Page 90 of Give Me a Reason

They were her family, and she couldn’t let her resentment keep her away from them. She only had herself to blame for her current unhappiness. She would not add to it by turning her back on her family.

“You have to learn the script and work out.” Tessa counted off her fingers. “And didn’t you say you were working with a dialect coach to nail the British accent?”

“All of the above.” Anne laughed listlessly. She really was busy, and she was trying not to lose her mind over the pressures of being in her first Hollywood film. She needed to take a step back—from her work and from her preoccupation with Frederick—at least for the duration of this meal with her favorite sister. “Hey, have you been in touch with Aiden since Bosque Verde?”

“Yeah, we’ve been texting here and there.” Tessa shrugged as she chewed an enormous bite of her burger. “We’re two STEM nerds in a pod. It turns out he had trouble choosing between premed and computer science as an undergrad because he loved both so much. But in the end, he realized he wanted to work directly with people.”

“So you guys are…” Anne raised her eyebrows.

“What? No.” Her sister snorted. “We’re just friends.”

Anne ducked her chin to hide her smile. Shewasright. She did know her sister best. She wished she could rub Frederick’s nose in it and make him eat his words. Her smile died, remembering he wasn’t hers to laugh with and tease. So much for trying not to think about him.

“What about Frederick?” Anne blurted.

“What about him?” Tessa munched on a fry. When Anne gave her a pointed look, she shrugged. “I’m not gonna lie. He’s hot. But I’m not interested in him. It was just fun to mess with Bethany.”

“You’re awful. Why would you torture her like that?” A genuine laugh burst out of Anne, more from relief than amusement.

“Bethany is tougher—and much more fun—than she looks.” Her sister grinned unrepentantly. “She probably enjoyed the bit of competition.”

Would Bethany have enjoyed some competition from her as well? If Anne thought she had a chance, she would fight for Frederick as though her life depended on it. It did in many ways, especially her happiness.

Anne had a persistent ache, just above her ribs, and she rubbed at it now with the side of her hand. She missed Frederick so much that she physicallyachedfor him. She was a fool to hold on to her unrequited love for so long. But she might be a fool for the rest of her life.

At least her little sister wasn’t interested in Frederick. There was that. With a heavy sigh, Anne masticated her greens like a sad, lonely cow, taking generous gulps of her beer to push it past the tightness in her throat. She nearly choked when her phone rang and she saw who was calling.

“Sorry, Tessa. I need to take this.” She pushed back so quickly from the table that her chair screeched against the concrete.

“Is everything okay?” Tessa asked, worry furrowing her brows.

Anne gave her a fumbling thumbs-up, then hurried to the waterside to answer the phone. “Frederick.”

“H-hello? Am I interrupting something?” His voice sounded oddly strangled. “You seem out of breath.”

“Oh, no. I’m… No, you’re not interrupting anything. I, um, just finished jogging.” Like thirty minutes ago. But she couldn’t tell him that she was breathless from hearing the sound of his voice. “How are you?”

“Fine. I’m fine. And you?” He seemed nervous. Was that a good sign? A good sign for what, though?

“I’m fine.” She tittered, just as nervous. “Thank you again for the lovely lunch. I wish we’d had more time to talk.”

“Me, too. I…” He paused, and Anne heard her heart beating in her ears. “I heard that you were leaving for England soon.”

“Yes.” The sudden wave of melancholy was beyond silly. It didn’t matter that she was going across the ocean. She rarely saw him even when he lived half an hour away from her. But beingbeyond sillyseemed on brand for her when it came to Frederick. “I’m leaving in a little over a week.”

“I see.” There was a lengthy pause. “How long—”

He was cut off when her phone tooted to alert her of another incoming call. A quick glance at her screen told her it was Andrew. She ignored it. “You were saying?”

“Are you getting another call? You can put me on hold—”

“No,” she practically yelled in her panic.Don’t go.“I mean, that’s okay—”

Andrew was calling again.Damn it.It must be urgent for him to call back-to-back. She stomped her foot like a child.

“Actually, it’s Andrew on the other line.” She sighed in resignation. “It must be important.”

“You should get it.”

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