Page 10 of Mine to Keep

Thankfully, Four never answered, but when I took my plate to the table and glanced at the man, he had a small smile on his face.

CHAPTER FIVE

Matt

I had two duffel bags,one on each shoulder, as I hiked my way to the third floor of my apartment building. Knowing that I was going to be limiting JJ’s care, I’d begun bringing stuff back whenever I’d had the chance, so all that was left were clothes and toiletries.

“Hey, Matt.” Nicole, one of my landlords, smiled from her door. “Sorry about the elevator. James called, and the repairman will be here tomorrow.”

James was her husband, and the two of them owned the building. They were pretty good landlords, but they tended to be nosy. The fact that they not only lived on my floor but across from me was annoying, but I knew it had something to do with them not wanting to move the first-floor tenants after they’d purchased the building.

“It was starting to sound shaky, so I’m glad it’ll be fixed. It’s only three floors—not too bad.”

She chuckled and walked over to me. “Nice to be in good shape, huh?”

I cocked my head. “I guess. I mean, physical therapists should practice what they preach, right?”

She jutted her chin at something behind me. “You get a lot of admirers.”

I looked over to my apartment and sure enough, a bouquet of yellow roses with red tips was in front of my door.

“You’ve gotten other packages the last month or so. I haven’t opened them, but I have them at my place. I’ll bring them to you.” She grinned. “It’s a unique color pairing, means that someone has a crush on you or maybe a new relationship.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, my mother was a florist for about forty years. I’ll be right back with those packages.”

“Thanks, I’ll just take these inside.”

I got myself in, put my bags on my bed, and went to get the flowers. I positioned them on my kitchen table, and noticed there was no card, which was weird. Maybe one of the things Nicole brought would have one.

At the knock on my door, I opened it. Nicole had two gift bags and three boxes.

“Wow. Why didn’t you tell me about these one of the weekends I was here?”

She stepped in and put the gifts next to my flowers. “James and I usually go up to the lake house on the weekends. James’s mother is in the hospital this weekend, so he felt better staying close.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.”

She patted my arm. “Thanks.”

“No card with the flowers?”

She furrowed her brow. “That’s odd, right?”

I nodded and peeked in the gift bags. “It is. Strange.”

“Well, I’ll leave you to it.” She waved and left, and I was surprised she hadn’t poked around more. Once she was gone, I locked up and started unwrapping.

The first gift bag was a candle. I opened it to sniff and was smiling at the scent of apple pie. My favorite. No card. The next bag had mini Almond Joys, my candy of choice…no card. Whoever was doing this knew a lot about me.

The first package did have a card but all it said was, “This will look amazing on you.” It was a pair of red silk boxers and a matching robe.

What the absolute fuck?

The next box had a book in it—and not just any book, it was all about Kama Sutra. Another card that said, “I’ve checked off what I’d like to try.” I swallowed and tossed the book into the box.

The third box was by far the most unsettling. It was filled with pictures of me over the course of the last few months. The card in that one said, “You’re an unmatchable art.” I stepped away from the table as if they’d burned me.

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