A/N: I appreciate all your continued love and support! I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 14: An exercise in futility

Once Tom had left, there was an awkward silence that hung over everyone for several long moments. Kate didn't know where to look, and decided to focus on the beer in her hands as she fiddled with the label.

"Er… I'm sorry about that everyone," Edwina said quietly after a few seconds, looking uncomfortable as she glanced back toward the house. "Tom didn't mean it. He's… been really stressed with work lately. I think that's why he's in such a foul mood. Excuse me."

Without another word, she got up from her seat and followed him inside, leaving the others to simply watch her disappear through the door. Kate frowned after her, feeling upset that Edwina felt she needed to defend Tom for his childish behavior, but she chose to remain silent.

"…Well, that was awkward," Colin said after a beat, lifting his beer to his lips. Everyone chuckled awkwardly.

"I think that was probably a sign that we should end the game," Daphne said, picking up the deck of cards and slipping them back into the box.

"We don't have to end it," Anthony said, looking at his sister in concern. "That game was actually really fun, Daff. I wouldn't mind if we kept playing."

The others nodded and voiced their agreement with Anthony, and Daphne smiled at them all.

"Thanks everyone. Maybe we could play it again tomorrow night?" she suggested. "I know some of you wanted to play Uno earlier. Pen, do you still have the game with you?"

"Oh. Yeah, I do," Penelope said, and she got up from her seat. "One moment, I'll go grab it."

She walked inside, and Kate and Anthony met each others' eyes. Anthony was clearly still annoyed at Tom's behavior, and he grimaced at Kate, which made her smile humorlessly. Tom was undeniably a jerk for killing the vibe of the party – and for what exactly? That man was just being a massive piece of shit for no reason. For about the millionth time since this weekend started, Kate wished Tom would just disappear and never darken her doorstep again.

At that moment, Penelope reappeared with her box of Uno cards, and Kate decided to push thoughts of Tom aside so she could enjoy the rest of the evening with her friends.

~/~

Kate woke up bright and early the following morning, the first beautiful rays of sunshine piercing through the tree branches outside of her window. Her first thought was that this day was going to be better than yesterday – and the best way to ensure she had a good day was to start it with a good run.

After yawning and stretching out her limbs, Kate pulled herself out of bed and shuffled over to her open suitcase. She dug out a black racerback crop top, a sports bra, and her favorite gray camo-patterned leggings; she brought her workout clothes into the bathroom before going to her toiletries bag for a hair elastic. She brushed her long curly hair and pulled it into a high plait before changing into her workout clothes, thinking about all the forested areas around Aubrey Hall she wanted to explore during her jog.

Once she changed and slipped on her trainers, she grabbed her phone and wireless earbuds before making her way out of her room and downstairs toward the front doors. As she stepped outside onto the front porch, her eyes were on her phone as she scrolled through her Spotify playlists. She was just debating with herself on whether she should listen to music or a podcast before glancing up and stopping in her tracks.

Anthony was there.

She hadn't expected to see anyone awake yet at this early hour, and yet there was Anthony standing at the base of the front steps, clearly about to go for a run too. He obviously hadn't noticed Kate yet as he stood facing the west side of the house; he wore a gray t-shirt and black basketball shorts that fit his muscular body to perfection, and Kate watched as he leaned over to stretch out his hamstrings.

Kate stood on the front porch for several seconds, simply watching Anthony as he bent and stretched his toned legs, and she had to snap out of it with a small shake of her head. She blushed when she realized she was just ogling him, and she finally began making her way down the steps toward him.

"Anthony?"

Anthony didn't seem to hear her at first, and Kate realized he had his earbuds in. But after a moment he seemed to notice movement out of the corner of his eye, and he looked over.

"Oh. Kate," he said, blinking in surprise. He quickly straightened up and pulled his right earbud out of his ear. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. Are you going for a run too?"

"That's okay. And yeah, I am," she said, approaching him. She couldn't help but notice Anthony giving her a subtle onceover, taking in her skin-tight leggings and crop top, which showed off a sliver of her bare waist. This was probably the most revealing outfit she had ever worn in front of him, and for some reason the thought thrilled her more than embarrassed her.

"Er, brilliant," Anthony said after a moment, and he quickly cleared his throat. "I-I mean… that's great. I was gonna go for a run too. Did you want to join me?"

"Sure," Kate agreed. "I mean… yeah, I think it would probably be best if I ran with someone who knew this area better than me. This property is so big it would be easy to get lost around here."

"Eh, it's not so bad," Anthony shrugged, smiling at her. "The pathways are pretty well laid out. I can show you… if you can keep up, that is."

Kate raised an eyebrow at him, smirking challengingly. "Oh? You think I can't?"

"We'll see I guess," Anthony said loftily, crossing his arms, and Kate rolled her eyes in amusement. "What's your mile time?"

"Nine minutes," Kate said, a hint of pride in her voice. Okay, it was more like nine-and-a-half, but that was a minor detail.

"Impressive. I guess those long legs of yours are more than just for show," Anthony teased, and Kate let out a surprised gasp before giving him a playful shove.

"'Just for show'? Like those muscles of yours, you mean?" she asked, poking his bicep, which was impressively hard considering he wasn't even flexing.

"Now you're just being mean," Anthony grinned, rubbing the area where she poked him. "Shall we head over to the treeline? I can show you where the path starts and that's where we can start running."

"Sure," Kate agreed.

The two of them started walking together, and a comfortable silence stretched between them as they walked. "So have you spoken to your sister at all since last night?" Anthony asked after a moment.

Kate let out a small scoff. "No," she said. "After Tom's childish behavior last night, I think she was too embarrassed to show her face to anyone even though none of it was her fault."

"Of course it wasn't," Anthony insisted. "She has nothing to be sorry for, but I know that Daff was upset by how Tom essentially killed the party when he left. If he doesn't at least apologize to her today, I might have to have a word with him."

Kate couldn't help but smile at how sweet and protective Anthony could be as an older brother. "I'm sure Daphne doesn't care one way or the other about getting an apology from him. She's just as aware as you and I about how big of a douche Tom is."

Anthony chuckled. "Well, that's a relief."

They finally arrived at the treeline, and Anthony pointed where the path led, which was around most of the property before ending near the gardens. He said it was approximately five miles around, and Kate said that she was good with that distance – they stopped to stretch for a few minutes, and Kate could sense Anthony surreptitiously watching her as she went through her usual quad and hamstring stretches.

The two of them then slipped their earbuds in, turned on their music, and were off.

They managed to keep pace with each other as they ran, and Kate was thankful Anthony didn't run too fast. She couldn't tell if he was slowing down his usual pace for her sake, but she honestly didn't mind – she was enjoying running alongside him, taking in the beautiful trees and nature around her. About halfway through the run, they crested a sloping hill, and through the trees Kate could see Aubrey Hall in the distance, standing against the landscape like a gorgeous jewel in the English countryside.

I feel like I could stay in this place forever, Kate couldn't help but think, smiling to herself.

They continued jogging along the pathway for a couple more miles, making their way down the hill and around to the other side of the property where the flower gardens and greenhouses were. They were close to finishing up their run, and Kate was panting heavily, her lungs burning as she continued to push herself forward.

Anthony was breathing heavily too, but he had longer legs and was pushing himself to move even faster. She could see the end of the pathway ahead, near one of the flower beds, and she realized Anthony was trying to sprint to the finish line.

Kate sped up too, ignoring her burning lungs and exhausted limbs. The two of them were neck and neck, but at the last second Anthony pulled ahead and beat her to the end of the pathway by about half a step.

Dammit

They finally slowed their pace to a walk before stopping, panting for air. Kate had a stitch in her side from that last sprint, and she placed her hands on her hips as she tilted her face to the sky, sucking in deep breaths.

"That was fun," Anthony panted, leaning over and planting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. "You're… a good runner, Sharma."

"Not… as good as you… apparently," Kate panted back, letting out a breathless laugh.

They were silent for a few more minutes as they caught their breath, and thankfully the stitch in Kate's side had gone away. She gazed at the gardens around her, taking in the beautiful colors and lush greenery; Aubrey Hall was less than a quarter mile away, and Kate couldn't help but wonder if anyone else in the house was awake yet. The sun was now a bit higher in the sky, and the cool early morning air was starting to warm up.

Kate was looking over at the house and didn't notice anything in her periphery. However, after a moment, she realized Anthony had stopped panting.

"Kate."

Kate looked over at him, and noticed he was staring at her. Or rather, he was staring at a point on her shoulder.

"Everything okay?" Kate asked, frowning at him.

She might have been imagining it, but Anthony looked suddenly pale as he pointed at her shoulder, not saying a word.

Kate looked down and saw a small bee buzzing around her.

"Oh!" she gasped, instinctively backing away from the offending insect. She hated bees, and really didn't fancy getting stung today.

"Kate," Anthony said warningly. For some reason, he looked terrified as he stared at her with wide eyes, and he took a step toward her. "Stop moving."

"Well, I don't want it to sting me," Kate argued, still moving away from it. The stupid bee was still following her. "I think it smells my sweat…"

"Kate. Don't. Move," Anthony grit out through his teeth, his voice stiff.

Kate still ignored him as she continued to move away from the bee, but as soon as she was close enough, Anthony grasped her arm, forcing her to stop.

"Anthony!" Kate exclaimed, trying to pull away from him. "Let go!"

"Just stand still, dammit!" Anthony snapped.

There was a panic in his voice that Kate had never heard before, but she didn't think much of it as she tried to wrestle out of his grip and away from the bee. It only lasted for a few seconds, however, when she suddenly felt a hot stinging pain on her collarbone.

"OUCH!" Kate cried out, and she stopped. "It stung me!"

Anthony seemed to freeze, his grip on her arm tightening. "What?"

"That stupid bee," Kate ground out, feeling supremely annoyed as she looked down at the red welt near her collarbone. The dead bee was still sitting on her skin, and she finally yanked her arm out of Anthony's grasp to impatiently brush it away. "This is exactly what I was trying to avoid. Thanks a lot, Anthony."

Anthony didn't respond, but his breath was coming out in shorter bursts. It sounded different from how he was panting after their run, and Kate turned to look at him.

He looked paler up close, and he appeared to almost be shaking as he stared at Kate's bee sting with wide, terrified eyes. But it was almost like he wasn't looking at her: he was lost in the throes of whatever fear had suddenly gripped him.

It took a moment for Kate to realize he may have been having a panic attack.

"Anthony?" she said, turning around fully so she was facing him. "Anthony, are you alright?"

"Are you hurt?" he asked, his breath now coming in even shorter bursts. "Can… can you breathe?"

"I'm fine, I promise," she said reassuringly. "It was just a bee."

Anthony nodded, though he still seemed to be struggling to breathe, to a point where he looked close to passing out.

"It was just a bee, Anthony," Kate repeated soothingly, and without stopping to think about it, she took his hand and placed it on her heart. She then placed her other hand on his chest, over his pounding heartbeat, and continued to breathe deeply. "Breathe…"

That seemed to be helping, as Anthony began to replicate her deep breaths. They were standing quite close to each other now, and Kate realized that this was physically the closest she had ever been to Anthony, apart from that time she had kissed him on the cheek. She tried to push those thoughts out of her mind, but it was difficult as she felt his warm breath on her skin and his hand pressed against her chest.

Anthony's breath evened out after a few seconds, but his heart still pounded underneath Kate's fingers. She looked into his eyes, and she realized he was staring at her, their faces only centimeters apart. His expression reflected something she didn't quite recognize, but she couldn't seem to pull away as she continued to gaze at him.

Before Kate could realize what was happening, Anthony suddenly leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

The moment he did that seemed to last for an eternity as Kate stood there, shocked at what was happening. Anthony was actually kissing her, mere moments after nearly having a panic attack in front of her! Kate felt like her brain couldn't process anything. However, she acted on pure instinct when she suddenly kissed him back, moving her hands up to run through his hair and gripping his tresses tightly.

Anthony groaned against her, driven by unadulterated adrenaline as his kiss became more passionate, and Kate could only respond in kind. Anthony's hands slid down and wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against his body as he opened his mouth against hers. Their tongues tangled in a sensual dance, and Anthony lightly bit down on her lower lip, causing Kate to gasp in shock and desire.

Kate wanted nothing more than to continue getting lost in this passionate kiss, but reality hit her with sudden clarity. Oh God, they were straight up snogging in the middle of the garden! And Anthony nearly had a breakdown just a few moments ago – was he even aware of his actions? Surely this wasn't a good idea.

The next moment, Kate broke the kiss, pushing away from Anthony and practically stumbling several steps back.

The two of them stood there for several seconds, panting and staring at each other, eyes wide as if neither of them could believe what they had just done.

What does this mean?

Feeling a plethora of confusing emotions, Kate wordlessly turned and ran toward the house, not looking back.

A/N: Of course I had to have the bee sting scene in this story :)

I'm actually going on vacation soon, so it may be a little over a week before I update with a new chapter. Sorry to leave you all hanging here but it's difficult to plan for these things lol ️

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