Page 30 of Texting My Valentine

She raises a hand. “I refuse to talk abouthim.”

“Well, I may be in a similar situation.”

“What do you mean?”

“This guy, he’s older, he’s hot, he’s… interesting.”

“So far, so good,” she says.

“But last night, he gotsuperintense. Said he’s been looking for the right woman—looked at me as though I was the lucky girl. Then he told me about how his ex cheated on him with his brother, and how they died in a car crash, and now he takes care of their kid.”

“How awful,” Mom whispers.

“But I can’t find any record of it online. I’ve used his surname with the word ‘crash.’ Surely, that’d be enough? Plus, online, there are loads of photos of him with other women. So, what happened to not being interested in romance anymore? Plus, on his socials, there’s not a single snap of his nephew. Surely, if he were taking care of him, there would be.”

Mom frowns, her eyes glimmering.

“What?” I snap.

“Is this what I’ve done to you?”

“Mom, please, don’t make this about you.”

“Why would you assume he’s lying?” she questions.

“Men lie. It’s what they do.”

“Not all men,” she insists.

“Mom.”

I feel bad about raising my voice, but this is just ridiculous. How many times does she need to experience the same thing to get the point?

“How many boyfriends have you had since Dad passed away?”

“A few,” she says.

“Seven. How many of those have turned out to be liars?Five. Those aren’t exactly great odds, are they?”

“I thought you weren’t looking for a relationship, anyway,” Mom says, raising an eyebrow. “You’ve always said love isn’t for you.”

“It isn’t,” I say defensively.

“So why do you care if he lied or not? Why do you care if he’s in photos with other women? If you don’t want him, it shouldn’t matter.”

She’s got me there. I’ve got no good answer to that one.

My phone vibrates. It’s a text from the demanding doctor himself.

Alex:Good morning, beautiful.

CHAPTER 10

ALEX

In the break room, I sit on the couch and take out my phone. I’ve been waiting for a moment to see if Tori has texted me back all day. This morning, I shot off something simple.

Alex:Good morning, beautiful.

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