Page 28 of Love on the Run

After taking her time drying off and brushing through her tangled hair, she stepped out of the bathroom with the towel wrapped around her.

Beau sat at the table with his phone to his ear.

“Yeah, I think she’s fine now. Thanks for your help.”

Beau turned to her and let his gaze roam from her head to her toes and back up again.

He was checking on her, not checking her out. If that was all it was, why did her skin burn in the wake of his gaze?

“I’ll call you later.” Beau rested his phone on the table and stood. “You okay?”

She pressed her lips together and nodded. “I’m fine.” She needed half a dozen deep breaths to steady her racing heart, but she was fine.

Beau pointed toward the bathroom. “Is there another towel in there? The couch is soaking wet.”

Anna pressed a hand to her cheek. “Oh no. I’m sorry. I got out of the hot tub in a hurry and didn’t dry off well.”

“It’s fine. I’ll let the cushions dry and pull out the bed.”

Anna’s nose scrunched. “Sorry. It’s probably not a pull-out bed.”

Beau’s shoulders sank. “What? Why not?”

“Those aren’t standard in higher end rooms.”

Beau’s eyes closed, and he took a deep breath. “Right. It’s fine. I’ll just call and see if they can bring me a cot.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to sleep on an uncomfortable cot. The bed is king size. You can sleep on one side, and I’ll sleep on theother. We don’t have to even get close to each other.”

Beau’s attention shifted to her towel before quickly jerking back up again. “You should get dressed. It’s cold out here.”

She still had on her skimpy bikini, but Beau couldn’t tell with the towel wrapped around her. Suddenly, the room wasn’t cool anymore. Her face grew warm as she tightened the towel around her.

“Right. I’ll go do that.” She slipped into the bedroom and closed the door behind her.

What was she doing? Parading around in front of Beau wearing little to nothing? She’d never been particularly shy about her body, but she tended to favor modest clothing. The little bit she wore now was the opposite of modest, and she’d been pressed up against Beau’s chest tonight.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Beau was a friend. He was the brother of her friend.

But he was being nice, and she was noticing him, and her thoughts were getting all twisted. Not to mention her body’s unwelcome reactions whenever he was around.

She could blame it on the stress of the day, right? She’d found out about her fiancé’s affair on their wedding day. That was plenty of cause for momentary lapse in judgment.

Shaking her head and pushing wayward feelingsto the side, Anna dressed in a silky pink tank top and shorts set. Everything else she’d brought to wear to bed was wildly inappropriate for a night spent with Beau in the same room.

Running her fingers through her hair, she stepped out of the bedroom. Beau had covered the couch in a few towels and stood by the window with his arms crossed over his broad chest, looking out at the snowy darkness. The expression he wore said he was tired until he turned to her.

He brushed a hand through his hair. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah. You look tired,” she said low as the late hour wrapped around her like a heavy cloak.

He jerked his thumb to the couch. “Still wet. I think I’ll wait for it to dry a little more and just sleep on it.”

“That’s ridiculous. Let’s just go to bed. I’m exhausted, and so are you.”

Beau rubbed a hand down his face and around the back of his neck. He did look tired, and she’d never seen the slow, sleepy side of him.

“Fine, but you can’t tell Olivia about this. She’d think too much.”

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