Breathless

Chapter 25: The Mystery - April 3

"So... Your secret admirer gave you six hundred red roses?" Stephanie responded in astonishment to Ruby's story.

"Yep. They were all taking a ride in my swing."

"Do you think that's significant? That they were in your swing?"

"What?" Ruby's eyes flew wide open at such a unique thought.

She hadn't considered that. But who knew that swing was special to her? No one. Obviously, not even her husband had known. Or he was just excessively cruel.

"You're sure you have absolutely no idea who your secret admirer could be?"

Ruby shrugged. "There's no one. I've never dated anyone but Owen. I had no friends until a couple of days ago."

"You're seeing Blaze now, aren't you? Could he be your secret admirer?"

"What? Blaze? No. I started receiving the roses a week before I ran into him at the café. It was pure coincidence."

"I have discovered that there are very few coincidences in life," Stephanie opined. "Maybe none at all." After a moment, she asked, "Do you have the poems handy?"

"Actually, I do. I took a picture of each one."

"Can I see them? In the order you received them."

Ruby opened the first picture on her phone before handing it to her friend.

Stephanie read through the first two stanzas of the first poem.

"'Good morning, beautiful rose.

Lift your lovely face to the kind sun;

Tell it all your wicked woes.

Every single, heartbroken one.

"'You're too captivating to drown in pain.

Don't be anticipating more heartache.

Don't wallow in any sorrow or strain.

Run free, my dear, flee from your old heartbreak.'

"So, he calls you a rose. A beautiful rose," she smiled at Ruby. "You are one blessed lady now, aren't you? Let's see...he alluded to woes, a broken heart, pain, heartache. Your old heartbreak. Obviously, he knew about your divorce.

She glanced up at Ruby. "Who knew about your divorce?"

Ruby shrugged. "No one who would care."

"Did Blaze know?"

Ruby's eyes careened into hers. "Yes, actually, he did. Owen visited The Picnic Basket a couple of days after he asked me for a divorce."

"Oh?"

"With his girlfriend. Apparently, Blaze overheard them discussing it."

"Hmm, now that is interesting."

"Why?"

"Because Blaze has known for two years that you got divorced. And now he's admitted he loves you, hasn't he? He's been pining for you all these years. Perhaps he's been making elaborate plans to woo you since he discovered you were getting divorced."

"But if that's true, then why didn't he ask me out sooner?"

"Well, he must have known you were heartbroken. He was giving you space and time to heal."

"Which never happened. Not until the roses began to appear," Ruby mumbled to herself.

"Indeed." One elegant dark eyebrow ascended Stephanie's forehead. Then she turned her attention back to the poem.