Page 57 of Give Me a Reason

The good news Andrew had shared last week turned out to be worrisome news for Anne. Filming for Pride and Prejudice began in less than two weeks, and she needed to be on set in England for eleven weeks. That was cutting it awfully close to Coraline’s wedding in July.

Anne had promised her cousin that she would help with the wedding, but she would be out of pocket for almost three months. Even though Coraline, Bethany, and Tessa assured her they could handle the wedding preparations, Anne felt like she was letting them down.

But she’d offered to help because she was the only one not working.

Things had changed. You don’t have to do everything , she reminded herself.

It’s okay to accept help. She picked up her pace to work off the stubborn twinge of guilt, gazing at the lovely view of the sailboats dotting the water. She released a long breath.

She loved jogging along Marina Del Rey’s oceanside promenade. The wide, paved path wrapped around the marina, offering great views of the ocean on one side and the hotels and restaurants on the other. It was peaceful yet bustling, adding people watching as a bonus to a good workout.

“Gawd, Anne.” Tessa panted as she jogged alongside Anne. “It’s not like you’re training to portray a Marvel superhero. Do you really need to work out so much?”

“I wouldn’t be jogging if I were trying to get ripped.

” Anne was slightly out of breath as well.

She hadn’t been keeping up with her workout routine since she left Korea.

She hoped she didn’t pay for it on the set.

“I’m working out to increase my stamina.

If I don’t get in shape, I won’t be able to keep up with the filming schedule.

I may not be filming choreographed fight scenes, but I need to be fresh and alert for every scene, working twelve-hour days. ”

“There’s this amazing substance called caffeine ,” her sister groused.

“Yeah, hyper and twitchy will be a great new interpretation of Elizabeth Bennet.” Anne huffed a breathless chuckle.

“Just leave me here.” Her sister slowed to a stop, less than two miles away from the end of the promenade. “Go on without me.”

“I’m not leaving my sister behind,” Anne said dramatically and looped Tessa’s arm over her shoulders. “Come on. Just a couple more miles.”

“Can’t you just pretend I’m dead?” Tessa whined. “I don’t know why you dragged me out here. I’m not filming twelve hours a day.”

“You’re cooped up in the ISI building for close to twelve hours a day, and your office doesn’t even have a window.

You need this as much as I do.” Anne took a bracing breath.

It was okay to take up space. She deserved love and loyalty from her family as much as they deserved hers.

“And I need your support. It’s harder to motivate myself if I have to work out by myself. ”

Tessa pulled back a few inches, still hanging heavily on to Anne, and gave her a curious glance. “I didn’t know you needed stuff like a normal person.”

“What? I’m not a normal person?” Anne drew back as though she were slapped. Did her family—even her little sister—really take her so much for granted that they didn’t realize she had needs and feelings like any other human being?

“Well, you’re kind of my… I don’t know…

You’re like a superhero to me,” Tessa mumbled, looking out at the ocean, dropping her arm from Anne’s shoulders.

“I was a wreck when Mom died—we all were, except you. You never faltered, guiding us and holding us together. You were strong and steadfast, always there for us. You were, and still are, our anchor.”

“Oh, Tessa.” A multitude of emotions fought for dominance inside her.

In the end, she chose to lean on her brilliant sister—to let her know she was far from a superhero.

“I was a wreck, too. Mom was the only person who ever really saw me, and when she died, a part of me died, too. But she wanted me to take care of you all—to be strong for you—so that’s what I did. ”

“Well, thank you.” Tessa looked back at Anne with tears in her eyes. “We would’ve been lost without you.”

“You’re welcome,” Anne whispered.

“And I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I didn’t know you needed me.” Her sister swiped a forearm across her eyes. “I wish you’d told me, or shown me, that you were hurting, too.”

“I do, too.” She wished she’d opened up to her little sister sooner. Tessa was strong enough to support her, but Anne had never given her the chance.

“All right, lazy ass.” Tessa tugged her by the arm. “You’re not getting in shape by yapping and taking a leisurely oceanside stroll. Let’s go.”

With a laugh that seemed to take years of heartache and pressure off her chest, Anne sprinted down the path. “Last one to that red bicycle at the end of the road is buying a round of beer.”

Anne couldn’t help it. She let Tessa win, but she didn’t mind one bit. She loved this added layer of closeness between them, and Tessa would always be her baby sister.

Once they caught their breaths, they strolled down to a popular oceanside restaurant with a cluster of outdoor tables covered with vibrant blue umbrellas. They sat down at one of those tables with twin groans.

“Dude, you really need to get in shape.” Tessa glanced down at the happy-hour menu. “I can’t believe you lost a race to a wimpy programmer who hardly ever sees the light of day.”

“I told you I needed your help.” Anne bit her cheek to hide her smile. “So we’ll do this three times a week?”

“These happy-hour prices are great!” Tessa exclaimed, pointedly ignoring Anne’s question. “I’m going to get the quarter-pound burger with cheese. Wow, it’s only ten bucks. What a steal.”

“Ten dollars for a burger is a steal?” Anne peered down at her menu, distracted despite herself.

“In post-pandemic Los Angeles at an oceanside restaurant?” Her sister arched an eyebrow. “You bet it is.”

“If you say so.” Anne decided on the super greens with quinoa and grilled chicken. It was fortunate she actually loved salads. Otherwise, getting in shape for a film would be torture.

After ordering, she and her sister sat back in their seats, sipping their ice-cold hefeweizens.

Anne sighed as the smooth wheat beer slid down her throat, and the tart scent of the orange garnish filled her nose.

She technically should have been cutting out alcohol, but she wanted to enjoy this moment with Tessa.

“How’s Bethany doing?” Anne focused on her concern for her cousin, not the stab of jealousy. “You went to Imo’s house for dinner a couple of nights ago, right?”

“Mm-hmm.” Tessa put her beer directly on the table even though there was a coaster a few inches away.

Anne resisted the urge to move the glass onto the coaster.

“She’s doing way better than last week. She sleeps a lot and can’t spend more than a few minutes on her phone or laptop, but she’s practically back to her normal self. ”

“She must miss her kids,” Anne murmured. “Do you think she might try to go back to work soon?”

“Have you met our aunt?” Tessa side-eyed her. “Imo is keeping her baby girl in bed for a full four weeks.”

“Poor Bethany.” Anne studied her fingernails. “She must be bored out of her mind.”

“She said her friends take turns dropping by.” Tessa leaned across the table as though she had juicy gossip to share. “And guess who else keeps checking in?”

“Who?” Anne choked out—wanting to know, not wanting to know. She didn’t want confirmation that Frederick had feelings for Bethany. That Anne had only been a warm body for him that night.

“Captain Frederick Nam.” Her sister smiled like the Cheshire cat, and Anne felt her blood leach out of her face.

“He’s been visiting Bethany?” Surprise and jealousy warred inside her. “At Imo’s house?”

She’d been afraid, but didn’t really believe, that he’d been seeing her little cousin. Bethany lived at home with her parents. Anne thought he wouldn’t want to see her aunt again if he could help it. But maybe Bethany was worth the discomfort.

Her stomach twisted, remembering how he’d walked out of that house on Christmas without a backward glance. Anne saw how much he’d been hurting when she’d shown up at his house later that night. Did he care about Bethany so much that he would return to her aunt’s house? Did he love her?

“Nah, not so much in person,” Tessa continued, not noticing how still Anne had grown. “But he’s been sending her enough flowers to cover every flat surface in Bethany’s bedroom.”

“Ah.” It made sense that he didn’t visit Bethany in person, but he seemed to have found another way to shower her with affection.

Devastation crushed Anne’s spirit. The fact that Frederick had never called her, even though he’d promised, made everything hurt more. And it made her feel pathetic for waiting day and night for a call that would never come, when he’d been busy ordering flowers for his beloved Bethany.

Anne had hoped she’d jumped to the wrong conclusion about Frederick and Bethany.

He was so attentive and sweet during lunch last week that she’d thought…

What had she thought? That their night in Bosque Verde meant something to him?

That he wanted more than friendship from her?

Yes. She’d thought all those things, because she couldn’t stop hoping.

She needed to stop doing this to herself. And I will. Working on a new project would help distract her. Maybe she could give Andrew a chance. She would do anything to stop thinking about Frederick and Bethany. It tore her apart.

“You should go see her.” Tessa gave their server a distracted smile when he placed her burger in front of her.

“Thank you,” Anne said to him and placed her napkin on her lap, ready to fill the hole inside her with some super greens. God, she wished she’d ordered the burger. She reached across the table to steal a fry off her sister’s plate. “I know, but I’ve been so busy.”