See Me (25 page)

Maria rolled her eyes as she slid the card out and read it. She blinked before reading it a second time, her brow beginning to crease.

“What is it?” Jill asked.

“I wonder if they attached the wrong card. This one doesn’t make sense.”

“What does it say?”

Maria held it open to show Jill. “It says,” she read, “
You will know how it feels.
”

Jill wrinkled her nose. “Is that a private joke or something?”

“No.”

“Then what is it supposed to mean?”

“I have no idea,” Maria answered, growing more puzzled by the minute.

Jill handed back the bouquet. “It’s a strange thing to write, don’t you think?”

“Definitely strange,” Maria conceded.

“Maybe you should call him and ask about what he meant.”

Maybe
, Maria thought. “He’s probably at the gym.”

“So what? I’ll bet he has his phone with him. Or you know what it could be? Maybe the florist made a mistake. He either attached the wrong card or wrote it down wrong.”

“I guess that’s possible,” Maria agreed, and though she tried to convince herself it was true, she wondered whether either of them really believed it.

 

 

After putting the roses in the vase from the first bouquet of flowers, Maria continued to examine the card until finally deciding,
Oh, what the hell?
Pulling her cell phone from her purse, she rang Colin.

“Hey there,” he said. “You’re not calling to cancel on me tonight, are you?” He was breathing hard, and in the background, Maria could hear music and the sound of people running on the treadmill.

“No. I’m looking forward to it. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Not at all. What’s up?”

“Just a quick question. I wanted to ask you about your message.”

“What message?”

“On the card that came with the roses today. The card said, ‘You will know how it feels,’ and I’m not sure what you meant by that.”

She could hear him breathing on the other end. “It wasn’t me. I didn’t send you roses today. Or a card.”

Maria felt a sudden prickle on the back of her neck.
You will know how it feels?
It was weird enough if Colin had written it, but if it wasn’t from him, that made the note…

Strange. Even creepy.
 

“What’s it supposed to mean?” Colin said into the silence.

“I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“And you don’t know who they came from?”

“There was no name on the card.”

Colin said nothing to that, and trying to hide her own feeling of unease, she changed the subject. “I know you’ve got to get back to your workout – and I should get back to work – but what time will you be coming by tonight?”

“How about six thirty? I was thinking that we head down to the Riverwalk and play it by ear. I’m kind of in the mood to move, not just sit. And we can grab a bite while we’re there.”

“Sounds perfect. I’ve been planted in my chair the last couple of days, and a walk is just what I need.”

As they hung up, she was picturing the way he looked in the gym… but then she caught sight of the roses again, as well as the card. The card with no name.

You will know how it feels.
 

She examined the card again, wondering if she’d be able to call the florist and find out who ordered them, only to realize that neither the envelope nor the card bore any markings whatsoever.

 

 

“You’re distracted,” Colin said as they walked hand in hand on the Riverwalk, the popular promenade along the Cape Fear River. Because it was midweek, the streets weren’t crowded, and though it was still warm, the northerly breeze hinted at the possibility of cooler temperatures in the weeks ahead. For the first time in months, she was glad she was wearing jeans.

She shook her head. “I’m just trying to figure out who would have sent me the roses.”

“Maybe you have a secret admirer.”

“Aside from you, I haven’t met anyone new lately. It’s not as though I go out much, either. I’m either visiting my parents, paddleboarding, or at my place.”

“Except when you’re at work.”

“No one at work would have sent them,” she responded, but even as she said the words, Ken’s image popped into her head. He wouldn’t do that, would he? “Besides, the message doesn’t really reflect someone’s attempt to make me feel special. It does just the opposite, in fact.”

“What about a client?”

“I guess it’s possible,” she conceded, but she had trouble believing it.

Colin squeezed her hand. “One way or the other, you’ll find out who he is.”

“You think it’s a he?”

“Don’t you?”

She nodded, absolutely sure of it, though there was no real indication. “The message… bothers me.”

She hoped that he’d say something to make her feel better. Instead, he took a few steps before glancing at her.

“It bothers me, too.”

 

 

Spending time with Colin somehow lessened her unease. Or at least it prevented her from dwelling on who might have sent the flowers and written the note. She didn’t have the faintest clue who it might be, other than Ken, and while there was much to dislike about the man, she couldn’t imagine him doing something like that.

As she and Colin walked, the conversation drifted from one topic to another. Eventually they stopped for ice cream cones, Colin surprising her by ordering one as well. They ate them as they stood at the railing that offered a view of the USS
North Carolina
, a battleship that had engaged in extensive action in World War II and had been formally retired, now docked on the other side of the Cape Fear River. She remembered touring it once on a field trip, recalling how cramped it was belowdecks, the claustrophobic feeling of the narrow corridors and tiny rooms. She wondered how sailors had managed to stay on board for months at a time without losing their minds.

They traversed the length of the Riverwalk while the setting sun slowly turned the river to gold, then leisurely browsed through whatever shops caught their interest. By the time the moon had begun to glow over the horizon, they finally stopped for dinner, and as she sat across the table from Colin, she found herself hoping that her parents would get to know this side of him, the one that made her feel comfortable and at ease. She wanted them to witness how happy she was when she was with him. On their way back to her condo, she invited Colin to brunch again, even if she wasn’t sure her parents were ready for another visit.

When they made love that night, it was slow and tender, a deliberate dance as he moved above her, whispering her name and how much she meant to him. She gave herself over to him completely, lost in the moment and lost in him. In the afterglow, she fell asleep with her head on his chest, lulled by the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. She woke up twice – once a little after midnight and the second time an hour before dawn – and in the stillness of those moments she stared at him, still amazed that they’d become a couple and more certain than ever that each of them was exactly what the other needed.

 

 

When she entered her office Wednesday morning, her first thought was that she needed to get rid of the card. She tore it into pieces and dropped them into the wastebasket, then pulled up to her office computer. Reviewing her messages, she checked whether any of her clients had mentioned sending the flowers, but found nothing.

Meanwhile, Barney was waiting for her in the conference room, and it wasn’t until nearly noon that she finally got back to her office. In her inbox she found yet another file that Barney had e-mailed, accompanied by a message suggesting she get a jump-start on it since he needed a summary by tomorrow. Which meant takeout lunch at her desk
again
. Glancing over at the roses, she realized she didn’t want them in her office. Grabbing the bouquet and her purse, she left the building, rounding the corner toward the garbage bins.

She heaved the bouquet into the Dumpster, and was starting toward her car when she had the sudden sense that someone was watching her. Spotting no one in her vicinity, she dismissed the feeling at first. But it grew stronger, and as she began fishing through her purse for her car keys, she glanced toward the building.

There, standing at his office window, was Ken.

She dropped her gaze toward her purse again, pretending she hadn’t noticed him. What was he doing and how long had he been standing there? For all she knew, there was someone else in his office and he was standing near the window with his back to them, but if he had been at the window when she’d walked out, he’d no doubt seen her throwing away the roses. And that wasn’t good. If he’d sent them, he was probably going to be angry; if he hadn’t, he might assume that she and Colin were on the outs. Either way, she worried that Ken just might feel the urge to drop by her office again for further discussions on whether she was really a
team player
.

Pulling open her car door, she was hit by a blast of heat from the sun-cooked interior, and as soon as she turned on the engine, she turned on the air conditioner. She decided to drive to the organic market, which had an amazing salad bar, and as she exited the parking lot, she checked her rearview mirror, assuming Ken would be gone.

But he hadn’t left the window. And though he was too far away for her to know for sure, she couldn’t escape the feeling that he’d been watching her all along.