11. Beau #2
The lack of emotion in her voice had Beau glancing over to check and make sure it was really Anna. “Is that bad?”
She scoffed. “Well, this woman is pretty excited that Dean is up for grabs now.”
Beau’s nose scrunched as he checked to make sure Anna wasn’t joking. “Are you serious? That guy is a loser.”
“How can you say that?” Anna spat. “You don’t even know him.”
As soon as the last word was out, she gasped and covered her mouth with both hands .
Beau gripped the wheel tight enough to strangle the life out of any living thing. “Are you serious?”
“I’m so sorry. I—I’m just so used to defending him. It just slipped out.” Her hands slid up to cover her whole face. “I’m such an idiot.”
“No, he’s the idiot.”
Why was he talking so loud? Why did it bother him that Anna had felt the need to ever defend Dean when he’d treated her like dirt?
Anna made a cracked, sobbing sound just before the waterworks started. Beau shifted in his seat. He was trapped in a car with a crying female on a winding mountain road. There wasn’t even a place to pull over so he could make a run for it.
A second later, Anna was leaning on his shoulder, gripping the arm he’d so innocently rested on the console between them. The muscles in Beau’s neck tightened as she wiped her eyes on his shirt.
No, no. He wasn’t a shoulder to cry on. He didn’t have any body parts made for soaking up tears.
What was he supposed to do with this? He did not do tears. In fact, he avoided them at all costs.
After a little bit more crying and sniffling, Beau held onto the wheel with the hand connected to the arm she had a death grip on and tentatively reached out and patted her shoulder with the other hand. Two tiny pats, just in case the leaking was contagious or something.
“It’s okay. Maybe he fell off a cliff after the wedding and you’ll never have to see him again,” Beau offered.
Anna’s chin snapped up, and she stared at him for a few tense seconds.
Was that it? Was it all over now?
She let out a choked sound, then another that quickly flowed into more.
Was she laughing or crying? This was all kinds of confusing.
Anna released her choke hold on his arm and wiped her eyes with her fingers before reaching into the glove compartment and pulling out a pack of tissues. The chuckling continued until she’d dried her entire face and blown out a gallon of snot.
“Better?” Beau asked, hoping they were out of the woods.
She shook her head and lifted her chin. “I didn’t want to say anything because it sounded stupid, even to me.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I didn’t want to say I was unhappy. I mean, I have a great job, a nice house, a successful fashion vlog, and I had a man who wanted to marry me.”
Beau held up a finger. “Just because he wanted to marry you doesn’t mean he should get to.”
“Right, but why wouldn’t I have wanted to marry him? He was successful, handsome, hardworking?— ”
“Because he was a loser,” Beau supplied. “That was his first strike.”
Anna laughed. “What were the others?”
“He wasn’t good to you, and he cheated on you. He’s out.”
She fidgeted with the tissue in her hands.
“You’re right, but I was too blind to see it.
I felt like I should be happy, so I pretended I was.
I mean, who would believe me if I said I wasn’t?
I couldn’t sit in my beautiful house with my successful career and seemingly perfect fiancé and complain about my lot in life. ”
“Um, last I checked you and everyone else in the world is allowed to feel the way they feel regardless of how much sense it makes,” Beau said.
Wasn’t it that easy? Why did she care so much about what other people thought, especially if it cost her her own happiness?
“I wish it were that simple,” Anna whispered, turning to look out the window.
“What if we make a rule for this trip? You get to say what you want, feel how you want, and have fun without worrying about anyone else’s expectations. It’s not like you have anything to prove to me.”
Anna slowly turned toward him. “Like I said, I wish it were that simple.”
“Why can’t it be? I’d much rather you be genuine than acting a certain way just because you think it’s expected. You might like being yourself if you tried it.”
She was quiet for a moment before whispering, “It would be too good to be true.”
“Come on. Just forget about the problems for a little bit. Say what you want to say. Laugh if you want to. You can even cry, but be warned that crying makes me uncomfortable, so I have no idea what to do when you do that.”
She chuckled and wiped her eyes again. “So I just get to be my unfiltered self with you for a week?”
“Yeah. Give it a try. I know you’re always talking about finding love and living happily ever after, but you might find out that you’re happy on your own.”
“Are you going to be your true self on this trip too? It’s only fair that if I do it that you do too.”
Beau shrugged. “Sure. Don’t expect anything nice.”
She chuckled. “You mean you’re not a secret teddy bear on the inside?”
He leveled her with a quick stare before turning back to the road. He had one word for her that would sum up his whole personality. He’d already warned her. “Oink.”
Anna smiled and took a deep breath. “And when we get home, our lives go back to normal?”
“Only if you want to. You might get used to being the real you and want to be yourself all the time,” Beau offered.
Anna nodded and straightened in her seat. “Okay. It’s a deal, but I have one rule.”
“Fine. What is it?”
“What happens in Colorado stays in Colorado.”
“I thought we already established that,” Beau said.
“Yeah, but it’s a rule now. It’s official.”
“Fine. If you have a rule, I have one too.”
“Another one?” Anna tilted her head slightly as she studied him. “Go on.”
“You can’t use the fake smile with me,” Beau said.
Anna’s eyes narrowed. She actually had the nerve to look surprised. “What fake smile?”
“The one you wear all the time when you’re trying to make people think you’re happy. It’s just me. There isn’t anyone to impress here, and whatever happens this week is about you. Don’t be fake.”
Anna swallowed hard and took her precious time deciding if she’d take him up on the pact. Once she decided, she extended her delicate hand out beside him. “It’s a deal.”
They shook on it, and Beau focused on driving through the mountains. The trip would be ten times better if Anna could loosen up and have fun.