Page 87 of Somebody to Save
So, from start to finish, I read him in. I didn’t withhold any information or even the smallest detail, and the entire time, he just took it in. No reaction or comments until I was completely done.
Tense silence hung around us, and Andrew and I both gave him a moment to digest everything I’d just said.
Eventually, he leaned forward and shook his head. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to review the report. Not because I don’t believe you two, I just want all the facts in front of me.”
“Yeah, of course,” Andrew said quickly. “I’ll email it over now.”
“Great, great. I appreciate you guys keeping me in the loop, although this is your company now, and you don’t have to do it.”
“But he’s also your good friend,” I explained, but my dad waved me off.
“That means nothing when someone pulls shit like this. He’s going to get what he deserves. Including the full wrath of the Crawford name.”
FORTY-THREE
BE MY VALENTINE
Addison
“Didyou tell Beckett that this is unnecessary?” Nana asked as we followed behind Beckett and Grams to our table on the patio.
It was Valentine’s Day weekend, and we were back at the same restaurant where we’d had our first date. We’d celebrated ourselves the night before at his house. I wanted to do something low-key, and that’s just what he’d planned.
He’d cooked, and we’d cuddled on the couch the rest of the night, watching movies and playing board games. Then he’d surprised me with a gift. I thought the night he’d put together was enough of a gift, but he had other ideas.
He’d slipped the little black jewelry box on my lap, and my heart skipped a beat for a moment, thinking it could be another piece of jewelry. Nervous excitement and unease whipped through me at the possibility, but I realized it couldn’t be. At least not yet.
What was actually in the box was a beautiful gold necklace with a small “B” charm outlined in even tinier diamonds. It wasabsolutely perfect, and when he put it on, I contemplated never taking it off.
“Yes, Nana, I told him he didn’t have to, but here we are,” I said. The staff had walked us through a particular part of the restaurant I hadn’t already seen. It was the easiest, most accessible way to the patio, which I was really thankful for with Nana’s wheelchair.
Since the beginning of the year, Nana’s health and mobility had taken a turn. Her arthritis was making it hard for her to move around, and her hip wasn’t healing as quickly as we’d hoped. She’d also developed a heart issue we were trying to get under control. So, when we were outside of the house, she was in a wheelchair.
And I knew it was why Beckett had been so insistent that we included both Grams and Nana in a Valentine’s Day dinner. They hadn’t been out of the house in a while, and they were getting a little stir-crazy. It was also fun to get all dressed up and eat a good meal together.
“It’s such a fuss,” she murmured as I pushed her wheelchair through the door to the heated patio. And it really was as beautiful as Beckett made it out to be.
There were lights strung across the patio, hung between the branches of the tall oak trees surrounding us. The air was crisp, but the heaters did their jobs. It was pleasantly warm even with the cold chill. And the view was worth it. It felt like we were back in the mountains with the little stream running through the property and grassy area.
Beckett helped Grams in her seat, and the host pulled away one of the chairs so I could push Nana’s wheelchair directly up to the table. After making sure she was settled, I took a step toward the chair next to her, but Beckett was there and pulled it out before I had the chance to.
He dipped his head down as I stepped forward and quietly reprimanded me. “You know better, baby girl,” he whispered where only I could hear him, and I tried to hide my smile. Luckily, Grams and Nana were more concerned with discussing the scenery than they were with me and Beckett.
“Well, Beckett, this place is beautiful. Good pick,” Grams said.
“It was actually where we had our first date,” I said, peering through the windows into the restaurant. I could almost see the table where we sat.
“And now you’re here with your grandmothers,” Nana quipped. She unrolled her napkin and set it in her lap as our waiter approached the table and took our drink orders.
I had been dreaming of the cocktail I’d ordered the first time we were there, so I didn’t hesitate to get it a second time. Beckett also ordered his usual, but I was surprised when Nana and Grams each ordered a glass of wine.
I wanted them to have a good time, especially Nana, so I tried to contain my concerned expression. But of course, I had never been very good at that. All of my thoughts played out directly on my face.
“One glass isn’t going to kill me, Addie Wren,” she chastised when the waiter walked away.
“I know, I know,” I said. “It’s just with your new medication?—”
“I’m not supposed to drink in excess,” she interrupted. “One glass of wine is notin excess. It won’t make a difference.”
