Page 7 of My Surprising Valentine

I dropped my hands to glare up at him, though the effect was probably ruined by how hard I was blushing. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t." He took another sip of wine, looking far too pleased with himself as he settled his hip against the counter, his expression turning thoughtful. “Have you told your mom I’m your date?”

I felt my cheeks heating even more. “No,” I answered, my gaze darting away.

“How come?” He asked, his tone filled with curiosity.

I chanced a peek at him. “Because,” I said, waving my hand to and fro. “You know how she is.”

He nodded, his lips tugged to the side in a slight smirk. “That I do.” He cleared his throat. “She was in fine form at David’s birthday party.”

I groaned, remembering how my mother had not-so-subtly tried to push Max and me together all night. “Don’t remind me.”

He swirled his glass, his gaze focused on the wine as he spoke. “At one point, she cornered me to ask if I noticed how you glow when you talk about your work at the hospital.” Max chuckled lightly, raising his gaze up to meet mine, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

I snorted. “Oh god. She didn’t.”

I loved my patients, honestly, but working in a hospital was not for the faint of heart. The bureaucracy and political jockeying among the administrators had become increasingly worse since the pandemic, and there were days when I thought about walking out and never coming back. If I was “glowing,” it was only because my anger had reached the “hotter-than-a-thousand-fiery-suns” level.

“Oh, she definitely did. Right after she reminded me—and everyone within earshot—about how I used to push you on the swing set in your backyard when we were younger.”

“Because clearly that means we’re destined to be together,” I quipped, rolling my eyes. “You know she’s going to be impossible at this wedding, right? Even worse than usual.”

Just saying the words made my insides squirm. My mother had been trying to match-make between Max and me since I was old enough to date, reading far too much into every interaction, every shared laugh, every time he showed up at our house to hang out with David.

And now I was voluntarily giving her ammunition by bringing him as my date.

She’d be insufferable, interpreting each glance and casual touch as proof that her maternal instincts had been right all along. The worst part was that I couldn’t even blame her—not when I’d spent so many years trying to convince myself I didn’t feel exactly what she seemed to see so clearly.

“You mean even more impossible than last Christmas when she hung mistletoe in every doorway of your house and kept trying to maneuver us under it?”

“Definitely worse than that,” I confirmed, taking a long sip of wine. “Don’t be surprised if she pulls you aside to ask when you plan to propose to me. Or, god forbid, my Aunt Susan corners you to ask how we finally got together after all these years of ‘obvious chemistry.’” I made air quotes with my fingers, nearly spilling my wine in the process.

Max chuckled, swirling the wine in his glass again. “Well, if that happens, I’ll just tell her I was waiting for you to come to your senses and realize you’re madly in love with me.”

I nearly choked on my wine. “Oh God, don’t even joke about that.” I could feel the heat creeping up my neck again, and it wasn’t from the excellent Cabernet.

Max’s smile softened, his eyes searching mine. “We need a good story, right? How about this: We’ve been dancing around each other for years, but we finally got our act together at David’s birthday party and realized what’s been in front of us all along?”

My heart stuttered in my chest. That was the problem with this whole fake dating scheme—I’d never been uncertain about my feelings for Max. Not when he’d push me on the swings like my mother was so fond of reminding him, and certainly not when he’d sneak me into R-rated movies when I was a teenager, anddefinitelynot now. I’d always known exactly how I felt about him; I was just really good at pretending I didn’t.

I forced my features into what I hoped was a neutral expression, fighting the urge to fidget, knowing Max would recognize all my tells. I had to sound casual and detached, like this was just another detail to work out, not a moment that made my pulse race and my palms sweat.

“That could work. It’s recent enough that people won’t question why they haven’t heard about us dating before now, but not so new that it seems suspicious.”

“Exactly,” Max agreed, moving closer. “And it gives us a solid foundation. We’ve known each other for years, so it’s not like we’re rushing into anything.”

“Right,” I managed, feeling slightly dizzy by his closeness. “Nothing rushed about this at all.”

Max’s eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, the air between us felt charged with something I wasn’t ready to name. “Han,” he said softly before reaching out to tuck an escaped strand of hair behind my ear. The gentle brush of his fingers against my skin sent a shiver down my spine.

“Hmm?” I couldn’t seem to look away from him.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re incredible, and anyone who makes you feel otherwise is an idiot.”

I swallowed hard, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“You’re smart and funny and so incredibly beautiful,” he continued, his voice low and earnest. “And any guy would be lucky to have you—even if it is just pretend.”

---