Page 19 of Give Me a Reason

“Oh my God.” Katie’s eyes widened, and her hand fluttered to her mouth.

Anne instinctively reached out to comfort the other woman,even though her chest still heaved from the height of her emotions. She wasn’t even sure what she’d said. Words had poured out of her before she could process them. Did she say something hurtful to her?

“Why do you have to be socool?” Katie whispered.

“I…” Anne’s hand froze in the air. “Excuse me?”

“I tried so hard to hate you, but I just can’t do it.” The woman slumped in her chair, clutching her head in one hand. “What you just said? It breaks my heart for the two of you, but I can’t help but admire your strength and honesty. Will it make me a terrible friend if I butt out like you asked?”

“No?” Anne didn’t mean to make that sound like a question, but she was getting emotional whiplash. She tried again. “No, that wouldn’t make you a terrible friend. You’re fiercely loyal, and I’m glad Frederick has you by his side. But he’s a grown man. Trusting him to choose the right path for himself makes you a good friend, not a bad one. Again, neither he nor I need your interference, no matter how well-meant.”

“Wow. You have that kind-but-firm thing down to an art,” Katie said with enough awe to make Anne blush to the roots of her hair. Then the woman smirked mischievously, obviously not someone to stay cowed for long. “Okay, I’mbacking off. But I’m available to assist anytime you need.”

“A-assist?” Anne stammered, unable to keep up. “Assist in what?”

“Assist in making miracles happen,” she said like it was the most obvious thing.

“I don’t… I’m not… I’m not looking for a miracle.” Anne sighed, giving up the pretense of not understanding her meaning. “Besides, why would you help me? You were trying to warn me away from him less than thirty minutes ago.”

“That was before I knew.” Katie shrugged.

“Knew what?” Anne wanted to retract her question as soonas the words left her mouth. Her breathing grew shallow as her heart thumped against her ribs, and cold sweat prickled her scalp and dampened her palms. She didn’t want to hear what Katie thought she knew.

“Pie time,” Coraline announced, unwittingly saving Anne from a truth she wasn’t ready to face.

Weak with relief, Anne pushed back her chair with some vague plan to eat her emotions, but Katie placed a firm hand on her shoulder. Anne glanced up with round eyes, her stomach lurching with renewed panic.Oh God.Katie might still answer her question.

But wasn’t it too late to hide from the truth? Didn’t she already admit it?Nothing you or anybody else says will ever make me let him go.Her mind exploded like a water balloon dropped from the rooftop, her lies splattering around her. Anne not only wanted to make amends with Frederick—she wanted a second chance with him.

“Please don’t get up. I’ll bring your pie over,” Katie said kindly. “You shouldn’t carry anything with that hand.”

“We’re way ahead of you, Katie.” Joe placed a slice of apple pie in front of Anne. “Coraline said this is your favorite.”

“And I know exactly how you like it.” Bethany plopped a big scoopful of vanilla ice cream on her plate.

Anne stared blankly at the apple pie à la mode, then she gave her head a sharp shake. She couldn’t fall apart. Not here, not now.

“Aww, you remembered.” She smiled at her cousin, then at Joe in an Oscar-worthy performance. “Thank you, guys. Did you bake this, Bethany? It looks delicious.”

“It tastes even better than it looks.” Her cousin winked cheekily, then raised the ice cream scoop in the air. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go play à la mode fairy.”

Joe rejoined Coraline at the kitchen island as Bethany headed for the other side of the table, where Tanner and Michelle had just grabbed their seats.

“Enjoy your pie, Anne.” Katie patted her uninjured hand. “I hear my pumpkin pie calling. Or it might be my sweetie pie.”

Katie hurried over to the kitchen island, where her husband and her pie waited. If Pete was back… Anne’s hand flew to her throat in a jolt of panic. Vulnerable from her revelation, she wasn’t ready to see Frederick. She suddenly couldn’t recall a single acting skill to mask her true emotions. What if her face revealed everything she felt for him?

But her anxiety receded the moment she spotted Frederick across the kitchen. He stood leaning against the sink with his long legs crossed at the ankles, grousing at the rookies as they finished handwashing whatever didn’t fit in the dishwasher. He laughed at something one of them said, throwing back his head.

She’d always loved the sound of his laugh—deep, rumbling, and joyous. She would give anything to place her hand against the strong column of his throat and feel his joy vibrate through her body. She released a long breath, the last of her tension unclutching her lungs as she embraced the truth.

Anne didn’t yearn for the past or for a future she couldn’t have. She yearned for Frederick. For him alone. Thewantdrove deep into her soul, twisting inside her like a knife. But it felt amazing to know what her heart wanted with bone-deep certainty. She wanted Frederick with everything in her. She had always wanted him.

Katie gingerly approached Frederick with a plate loaded with every kind of pie and held out her offering with both hands. He accepted it with an easy grin and gave her a sideways hug. Anne smiled, happy that no trace of his stony anger remained.

As he dug into his dessert, chatting with his friends, Anne remembered the gentleness of his touch, the depth of his concern, the protective curve of his body at her side. A seed of hope burrowed into her heart.Maybe it’s not too late for us.The rising stakes terrified her, but she would risk anything for a second chance with Frederick.

CHAPTER SIX

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