Page 79 of Give Me a Reason

“What?” His mind shot immediately to the sweaty tangle he and Anne had made.

“I shouldn’t have run off into the dark. It was foolish, and I paid for it.” Bethany stared down at her hands. “You must’ve had such a scare. I wanted to apologize for putting you through that.”

“It was an accident. It wasn’t your fault.” He cleared his throat. “And I’m sorry if I hurt you in any way. You’re a wonderful person, but I—”

“You don’t need to explain,” she said, mercifully cutting him off. “I think I understand.”

His eyes flew to her face, but Bethany yawned again before he could discern what she’d meant. He rose to his feet. “I should let you rest.”

“Hey, Bethany.” Aiden poked his head into the room. “I wanted to check up on you before I got some shut-eye. Do you mind if I come in?”

“No, of course not,” she said. “Please come in.”

Frederick moved his chair out of the way, and Aiden leaned over Bethany, peering into each of her eyes. “Are you experiencing any double vision? Dizziness? Or nausea?”

“No double vision.” Bethany shook her head, then winced. “But I do feel a little dizzy and nauseous.”

“Have you eaten anything this morning?” Aiden sounded like a legit doctor. “An empty stomach could make your nausea worse.”

“I had a couple of bites of toast…” Bethany shrugged.

“You want to have a bit more toast? Or some scrambled eggs? How about both?” Aiden asked.

She laughed softly. “Actually, scrambled eggs and toast sound pretty good.”

“That’s an excellent sign.” Aiden grinned, already heading out the door. “Scrambled eggs and toast coming right up.”

“Feel better soon, Bethany,” Frederick said with a pat on her arm. Was Anne still in the living room? He had to find her.

“Thank you.” Bethany smiled. “See you around, Frederick.”

“That was pretty impressive,” Frederick said, catching up to Aiden. “Do you want me to get her the eggs and toast so you can get some sleep?”

“Nah, I’m too hungry to sleep. I’ll eat with her, then go to bed.” Aiden side-eyed Frederick with a mischievous grin. “You know what sounds nice? Napping in your big-ass king-size bed with a full belly.”

“Sure, kid. Knock yourself out.” Frederick clapped him on the back. “Just don’t drool on my pillows.”

“Yes.” Aiden pumped his fist. “And enough with thekidbusiness. You’re only five years older than I am.”

“Those five years are the difference between a boy”—he pointed at Aiden, then at himself—“and a man.”

“Asshole,” Aiden said cheerfully. “Okay, food, then nap. I’ll catch you later.”

Frederick went to the living room in search of Anne but only found Pete watching a game on TV with a grumpy frown.

“Katie’s resting upstairs. I can’t watch our K-drama without her, so I’m stuck watching college basketball.”

“I’ve never seen a man so unhappy to watch a good game.” Frederick went to stand behind the sofa. As a former player, he was a die-hard college basketball fan, but he was too distracted to watch. He tapped his fingers on the leather backrest for a moment before he asked, “Have you seen Anne?”

“She went into town to get some groceries.” Pete glanced up at him. “She said she might take a walk while she was there, so she won’t be back for a couple of hours.”

“I see.” Frederick shoved his hand through his hair. Everyone would be up from their nap in two hours, and it was going to get harder to catch Anne alone.

Anxiety wrapped around his lungs, making it difficult to breathe. He’d fucked up. He should never have let Anne leave his room like that last night—her eyes wide and sad.Oh God.What if she thought he’d used her? What if hehurther? He dug the heel of his hand into the ache at his chest. What if he couldn’t fix this? Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and dread gripped his insides.

He shouldn’t have let her leave hisbed, much less his room. He should have held her tightly in his arms and told her how perfectly she fit against his body. How the changes in her matched flawlessly to the changes in him. How wonderful it felt just being with her. How amazing he thought she was. But he’d let her walk away, hurt and confused, with unspoken words hanging between them.

What if Anne was lost to him forever? Frederick didn’t know if he could live with that.

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