Page 22 of Love on the Run

“Want me to do something about that?” Beau asked.

Anna glanced from the phone as it silenced and immediately began ringing again.

The muscles in Beau’s jaw bunched as he eyed her phone. “Is she going to keep calling?”

Anna nodded. Of course her mother would keep calling. Catherine Harris would not be ignored by Anna or anyone else. She was born with an air of superiority that Anna didn’t understand.

The ringing stopped, then started again. Beauwas still staring at her with his copper eyes, waiting for her cue.

The grip in her chest broke as she handed the phone to Beau. His rough fingers brushed lightly against her hand as he took it. He simply turned it off and rested it screen-side down on the table beside his silverware before leaning back in his seat.

That was it. She could have done that. Or could she? She’d never done it before. She’d never screened calls. Ever. Not from her parents, her friends, her clients, or anyone. She even answered Potential Spam in case it was a mistake.

“What if… what if there’s an emergency?” Her voice shook along with her hands as she clasped them in her lap.

“Olivia will call me,” Beau offered. “I’m nobody special, but I give you permission to take the night off.”

The night off. It was a gift and a curse. She’d relish it now and pay for it later.

She studied Beau as he propped his arms on the table. He was much bigger than Dean. His arms were easily twice as thick as the man she’d spent the last year trying to please. Beau hadn’t spent an hour prepping in the bathroom before they came to dinner, and he hadn’t picked up his phone once since they left Blackwater.

A different waiter stopped beside their table, jerking Anna out of the ridiculous comparison she’dbeen making. The older man with graying black hair and weathered skin placed a glass of water in front of each of them before clasping the tray and his hands behind his back.

“Hello, I’m Joseph, and I’ll be taking care of you this evening.”

Anna requested a house salad and smothered chicken, while Beau ordered a steak and baked potato. When they handed the menus to the waiter, he gave them a departing nod and disappeared.

Once they were left alone, Anna leaned forward and asked, “Why did you agree to this?”

Beau tilted his head slightly. “Because I wanted a steak.”

“No. Why did you agree to come on this trip with me?”

His attention shifted to the tablecloth. “Because Olivia told me to, and she scares me.”

That wasn’t the reason. It wasn’t even half true. He wasn’t scared of anyone. Sure, he’d do anything for his sister, but this? Coming on this trip with Anna was more than she’d expected Beau to do for Olivia.

“Beau.”

The single word held a plea. He’d been helping her all day, but why? He didn’t owe her anything. He’d never concerned himself with her problems before, and there had been plenty.

He laced his fingers together on thetable and looked at her. “There isn’t an honorable reason. Stop looking for one. I’m here because you wanted to come on this trip, and your friend cares enough about you to clean my apartment for a month to get what she wants.”

Okay. That was a good reason. At least there was something in it for him. She’d inconvenienced and let down enough people today.

“I appreciate it. When was the last time you took a vacation?”

Beau’s attention moved from his hands to the restaurant around them, never landing on her. “The senior trip the summer after high school graduation.”

That was a long time ago. Beau was in his early thirties. Olivia and Anna were a few years younger. Did she even remember much about him from school?

“Where did you go?”

“Camping.”

Beau’s senior trip wasn’t unique. Most of their friends drove to a nearby winter sport resort, and a few wealthier friends flew to the Gulf Coast or Hawaii, sometimes San Diego or Las Vegas.

Anna hadn’t gone on a senior trip. Her parents hadn’t allowed it. Instead, she moved to Laramie and started her first semester of studies at the University of Wyoming, and Olivia had come with her.

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