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He typically did something for his employees if they got the job done, most of the time it was a fancy lunch or dinner with the whole office, but since I was away, I expected this was his thank you.

“Well, who sent them?” my mother asked anxiously, leaning in and smelling the perfect yellow blossoms. “God, they're gorgeous.” Taking a single stem in her fingers, she pulled it free. “Regardless of who they're from, this one is for me.”

Giggling, I pulled the card from the envelope and opened it up.

Life doesn't always go as planned, but that doesn't mean you can't find beauty in what you find. June sixteenth, two thousand-seven.

Taking in a shallow breath of air, my eyes started to water. Sniffling, I tried like hell to not cry.

“Who sent them, Gwen?” Snipping the end of the stem, my mother put the single flower into a thin vase, setting it in the center of the table.

Blinking quickly, I dried them before she noticed the glossy sheen. “Oh, my boss, they're from my boss for winning that case.” I lied, I lied through my teeth.

They were from Yuri. And he wanted to see me again.

But was I ready for that?

We shared one moment, a small glimpse of what we used to have. Yuri was the only man who knew how to get over my walls, and he was damn good at it. That didn't mean we were a thing now or that I was even willing to accept him back into my life with open arms just because he made my eyes roll back and my body explode with pleasure.

It was a weak moment, a mistake under the mistletoe. I folded so easily, and the fact I had given myself to him as if nothing had ever forced us apart scared me to death. I might have just opened the flood gates to exactly what I had run away from.

“That's so nice of him.” Taking her seat, she cupped her hands in front of her. “So back to this pile of crap, what can you do to fix it?”

Shaking my head, I pushed all the emotions down, doing my best to focus on what was important right then.

“You haven't paid your fire taxes all year, Mom.”

“What? Yes I have.”

“That's not what this says.” Turning the paper so she could see the print, I pointed to the spot where it was explained. “Can you prove you paid them? Do have receipts or bank statements that show you have?”

“Can I prove it. . .” Letting her words trail off, she rolled her eyes. “Of course I can. I have all of that somewhere around here.”

“Okay, so if you have them, I'm going to need them. We should be able to fix this easily, it's probably just an error in their system.”

“It might take me some time to find all the statements, but I know I have them.” Quickly, she rose to her feet and walked away, making her voice louder the further away she got. “I'll go look now, and I'll let you know when I have them all!”

“Alright!” I yelled back to her as I heard her moving up the stairs.

Touching a petal on one of the flowers, I ran it between my fingertips as I reread the small card. Yuri's note was one that only I would understand. It was coded with a date that was special, one that I couldn't believe he still remembered.

Should I go?

Tapping the sharp edge of the card stock, I scrunched my lips in thought.Fuck it.

Grabbing my purse, I snatched my mother's keys off the counter. “Mom, I'm borrowing your car for a little bit, I have an errand to run!”

“Okay!” she called back, her tone uncaring as she busied herself with hunting down more papers.

Jumping in the car, I started driving, heading for the spot I knew he was talking about. I wasn't sure what I expected from going or why I was even so ready to go there. It wasn't two days ago that I feared seeing him again, now I was running to him.

There was no explanation for my actions the night before or even right then, it was just a feeling. It felt right, it felt like I had to go. Either it was going to end any chance of a relationship completely or it would rekindle where we left off years before.

And I wasn't sure I wanted either of those.

I had to reach down deep and find my inner strength. He had robbed a store, he had beaten a guy almost to death. I couldn't let myself forget that just because these lingering feelings were coming back like a growing inferno.

What the hell does he want from me?