Chapter Four
Monday morning came too soon. After a relaxing weekend of having breakfast at our favorite log cabin diner and catching up on laundry and afternoons at the park with my little girl, I wasn’t ready for the reality of the work week.
I dropped Juliet off at the preschool that seconded as a daycare in the afternoon and hurried to work only fifteen minutes behind schedule. Unfortunately, there was zero traffic on Main Street so I had no excuse for my boss other than apologizing for the kind of human I was. Which was a late human. Always late.
I blamed Juliet. Before she was born, I acutely remembered being on time everywhere I needed to go.
Knowing I would be late, but that Maggie was full of grace and mercy as long as there was a hazelnut latte involved in my apology, I grabbed a couple at the local coffee shop and then headed seventeen minutes out of town and up the mountain to a secluded little cabin resort called Maggie’s on the Mountain.
The resort was a collection of adorable one and two bedroom cottages that were dated but charming. We boasted a getaway that actually got you away. Away from the city and work and even cell service.
Everyone loved us on days one and two. Not so much by the end of the week. By then, the seclusion always settled in for our guests. Thankfully, we also offered free Wi-Fi to alleviate the separation anxiety from their useless smart phones.
Maggie had hired me when we first moved here. I’d pulled into town four months pregnant with a fresh social security card, zero credit history and a constant flow of tears. I had been a mess.
Maggie took me in, offered to pay me in cash and didn’t ask questions. Later I’d figured out that she’d assumed I had fled an abusive boyfriend.
I never corrected her.
Hurrying into the office I found her at her usual spot, leaning over the front desk, glasses perched on the end of her nose, long gray hair pulled back in a low, loose bun. I plopped the latte in front of her and put on my best smile.
“Call off the searches,” she deadpanned to no one. “She’s not dead after all.”
“Aw, Mags. Were you worried about me?”
She looked up at me with the best poker face I had ever seen. “Worried? No. Annoyed? Yes. Worst case scenario though, if you go missing out on the mountain it might drum me up some business.”
We were booked almost solid through March. Like this woman needed more business.
She had too much business for her meager staff as it was.
Resisting the urge to smile, I nudged her latte toward her. “If it makes you feel any better, I really am sorry. I’ve been working on this excuse that involves a bear, an orphan and a basket of puppies. Do you want to hear it?”
She reached for her coffee and tentatively took a sip. We were headed in the right direction. A full gulp meant total forgiveness. “Let me guess,” she drawled. “The orphan was selling the puppies on the side of the road when the bear came barreling out of the woods?”
“Wrong. The orphan was selling the bear when the puppies came barreling out of the woods. Don’t worry, I saved the day. Crisis averted.”
Her lips twitched but she restrained her smile. “You’re here now, so you might as well get to work.”
I sighed. “Might as well.”
She shoved the daily list at me. Maggie was all about lists. To do lists. To buy lists. To see lists. If it existed in the physical world, Maggie had a list for it.
When I first started here, I’d been a kind of jack of all trades. Mostly I had worked in housekeeping. After I fixed a hot tub in one of the guest cottages, she added me to the maintenance staff. When I decided to go to college in Breckenridge and get my hospitality management degree, she moved me to the office. Now I was her second in command. She relied on me to run things during the week. In return for loyalty and good management, she let me have evenings and weekends off to spend with Juliet.
“The Gillett’s decided to stay another week? I thought they hated it here.”
Maggie took a long pull of her coffee. “It seems they’ve had a breakthrough. Their therapist suggested more time away from the city to fully explore the healing process.”
I rolled my eyes. “Who goes on a romantic getaway with their therapist?”
Maggie snorted. “Someone who just got caught cheating with his secretary. But if you ask me the only one getting anything out of this weekend is the shrink.”
“Good for him for suggesting they stay another week. Might as well take advantage of the perks.”
She lifted her gaze to meet mine. “You don’t think he’s a crook? Taking advantage of poor Mrs. Gillett and her scumbag husband?”
“I think he agrees with us that her husband is a scumbag.” I examined Maggie’s question one more time. “But I don’t know that he’s a crook. He’s just… taking advantage of an opportunity.”
“I guess that’s one way to put it,” Maggie mumbled, clearly not agreeing with me.
The edges of the daily list crinkled in my hands as I held the paper too tightly. I wanted to backpedal. I wanted to change my opinion. Of course the therapist was robbing them. Of course that wasn’t okay.
But I couldn’t. The words had been spoken. And I was too paranoid about suspicious behavior to explain my sometimes wish-washy moral compass.
Instead, I stared hard at the list and tried to stop the words from blurring. Thankfully, Maggie changed the subject.
“Oh, you got a package on Saturday,” she said. “It’s in the office.”
“That’s strange. Do you know who it’s from?”
She shook her head. “Didn’t pay attention. The FedEx guy dropped it off with the rest. Just happened to notice your name on the label right before I opened it.”
“Okay, I’ll check it out. It’s probably address labels or socks or something.” She raised a curious eyebrow. “I can’t think of anything else I would have ordered and then forgotten about.”
“Maybe you didn’t order anything. Maybe it’s from someone else.”
I snorted, brushing her off. “Not likely.”
“From your parents?” she pressed. “A long-lost uncle? Old boyfriend?”
Plopping my chin into my hand, I leaned over the counter and grinned at her. “Fishing are we?” It wasn’t like Maggie to pry into my personal life. We had a very strict you stay out of my business, I’ll stay out of yours silent agreement. When it came to skeletons in the closet, I was an amateur compared to this woman.
Okay, maybe she wasn’t wanted by one of the scariest Russian mob syndicates on the East Coast, but she had her fair share of secrets.
She waved her hand through the air. “Just curious. You never take vacation. I’ve only ever seen you with that roommate of yours. I know you and still like you. Surely there are other people out there that also know you and still like you.”
I swallowed down the truth until it hit stomach acid and burned up in the churning of my nerves. “There are plenty of people out there that know me and still like me, but to be honest I’ve always been a loner. I don’t have a lot of friends back home.”
“Family?”
I rolled my eyes, but gave her some truth. “Just my dad. He’s not really the package sending kind of guy.”
“What happened to your mom?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” I told her, fully honest this time. “She took off after I was born. My dad met her at a strip club. She was his favorite dancer. Dad said she liked the idea of playing house, settling down. But after I was born, she realized real fast that the mom life was not for her.”
Maggie’s jaw turned to steel. “I will never understand women like that. Being a mom isn’t a choice. You got a kid, you’re a mom. End of story.”
I smiled and it was genuine and a little sad and filled with memories of my choices. “I feel the exact same way. As soon as I found out I was pregnant with Jules, life changed for me. Every decision I made after that was for her. I was done thinking about me.”
Maggie winked at me. “That’s because you’re one of the good ones. Despite your mom being a piece of shit.”
My hand fluttered to my heart, full of faux indignation. “Magdalen Marie! How dare you talk about my mother that way!”
She grinned at me. “Oh, like you haven’t thought that.”
Once or twice, but I couldn’t reward Maggie’s bad behavior. “All right, sassy pants, go away now so I can get some work done.”
She pushed to standing and headed toward the office with the morning newspaper in one hand and the coffee I brought for her in the other. “Don’t forget about your package.”
I had already forgotten about it. “Oh, right. I’ll investigate it during my lunch break.”
“You’re not the least bit curious right now?”
“Not when I’m forty-five minutes behind on this list and the McGregors are having issues with their sink!”
“Atta girl.”
We parted ways for the morning. I would see her around lunchtime when I took over her office to have a few minutes of peace and eat my ham sandwich. That’s when I would deal with the mystery package.
I truly was curious. All morning as I hopped from job to job and checked in new guests and highlighted little maps of the property so they could find their cottage, I wracked my brain trying to remember what I ordered and forgot about.
But I couldn’t come up with anything. I had decided halfway through my coffee that I would find time to sneak in the office and find out what it was, but then there wasn’t time. Too many people needed my help or advice or credit card swiping skills.
By eleven, I was hungry and the insides of my fingers were stained yellow from the highlighter I had been using.
The office door jingled and I pasted on my professional smile, expecting the Garcias. Instead one of the most gorgeous men I’d ever seen in real life walked through the door. My shoulders slumped and my throat dried out as I watched him. The morning light followed him inside, highlighting his tall frame, casting him in a soft gold halo. He tossed his head to the side in an effort to make his golden-brown waves stay out of his eyes. And his smile was bright—megawatt. He was all classic good looks and genuine smiles and no criminal record.
And he was here for me.
“Morning, Caroline,” he murmured as he approached the counter. “You’re looking lovely as ever.”
Glancing down at my simple outfit of skinny jeans and a boho black tunic, I could only smile at the compliment. My long dark hair was braided over my shoulder and I was wearing minimal makeup today. I had been going for nondescript.
Not lovely.
“You’re sweet, Jesse,” I told him. His confident smile faltered. I bit my bottom lip to hide that I noticed. Jesse Hasting had been born and bred in the Colorado Rockies and had the body to prove it. His family owned a ranch not far from Frisco and he’d spent his formative years roping cows and riding horses and whatever else it was they did on ranches. Now as an adult, he owned his own property adjacent to his parent’s gigantic estate with the intention to someday take over the entire operation.
Town gossip had it that his old man didn’t plan on handing over the reins until Jesse settled down. Jesse was in his late twenties, looked like he’d been carved from the mountain itself and had a small fortune of his own. It didn’t take a genius to see that he wasn’t planning on getting married anytime soon. But the man did love to date. And recently he’d decided that he should date me. “How are you this morning?”
“I’m good.” He leaned on the counter, bringing us closer together than I was ready for. “How are you this morning?”
My lips twitched with a reluctant smile. “I’m good too.”
“Busy morning on the mountain?”
This man was trouble. Not just because he looked like sin and a good time, but because he was genuinely nice. His big brown eyes were nothing but sincere and open, and right next to that fun-loving smile was a deep, adorable dimple.
Thankful for something neutral to talk about, I latched on to a conversation of facts. “We are busy this morning. The holiday rush started early this year.”
“I’ve noticed. I think it has something to do with all the Halloween activities in Summit County. We’re losing our off season.”
I wrinkled my nose. I had felt the same thing. “It’s good for the economy, right?”
He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Sure. Let’s go with that.”
We shared a conspiratorial look. His family made money by means of their own, but most of the natives in this part of Colorado relied on out-of-towners. November through March was considered the busy season, but summer wasn’t much different anymore. We used to get a small break in April and May and September and October, but lately we seemed to be packed year-round.
I traced a trail on the map in front of me with the closed highlighter. “What’s up? Do you need to speak to Maggie?”
He leaned in closer. “I actually came to see you.”
“Oh, really?”
His smile turned irresistibly bashful. “Really.”
“Are you wanting to rent a cottage for the weekend? Or the clubhouse? Perhaps an afternoon in a hot tub?”
I felt his low rumble of a laugh in my belly, sending unfamiliar tingles buzzing through me. “You rent out your hot tubs for just the afternoon? I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
Keeping a straight face, I said, “I mean, we don’t give everyone the afternoon special. Just, you know, those unique guests that are willing to pay by the hour.”
His laughter died and the way his eyes widened was maybe one of my favorite things ever. “No way.”
I loosed a smile and finally shook my head. “I’m totally kidding. Although let’s put a pin in that. It’s not a terrible idea.”
He laughed again and flicked the highlighter in my hand. “It’s most certainly a terrible idea. But please let me be there when you run it by Maggie.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
We shared another smile and the light in his eyes turned serious. Jesse Hasting was a catch. Every single girl that lived in Summit County and most of the tourists that passed through took one look at this guy and started ovulating. I wasn’t any different.
Okay, I was a lot different.
And my ovaries didn’t really ovulate on command anyway.
But I was still crazy for dreading the question I could see formulating in the depths of his rich, chocolate eyes.
Jesse cleared his throat and started rubbing the back of his neck that had very suddenly turned bright red. “There’s this band that’s going to be in town tomorrow night. I went to college with the lead singer and they’re pretty good. They’re playing down on Main Street at Foote’s Rest. The weather is supposed to be really nice and it should be a fun time. And I’m wondering if you’d like to go with me?”
“Jesse Hasting are you nervous?” I tried to repress my smile, but I wasn’t totally successful.
“You’re making me nervous, Caroline Baker.”
I flinched, barely, at the sound of my fake last name. “I’ve watched you walk up to complete strangers and ask them out,” I accused. “One time I saw you pull a girl off her seat and start dancing with her at Foote’s without even asking her. You just assumed she’d want to dance with you—it didn’t help much that you were right!”
The high planes of his cheeks darkened with embarrassment. “Well, those women aren’t you, Caroline. You’re a hell of a lot more intimidating than random women at a bar halfway through a bottle of Grey Goose.”
His comment made me laugh. “And why is that?”
Jesse cleared his throat. “Because you’re going to say no.”
“Well, if you knew I was going to say no, why did you ask me?”
Some of his confidence returned, kicking his lips up into a cocky smile. “Because I figure it’s worth the shot. And maybe you said no the first couple times because of Juliet. But maybe if you keep getting to know me, eventually you won’t say no. And if you keep getting to know me, and I keep asking you, then eventually you’ll say yes.”
I tried really hard not to be flattered. I mean, I really gave it my all. But it was impossible not to feel special after a man like Jesse Hasting put so much effort in trying to date me.
Over the years, Jesse had asked me out a couple times very nonchalantly, and when I’d turned him down he hadn’t acted like he cared all that much. But last summer something changed in him. Instead of the casual, offhand invitations to dinner, he had started to actually pursue me. He stopped by my work, he bought me little things like coffee or an ice cream cone if he saw me in town, he went to events that he knew I was going to be at. And he knew Juliet.
Maybe he didn’t know everything about her. But he knew I had a daughter. And he knew I was raising her on my own. And that didn’t seem to deter him.
Also, the two of them were thick as thieves. Which I found particularly troubling. Because I didn’t mind their friendship. Or the way he could make her laugh. Or the way he seemed to genuinely care about her.
It was hard to say no to him. He didn’t realize how hard.
And not just because he was this standup guy that was also super-hot and responsible and nice. I mean, they just didn’t make guys like Jesse anymore.
But to be honest, the hardest reason to say no to all his attention was basically because I was in desperate need of a good lay. Let’s be real, the last time I had a night worth bragging about was the night Juliet was conceived. And while I was in no hurry to repeat that particular ordeal, it had been a long, very long, super long dry spell.
It was on the tip of my tongue to say yes to this man. A night out of the house surrounded by other grown-ups, good beer and decent music sounded awesome. A night hanging out with this particular grown-up sounded even better.
But I couldn’t do it.
I had Juliet to think about.
And my fragile existence in this town was built like a house of cards.
I didn’t have time to date. Especially not men like Jesse Hasting.
“Maybe someday, far down the road, in the very, very distant future, every one of my answers might not be no,” I told him with a gentle expression. “But today it still has to be. I’m so sorry.”
Undeterred by my negative answer, he tilted so that all his body rested on one forearm. “You’re not into good music?”
“No, I am.”
“Then it must be the venue?
“I love Foote’s.”
“Then it’s the company.”
“It’s not!” My hand landed on his closed fist and I squeezed. I hated the disappointment in his voice. I hated even more that I was the one that put it there. “Jesse, I know this sounds cliché, but I’m just not in a position to date anyone. I wish that I was, because I would be so into it. Into you. But seriously, my life is all about Juliet right now. I just… not that this would necessarily happen with you or whatever… but I just don’t want men going in and out of her life depending on who her mom’s dating. I don’t want to give her a crazy childhood. Or at least I don’t want her to know how bad things are. And she likes you. I want her to keep liking you. Does that make sense?”
Instead of agreeing with me or fleeing in the opposite direction like he should have, he opened his fist and turned it so that we could press our hands together. “Are things bad, Caroline?”
My blurted confession hovered heavily in the air over our heads, like a thundercloud pregnant with rain, ready to burst. “Things are fine. I didn’t mean it like that.”
His gaze held mine captive. “Do you need help?”
I cleared my throat and simultaneously pushed away the pride that screamed no, and the girl inside me that wanted to crumble on the floor and start weeping while saying YES. YES, PLEASE. YES. It was hard being a single mother. I mean, whatever happened in my past was a whole different struggle.
Taking care of one tiny human was a lot of work. And even with Francesca’s help, there was still so much to do for Juliet. “I just meant, like, in the sense that I’m a single mom and I can’t seem to get to anything on time. In the sense that Juliet is growing up so fast in some ways and not fast enough in others, and I’m trying to balance her and work and health insurance and dentist appointments and trying not to drown. You’re a good guy, Jesse. You deserve a girl that can give you her full attention. With me, you’d always be third.”
His head tilted to the side. “Third?”
“Behind Francesca,” I explained. “We’re basically a Spice Girls song.”
That didn’t clear things up for him. “Spice Girls?”
I smiled and this time it was real and not forced, genuine and not covering other emotions that I was too chicken shit to share with him. “Friendship was super important to them.”
His shoulders shook with laughter. “Obviously I invited you to the wrong concert.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”
“No, I need a lot more than that,” he admitted. “My ego’s taken a serious blow over the last couple months.”
I patted his hand and then pulled back. There was no reason for us to keep holding hands. “Aw, poor baby. Like I said, the offer for by-the-hour hot tub services are open any time. We’ll call it the friends and family discount.”
His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You’re offering your services?”
My face heated with embarrassment. “Oh, not, er, not mine. We’d call in a professional for that.”
We realized what I’d said at the same time and both burst into more laughter.
“What’s going on out here?” Maggie asked from the doorway. “It sounds like a party.”
Finally! My rescue. What had she been doing back there?
Eavesdropping probably.
“Oh, hi there, Jesse.” Maggie pretended to be surprised. “What brings you up here?”
His cheeks reddened again. “Oh, nothing. I was just in the area. Thought I would say hi to Caroline.”
“That was sweet of you.” She turned to me, her eyes casting laser beams of accusation at me. “Wasn’t that so nice of him, Caroline? He’s such a thoughtful man.” She turned back to Jesse, making all of this ridiculously awkward. “You’re a thoughtful man, Jesse. We could use some more of you in this day and age.”
“Well, uh, thank you, ma’am,” he mumbled, taking a step to the side. Away from Maggie.
She continued to smile at him and bat her eyelashes. “You’re welcome.” She dropped a perfectly square brown cardboard cube in front of me. “Thought I’d bring this out to you, Caroline, since you’re so determined to ignore it.”
My polite expression strained as I wrestled my hands to the side to keep from snatching it out of sight. I wanted to knock it off the counter and kick it across the room. I had no idea where it came from or whose name was on the return address. I didn’t want to know.
The funny feelings from last week returned with a biting edge, coiling in my stomach, a snake ready to strike.
My smile wobbled, but I managed to say, “Oh, thanks. I was just coming to grab it when Jesse stopped by.”
“Mmm-hmmm.”
I ignored Maggie and turned to Jesse. “I got a package.” It was such a dumb thing to say, but the curious look on his face prompted me to explain.
Only now he didn’t know how to respond. “Cool,” he said.
I wanted to bang my head on the counter. Or grab the package, race out the front door and chuck it off the mountain.
It was in moments like these that I questioned Jesse’s sanity. Had he really just asked me out? The most awkward human on the planet?
“Who’s it from?” Maggie pressed.
Stealing courage from some deep, buried place inside me, I glanced at the label. There wasn’t a name attached to it, just an address from somewhere in Ohio—a state that meant absolutely nothing to me.
No offense, Ohio.
“I don’t know.”
“Well, aren’t you going to open it?” Maggie pressed, clearly obsessed with the whole ordeal.
Reaching for scissors from the pen canister, I sliced the seam with shaky fingers. This was one of the most surreal moments of my life. Who knew what was in this box?
Secrets from my past?
A bomb?
A severed head?
Okay, the severed head probability was a bit of a stretch. But a mysterious package showing up out of the blue just screamed trouble.
“Good Lord, darlin’, the suspense is killing me,” Maggie groaned.
I glanced at Jesse nervously, before committing to my future. Normal people weren’t afraid of mysterious packages. Well-adjusted, nightmare-free people just opened them, excited to find out what was inside.
Reminding myself that I was a normal person or at least supposed to be pretending to be one, I peeled back the flaps and braved a look.
Was I relieved? It wasn’t a head.
It was worse.
Dread curdled with terror followed by a painful shot of panic.
The box was nearly empty save for a single flower that had been beaten and battered in transportation. Petals and pollen littered the box, staining it their crimson color. I felt my own color leech from my face, my hands trembling as I picked up the note taped to the bottom.
“What is it?” Maggie asked, her voice laced with concern.
I cleared my throat and licked dry lips. “A Waterlily Dahlia. It’s my favorite flower.”
Maggie moved to stand next to me, sensing danger. “Who’s it from?”
Turning the note over, I had to blink a couple times before the words written there made sense. I kept the note close so she couldn’t see the quickly scrawled words.
Found this for You
“It doesn’t say.” I shoved the note into my pocket and tried to remember what the handwriting on the first flyer looked like. Was it the same?
Similar?
Jesse leaned forward and tipped the box toward him with his long pointer finger. The flower fell with the movement, thudding against the box. “Hmm. That was a goofy way to send it.”
“They should have had it delivered,” Maggie agreed. “It’s ruined after shipping.”
“It’s pretty though. What did you say it’s called?” Jesse asked.
My lips were numb when I said, “Waterlily Dahlia.” The words conjured up all kinds of unbidden memories from my past.
A bouquet of Waterlily Dahlias on a mahogany table not meant for me.
A tall, lanky kid reaching for them, spilling a few droplets of water on the expensive finish. “For you.”
“It doesn’t count if you steal them,” I told him, unable to resist a smile and the way butterflies assaulted my belly.
His low laugh chased me through the spacious room. “I beg to differ,” he argued. “Danger, uncertainty, potential time in the slammer. These flowers were won at a price. Anybody can buy flowers from a store. They practically give them away. But how many guys have scaled two stories, rewired an alarm system and risked his life just to get you flowers?”
I rolled my eyes, hating the way my cheeks blushed. At the same time, I couldn’t help but love the attention from Sayer. “It just happened to me last week. Twice actually.”
He closed the distance between us, handing me a single stem he’d plucked from the crystal vase. “Liar.”
“Thief.”
His lips pressed against mine in the next second—hungry, greedy, possessive. I had to stretch up on my tiptoes to reach him. His arms wound around my waist and held me against him. My heart slammed into my rib cage, jumping with anticipation and excitement and too many feelings for this boy.
He pulled back to whisper in my ear, “Take the flower, Caro.”
I nodded, letting him close my fist around it. Holding it out under the moonlight from the floor to ceiling windows, I wondered at its beauty. “What kind of flower is it?”
Sayer shook his head. “It’s yours. That’s what kind it is.”
Tearing my gaze away from the blossom to Sayer’s blazing blue eyes, I felt myself fall deeper in love with him. Was that even possible? He already had all of my heart. What was I giving him now? My soul? My life essence?
The next week a bouquet of those same flowers showed up on my doorstep. The note said, Waterlily Dahlias. It took me a week to track them down. But, Six, I would have searched for them for the rest of my life for you.
The box containing this flower wasn’t from Sayer. I would have recognized his handwriting. And he wouldn’t have sent me crimson.
He would have sent white.
And never like this.
Who else was looking for me?
“I don’t know who it’s from,” I told Jesse and Maggie honestly. “The whole thing is weird.”
“Are you okay?” Jesse asked, getting that I wasn’t acting okay.
I sucked in a deep breath and willed my frantic nerves to still. Then I met his eyes. It was always important to meet someone’s eye when you wanted to lie to them. Most people with a secret couldn’t handle the shame. Most people wanted to duck their head or focus on something else when they had to stretch the truth. But if you could meet their eyes when you lied to them, they hardly ever suspected that what you were saying was anything but the fact.
“I’m fine,” I told him confidently, not flinching, not turning away. “It just surprised me.” Adding a smile, I closed the box and turned around to toss the entire thing in the trash can. The box was awkward for the small receptacle, but I didn’t really want to throw it away. I wanted to save it for later so I could examine it in private. “Anyway, I should get back to work. Our next should be here any second.”
Jesse took the hint graciously. Tipping his head to me, he continued to hold my gaze. “If you change your mind about tomorrow night, you’ll let me know?”
I refused to let my smile crack. “You’ll be the first.” And then I winked at him. Because why the hell not.
“Bye, Mags.”
“Bye, darlin’.”
The bells on the door jingled on his way out. Maggie and I silently watched him climb into his King Kong of a truck and reverse down the driveway.
When nothing was left of him but the kicked-up dust from his double row of rear tires, Maggie turned her scowl on me. “You going to explain that flower to me now that he’s gone?”
I pulled paperwork in front of me and focused on that. “Maggie, there’s nothing to explain. You know just as much as I do.”
“Mm-hmmm.”
I dropped my pen and lifted my wide-eyed gaze. “In other, more exciting news, Jesse asked me out again!”
Her lips twitched with another repressed smile. This woman never smiled unless she absolutely had to. It was maddening. “I’m assuming you turned him down again.”
A surprise laugh bubbled out of me. “Well… Juliet. Of course I turned him down.”
“Atta girl. It’s better to play hard to get with a catch like Jesse Hasting. That way when you finally say yes, he’ll already be halfway in love with you.”
“That’s not what I’m doing!” I called to her back since she’d already headed out the door to do the devil only knew what.
“I believe you!” she called back, sounding not at all like she believed me.
I huffed at the paperwork in front of me. The threatening note still burned in my pocket. Found You. But who had found me?
And why?