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“See you soon,” I say and there is a beat of silence as I give him a second to stop me.

“Wait…what kind of music do you like when you’re driving?”

I bite my lip and rein in my excitement.

“I listen to everything. I set my app on shuffle and let it play Taylor Swift, Metallica, Sia, John Legend, Dolly Parton and Michael Bublé back-to-back. What about you?”

Picking up my pumpkin iced coffee, I take a sip and listen to him talk. He has the best voice. So deep and rough. Alden can read the dictionary to me, and I’ll get wet.

Sam and Kai called right after Alden left to tell me that he came into the shop with coffee. They were squealing like high schoolers, and it took me twenty minutes to get them off the phone.

They are both officially team Alden. Not that they were ever team Rob. Rob was a stepping stone, a means to an end…nothing more.

Their warning came too late. I know Alden better than he knows himself. Not hearing from me has driven him to distraction. All I did was watch for his car. He can’t resist playing the good guy, even if it’s just buying me and my girls coffee. I watched him enter the café, then grabbed my keys and hopped in the truck.

Watching him weave like a lunatic through traffic to catch up to me…it’s priceless.

I stay on the line and ask dozens of questions. I already know the answers, but that’s not the point. Him knowing I’m interested is the desired outcome.

“So, what is your favorite color?” I can’t help the giggle that comes out after the question.

“Black, but I love blue as well,” he says. I know what he’s hinting at. “What about you?”

“Black. Some of the prettiest and most deadly flowers are black. They call to me, I guess,” I say, thinking of my hidden grow room in the storage unit outside the city.

It’s where I keep my special flowers.

“So, you like deadly things?”

I laugh, but don’t answer.

“We are almost there, and the last few turns always confuse me. Do you mind taking the lead,” I ask, feeding Alden’s desire to be in control and play the white knight.

He won’t be able to resist. It’s a crumb, and one I don’t need, but again…not the point.

“Of course.”

I smirk when he flies past in his shiny sports car and pulls in front of me. I give him a tiny flirtatious wave, but school my face so that I don’t look like an eager teen with a crush.

“You grew up in this area, didn’t you,” Alden asks.

I sigh.

“Yes, I lived in Suffern,” I say, dropping the first real hint to my identity. The hospital he took me to all those years ago is in Suffern.

“Huh,” he says.

Before he can think too hard about my answer, I jump in with another cheeky question as he pulls off the highway.

“Tell me, what is the weirdest habit you have when you’re all alone?”

He chuckles, and the sound races along my spine.

“You mean when I’m not stalking people,” he says, deadpan, making a joke while trying not to lie.

I laugh.

“Yes, when you’re not hiding in the dark waiting for people to fall asleep.”