Page 68 of Love on the Run

“Beau.”

Oh no. Dean was already shouting.

Beau looked over at Anna as he continued the conversation with Dean. “Anna can’t come to the phone now. She’s already in bed.”

Anna sat up quickly, completely forgetting the pain in her arm. She’d never gasped so loudly in her life.

Beau held the phone out to her. “Say hey, baby. It’s that loser from your wedding on the phone.”

The laugh bubbled out of her instantly. She slapped a hand over her mouth, but it was too late. Dean shouted a string of the worst curses she’d ever heard before hanging up.

Anna fought to catch her breath through laughter and terror. “I—I can’t believe you did that!”

Beau tossed the phone onto the covers. “I don’t know about you, but I feel better now.”

She gently rested her hand over the throbbing knot on the side of her head. “That was so much fun, but he’s definitely going to tell my parents.” All humor drained from her in an instant. “Oh no. He’s going to tell my parents!”

“And why is that a problem?” Beau asked.

Her heart rate jumped from jogging rate to running rate. “You don’t know my parents! They’re going to be so mad at me.”

“Anna, you’re almost thirty years old. You don’t have to report to your parents.”

“But—But I do. I live in their guest house. I work at theirlaw firm.”

“I know you can afford your own place. Why are you still living at home?”

It was a good question, but she also had a good response. She still hadn’t caught her breath from the phone call. “Because Mom is intense, to say the least. She lost her parents when she was young, and when she had my brother and me, she was always intensely protective.”

“Controlling,” Beau said. “The word is controlling.”

He was right, and she had no rebuttal for that insight.

“She is. Mom and Dad always expected a lot from us. We were to always reflect well on them. Everything is about appearance.”

Beau didn’t comment. Instead, he leaned back against the headboard and listened.

“Drake left home as soon as he got the chance. Mom threw the biggest fit, but he didn’t care. He was determined to get away, and I didn’t blame him for that.”

“But…” Beau added.

“But that meant they doubled down on me. Mom was absolutely not going to lose me too. I know how hard it was for her when her parents died, and I didn’t want to put her through that again.”

“That’s not your fault, and there isn’t a goodreason for her to use you like that. She held you back.”

“I know,” Anna whispered. “They didn’t force me to become an attorney, but they definitely pushed for it. They wanted Drake to follow in their footsteps too, but he shut that idea down quickly.”

“Where is he?” Beau asked.

“Moved to France. He’s married with three kids.”

Thinking about her brother was always tough. She loved Drake and missed him every day. He called often, but she’d never met her niece and nephews and probably never would unless she got over her fear of flying and hopped on a plane to the other side of the world.

“Is he happy?”

Anna nodded and settled back against the headboard beside Beau. “He is. He’s very happy, and I’m glad. Mom and Dad disowned him, and he said he’d never come back.”

Beau reached out and slid his hand into hers. “Not even for you?”

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