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Sebastian
I left the room so she can end the video call with her sister.
The world may see them as identical, but I could see immediately the differences in them.
Matilda is breathtakingly beautiful. Her sister is as well but Frannie’s eyes don’t share the same depth as her twin sister’s.
Her voice is different as well. Matilda’s soothes me. It offers me comfort.
Even with a blindfold on in a room filled with people, I would be able to tell the two of them apart.
I would know the woman I love just from the awareness that courses through my body when she’s near.
I feel her now so I turn from where I’m standing in the living room.
Her eyes rake me.
I shaved before I came over here. I put on a fresh pair of jeans and a black sweater I bought this afternoon.
I wanted to make a better impression than I did the first time she found me in her living room.
“I love you, Matilda,” I repeat the words I said to her just minutes ago. “I need you to know how much I love you.”
I want her to rush into my arms and repeat the words back to me, but she stands her ground. “I thought we were going to tell each other how we felt that night, but you left me.”
I reach out my hand to her. “Please come and sit with me. Let me explain.”
She does. She doesn’t touch my hand. Instead she sits on edge of the sofa. It’s at least three feet from where I’m standing.
I don’t complain. I lower myself onto the leather and face her. “I was scared.”
Her eyes scan my face. “Scared? You? Of what?”
I like that her words are laced with disbelief. She sees me as a man who is fearless. She has no idea that I’m scared to death of losing her. The fear of that is debilitating.
“Months ago some asshole tried to intimidate me by sending my mom and my sister bouquets of roses that had been dyed black.”
The pain that has been a constant on her face since I saw her in the bedroom, morphs into something else. It’s confusion mixed with horror. “What? What kind of sick bastard does something like that?”
“We’re still trying to figure that out.” I lean my hand against the back of the sofa. “You received a similar bouquet last week, Matilda.”
“No.” Her head shakes. “I didn’t. I didn’t get anything like that.”
Her gaze darts to the table in our living room where a fresh flower bouquet always is. The space is barren now. The last bouquet I placed there the day before I left is gone.
“Junior handed it to me in the lobby.” I take a deep breath. “I lost all sense of control. I couldn’t think straight. I took it and went back to the station.”
She scratches the back of her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I want to slide over so I’m sitting next to her. I want to hold her hand and quiet her anxiety. I see unease in her movements and I hear it in her voice. “I wanted to protect you.”
She shifts so she’s facing me. “Did you leave me because of the flowers?”
I nod sagely. “Yes, Matilda. I didn’t want my presence in your life to put you at risk. I left to keep you safe.”
Her bottom lip trembles. “I knew that you loved me. I could feel it.”
I move quickly, dropping to my knees in front of her. “I do love you. I didn’t leave because I didn’t want you.”
“I would have told you that we would face the threat together.” Her hands slide to my shoulders. “I’m not afraid of anything if you’re beside me, Sebastian. I need you to feel the same way when I’m beside you.”
“I would die if anything happened to you.” I cup her cheeks in my palms. “I thought if I left, the person who sent the flowers would leave you be.”
“They have. “She glances at the window that overlooks the city. “I haven’t gotten another flower delivery since.”
It’s been quiet. I’ve spent days investigating this. I’ve spoken to every person who owns an apartment on our block.
No one saw anything.
The person who dropped off the flowers didn’t appear on any of the surveillance video I pulled from the buildings adjacent to ours.
I haven’t given up trying to find the culprit, but I’m confident that I can keep this beautiful woman safe.
“What happens the next time you feel that I’m being threatened?”
I answer her question as honestly as I can. “I’ll protect you.”
“You won’t make any rash decisions for me? You won’t leave me because you think that’s best for me?”
“I will stand beside you, confide in you and we will face the threat together, Matilda.”
“Good.” Her gaze returns to my face. “I would rather have one day with you than a lifetime with any other man. I love you, Sebastian.”
