Anne & Henry by Dawn Ius

Author:Dawn Ius
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon Pulse

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Henry

The glass-covered rooftop patio of the London Tower restaurant boasts the best view of Medina. Below, the town is a sprawling kingdom of forest, water, and beach. Houses, even the Tudor mansion, resemble pushpins on a map, fading into the maze of streams, trees, and back roads.

But it’s not at all the view I’m checking out.

A strand of hair sticks to Anne’s lips. Lips I haven’t been able to take my eyes off since the waiter seated us. The way they move when she talks, smiles, laughs—Christ, it’s the worst when she laughs.

She tucks her hair behind her ear, tilts her head, and sighs. “It’s beautiful here.”

I’m speechless.

People often mistake the restaurant for a castle, wedged into the side of a mountain at the end of a narrow tree-lined road. White Christmas lights hang from the branches all year long, giving the impression you’re at the entrance of the Enchanted Forest. It’s the perfect place to take Anne tonight—exclusive, expensive, and private, with an emphasis on private. I can’t get enough of being alone with her.

Our table is tucked in the corner, surrounded by so many flowers, the smell is cloying. Flickering flames from the tabletop candles alternate shadow and light across her face, and I’m at once both anxious and thrilled. Anne is the unknown, my Cracker Jack box surprise.

I raise my water in a toast. “To beginnings.”

Our glasses clink. Her eyes meet mine.

The waiter sets our plates on the table. The scent of onions and red wine melds with the smell of braised chicken wafting from Anne’s dish, something I can’t pronounce, French maybe.

“The moon looks huge from up here,” she murmurs.

“I’ve always had a fascination with space,” I say.

“Me too. When I was little, I wanted to be an astronaut.” I sense her embarrassment and she shrugs. “I saw this movie about space camp, and that was it for me.”

It’s rare for her to open up. I lean in close. “And then?”

Anne sighs. “I realized how much science I’d need to learn—not my best subject. By the time I hit middle school, I’d flipped through a dozen or more career options. English teacher. Dancer.” She cuts into her chicken, takes a bite.

My eyes follow her lips again as she chews, swallows, moans. I was wrong before. It’s the worst when she moans.

“I also wanted to be a chef,” she says, and her eyes go all dreamy. “To be able to cook like this . . .”

My wild boar looks bland and pale in comparison to Anne’s dish, and my stomach is too twisted for food. I force down a forkful anyway. “What stopped you?”

Her expression darkens and she looks away. “I worked at a fast food joint for a few weeks.” Anne pushes her food to the opposite side of the plate and holds the fork there, thinking. She glances up at me, expression heavy. “After my dad left, things got tough.”

I get it. But while Anne has seemed hesitant about life with her new stepdad, I kind of wish my mom would just chill out and meet someone else, get remarried even.

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