Anonymous(2)

That isn’t true, but I want to know who it is.

(xxx) xxx-6489: Does it matter who I am?

Groaning, I roll my eyes. “You have got to be kidding me.”

Shayna perks up. “What is it? What are they saying?”

“They won’t tell me who they are.”

Me: Yes, it matters! I don’t like to play games. I’m not in high school anymore.

I show her the messages and her eyes light up. “You don’t think it’s Jake pranking you, do you? My ex-husband tried to do that once, to see if I was cheating on him.”

“Were you?” I counter, grinning slyly. Shayna’s always talking about men when I come in to get my hair done.

Feigning shock, she places a hand over her chest. “Would I do such a thing?”

I shake my head. “You’re too much.” Looking down at the texts, I sigh. “This isn’t Jake. You know he’s not the type to trick me. Plus, I’ve never given him a reason not to trust me. Besides, the number is from a Sherwin Williams store that closed down. There’s no telling who it belongs to now.”

“Want me to call it?” Shayna asks.

Before she can type in the number, another text comes through.

(xxx) xxx-6489: Through our conversation you should be able to tell who this is.

“What the hell, this is just getting outright annoying. Call it, please,” I say. Shayna types in the number and presses send. Putting it on speaker, it rings and rings until an automated greeting comes on. I throw my hands up in the air. “And of course, no one’s going to answer.”

Shayna sits back down, pursing her lips. “It’s probably one of your ex-boyfriends.”

The thought makes my stomach clench. I’m thirty-two years old and married. I’ve been with Jake for nine years. I don’t want anyone from my past trying to come in and stir things up. I’m happy.

Taking a deep breath, I huff. “If it is, they need to leave me alone. I don’t like games. This is going to end now.”

Me: Look, if you’re not going to tell me who you are, then you need to leave me alone. I’m happily married now.

(xxx) xxx-6489: I’m glad you’re happy. I don’t want to cause problems. I was just thinking about you and wanted to see how you were.

Me: Goodbye

I hold my breath, praying my phone doesn’t ding again. All I want is for the texts to stop.

“Are you going to tell Jake about the texts?” Shayna asks.

With a snort, I toss my phone back into my purse. “Are you kidding? Jake is the epitome of an alpha male. He won’t like it. Knowing him, he’ll get his cop buddies to track down the number, so he can find out who it is. If that happens, it’ll be a mess.” It kills me to keep secrets from Jake, but there are some things he doesn’t need to know. “I think it’s best to keep it to myself.”

“You’re probably right,” she agrees with a nod. “But if you get any more, you might not have a choice.”

I just hope it doesn’t come to that.



* * *



By the time I get home and get dinner finished up, Jake walks through the front door with his tie loose around his neck and the top buttons of his shirt undone. I can see the top part of the tattoos on his chest, and everything inside me tightens. He’d gotten them all during his MMA fighting days. Guess you can say it made him look more bad ass.

We’ve been together for nine years and the sight of him still turns me on. And since he’s an architect and working in an office environment, he has to wear suits, which look delectable on his toned body.

Jake’s eyes focus on me and a smirk stretches across his lips. “You got your hair done. Looks good.” He leans over the bar and kisses me, his lips warm. The stubble on his chin tickles my face, and I can’t help but love how rugged it makes him look.

I breathe him in and step back. “Thanks. Vikki and her daughter held down the fort this afternoon. I have a lot of orders to work on the next couple of days though.”

His blue eyes stare right into mine and he runs a hand through his ash brown hair. “I’m glad you took a break and did something for yourself. You deserve it.” Jake takes in a deep breath as I finish the salad and slide the bowl onto the counter. “Something smells good. What’s for dinner?”

Grabbing the oven mitt, I pull the dish out of the oven. “Lemon pepper chicken, potatoes, and salad. I was craving it. Plus, I know they’re some of your favorites.”

He kisses me. “You’re too good to me.”

We both fix a plate of food and sit down at our kitchen table. A smile lights up my face because we’ve done more than just eat on it recently.

“What’s on your mind?” Jake asks, his grin widening.

“Oh, I don’t know,” I reply, lowering my voice seductively. “I’m thinking we need a repeat of the other night.”

His eyes twinkle. “You do, huh?” Grabbing my hand, he pulls it down over his arousal and I bite my lip.

“I see you agree.”

“You’re damn right, cupcake. Unfortunately, we have a problem.”

“Please tell me you don’t have to work tonight.” I pull my hand away.

He shakes his head. “I promised Owen I’d go to the driving range with him, now that he’s home from the last undercover case. You can always come with us, and then we’ll have our fun when we get home.”