Page 51 of Give Me a Reason

Frederick stood uncertainly in the middle of the living room when Pete went upstairs with Katie to get her settled in the bridesmaids’ suite.

Tessa and Aiden fell into easy conversation about STEM shit that Frederick would only half understand on his best day, but he was too impatient to talk to Anne to even pretend to pay attention.

Taking a deep breath, he walked over to the picture window where she’d resumed staring out at the vineyard.

“Hey.” Frederick sounded like a sullen teenager, so he tried again. “Uh, hi. H-how are you doing?”

“I’m doing—” Anne began with a tentative smile.

“Captain,” Joe called out, waving him over. “Bethany wants you.”

“I’ll…” For some reason, Frederick’s gaze shot to Anne. Her smile had disappeared. “I’ll be right there.”

He wanted—no, needed—to know how she was. Did she regret what happened last night? Was she happy to see him this morning? He coaxed her to continue what she’d been about to say, not ready to leave her side. “You’re doing…”

“You should go to Bethany.” She kept her gaze trained outside, her face unreadable.

Frederick wanted to say, To hell with Bethany . But he couldn’t, could he? Bethany got hurt because he’d embarrassed her, making her run off into the dark. He should go see her, but his feet stayed glued to the ground.

“Yeah, I should,” he said to force himself to do exactly that. But he still couldn’t leave Anne’s side. Instead, he stared at her profile, willing her to look at him. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Mm-hmm.” She nodded without turning to him.

He headed for Bethany’s room, feeling as though he were walking across wet cement. He wasn’t sure what he so badly wanted to say to Anne, but he had a feeling he could find out if only he had a chance to talk to her. They could figure it out together. What last night meant. What their future held.

When he walked into the room, Coraline helped her sister sit up against the headboard, propped up by pillows. He hurried to the bedside, waving his hands. “Please don’t sit up on my account.”

“It’s fine.” Bethany smiled. “I’m tired of lying on my back.”

Coraline kissed her sister on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a bit.”

“Stop fussing, Cora.” Bethany gave her sister a gentle shove toward the door. “Go get some sleep.”

“Frederick, if she feels dizzy, will you help her lie back down?” Coraline asked on her way out.

“I’ll be fine.” Bethany rolled her eyes.

When Coraline finally left, glancing over her shoulder at least three more times, Bethany leaned against the pillows and muttered, “Older sisters.”

“Right?” He pulled up a wooden armchair to the side of the bed and lowered himself on it. “I have an older sister, and she still fusses over me, too.”

“They can be a bit too much sometimes,” Bethany said with an exasperated sigh. “Unlike Anne, who always takes good care of us without ever getting overbearing. She’s just so… perfect.”

“So perfect.” He sighed without thinking. Bethany raised her eyebrows, cocking her head to the side, but before he could backtrack, she yawned into her hand.

“Like Mary Poppins. ‘Practically perfect in every way.’” She considered him with a steady gaze until he fidgeted in his chair. Then she continued in a soft voice, “I’ve always looked up to Anne. I still do.”

“It’s obvious she thinks the world of you, too. And for good reason,” he said sincerely. “You’re an amazing teacher. Your students adore you, and you genuinely love them back. Don’t even get me started on your cooking.”

“That’s so sweet of you to say.” Some color returned to Bethany’s pale cheeks. “But the real reason I asked for you is because I feel terrible about what happened last night.”

“What?” His mind shot immediately to the sweaty tangle he and Anne had made.

“I shouldn’t have run off into the dark. It was foolish, and I paid for it.” Bethany stared down at her hands. “You must’ve had such a scare. I wanted to apologize for putting you through that.”

“It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way. You’re a wonderful person, but I—”

“You don’t need to explain,” she said, mercifully cutting him off. “I think I understand.”

His eyes flew to her face, but Bethany yawned again before he could discern what she’d meant. He rose to his feet. “I should let you rest.”

“Hey, Bethany.” Aiden poked his head into the room. “I wanted to check up on you before I got some shut-eye. Do you mind if I come in?”

“No, of course not,” she said. “Please come in.”

Frederick moved his chair out of the way, and Aiden leaned over Bethany, peering into each of her eyes. “Are you experiencing any double vision? Dizziness? Or nausea?”

“No double vision.” Bethany shook her head, then winced. “But I do feel a little dizzy and nauseous.”

“Have you eaten anything this morning?” Aiden sounded like a legit doctor. “An empty stomach could make your nausea worse.”

“I had a couple of bites of toast…” Bethany shrugged.

“You want to have a bit more toast? Or some scrambled eggs? How about both?” Aiden asked.

She laughed softly. “Actually, scrambled eggs and toast sound pretty good.”

“That’s an excellent sign.” Aiden grinned, already heading out the door. “Scrambled eggs and toast coming right up.”

“Feel better soon, Bethany,” Frederick said with a pat on her arm. Was Anne still in the living room? He had to find her.

“Thank you.” Bethany smiled. “See you around, Frederick.”

“That was pretty impressive,” Frederick said, catching up to Aiden. “Do you want me to get her the eggs and toast so you can get some sleep?”

“Nah, I’m too hungry to sleep. I’ll eat with her, then go to bed.” Aiden side-eyed Frederick with a mischievous grin. “You know what sounds nice? Napping in your big-ass king-size bed with a full belly.”

“Sure, kid. Knock yourself out.” Frederick clapped him on the back. “Just don’t drool on my pillows.”

“Yes.” Aiden pumped his fist. “And enough with the kid business. You’re only five years older than I am.”

“Those five years are the difference between a boy”—he pointed at Aiden, then at himself—“and a man.”

“Asshole,” Aiden said cheerfully. “Okay, food, then nap. I’ll catch you later.”

Frederick went to the living room in search of Anne but only found Pete watching a game on TV with a grumpy frown.

“Katie’s resting upstairs. I can’t watch our K-drama without her, so I’m stuck watching college basketball.”

“I’ve never seen a man so unhappy to watch a good game.” Frederick went to stand behind the sofa. As a former player, he was a die-hard college basketball fan, but he was too distracted to watch. He tapped his fingers on the leather backrest for a moment before he asked, “Have you seen Anne?”

“She went into town to get some groceries.” Pete glanced up at him. “She said she might take a walk while she was there, so she won’t be back for a couple of hours.”

“I see.” Frederick shoved his hand through his hair. Everyone would be up from their nap in two hours, and it was going to get harder to catch Anne alone.

Anxiety wrapped around his lungs, making it difficult to breathe.

He’d fucked up. He should never have let Anne leave his room like that last night—her eyes wide and sad.

Oh God. What if she thought he’d used her?

What if he hurt her? He dug the heel of his hand into the ache at his chest. What if he couldn’t fix this?

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and dread gripped his insides.

He shouldn’t have let her leave his bed , much less his room.

He should have held her tightly in his arms and told her how perfectly she fit against his body.

How the changes in her matched flawlessly to the changes in him.

How wonderful it felt just being with her.

How amazing he thought she was. But he’d let her walk away, hurt and confused, with unspoken words hanging between them.

What if Anne was lost to him forever? Frederick didn’t know if he could live with that.