Page 83 of Love on the Run

Brittany sat quietly on the other side of Anna. It was impossible to figure out what she was thinking about the service, but maybe Anna had planted a little seed by inviting Brittany.

After the service, Brittany made a mad dash for the exit, and Anna quickly followed.

“Wait. I was hoping we could have dinner together,” Anna said when they met up in the parking lot.

“Um. Sure.” Brittany pushed her glasses up on her nose and kept a tight hold on the strap of her purse.

“Where do you want to go?” Anna asked. When Brittany didn’t answer right away, Anna turned to Beau.

“I think I’ll let you two go to dinner together. I have some Christmas shopping to do.”

Anna’s eyes widened. “Christmas shopping? We’ve already been shopping, and you didn’t buy anything.”

“We were shopping for you. I—I saw something I might get for Liv, and I can pick up your candle while I’m in the area.”

Anna clasped her hands together as best she could with the brace on. “That’s so sweet. Well, Brittany, how do you feel about Mexican food? I saw aplace on the square called La Cresta that promised the best tacos in the Rockies.”

Brittany shrugged. “That’s fine.”

The tightness in Beau’s shoulders eased. He didn’t like lying to Anna, but he couldn’t exactly tell her he wanted to get a present for her, not Liv. He could always get something for his sister too. She’d like a book from that bakery that had the bookshelves in it.

The town square was packed with people and vehicles by the time they arrived, but they found a parking spot a few blocks away. Beau walked the women to the restaurant and headed for the store he’d spotted during the tree lighting ceremony.

Art and Soul Gallery was a small shop filled with paintings displayed against off-white walls and on stands dotted throughout the big room. A bell above the door jingled as he entered.

“Hey! Welcome to Art and Soul.” A dark-haired woman wearing an apron covered in various colors of paint stepped out of a room in the back. “Can I help you find anything?”

“I’m looking for a painting for my…friend,” Beau said.

The woman reached out her hand with a smile. “I’m Claire. Most of these are mine, but some of them are by students. All of the paintings in this room are local landscapes, and that room over therehas a variety of paintings. Do you have an idea of what your friend might like?”

“You painted these?” Beau asked, kind of stunned at the perfection of each piece.

“I did,” Claire said sheepishly.

Beau whistled low. “That’s awesome. I can’t even paint a wall.”

Claire chuckled and propped her hands on her hips. “I’ve been painting for years.”

Beau looked around. “I’m definitely interested in one of these,” he said, pointing to the landscapes in the main room. “We rode snowmobiles over a ridge on our first day in town. Any chance you have something we might have seen there?”

Claire snapped her fingers. “I bet I do. Come here.”

She led him toward a large painting covered mostly in white. Snow spread over the hill in the foreground, but a bright sun sat high in the sky, bathing the scene in an orange glow. The dark mountains in the distance looked just as awesome as they had on the day he’d seen them with Anna.

“That one. That’s it.”

Claire squinted at him. “Are you sure? You didn’t look at the price tag.”

Beau checked the label on the wall beside the painting. It was expensive but he’d already made up his mind. He wanted this painting for Anna. Nomatter how things went between them after they got back home, she’d like a memory of the trip.

“I’m sure. Can you ship it to my house? I’m with my friend now, and I don’t want her to see it yet.”

Fifteen minutes later, Claire had the painting packaged and labeled for shipping. Beau stepped out onto the sidewalk and came to a complete stop. He’d just bought a Christmas present for a woman he wasn’t even in a relationship with.

It couldn’t be helped. She had him wrapped so tightly around her finger that he could barely think of anything else.

But she was coming out of a long-term relationship—one that almost made it to the altar. A week ago, she’d intended to spend the rest of her life with Dean. There was no way she was ready for another relationship.

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