Page 30 of Love on the Run

Her lips pressed together to mask her grin. She'd never seen this side of him. Early morning Beau with tousled hair didn’t hold the same intimidating air as regular grumpy Beau. “Let’s just eat so we can get on the road.”

“What are your plans for me today?” he asked as he followed her to the table.

“Well, I’m planning a three-hour drive to Freedom,then ice skating before the Tree Lighting Ceremony in town.”

Beau took his seat and bowed his head, saying a silent prayer before reaching for the plates and handing one to her.

“Are you okay with that?” she asked.

“I’m not really an ice skating kinda guy. Do I have to do it?”

Anna scooped eggs onto her plate, suddenly starving. “No, but I’m going to do it. It’s on my bucket list.”

“Your what?” Beau asked.

“My bucket list. Things I want to do before I?—”

“I know what a bucket list is. I just didn’t expect you to have one.”

Her back straightened as she reached for an apple. “Why not?”

“I just assumed you’d already done anything you wanted to do.”

“Why? Because I have money?”

It was a valid question. People assumed that money bought everything. To an extent, the thought was correct. In reality, money only caused problems. She’d watched her family blow through money like it meant nothing her entire life. Now, she made sure to save, invest, and spend her money wisely.

Aside from a lavish wedding. Most of that had been planned back when she was a pre-teen andhoping Justin Bieber would ride her off into the sunset in a pink convertible.

Thank the Lord for unanswered prayers.

Beau shrugged as he tore a bite of bacon. “You’re an adult. You can do anything you want to do. Why wait until now to ice skate?”

Oof. She’d never thought of it that way. She could have easily checked things off her bucket list for years. The truth was, she’d been too scared to do anything. She cared too much about what her parents thought, and she’d been too wrapped up in her work responsibilities to think about doing anything for herself.

Anna rolled the apple over in her hand. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought marriage meant freedom.”

Beau scoffed, almost choking on his coffee.

Anna’s chin lifted. “What’s so funny?”

“I have the opposite view of marriage. Once you’re tied to someone, your life isn’t yours anymore.”

Rolling her eyes, she put the apple down and dipped yogurt into a bowl. “Why do men think being married is the equivalent of death? Sharing your life with someone should be fun and amazing.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t those things. I said you’re tied to someone else. That means you make decisions together. Ifyouwant to do something foryou, you might as well go ahead and do it before you settle down and have to involve someone else.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Maybe Beau was on the right track. At least he viewed marriage as a partnership and not a prison sentence.

“What kind of things are on this list?” he asked.

Shoot. She hadn’t thought he’d care to know the details. Why was she nervous to tell him? It wasn’t as if any of the things she wanted to do were a secret. They’d be checking off a bunch of them on this trip.

Well, item number one had always been “get married.” It didn’t look like that one was happening anytime soon.

“Things like snowboarding, ice skating, seeing the northern lights, and flying in a hot air balloon.”

“Those are kinda boring,” Beau said as he took another bite of bacon.

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