, and she stumbled into his chest. He instinctively steadied her, splaying his free hand on her back and pressing her flush against him.

His fingers flexed and dug into her skin, as her heady scent filled his nostrils.

She took a hurried step back, a rosy blush staining her cheeks. Aware they had an audience, he reluctantly released her, but neither of them looked away. He would gladly drown in her wide eyes. Taking an unsteady breath, he cupped his hand under hers and tipped the stones into his open palm.

“I’ll hold on to these,” he said in a husky rasp. She nodded as though words were lost to her. Dangerously close to grabbing her, he spun toward Aiden. “You just want to steal the stones that look like jelly beans for one of your pranks at school.”

“It would’ve been so good, too.” Aiden sighed. “Can you imagine one of my classmates stealing a jelly bean from my jar and biting into a rock instead?”

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll choke?” Bethany looked aghast.

“They’re too small to be a real choking hazard.” Aiden grinned. “Besides, they’ll have plenty of doctors around in case of emergency.”

“ Wannabe doctors,” Tessa clarified with a raised finger. “You guys are far from being actual doctors.”

“You forget our professors are actual doctors,” Aiden rallied.

“That’s good enough for me.” Tessa smirked, an evil gleam entering her eyes. “I’ll help you find enough stone beans to fill a mason jar.”

“A mason jar?” Aiden raised his eyebrows at her.

She looked at him as though he’d lost all his brain cells. “Everything looks tastier in a mason jar.”

“I like the way you think.” Aiden chuckled and pointed down the beach. “Let’s go over there to carry out our dastardly scheme. That patch looks especially dark and gloomy.”

“Did you just use the word dastardly ?” Tessa allowed Aiden to lead her to the dark side.

“Yes, because I’m a scoundrel,” he said gleefully.

Tessa groaned, but it looked like she was fighting a smile. “Stop before I stuff some stones in my ears.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you get them out.” Aiden’s voice grew quieter as they strayed farther away. “That’s Med School 101. The trick is to…”

Frederick met Anne’s eyes and arched one eyebrow. She pursed her lips and shrugged. It was a maybe for her. Well, it was obvious to him. “I’m going to call it.”

“A bit hasty, don’t you think?” Anne dusted off her hands and tucked them into the back pockets of her jeans.

“Give them two more days.” He strolled toward the opposite end of the beach, and Anne fell into step beside him. “And it’ll be a done deal.”

“I know my sister,” she said in a singsongy voice.

“I know Aiden.” He mimicked her tone, making her smile. And of course, he had no choice but to smile back. It only took a second before their surroundings melted away, and his eyes dropped to her sweet, smiling lips.

“What are you guys talking about?” Bethany glanced between him and Anne with a shadow of a frown.

“Uh…” Frederick felt awful he’d forgotten about her.

“We were just making small talk,” Anne blurted, looking discomfited. When Bethany pinched her lips to one side, Anne rushed to add, “Frederick thinks there’s something between Aiden and Tessa.”

“And Anne doesn’t agree. Maybe you can be the deciding vote,” he said, belatedly including Bethany in the conversation. “What do you think?”

“It’s hard to say.” She cocked her head to the side, her frown clearing at last. “She teases him mercilessly, so she doesn’t not like him.”

How would Anne treat someone she was interested in?

When she was twenty-one, she had been open and honest—vulnerable in a way only the truly brave could be.

He, on the other hand, had become a bumbling dingus around her.

At the mature age of twenty-nine, he would like to think he’d outgrown his awkward phase.

“Don’t underestimate Tessa,” Anne said with a speaking glance at Bethany. “She could be much more merciless.”

“You’re right. If she really liked him, Tessa would be a lot meaner.” Bethany tapped her chin with her finger. “But I still think she’s interested in him.”

“And interest could turn into something more.” Frederick smiled his approval at Bethany, then nudged Anne with his elbow. “That’s two to one.”

“Fine. You win,” Anne conceded, mischief twinkling in her eyes. “Happy?”

“I, um,” he stammered.

Frederick might not have outgrown his bumbling dingus phase after all.