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Kez found the first one on the kitchen table early in the morning. It was a single, deep red rose. There was a note attached to it with the word ‘one’ written on it. The handwriting was small and cramped but familiar. Kez filled a small vase with water and placed the rose in it.
‘Two’ was also a single red rose, found on the porch railing, tied in place with a piece of white and red twine as she walked out of the house. Kez knew the handwriting. She had been working with the culprit for 2½ years.
‘Three’ had been slipped inside her locker, was a peony. Kez found it when she went to put her workout clothes in the locker for later. Oh, he knew her routine a little too well, not that it was a bad thing, Kez thought. Just like she knew his routine – Aaron usually got up at 5am to go for a run, was back at the house by at least 6:30 am, has a shower and is dressed by 7am, has breakfast ready for Kez and the boys before leaving the house at 7:30am.
‘Four’, another peony, was in her desk drawer. That’s when JJ noticed the two flowers on the desk. “What’s with the flowers?”
“Found two red roses at home, then the peonies here,” Kez said.
“They were at your house?” JJ didn’t even look concerned.
‘Five’ was delivered to her an hour later by Anderson. It was a bunch of red carnations.
“I was told to give you this,” he said, handing the bunch over.
“Thank you,” Kez replied.
Anderson nodded and left the bullpen, not before she caught a glimpse of a smile on his face.
‘Six’, which was the first red tulip, was found being ‘guarded’ by her Jack Russell Terrier stuffy when Kez returned from lunch with Penelope and JJ.
‘Seven’ was on the filing cabinet when she got back from her self-defence training with Morgan. It was the second red tulip. She sighed as she tucked it into the ever growing vase of flowers on the desk. Even though Kez knew who it was, she enjoyed playing the ‘I don’t know’ card when someone asked her about the flowers. She suspected that Morgan, JJ and Reid knew that she was lying, but some of the other agents within the unit didn’t know her that well, other than Anderson and Stevens. It was that one that Kez noticed something else about the little notes left with the flowers – in the bottom right corner was a hastily drawn heart.
‘Eight’ was in her purse when she left. It was a pink rose. She stood in the elevator with the vase of flowers, which attracted a lot of strange looks from other people, though they didn’t ask questions. Kez knew that there was a reason behind the flowers – not just giving them because it was Valentine’s Day, but he wanted to say something more.
‘Nine’ was another pink rose in the passenger seat of JJ’s car. Kez silently slipped the flower in with the rest and climbed into the car to head home.
‘Ten’, Alchemilla mollis (or lady’s mantle), was in the mailbox, the mail set below it. Kez carefully placed the sprigs in the vase. The chartreuse yellow flowers provided a nice contrast to the red and pinks of the other flowers
‘Eleven’, a bunch of amaryllis blooms, was on the back porch. Kez saw it when she walked into the kitchen. She lifted the amaryllis out of the snow on the table and was surprised at how warm it still was. She went back into the house and added them to the other flowers in the vase. It was getting dark but the day wasn’t over. The boys were with Aunt Jessica for the night. Kez made herself comfortable on the couch.
‘Twelve’ was held in a hand that Kez knew really well. She smiled as Aaron walked round the couch and knelt in front of her. He held the red rose out to her. As she took it from him, he held onto her hand and pulled her up as he stood up.
Kez kissed him then. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was surprised it didn’t burst right out of her chest. His lips were warm and firm against hers, they probed against hers with a confidence that didn’t surprise her but made her want more. She parted her lips and he deepened the kiss. His tongue swept past her lips and he tasted like coffee, another thing that doesn’t surprise her. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and she ran her fingers through his hair and he groaned. She felt one of his hands on her ass and she couldn’t help but smile against his lips. He pulled away and grinned down at her. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap, so that she was straddling him.
“You’re lucky, Mr Hotchner, that Jessica has the boys,” Kez said as she looked down at Aaron.
He smirked before he pulled her down to kiss her deeply. “Oh, I know how lucky I am, Mrs Hotchner.”
She was above him now, her arms wrapped around his neck as she dropped her head back down to his so their lips were only inches apart before she whispered, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Aaron.”
Then she kissed him again.