“No, you’re onlystudyingto save lives.” Frederick clapped the younger man on the back. “We’re all very proud of you. There’s no need to apologize.”
“I one hundred percent agree.” Anne smiled at Frederick but faltered when his eyes dipped to her mouth for the briefest second. Her lips parted as though in invitation. God, she couldn’tthink straight with him so near. “I… I’ll let you two get settled in. I’d love to chat some more later, Aiden.”
As she walked down the hallway, Anne thought she heard Frederick mutter,With you too, Frederick, under his breath. She pressed her hand against her pounding chest. Wishful thinking must be making her hear things—and see things.
When she spotted Pete and Katie standing by the picture window in the living room, she rushed toward them. She was genuinely happy to see them, but she could also use the distraction.
“Anne.” Katie enveloped her in a tight hug.
“Hey, you.” Anne hugged her back with a surprised chuckle.
“It’s so good to see you.” She didn’t slacken her embrace.
Anne felt a pang of guilt that she hadn’t made more of an effort to get together with her new friend. They’d only exchanged a few pleasantries through texts after Christmas. Honestly, she’d avoided Katie because she would’ve been tempted to ask her how Frederick was doing, and she’d been afraid of finding out.
“I don’t know what happened on Christmas night, but I’ve never seen Frederick more at peace,” Katie whispered. “Whatever it was, you did the right thing.”
“I… You think so?” Anne stammered, the thought of Frederick hurting less making her lightheaded with relief.
“Yes.” Katie squeezed her even tighter. “And if you need anyone to accidentally lock you guys in the bathroom or the pantry, I’m your girl.”
Anne huffed out a shocked but happy laugh, grateful for her friend.
“Now, now, honey. What did we say about tackle-hugging people?” Pete teased as he detached his wife from her. “Hey, Anne.”
“Hi, Pete. A word of advice. Women don’t like being told not to tackle-hug people.” She gave him a cheeky grin, then reachedfor Katie’s hand. If her friend hadn’t trusted her with Frederick’s contact info, Anne might have lost the courage to tell him the whole story. “I’m happy to see you, too, Katie. I’m sorry I haven’t kept in touch better.”
“Don’t even worry about it.” Katie waved aside her apology. “Last time we texted, you were hard at work with your agent, figuring out what’s next for you. I’m sure you’ve been busy.”
“We’ve only had a couple of meetings,” Anne said, embarrassed. She’d been busy but not enough to neglect her friend. Well, not neglect. More like actively avoid. “I wouldn’t call that being hard at work.”
“I’m rooting for you anyway.” Katie wrapped her arm around Anne’s shoulders and squeezed. Not to be outdone, Pete threw his arms over both of them from behind.
“Settle down, you two.” Joe joined their trio. “Stop hogging my celebrity cousin.”
“Joe.” Anne gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I don’t know about being a celebrity, but these two can hog me anytime.”
“You hear that, Joe?” Pete stuck his nose in the air. “We have permission to hog Anne. So off you go. Go make nauseating heart eyes at your bride-to-be.”
“Talk about nauseating.” Joe laughed. “You can’t stop staring at Katie like a lovesick puppy, and you guys have been married for how long? I’m worried your face is going to get stuck like that.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Pete said, staring at his wife with aching tenderness. Katie patted his cheek, offering him a sweet smile.
“Come on. Now you’re just showing off.” Anne didn’t have to feign her saltiness. They were making her feeldeeplysingle.
Her eyebrows furrowed into a perplexed frown. Being single had never bothered her before. Anne glanced over her shoulder, hoping for a glimpse of Frederick.Hope.There was that wordagain. She was always going to hope when it came to that man. He was nowhere in sight, but it was obvious why her singledom suddenly bothered her. She sighed listlessly as her cousins walked into the living room and settled on the couch.
“I’m going over to Bethany to lament our single status,” Anne half joked and walked away after a quick squeeze of Katie’s arm.
“There you are.” Coraline reached up for a hug when Anne joined her and Bethany at the sofa. “I’m so happy everyone is here. Isn’t this exciting?”
“Yes,” Anne said warmly. She couldn’t begrudge her lovely cousin her happiness, no matter how salty she felt about the excess of love in the air. “It’s quite wonderful.” She paused to glance at her watch. “And it’s going to get even more wonderful in around twenty minutes.”
“Yay.” Bethany clasped her hands against her chest. “What happens in twenty minutes?”
“A limo is coming to pick us up for anextensivewine tour.” Anne smiled, excitement buzzing through her.
“About damn time.” Tessa plunked onto the sofa and slung her arm over Bethany’s shoulders. Rather thanhelping with bags, she’d changed into a cute sundress. “I am positivelyparchedfor some wine.”
