Business picked up the further into summer they got. Because he knew the family needed the extra hands, he helped out as much as possible. Being near Anna was just a bonus. She’d opened up to him about Tom. Also a bonus. But she’d said nothing about telling her family.
Jillian found him sweeping the floor in the barn and followed along with him. “Thanks for helping out today.”
He smiled. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“How are things going with”—She glanced around—“Anna?”
“Can’t complain.” Keep it cool. That’s what he had to do. No more secrets.
“I noticed you’re at the bakery almost every day. And she seems really happy lately.”
He glanced over. “She does?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
“So…are you guys dating or something?”
He stopped sweeping and propped both hands on the top of the broom handle. “Are you asking for Poppy or Eli? Or your mom?”
She pursed her lips, and then rolled her eyes. “All of them, I guess. Everyone wants to know what’s going on. And she and Poppy still aren’t talking.”
He frowned. “Anna didn’t say.”
“Yeah.” She adjusted her glasses. “It’s strange. They always go everywhere and do everything together. I expected they’d be past this by now.”
Maybe that’s why Anna hadn’t told Poppy about them. But what about the rest of the family? What could it hurt?
She started to ask something else, but Anna came back into the room carrying trays.
Beckett leaned his broom against the wall and walked over to help. “Can I take a few of those?”
She gave him a subtle shake of her head. “Beckett.”
“I’d help you with trays no matter what was going on between—” Her nervous laugh cut him off, and he frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“Of course you can help me,” Anna said, her voice going back to normal.
She passed him most of the trays and then accompanied him outside to put them in her van. The air was cooling with evening approaching. They were expecting rain over the next couple days, giving them a reprieve from the heat.
Once she’d closed the trunk, Anna turned to go back in the barn. He caught her arm.
“Hold on,” he said. “Can we talk a minute?”
“There’s not much left to do.”
“And the rest of your family is working on it. It’ll just take a minute.”
Anna folded her arms, keeping her voice down even though they were the only ones out here. “I’m just not ready to tell everyone.”
“I thought that was the plan after you dealt with Tom.”
Her eyes strayed from his. To the trees surrounding the barn, the skies clouding over, her van. Anything but him. “I don’t want them involved.”
His jaw shifted. “What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t want them involved. If something goes wrong and this doesn’t work out, they’re going to try to tell me what to do, or be angry that I messed it up, or it’ll cause awkwardness between us. I don’t want them to have to deal with that. And I don’t want to have to deal with it either when it happens.”
Her words were like a punch in the gut. “When it happens? Why are you so sure something is going to go wrong?”
She dropped her chin and scuffed her shoe on the gravel. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Hey, slackers,” Eli called from the back door of the barn. “What are you doing out here?”
Anna straightened when he strolled in their direction and took a step back to distance herself. She pleaded to Beckett with her eyes, willing him to keep his mouth shut.
He gritted his teeth, but said nothing.
Eli slung an arm over Anna’s shoulder. “We’re all going to Pearl’s after we’re finished in there if you two are up for it.”
“Sure,” Beckett said easily. “Sounds fun.”
His eyes met Anna’s. He already saw the hesitation there. Eli must have seen it, too.
“Come on, Anna, don’t be a party pooper. We need even numbers so we can play teams for pool or darts.” She started to answer, but Eli was already continuing, a twinkle in his eye. “You can be on Beckett’s team.”
Anna squirmed out from beneath Eli’s arm and gave it a playful whack. “You just don’t want me on your team because I suck at pool.”
Funny how easily she could cover her unease with her family. Were there things she was covering or keeping from him? She’d yet to say anything about France. But then, he’d yet to say anything about his agreement with Poppy.
Anna grinned at Eli, and it killed him that she wasn’t aiming that smile at him. “Better get back to work then.”
She turned for the barn and headed inside without glancing back.
Eli waited until she was gone before lifting a brow at Beckett.
“What’s going on with her?”
Beckett sighed. “She still doesn’t want to tell you or the rest of your family about us.”
Eli grinned. “So there’s an ‘us’.”
“Not if you ask Anna.” Beckett rubbed his hands over his face. “Okay, that wasn’t fair. She told me she wants a relationship, but she’s not ready to tell all of you.”
“Why?”
“Because she thinks when it ends it’ll be awkward with all of us.”
Eli grimaced. “Well, it was kind of awkward when everything happened with Tom. We wanted to help her deal with the situation, but she didn’t want to tell us the details. She didn’t want our help either.” Eli shrugged. “It’d be a lot more awkward if it didn’t work out between you two.”
“First of all, we don’t know that. Secondly, that’s assuming something’s going to go wrong. I love her. Why isn’t that enough?”
Eli whistled. “Strong words.” He clapped Beckett on the shoulder. “Give her time. Give it a few more days—or weeks—and maybe she’ll be convinced. Anna’s been like this her whole life, you can’t expect her to change in one summer. Even if it’s you who’s trying to change her.”
“I’m not trying to change her.”
“Bad choice of words. I can see where you’re coming from.” Eli nodded, walking back to the barn. “Really, I can. I just think it’s going to take Anna longer to adjust.”
Beckett grumbled out a response. Eli was right. But that didn’t mean he was going to stop trying, even if that meant showing how he felt about her around her family.
{}{}{}
“You’re going to have to talk to someone sometime, you know,” Summer said from the driver’s seat.
Anna squeezed her hands together in her lap. “He wants to tell everyone. The whole family.”
“I think you missed something,” Summer said, turning onto Main Street and glancing over, her eyebrows raised.
“Missed what?”
“Last I heard, you weren’t sure about Beckett. And now, you guys are together. As in—”
“I don’t know.” Anna shook her head and rolled down the window. It felt hot and stuffy in the car. She needed fresh air. “He…he told me he loves me.”
Summer’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t say things like that when I’m driving. Anna! This is huge.”
Surprisingly, it made Anna’s throat ache. “It is huge,” she murmured.
Summer reached out and put a hand over hers. “Then what’s wrong?”
“I couldn’t say it back. And now he wants to tell everyone—I mean, all of you—and I can’t do that either.”
“Oh, Anna.” Summer turned into the parking lot and found a space near the back. “I’m sorry.”
Anna swallowed hard. “You don’t think that’s crazy? Because if you were Poppy or Jillian even, you’d probably think I was crazy.”
“For being cautious? Even for being uncertain? For not wanting to get hurt again?” Summer shook her head. “Don’t be silly. I understand.”
Anna narrowed her eyes. “That doesn’t sound like you. You’re…Summer. You’re always about the happliy ever after.”
She smiled. “I know.”
“Then what else aren’t you saying?”
“It’s Beckett. I’m sorry, but if I could believe in the happliy ever after with anyone, it’d be him.”
Anna blew out a slow breath. “I must be really hopeless, then. You’re right. It’s Beckett. He doesn’t cheat on women. He doesn’t go behind their backs.”
Summer gave another gentle smile. “That doesn’t mean you can’t take your time. Beckett will understand.”
He had been understanding, but now…Anna could sense he needed something more. She reached for the door handle. “We’d better go in.”
“Just try to see where Beckett is coming from,” Summer reminded her. “This is a good thing for him. He’s happy about it—and that’s why he wants to share it with everyone.”
Anna nodded, feeling emotional again. She was right, of course. For Beckett, it was as simple as that. He was happy about them being together and he didn’t want to hide it. He wanted everyone to know.
When they stepped inside, they found Jillian and Poppy at a booth in the corner, with two chairs pulled up on the outside. Within minutes, Beckett and Eli arrived at the crowded restaurant. Music boomed from the speakers overhead and the pool tables filled up.
Anna’s stomach grumbled as she slid into the booth. Beckett sat quickly next to her and she shot him a look of surprise. He grinned and passed her a menu.
He’d done that on purpose.
Summer had a similar grin on her face. Anna glared at her, and she snickered before burying her face in her menu.
“We need one with everything,” Eli said, ignoring the menu and shoving aside the specials at the middle of the table. “A large. And then another large with pepperoni and mushroom.”
“No mushrooms,” Jillian said.
“Yes, mushrooms,” Anna insisted. “A pizza without mushrooms is just wrong.”
Beckett’s arm brushed hers. “I agree.”
He was so close she could feel the heat of his body on hers. She straightened when his hand dropped to her leg, giving it a squeeze.
“Okay,” Eli said easily. “And another large with just cheese. And maybe another—”
“Seriously?” Poppy asked, making a face at him. “We don’t need four large pizzas. Three is enough. More than enough.”
“I’m hungry,” Eli complained. “Come on, Beck. Back me up. You know we’ll eat most of it anyway.”
“I’m hungry too,” Beckett said, his eyes flicking to Anna.
Her eyes widened, but everyone was distracted by Summer, who choked on a laugh.
“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. She pointed to her throat. “I swallowed my gum.”
Eli gave her a curious look. “Listen, the pizza’s on me. Let’s just get a lot of it.”
Squirming away from Beckett, Anna said, “I need to wash my hands.”
“Me too,” Beckett said from right behind her.
She gritted her teeth. What the hell? He wasn’t even trying to be inconspicuous.
He slid out of the booth after her and caught up to her in a few long strides.
“I know what you’re doing,” Anna said.
His fingers brushed hers, and she jerked away. “Being with you the only way I can right now.”
“Beckett.”
He caught her arm as they reached the hallway, turning her to the opposite hall from the bathrooms. The music was quieter back here, the lighting dimmer.
“Can we talk? Just for a minute?” he asked. When she opened her mouth, he linked his fingers with hers. “Please.”
She blew out a breath, hand tightening on his. “I’m sorry. About before at the barn. I—”
His mouth closed over hers, stopping the rest of what she wanted to say. Her heart slammed into her ribs, hands instantly seeking his arms, his chest, wrapping around his neck as he pressed her against the wall.
Then she remembered the restaurant, the people, her family back at the table waiting for her. She jerked back. “Wait. Stop.”
Beckett’s breath came out in short bursts, eyes blurring for a minute before they focused on hers. “Stop? I’m not familiar with that word.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. Then she nudged his chest, eyes darting to the hallway. “Hold on a minute.”
He sighed and moved back a step, still close enough to make her nervous. He propped his arm above her head on the wall. “I can stop for a minute. That’s all.”
“Beckett. This is serious. You said you wanted to talk.”
“I did. But I was lying. I want to be with you, and I’m taking advantage of it.” His jaw clenched. “Like I said, it’s the only way I can do it right now.”
“It’s not—” She broke off. She was going to say it wasn’t permanent. And it wasn’t. But was she really ready to tell everyone? Right now?
“Listen. I shouldn’t have dropped that on you at the barn. I know you were working. It was bad timing.” He reached out, wound a lock of her hair around his finger.
“Bad timing,” she agreed. “I could have handled it better, too.”
“So let’s deal with it. Soon.”
“Soon.”
He leaned in, lips brushing her cheek before she could slide down the wall and away from him. He reached out, but she sidestepped.
“They’re waiting for us,” she said.
“I really don’t think that was enough to tide me over.”
She lifted her hands with a grin. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I might not be able to make it to the end of the night,” he warned, blocking her with his arm again. “Just saying. I can’t be held responsible for what I do in front of your family if you don’t give me something else here.”
Lips curved, she rose on her toes, her body just a breath from his, and kissed him. She expected it when his arms came around her, and let herself get lost in the kiss for a moment. His hard body pressed against hers, his fingers winding into her hair, her hands locked around his neck.
Then she danced away, laughter lodged in her chest. “That should buy me a few hours.”
“But—”
“No. Hands off. I gave you what you wanted.”
And it was what she wanted, too. What she’d wanted all day.
Someone rounded the corner, and she blew out a breath when it wasn’t any one of her siblings.
“Come to my place tonight,” he suggested, following her back to the table.
“I…”
“Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Never mind.”
“Beckett. I’m sorry.”
Before he could say anything else, Eli caught their attention at the dart boards. “Anna! You and Beckett against me and Jillian.”
She glanced up, relieved when Beckett smiled at her. “You know how bad I suck at darts.”
“I’ll be your teacher. We got this.” Beckett brushed her arm with his and lowered his voice so only she could hear. “Just so you know, I’m probably going to have to be pretty close to show you how to do this.”
She tipped her chin up to meet his eyes, feeling playful. “Bring it on.”
Eli threw first, hitting the twenty three times in a row.
“You practiced while I was in the bathroom,” Anna said.
He shrugged. “Not my fault you took so long.”
Jillian stepped up next to her when Beckett threw his darts. “You do know this is just so they can compete against each other without seeming like they’re competing.”
Anna smiled at her. “I know. It’s nice to be out with everyone, though.”
“It is.”
A new song came over the speakers, someone hit a pool ball behind her, and she heard laughter from their table where Poppy and Summer sat. It seemed so normal. Like everything might finally be settling down. And Beckett fit right in. With her family. In her life.
After Jillian threw her darts, Beckett passed her the set they shared. “We need a twenty,” he said. “So their team can’t score on us.”
She looked from her line on the floor all the way to the twenty on the board. “You seriously expect me to be that accurate?”
“You’re the one who said you had steady hands.”
He stepped closer, and her heart raced. Her gaze flicked to Eli and Jillian, who waited for her to throw.
“I think, uh…” Anna flashed Beckett a smile. “I think you’re going to have to show me how to stand.”
He set his hands on her hips, fingers squeezing tight enough to send a flicker of need through her. “Straight. With this foot here. Focus.”
She lifted her chin, turning her head so their faces were only inches apart. “And how to aim.”
She saw him swallow and barely held in a smile. This time he cupped his hand under her elbow and positioned her arm.
“You don’t want to pull back too far,” he said, voice low. “You just want to—”
“Come on, throw it already,” Eli said, grinning at them.
Anna threw the first dart and completely missed the board. She glanced back and wrinkled her nose at Beckett like she actually thought she was going to make it. “I think I need more help.”
He laughed. “I think you do, too. And, by the way, I know what you’re doing.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said.
“Just keep going, then. I like it.”
This time she laughed. She lifted her arm to throw again when Jillian muttered, “Oh, shit.”
Anna glanced over, arm still poised for the throw. “What?”
Eli frowned. “Is that asshole following you or something?”
She dropped her arm and followed his gaze to the front of the restaurant where she saw Tom entering alone.
Beckett tensed next to her. He placed his hand on her back and she took comfort from his strength.
“He’s probably just ordering pizza,” Anna said over the music. “Let’s keep playing.”
But Tom didn’t stop at the bar or wait for a hostess. He strolled in their direction. Eli stepped closer and she felt Beckett’s hand flex on her back.
“Hi, Anna,” Tom said. “I’ve been seeing a lot of you lately.”
“Doesn’t seem like a coincidence,” Beckett muttered. His jaw hardened, but he kept his gaze focused on Tom.
“We’re in the middle of a game,” Eli said. “I think it would be better if you left.”
Something flickered in Tom’s eyes, but he kept his smile in place. “I was stopping in to order a pizza. I saw you over here and thought I’d say hi.”
“Well, you said it,” Eli told him. “Now you can go.”
Anna glanced at him. “Eli.”
“What? He won’t leave you alone.”
“He’s right,” Beckett said. “He’s been bothering you every week.”
Anna’s stomach clenched. The last thing she wanted right now was a scene. She glanced back to their booth, catching Poppy’s eye, and then Summer’s. Like a plea for help.
“I think Anna’s old enough and smart enough to be able to decide what’s going on,” Tom said. “She doesn’t need you two telling her what to do.”
“We’re not telling her anything,” Beckett snapped. “She’s made her decision and she doesn’t want anything to do with you.”
Eli nodded. “Just leave.”
“You can’t tell me what to do either,” Tom said. He appealed to Anna. “They’re just trying to get in the way of us—”
“Us?” Eli echoed. “You piece of sh—”
“I meant our friendship,” Tom added, but Beckett cut him off before he could continue.
“There is no friendship. There’s nothing between you. She’s not with you anymore, and she never will be.”
Anna gripped his arm when he looked like he was going to lunge forward, but her gaze jerked to Tom’s when he gave a chuckle.
“Wait,” he said, eyes flicking between her and Beckett. “I was right? You two? Together?”
She opened her mouth to tell Tom to walk away, but Beckett nodded. “That’s right.”
The air seemed to freeze around her. Her entire family stood around her now, Tom in the middle. All of them had just heard what Beckett said.
Jillian pressed against Eli’s chest. “Eli, walk away. Come on, our pizzas are at the table.”
Eli gritted his teeth, but finally relaxed. Summer pulled on Beckett’s arm. “Let’s go.”
She turned her back on Tom, shock still coursing through her body. She hadn’t wanted her family to find out like this. Hadn’t wanted any of this.
Beckett reached for her, but she shook her head. How could he have said anything knowing how she felt? She’d told him soon. Soon they’d tell everyone. And now she didn’t have a choice.