Anne loved her room in a sixteenth-century tower overlooking a lush, green garden. The stunning greenery extended beyond the island, which was surrounded by verdant forests on all sides. The castle had become her sanctuary, and she wanted nothing more than to return to it as soon as possible.
“I was going to take one of the SUVs…” Anne gestured toward her ride at the same time it drove off without her, and a perplexed frown settled between her brows. Had Andrew already told them she was riding with him? Before she agreed? When her thoughts were interrupted by another yawn, she relented with a tired smile. “Sure.”
While flattered by his attention, Anne felt a bit wary of being alone with Andrew. The crew had been good-natured about them so far, but she didn’t want to give them the impression there was anything more than harmless flirting between them.
But the castle wasn’t far away, so she didn’t see much harm in driving with Andrew—even if he’d been heavy-handed in sending the SUVs away. Anne had nearly drifted off to sleep when Andrew spoke from the driver’s seat—on theright—of his silver Aston Martin.
“Do you mind if we make a quick stop?”
“Not at all,” she responded automatically even though she was eager to return to her lovely tower room. She couldn’t wait to sink into her claw-foot tub for a hot bath, then recharge with a glass of wine and some much-needed alone time. Peopling was hard for an introvert.
Her eyes widened when Andrew parked in front of a quaint period building with a sloping brown roof. A rustic, wooden sign with white writing proudly proclaimed it as a pub and inn.
“What are we doing here?” she asked, torn between annoyance and curiosity.
Andrew stepped out of the car, rounded the hood, and opened the passenger door for her. She took the hand he offered, a frown tugging at her brows, and unfurled her body from the plush leather seat. Groggy with fatigue, she couldn’t figure out what was happening.
“Trust me.” He urged her inside the bustling pub with a hand on her lower back. “You’ll like this surprise.”
Anne dug her heels in just inside the door, her frown deepening. She wasn’t in the mood to be charmed by the interior of the pub with its dark wood floors, warm cream walls, and a low ceiling with exposed wooden beams. She turned to Andrew with a hint of impatience. “What surprise—”
“Surprise!” Bethany squealed and launched herself into Anne’s arms.
“Bethany?” Before Anne could extricate herself, a second pair of arms wrapped around her from the back. “Imo? What are you guys doing here?”
“It’s so good to see you, sweetheart,” Auntie Sharon said into her hair, squeezing the air out of her.
“What is going on?” They loosened their hold enough for Anne to spin around and face her aunt. “How are you guys in England?”
“We came to see you, of course.” But her aunt added with a sheepish smile, “And to scout for a wedding venue for Bethany. Two birds, one stone.”
“You know I’ve always wanted to get married in a small countryside church in England,” Bethany told Anne with a blissful smile.
“You’re gettingmarried?” Anne nearly dislocated her jaw, and panic set her limbs trembling.No, no, no.
Bethany held out her hand to show off the teardrop diamond ring on her finger. “I sure am.”
The edges of Anne’s vision turned black, blurring everything around her. Bethany and Frederick were getting married? She felt a hand on her arm that brought her back from the brink of fainting. She heard Andrew say from far away, “Why don’t we continue this reunion at a table? I have one reserved.”
“What… How…” Anne dropped into her seat at the four-person table and reached for the nearest cup of water. She chugged half of it down and plunked it back on the table.
“Mom wouldn’t let me go back to work even though the doctor cleared me, so I thought, what better time to visit England?” Bethany positively glowed with happiness, and Anne hated herself for the despair churning in her stomach.This can’t be true. Please don’t let it be true.“I could find the perfect churchandvisit you on set. All the stars are lining up for me.”
“Meredith put us in touch with Andrew.” Auntie Sharon stopped to smile approvingly at him. “And he helped us plan this surprise visit. He even found this lovely inn for us. Did you know this used to be a medieval pub?”
Anne couldn’t have cared if this inn used to be a torture chamber. Her head spun from all the information she had no capacity to process. Frederick was marrying Bethany. She was too late. There was no room left to hope.
“I told you you’d like this surprise.” Andrew squeezed her handunder the table, and she yanked it away. The smile he’d worn since they entered the pub finally fell, but she couldn’t even fake an apologetic smile. He shook off his crestfallen expression and said, “Our Anne must be tired from the filming. I was a bit demanding today. Why don’t I order us a bottle of champagne to celebrate Bethany’s engagement while we make our dinner selections?”
The weight of her grief pressed down on her and muted the conversation at the table. She managed to smile and nod at what she hoped were appropriate moments—she honestly didn’t care too much—but her mind was a stark white room, ringing with a shrillno.
When the champagne arrived, Anne made her arm move to clink glasses with everyone, then threw back the cold bubbly like it was tequila. She was grateful when the warmth of the alcohol moved through her body and smoothed out the edges of her shock.
What had she been thinking? She’d blown it with Frederick ten years ago. Their relationship ended when she’d walked out on him, shutting the door on his desperate pleading.
The last few months had been wishful thinking on her part. And that night in Bosque Verde had been a meaningless hookup for him. She and Frederick were nothing more than friends.No.They were going to becousins.
“When… uh… when did he propose?” Anne forced herself to ask, swallowing the scream climbing up her throat.
