Page 25 of Give Me a Reason

He managed a curt nod. Of course she didn’t come to see him. But a small hopeful voice said,She could’ve left after dropping Coraline off, but she stayed.She didn’t have to come find him, but she came.

Frederick cleared his throat. “Did you need something?”

“I…” A blush spread across the bridge of her nose. “Um, where are the napkins?”

“Napkins?” Disappointment swept through him with torrential force, catching him off guard. “You came to the kitchen for napkins?”

“Yeah. Yes.” Her gaze darted around the kitchen like she was avoiding his eyes. Or maybe she was looking for those damn napkins. “We brought fish tacos for everyone, and lots of chips and guacamole. Lots. So much guacamole.”

“I see.” The words tumbling out of her confused him, making his brows draw together. Her ever-present poise seemed to have completely abandoned her.

She pressed her lips together as though creating a dam against the flow of her words. Then something in her expression softened. “Have you eaten anything?”

“No.” He was suddenly too exhausted to wonder why she asked, much less lie to her about it. Besides, why would he lie about his empty stomach? “I couldn’t.”

“You should eat,” she said quietly. “There’s plenty of food in the family room.”

“I can’t go in there.” He raked a hand through his hair.

Why was he telling her this? But when she looked at him with understanding and concern on her beautiful face, something loosened inside him, allowing him to take a full breath for the first time in hours.

“I’ll go make you a plate.” She nodded toward the dining table. “Wait here.”

Before he could stop her, she spun on her heels and left the kitchen. The only reason he wanted to call her back was because he didn’t want to eat anything, not because the kitchen felt cold and empty without her.

Frederick didn’t notice he’d moved until he sat down at the dining table, facing the door. He pressed his hands on the tabletop to stop his fingers from drumming against it. He was not waiting for her to come back. He must be hungry after all and desperately wanted some tacos. Enough to make him hold his breath while he waited, his eyes glued to the door. He was fucking famished.

“I know Baja tacos are your favorite, but the crew demolished those. So I brought you some shrimp tacos since you like them as well. And don’t worry. The salsa isn’t too spicy.” Anne walked toward the table, gesturing at the full plate. “Last but not least, I managed to get you some chips and guac after battling Tanner for them.”

She finally met his eyes across the table, and the smile on her lips blinked out as they parted in surprise. Frederick knew he was staring at her, but for the life of him, he could not stop. He only hoped he didn’t look as starving as he felt. When she glanced away first, he breathed a shuddering sigh.

“Let me get you a glass of water.” Anne placed the plate in front of him and spun away.

His hand lifted off the table as though to catch her before she walked away. Frederick lowered his hand and made himself pick up a taco. He kept his eyes on the plate even when she leaned over to place his water on the table.

“Sorry, I could only find a mug,” she murmured.

Continuing not to look at her, he stuffed food he couldn’t taste into his mouth. When he heard a chair scrape against the floor, his heart did a ridiculous somersault. She was staying. He struggled to swallow as his body went limp with relief. His reaction didn’t mean anything. He’d had a shitty afternoon. That was all.

Frederick kept eating with his head bowed. Anne seemed to understand he wasn’t up for small talk, so she sat silently across from him. But once he wolfed down all the food, he had no excuse left to stare at his plate. He glanced up at her and immediately regretted it. She was too beautiful for his sanity.

“Thank you,” he rasped.

He raised his mug and drank deeply from it to clear whatever emotion was clogging his throat. When Anne reached for his plate, he gripped her hand to stop her. Her breath seemed to hitch at the same time his did.God.Her skin was as soft as he’d remembered. He would’ve groaned if all the air hadn’t been sucked out of him.

“I can do that.” His voice sounded like gravel.

Then he frowned down at their linked hands, remembering the dark blood dripping from her cut. His gut twisting from the memory, he slowly turned her hand to find a dark raised line running diagonally across her thumb. Without thinking, he skated the pad of his thumb over her closed cut to reassure himself that she was okay. But at her shaky exhale, his blood rushed south andhis grip tightened possessively around her hand. What the hell was he doing? He had to stop touching her.

“That healed well.” He marveled at the evenness of his tone, but he still couldn’t let go of her hand.

“It was just a nick.” At his incredulous scoff, she gently tugged her hand away—leaving him bereft—and picked up his empty plate. “Do you want more water?”

“No.” He hid his hand under the table, clenching it tight to hold on to her warmth.

Frederick was certain she had no more reason to stay, even to be kind, but she took a seat across from him with a mug of her own. Her face was unlined and her skin seemed even more flawless than ten years ago, but she looked… older. No, that wasn’t the right word. She looked morerefined, as though the years had deepened the fresh bloom of her youth into beauty perfected. It wasn’t until he noticed her lips moving that he realized she was speaking.

“Frederick?”

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