10. Anna
Anna
T he morning sun streamed through the window as Anna rolled over in bed. With the blanket and sheets pulled snugly under her chin, she sank into the comfortable mattress for half a second before blinking her eyes open. It took a moment for the events of yesterday to hit her like a freight train.
The wedding. Dean and Misty.
Beau.
The last thought allowed her to roll onto her back and stretch her arms over her head. By the time she crawled into bed next to Beau last night, she’d been halfway to the best sleep of her life.
Dear goodness, she’d slept next to Beau Lawrence. Popping up like a Jack-in-the-box, she looked to the other side of the bed to find it empty.
Had she dreamed it? But how did she explain that she was indeed in the honeymoon suite at a luxury ski resort?
Pushing her fingers through her hair, she tossed back the blanket and got out of bed. Whatever waited for her, she needed to face it head-on.
Anna stepped into the common area of the suite where Beau sat at the dining table with one hand wrapped around a mug of steaming coffee and a Bible open in front of him.
He glanced up at her, but his expression was unreadable. “Morning. Breakfast is ready.”
The warm smell of cooked meat hit her at that moment. The table was covered in all kinds of breakfast foods from bacon and eggs to fruit and yogurt.
The sight was enough to make her mouth water and conjure a lump in her throat at the same time. Beau had gotten up early to read the Bible and order room service.
Yep. The tears were coming, and she had precious seconds before they made their appearance. “Thanks. I’ll be right back.”
Slipping off to the bathroom, she splashed water on her face and dried the tears along with the rest. It was a shock. That was all. Would Dean have gotten up early to read the Bible? No. Would he have ordered room service before she woke up? Probably not .
That was all she needed to see the events of yesterday for exactly what they were—a blessing.
With dry eyes and clean teeth, her shoulders lifted easier. Who cared if Dean had betrayed her? Who cared if he left her with a mess to clean up? It was best to move on and call it a lesson.
Beau stood in the kitchen pouring more coffee from a carafe into his mug when she stepped out of the bathroom. It was amazing what a splash in the face could do for her mood.
“Morning,” she said, allowing the genuine smile to have its way.
Beau rested his back against the counter. “I asked Olivia what you’d want, but I ordered a little of everything. I’ll eat whatever you don’t want.”
Anna rolled her eyes. “There is no way I could even make a dent in that spread. You’re eating with me.”
Beau lowered the mug from his lips and pinned her with an intense stare. “Someone is bossy first thing in the morning.”
Her lips pressed together to mask her grin. She'd never seen this side of him. Early morning Beau with tousled hair didn’t hold the same intimidating air as regular grumpy Beau. “Let’s just eat so we can get on the road.”
“What are your plans for me today?” he asked as he followed her to the table.
“Well, I’m planning a three-hour drive to Freedom, then ice skating before the Tree Lighting Ceremony in town.”
Beau took his seat and bowed his head, saying a silent prayer before reaching for the plates and handing one to her.
“Are you okay with that?” she asked.
“I’m not really an ice skating kinda guy. Do I have to do it?”
Anna scooped eggs onto her plate, suddenly starving. “No, but I’m going to do it. It’s on my bucket list.”
“Your what?” Beau asked.
“My bucket list. Things I want to do before I?—”
“I know what a bucket list is. I just didn’t expect you to have one.”
Her back straightened as she reached for an apple. “Why not?”
“I just assumed you’d already done anything you wanted to do.”
“Why? Because I have money?”
It was a valid question. People assumed that money bought everything. To an extent, the thought was correct. In reality, money only caused problems. She’d watched her family blow through money like it meant nothing her entire life. Now, she made sure to save, invest, and spend her money wisely.
Aside from a lavish wedding. Most of that had been planned back when she was a pre-teen and hoping Justin Bieber would ride her off into the sunset in a pink convertible.
Thank the Lord for unanswered prayers.
Beau shrugged as he tore a bite of bacon. “You’re an adult. You can do anything you want to do. Why wait until now to ice skate?”
Oof. She’d never thought of it that way.
She could have easily checked things off her bucket list for years.
The truth was, she’d been too scared to do anything.
She cared too much about what her parents thought, and she’d been too wrapped up in her work responsibilities to think about doing anything for herself.
Anna rolled the apple over in her hand. “I don’t know. I guess I just thought marriage meant freedom.”
Beau scoffed, almost choking on his coffee.
Anna’s chin lifted. “What’s so funny?”
“I have the opposite view of marriage. Once you’re tied to someone, your life isn’t yours anymore.”
Rolling her eyes, she put the apple down and dipped yogurt into a bowl. “Why do men think being married is the equivalent of death? Sharing your life with someone should be fun and amazing.”
“I didn’t say it wasn’t those things. I said you’re tied to someone else. That means you make decisions together. If you want to do something for you , you might as well go ahead and do it before you settle down and have to involve someone else.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Maybe Beau was on the right track. At least he viewed marriage as a partnership and not a prison sentence.
“What kind of things are on this list?” he asked.
Shoot. She hadn’t thought he’d care to know the details. Why was she nervous to tell him? It wasn’t as if any of the things she wanted to do were a secret. They’d be checking off a bunch of them on this trip.
Well, item number one had always been “get married.” It didn’t look like that one was happening anytime soon.
“Things like snowboarding, ice skating, seeing the northern lights, and flying in a hot air balloon.”
“Those are kinda boring,” Beau said as he took another bite of bacon.
“Ugh. Rude,” Anna spat. “How dare you judge my list.”
“Just saying. Seeing the Northern Lights sounds fun, but if we’re going to do some once-in-a-lifetime stuff, at least make it a little crazy.”
“What’s on your bucket list?” Anna asked quickly.
“I don’t have a bucket list. I do what I want when I want.”
Rolling her eyes, she dragged her spoon through the yogurt. “Okay, well then what’s something you think we should do?”
Beau shrugged. “Do you have a tattoo?” he asked.
Anna’s eyes widened. “No! Of course not.”
“Ever thought about it?”
“No. I have a corporate job.”
“Hide it,” Beau retorted quickly.
Anna stared at Beau with her mouth hanging open as he stuffed his face with scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. How could he talk about getting a tattoo like it was something someone might do on a regular Tuesday?
Her mouth closed after a few seconds. Would it be so bad to get a tattoo? Beau had plenty of them. She’d noticed a few on his arms whenever he wore T-shirts but hadn’t gotten close enough to see what they were.
Because she had no business getting that close to Beau. He kept everyone at a distance.
“You thinking about that tattoo?” Beau asked without looking up.
“No, I’m not,” Anna quipped.
They finished breakfast without more conversation, but she was thinking about the tattoo. Or rather, she was thinking about what Beau said about her bucket list. The things on her list were boring in a way. None of them would push her out of her comfort zone .
After breakfast, they packed and checked out of the hotel. With a long drive ahead, Anna opened her laptop and checked in with work while Beau drove farther into the Rocky Mountains.
She made a point to only open her work email. There wouldn’t be any disasters waiting there. Well, no disasters that were hers. Solving problems for clients actually did wonders for her mood.
After an hour of staring at the screen, Anna stretched her arms above her head. Snow blanketed the mountains in a glistening white as the sun cast its rays on them.
Beau’s phone rang, slicing through the peaceful silence she’d gotten lost in all morning.
He answered the call and raised the phone to his ear. “What?”
Anna pressed a hand to her lips to hide her smile. It had to be Olivia.
“That’s dumb. I’m not doing that.” He was silent for another moment before he said, “No. Don’t ask again.”
It was difficult to look engrossed in the scenery when she was enjoying the back-and-forth between Beau and Olivia. The Lawrence siblings couldn’t have been more different, but they’d somehow found an odd way to communicate and co-exist in each other’s worlds.
“Don’t call me to talk smack about people, especially that loser. I don’t want to hear his name ever again.”
Great. Olivia had something to say about Dean. Whatever it was, it probably wasn’t good. Thankfully, Anna was also of the opinion that if she never heard Dean’s name again, it would be too soon.
“Here. Talk to Anna.” Beau held out the phone to her without taking his gaze off the road ahead.
“Hey, Liv.”
“Good morning, sunshine. How is Beau treating you?”
Anna glanced at the man in question, driving stoically through the mountain passes. “Great actually.”
“Good. Make him behave. If he gets unruly, put him in timeout for half an hour. That usually does the trick.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Truthfully, she hadn’t wanted to distance herself from Beau yet. The feeling might not be reciprocated, but his grumpiness had been on the low side of the scale since they left Blackwater.
“Also, do you want me to log in and respond to messages on your social media accounts? I don’t mind taking care of that if it’ll help you to step away from it for a while.”
Olivia was truly a gift from the Lord, but she had no idea how many messages the fashion vlog received in a day. “Thanks, but I’ll take care of it. I have to decide on a course of action before I do anything.”
Anna glanced up as a cute little cabin-style store came into view. When the sign out front was close enough to read, she gasped and pointed. “Beau!”
The car swerved into the other lane before he reined it in. “What?”
“That bookstore looks so cute! Let’s stop there!”
Beau let out a sharp huff. “You scared the life out of me! You could have gotten us killed!”
“Don’t be scared. It’s just a bookstore,” Anna said before biting her lips together. Maybe she’d overreacted a tiny bit.
Beau slowed the car and turned into the small, gravel lot. “It’s not the bookstore I’m afraid of,” he mumbled.
“Tell him to shut up and drive,” Olivia said. “He’s such a drama llama.”
“I know. He almost drove us into a ditch because of a bookstore,” Anna said, glancing over at Beau to gauge his reaction.
He parked in front of the cabin and turned off the car. Reclining the seat, he pulled his ball cap over his face and crossed his arms. “I’ll be waiting right here.”
“Oh, come on. You’re not going with me?” Anna asked.
“I’m going to let you handle things there. Remind him that he’s a stick in the mud and this is his one chance to become moderately cultured,” Olivia said.
Anna took in the surly man leaned back in the driver’s seat of her car. “I don’t think he cares about being cultured.”
A muffled “Oink” came from behind his cap.
“He claimed men are pigs and he warned me,” Anna said to Olivia.
“True story. I gotta run. Have fun. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Anna handed the phone back to Beau. “Come on, Beau. Please just go inside with me. I feel like I’m a teenager getting dropped off at the mall by my parents.”
“Do people do that anymore?” he asked from behind his hat.
“I hope not. It was weird. Anyway, how about you go book shopping with me and we forget about ice skating?”
Beau lifted the hat from his face. “Really?”
“Really. I don’t think I’d like ice skating anyway. I just wanted to try it to see if I would like it.”
“That’s actually a good reason to have something on your bucket list,” Beau said.
“Yeah, but you got me thinking about how life is short and maybe I shouldn’t do things I doubt I’m going to like.”
“Fine, but I don’ t read books.”
Anna rolled her eyes. Men and books. “Why? Are you afraid you’ll learn something?”
“Actually, I read manuals all the time, and I have no reason to read if it doesn’t teach me something.”
Wow. So this was what it felt like to be speechless. He’d put her in her place, and her lips bloomed into a grin. “I love that. Good for you.”
“I don’t need a gold star,” Beau said, completely bored with the idea of being rewarded for something that was expected of him as a business owner.
Anna turned in her seat to fully face him. “I have an idea.”
“An idea like the one that got me on this trip? I’ll pass.”
“Stop acting like you’re not having fun. How about you pick out a book for me, and I’ll pick out a book for you?”
Beau pointed to the shop entrance. “I guarantee there isn’t a single book in that place I’ll like. You’re setting yourself up for failure. Plus, why would you trust me to pick out a decent book for you? I don’t even know you that well.”
“What’s my favorite color?” Anna quickly asked.
“Pink,” Beau answered immediately. “That’s not fair. You’re kinda loud about it.”
Ignoring his pessimism, Anna continued. “What are three things I love?”
“Fashion, love, and God.”
Anna stared at him as the accuracy of his answer sank in. Those were the exact things she would have listed as her top three, though, not in that order.
When she didn’t speak, Beau shifted in his seat. “Those were easy questions. I don’t know anything else about you.”
There was a single, tiny, brave bone somewhere in her body that wanted to call him out. Beau didn’t always speak, but he heard everything. How many things had he learned about her over the years and catalogued away?
“Okay. So are you going to buy me a book? If you do, you can decide what we do today besides ice skating,” she offered. A tiny thrill shot up her spine. Letting Beau make the plans could either be fun or terrifying.
Beau slid his hat back onto his head and leaned the seat up. “Let’s go find some books.”