Page 60 of Give Me a Reason

As he reluctantly shifted his gaze to Bethany, Anne pivotedand headed toward Pete and Katie. The acrid taste of disappointment coated the back of his throat, and the smile he offered Bethany was strained around the edges. “Joe and Aiden were passed out in the back, so I only had to shut Pete up to focus on the turns. But that was more than difficult enough.”

Bethany giggled behind her hand, and he wondered why she hid her joy. Anne laughed with her whole body, lighting up everyone around her. But not everyone was like her.There’s no one like Anne.A beat of awkward silence passed between him and Bethany, then Tessa linked her arm through her cousin’s.

“Come on, girl.” She tugged Bethany toward the ramp to the beach. “Let’s go collect some moonstones so we can put them in a pretty glass bottle and forget about their existence.”

“Nice chatting with you, Frederick,” Bethany said over her shoulder as she skipped along with Tessa.

He waved at the pair before they disappeared down the ramp. Aiden, Coraline, and Joe must’ve gone down already, because there was no sign of them in the parking lot. Frederick searched for Anne again and was relieved to find her trailing a few feet behind Pete and Katie, who walked hand in hand toward the ramp.

Frederick took several long strides to catch up with Anne. He had no reason to sound winded as he said, “Hey.”

“Hello.” A shy smile tugged at her lips, and he imagined kissing each corner of her mouth to coax it into a full-blown smile.

“Hi,” he half sighed like a lovesick fool.

The barest hint of a squint touched her eyes, but it was gone with a light shake of her head. He slowed his steps, greedy to have Anne to himself for as long as possible, and to his delight, she matched his snail’s pace as they made their way down the ramp. They were the last ones to reach the beach—the rest of their group already frolicked far ahead of them—but he wouldn’t have minded if the ramp had gone on forever.

“This beach is stunning.” Her hand rose to her chest as shetook in the jewel-like stones blanketing the beach, the ebb and flow of the waves staining them even richer.

You are stunning.If he could only think along these lines around Anne, he might as well walk into the ocean right now. But he made his best effort to tame his unruly thoughts because the water looked very cold.

“Itisbeautiful, isn’t it?” He forced his gaze away from Anne and out to the vast sea beneath the gray skies. “I like how different it is from the sunny, sandy beaches in Southern California.”

“It’s so melancholic.” She stared at the stormy horizon, watching the waves crash against the jagged cliffs. “Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.”

“Mary Oliver?” He glanced down at her.

“Yes,” she said, both surprised and pleased. “‘Wild Geese.’”

“I picked up some poetry, dating an English major a while back,” he said with a playful grin.

She returned his smile, her eyes crinkling at the edges. He saw fine lines that hadn’t been there when they were in college, and his heart twisted with sorrow for all the smiles he’d missed in the last ten years. For all the smiles he would miss in the next ten years. But… did he have to miss them?

“I can’t even blame you for reciting poetry.” He turned his eyes back toward the horizon. “The scenery practically demands it.”

Anne sighed happily. “I think this is my new favorite place.”

“You enjoy being melancholy?” he teased. “I still prefer our sunny beaches. They brim with so much life and joy.”

“I know you do.” She knelt to pick up a jade-colored stone the size of a squished jelly bean. “You remind me of those Southern California beaches. You’ve always exuded that kind of warmth and energy.”

Frederick glanced down at her bent head, not knowing what to think. He crouched beside her and picked through the colorful stones. He found a pink stone shaped like a heart and handedit to her, thinking she’d find it pretty. Then he had a moment of panic, worried that she would take it the wrong way.What wrong way?It wasn’t like he’d passed her a heart-shaped candy asking her to be his.

“Thank you.” She smiled down at the stone. “It’s so cute.”

“I’m glad you like it.” He preened like a peacock. Over a fucking rock. “You can show it off to Tessa and Bethany later. They’re on a mission to collect a bottleful of moonstones.”

“Tessa’s going to want it if she sees it.” Anne peeked down the beach to where her sister and cousin picked through stones, their laugher drifting over, and tucked the pink stone inside her pocket. “I’d better hide it to keep it safe.”

His chest warmed with pleasure that she wanted to treasure the rock he gave her. He passed his palm across the stones in front of him, hoping to come across another one worthy of gifting to Anne. He wanted to fill her pockets with rocks he found for her.

Was he a fool for wanting her to have something to remind her of him? Of course. Was he going to crawl across the whole fucking beach to find pretty stones for her? Yes. Yes, he was.

Side by side, they quietly searched for treasures with the gray sky above them and the sea lapping at their side. Their group had broken up into twos—Coraline and Joe, Katie and Pete—except for Aiden, who hovered around Tessa and Bethany.

With everyone spread so far apart, it felt as though Frederick and Anne had the beach to themselves. He clenched five more special stones in one hand as he dug around for more with his other. His heart stuttered as he imagined Anne’s happy laugh when he surprised her with them.

Frederick hadn’t felt this at peace—and content—in years.Ten years.He was being a sentimental fool, but having Anne back in his life, even as a friend, made him feel more whole. He stole a glance at her, and his chest constricted. Her cheeks were rosyfrom the chilly air, and a soft smile played around her lips. She was so lovely it hurt to look at her. Well, he’d better get used to it if he wanted to spend more time with his beautiful friend.

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