Page 97 of The Valentine's Bet

I’m tempted to lie and say that I do, but as I hold his gaze, I can’t bring myself to. Even if he doesn’t reciprocate my feelings, I can tell he’s being genuine. “No, I don’t have anyone to go with...”

“Can I take you?”

“Um. Sure...” My voice trails off as I wonder how long he plans to ignore the elephant in the room—the fact that I’m totally in love with him.

“Alright, so let’s go, then?” He gives me a slight smile, and I hate the way it makes my heart melt. He’s dressed edgy tonight in his black jeans and leather jacket...

And it’ssoattractive.

“But it doesn’t start for another two hours...”

“I know, but I thought we could get there early and grab a bite to eat or something.”

“Okay,” I say without thinking, falling in step beside him as he leads the way, and I try to ignore the pang of heartache.

What am I even doing?

I guess I was just so caught off guard by Parker showing up here that I mindlessly chose the path of least resistance. But now my mind is racing because it feels like we have so many unresolved issues.

Are we really going to ignore everything that happened between us and go back to being friends?

Or ... maybe he’s waiting for me to apologize first?

“Parker,” I begin as we step into the elevator. “I think we should talk...”

He looks down at me. “Yeah, I know, but not yet.”

“What?” I feel myself growing irritated. “Why can’t we talk about it now? I just want to get everything out in the open. I promise I won’t let it ruin the night. I already know how you feel about me.”

“Good, glad that’s out of the way.” He smirks. “Come on. I have a car waiting for us outside.”

I shake my head, trying to push away the heartache. I don’t know if I can do this. Did he miss the part where I told him I couldn’t be friends with him anymore?

Just as my mind starts to spiral again, I spot a black limo parked on the curb.

I stop walking. “What’s this?”

“My apology,” he says as the driver opens the door. “Well, the beginning of it.”

“Oh...” My eyes land on the flowers—red roses, actually. I lose my breath as I slide in and Parker sits beside me.

“I know it’s a short drive, but I figured we’d go all out. Since today is basically a double holiday.” Parker reaches for the flowers and hands metwocards. “So, happy birthdayandhappy Valentine’s Day, Amy. I lost the bet.”

I blink. I look over at him, my heart in my throat. “What ... What do you mean?”

“I was an idiot.”

“You technically still won the bet,” I say carefully.

“Open the cards. Start with the birthday one.” He gestures to the light blue envelope.

I swallow hard, setting down the roses and ripping open the card. My eyes fall to the words. My heart thuds in my chest. It’s a plain birthday card, but when I flip it open, I see the words scrawled at the bottom in Parker’s handwriting.

You know what the best part of this day is? YOU.

I laugh, shaking my head. “Thanks.”

“Yeah, clever, huh?”

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