Page 254 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

The roses are the same as the one given to me by Mr. J.

But it was just a coincidence, right?

Of course it was. But she walked to the next rose, anyway. When she looked at the plaque identifying the genre for that bookcase, she nearly choked. Mysteries.

Another rose stuck out from the bookshelf about halfway down the aisle. She approached carefully, glancing around before she stepped into the aisle. Was it possible...

The rose lay on top of a book with a note card sticking out of the top. Her heart leaped in her chest and she carefully pulled out the book. If it wasn’t for her, she’d just put it back in its place and walk away. No one would know she’d been there.

Her heart pounded at the sight of the cover. The book was about a ballet instructor who solved murders. Her hands shook as she pulled out the card. Written in beautiful calligraphy on expensive card stock, the words made her gasp:

Friday night was magical.

— Mr. J

Anna gasped and nearly dropped both the book and rose. The roses were for her! A smile crept across her face as she put the rose to her nose and inhaled deeply. After her terrible morning, she needed this romantic gesture from a stranger. Her... lover? She could trust him to be discreet, since he wanted to keep things quiet. Kurt hadn’t heard about it, so obviously Simon hadn’t called him. And whoever was following her for Kurt hadn’t discovered Mr. J.

She hugged the book to her chest, grinning, and picked up the other roses scattered about the room. The beautiful scent enveloped her senses as she wandered around, picking out other interesting-looking mysteries. Once she’d finished picking out her selections, she headed back to the staircase and picked up the rose at the top of the stairs. When she stood, she spotted another rose at the bottom of the staircase that led to the next floor up. She giggled and scooped up the flower, following a new trail of roses up to the fourth floor.

The trail led to the biography section and to a book about Anna Pavlova, which made her smile. No card was left in the book, but it didn’t matter. The trail was for her and Mr. J was speaking to her through the books. Her heart swelled to be understood like this. And by a stranger, no less.

A third trail of roses led to a book on the history of New York City, with lots of beautiful pictures. She searched around but didn’t see any more roses and sighed in relief. If he’d given her anything else, she might not make it home. As it was, her arms and heart were full.

She practically skipped down the stairs to the checkout counter and beamed as she scanned her books at the self-checkout machine. Humming happily to herself, she packed up the books in her backpack and made her way to the library’s foyer.

“Katrina.”

Anna jumped at the sound of her name and nearly dropped the roses in her hands and looked around. Simon stood along the wall, wearing a black button-up shirt and khaki pants, a smile on his face. “Simon!”

“I see you found the books Mr. J wanted you to find.”

“Oh, Simon! It was—‍” She sighed, happiness filling her heart. “It was just what I needed today. Please tell Mr. J I said thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

He took her heavy backpack from her shoulder. “Bad day?”

“You could say that.”

“Mr. J will be very pleased to know he made you smile.”

“This was . . . wonderful.”

“Can I offer you a ride home?”

Anna opened her mouth to accept, but remembered Kurt’s anger from the morning. “I-I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Katrina, I just want to take you home. Nothing else.”

Anna shook her head. “My fiancé wouldn’t like it. I’ll just take a taxi.”

Simon frowned but didn’t protest. He walked with her to the doors, but she stopped before going outside and reached for her backpack. “Please, just let me go by myself. I don’t want to anger him further.”

“He was angry with you? For what?” He reluctantly handed her the heavy bag.

“Very angry. I’ve never seen him like that.” She blinked away tears. “I was... indiscreet last night, and he flew all the way from Germany to yell at me to make sure I don’t do it again.”

He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I’m sorry to hear that. I assure you I didn’t call him.”

“I believe you.” She sighed. “Lesson learned. Freedom gone.”

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