The Perfect Mix (Keller Weddings Book 1) (19 page)

“Wait, no–” Tom stood as well, grabbing his wallet.

She turned on her heel and strode from the café, hopping in her car as Tom exited the front doors. Her hands still shook as she pulled away, leaving Tom staring after her from the sidewalk.

Anna went straight to the bakery, unsure where else to go. She had no idea where Beckett was, and she had to make sure the cake was finished.

But as she sat in the parking lot, her hands weren’t steady yet and her heart still pounded–mostly from anger, but a little from shock. What was Tom thinking? He was getting married! Was he trying to do to Catrina the same thing he’d done to her?

She covered her face with her hands, taking deep breaths until her heart slowed down. When someone knocked on her car window, she gasped, jerking her hands from her face. When she saw Beckett, she got out of the van.

“Anna?”

Without warning, she was in his arms, holding tight in hopes that his strength and steadiness would rub off on her.

“Anna,” Beckett said, voice low and full of concern. He tried to lean back to look at her face, but she just held tighter. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”

“I’m okay,” she whispered.

This time, Beckett took her shoulders and firmly eased her back. Jaw tight, he looked straight into her eyes. “What happened? What did he do?”

“Nothing.” She didn’t want to answer questions right now, she only wanted to be close to him. “I’m just really glad to see you.”

{}{}{}

“We should go back to my place,” Beckett began. “I can make coffee and we’ll talk.”

Her hands still shook slightly when she shoved them into her hair. “No. No, I’m managing. It’s fine. And I have to make sure this cake gets done.”

He gritted his teeth but didn’t argue. Damn Tom. When would he finally get the hint he wasn’t wanted? And it pissed him off that Anna could still be rattled by him.

She gripped his hand, jerking him from his thoughts. “I promise. I’m okay.”

He gave a curt nod, letting her hand slip from his as they entered the back door of the bakery. This was precisely why they needed to tell her family about their relationship. Tell everyone. So he could be there for her. It wasn’t just about a touch or a kiss, it was about support. And he couldn’t do that with this secret looming between them.

Leah looked up with a smile. “That was fast.”

Anna nodded, and he hated that she was trying to pretend everything was fine when it clearly wasn’t. “I can finish this up if you want to head out to lunch.”

“Sure,” Leah said. “Nice to see you, Beckett.”

She left and Beckett closed the gap between them again. “Talk to me,” he said.

Anna flashed a smile he could tell was forced. “Nothing to talk about really.”

She used a spatula to smooth one side of the cake before adding more flowers.

“Anna,” he said, touching her arm.

“The Shanes will be here in thirty minutes for their cake. Just a few more flowers,” she said, keeping her gaze focused on her task.

He folded his arms, losing his patience. “I need to know you’re okay.”

This time she did look up. She reached out, giving his arm a squeeze. “I’m fine, Beckett, really. I–it was just harder than I expected.”

“I wish you’d talk to me,” he said. “I was already worried about you going to talk to Tom. Now I’m even more worried because of the way I saw you back in your car.”

“I shouldn’t have let him rattle me like that.” They heard the door at the front of the store and Anna gestured. “I need to get that. Maybe they’re here early for their cake.”

Beckett nodded and let her go, keeping his place by the back door. He rubbed his hands over his face and told himself to give her time. She was at work, it’s not like she could stop what she was doing so they could talk.

When Anna breezed back in, she nodded. “They’re here for the cake. Beckett?”

He nodded. “I can go.”

“No. Please. I’ll get this out there, and then yes, we can talk. I need to.”

She gave the cake another once over and adjusted one of the flowers before boxing it up and carrying it to the front. He listened to her chat with the customer, voice light and easy like she was perfectly fine.

When she returned to the kitchen, she didn’t hesitate. Just walked straight around the counter and wrapped her arms around his waist. “This is hard for me.”

“What is?”

“Opening up.”

He rested his cheek on her hair. “I know. You always like to handle things yourself.”

“But I understand where you’re coming from, too. If you were going to talk to your ex-fiancé, I’d be worried.”

He smiled. “I don’t have an ex-fiancé.”

“You know what I mean.”

He tipped her chin to give her a kiss. “Yes, I do.”

“And you were right about Tom.”

The words jolted him. He kept his voice even when he said, “Which part?”

“He, uh…” She dropped her chin to stare at her shoes a moment before looking back up. “He wants a second chance.”

Beckett’s hands slowly clenched into fists and he had to force himself to relax them, to rub her back and remind himself she was here. With him. She’d made her choice. “I thought that might be the case.”

“Even worse, he acted like what had happened wasn’t his fault. He–”

She broke off, squeezing her arms tight around him.

“I want to break his legs,” Beckett growled.

“Beckett,” Anna said, her voice coming out choked. She tipped her chin to look up at him. “He’s not a part of my life anymore.”

“He hurt you. And now he won’t leave you alone, even though you’ve made it clear that’s what you want. Someone needs to teach him a lesson. Asshole.”

“Not you.” She touched his cheek, her brown eyes earnest. “He’s already having to deal with the consequences of his actions. That’s enough, isn’t it?”

Beckett didn’t answer. No, it wasn’t enough. Not for him. And it made him wonder what else he’d said to Anna.

“I talked to him, and now I’m done,” Anna continued.

“Good. What about Catrina?”

Anna sighed, her gaze dropping. “I don’t know. I have no idea if she even knew about me and Tom when we were together. If not, I don’t want him to do the same thing to her. But I also don’t want to be in the middle of it. I–I don’t want to see Tom again.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But with the wedding–”

“No.” He shook his head. “If you don’t want to see him, we’ll find a way around it. You have to do what’s best for you.”

He lifted her chin back up so he could meet her eyes. “I’m serious, Anna. Take care of yourself. Don’t let Tom get to you.”

He kissed her, hoping to get her mind off Tom and Catrina and anything else that was bothering her.

“Thank you,” she murmured. “For being here.”

“I always will be.”

Chapter Nineteen

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 him 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 word.” 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 happily-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 happily-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 near 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.