Page 36 of Love on the Run

“Hmm. See, most women don’t have that confidence. You’re so sure of yourself, but lots of people struggle with it.”

“Do you?” he asked. It would be a stretch to think the gorgeous Anna Harris was secretly self-conscious about her body.

“No,” she said simply.

“Then why do you spend so much time doing this?”

“Because… I don’t know. It matters to me.”

“Strangers matter to you?” Beau asked.

“Yeah. Is that so unbelievable?”

Kinda. What was in it for her? She was serious about whatever fashion stuff she did online. It was tough to connect the dots when she didn’t have skin in the game.

Beau shrugged, and Anna turned back to her laptop.

“Here’s a message from one of my online friends. ‘Hey, Anna. I know you’re on your honeymoon, and I hope you’re having a good time. Let me know when you make it to Colorado safely.’”

Beau’s brows immediately pinched together. “She knows where you’re going on your honeymoon? How well do you know her?”

“We’ve been friends for years. We met throughthe vlog, and now we talk every day. Her name is Brittany, and she’s from California. She hopes to open her own boutique one day. We’ve been talking about meeting in person someday, but since I’m afraid to fly, that’s kind of a far-off dream.”

“What if Brittany is really Brandon, and you’re being catfished?”

Anna laughed. “Brittany is definitely Brittany. We’ve had plenty of video chats.”

Beau turned his attention back to the road. He wasn’t a woman, but he had a sister. Even though he didn’t worry about getting jumped in parking lots, he did enough worrying about Olivia to make up for it. “Just be careful.”

“I will.” She typed furiously for a few moments before stopping. “Oh, great. People finally found out that Dean and I didn’t get married.”

The lack of emotion in her voice had Beau glancing over to check and make sure it was really Anna. “Is that bad?”

She scoffed. “Well, this woman is pretty excited that Dean is up for grabs now.”

Beau’s nose scrunched as he checked to make sure Anna wasn’t joking. “Are you serious? That guy is a loser.”

“How can you say that?” Anna spat. “You don’t even know him.”

As soon as the last word was out, she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.

Beau gripped the wheel tight enough to strangle the life out of any living thing. “Are you serious?”

“I’m so sorry. I—I’m just so used to defending him. It just slipped out.” Her hands slid up to cover her whole face. “I’m such an idiot.”

“No, he’s the idiot.”

Why was he talking so loud? Why did it bother him that Anna had felt the need to ever defend Dean when he’d treated her like dirt?

Anna made a cracked, sobbing sound just before the waterworks started. Beau shifted in his seat. He was trapped in a car with a crying female on a winding mountain road. There wasn’t even a place to pull over so he could make a run for it.

A second later, Anna was leaning on his shoulder, gripping the arm he’d so innocently rested on the console between them. The muscles in Beau’s neck tightened as she wiped her eyes on his shirt.

No, no. He wasn’t a shoulder to cry on. He didn’t have any body parts made for soaking up tears.

What was he supposed to do with this? He did not do tears. In fact, he avoided them at all costs.

After a little bit more crying and sniffling, Beau held onto the wheel with the hand connected to the arm she had a death grip on and tentatively reached out and patted her shoulder with the other hand. Two tiny pats, just in case the leaking was contagious or something.

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