“What?”
“He kept a vault there at a private security company. Dublin has a few sites that offer these services. I’m not sure which one was his… Let me look into it. Andrew told me that Courtney has been after him about an alternative way to get into a secure vault. That must be the one. She has the paperwork that proves she inherited it, but she doesn’t have the four-digit code necessary to access it. I’ll call Mam and ask her if she knows about the visit. Hopefully, I’ll turn up something that will help unravel his message. Why couldn’t he spell things out?”
They spoke for a few more minutes, and Cara was glad that by the time they hung up Declan sounded hopeful.
Not long after that, Wes emerged from his room and poured the rest of the coffee into his Picard mug, taking it to the table. He glanced through the deck door at the trees twisting in the wind.
“We might lose power.” He pulled his headphones on. “A lot of old trees in this area, and that wind is supposed to get worse. I need to get as much done as I can. Might want to charge your phone.”
Cara got the message that he didn’t want to talk and went to her room to get dressed for the day. When she returned to the main room, Wes was standing at the front door holding an enormous bouquet of red roses in a crystal vase, his face as stormy as the sky outside.
“Those are pretty,” she said.
“They must be for you,” He placed them on the table harder than necessary. Cara winced at the jolt to the delicate crystal. Despite his sour expression, Cara couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. She couldn’t think of the last time she received flowers.
“Really? Who are they from?”
Wes plopped back in his kitchen chair, snatching up his headphones. “How should I know?”
Cara picked up the flowers and carried them to the kitchen counter. The smile didn’t budge. If she didn’t know better, she would think he was jealous. “They’re probably from Chris. He’s sweet like that.” Cara hid her smile when she caught his profile scowl. Why should she be the only one to suffer?
She said it to get under Wes’s skin, but it was likely that the sender was Chris. It was possible it could be from her brothers, but that would make it a first. Particularly because it wasn’t a holiday or her birthday. Cara pulled the rose stems apart, looking for an envelope. She frowned.
“That’s weird.”
“What?” Wes twisted in his chair to look at her.
“There’s no card. You didn’t see it, did you? Maybe it fell out?” But her quick survey of the floor revealed no envelope.
“Of course not. Why would I care who sends you flowers?” he grouched.
Cara rolled her lips in. She was enjoying this. “They must have forgotten it. I’ll just call the florist. Who was it?” Wes looked at her blankly. “The uniform?” Wes shook his head again. “The logo on the van? The car?”
“They were on the front step. I opened the door to look at the weather, and they were sitting there.”
“I’m surprised they’d leave them in this weather. They must not have been there long, or they’d have been shredded in this wind.” Cara shrugged. “Well, whomever they’re from, they’re gorgeous.”
And expensive, she thought. Other than her brothers and Chris, she couldn’t think of anyone in her life that would send her flowers, particularly in a crystal vase. With that thought in mind, Cara sent off a rapid thank you text to each.
She was combining the ingredients for an egg white scramble when the response texts came.
Chris: I should have thought of that! How did your roommate take it?
Cara didn’t bother to answer.
James: Not me. Why is Luke saying you’re living with a strange man you found on the internet?
Cara rolled her eyes.
Luke: You’re welcome. jk can’t take the credit.
“Huh,” Cara said, as she divided the eggs between two plates. She set a plate and fork next to Wes’s elbow, before picking up her plate and carrying it to the sofa. “None of them sent the bouquet.”
Wes forked a bite into his mouth. “So, who is it? Did you match with someone on that dating app?”
Cara thought Wes sounded like he was trying to not choke on the breakfast. She considered teasing him, but said, “Nope. I haven’t even talked to anyone on it. I honestly have no idea who could have sent them.” A new thought popped into her head. “You didn’t—”
A weird, pinched look passed over his face and was just as quickly gone. “No.”
