Page 10 of My Perfect Valentine

A man, a decade younger than me, with wiry glasses, several inches shorter than me, and the early stages of balding, stands next to me with a smarmy smile on his face.

“Ah, hello, Addison, lovely to see you.”

“Hello Mason. I’d like you to meet my boyfriend, Logan.”

“Nice to meet you.” I put my hand out and the man’s handshake is pitiful. And he narrows his gaze a little at me, but not enough to warrant any problems.

“Same. I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend, Addison.”

“Yup.” She adds an extra pop on the p.

“It’s new, Mason. We only just met Logan ourselves.” Gretchen says, looking adoringly at him and trying to get Addie’s attention. It’s easy to see she finds Mason perfect for Addie, and I can’t believe how unaware she is of her daughter. Addie tenses. Her body curls in on herself, and she can’t stare Mason in the eye. She’s clearly uncomfortable around him.

“Well, it was nice meeting you all, but this lovely lady here promised me a dance and I’m going to get it early as I plan on sweeping her off her feet all night.”

Reginald agrees. “Sounds like a great idea. You two have fun. Save a dance for me, little girl.”

“I will, father.” Addie relaxes the further away we get from Mason and her mother.

“Wow, you weren’t lying. Your mom is dead set on you getting with that guy.”

Addie waves as people smile and greet her, but we never stop as I guide her to the dance floor. “You have no idea. She’s been pushing him on me since I told them I wasn’t going back to grad school.”

“Your dad seems like a good guy.”

“Yeah, he is. I’m lucky to have him as a buffer, but when my mom really wants something, she listens to nobody.”

The band plays some golden era classics, and I spin Addie around and pull her into my arms. She giggles and I could listen to that sound for the rest of my life. I tuck her in close to me, and I sigh. This is heaven. This is what I’ve been hoping for since I pushed my way into the fake relationship. To hold her in my arms and not have anybody question if it’s right or wrong. More importantly, to have her not to deny me this, getting so close.

“You’re a talented dancer,” she mutters, sounding shocked.

“Hey, don’t sound so surprised. I have a lot of hidden talents.” I spin her around and she giggles again.

“I’m sure you do.”

The breathy nature of her comment has me stumbling a little as I wonder how she means it because I instantly went lustful, and the way she drops her gaze makes me think she meant it as such too.

Damn. I’m screwed.

Chapter 7

Addie

Laughter continues to bubbleout of me. I’ve never had so much fun at one of these as I am tonight. And it’s all due to Logan. He makes everything fun and engaging. It also doesn’t hurt how hot he looks in his suit. It’s a dark blue, almost black, and it makes his eyes shine even brighter. Women are constantly taking second, third, even fourth glances at him.

When I opened my front door, I was relieved to see that he didn’t shave too closely. He still has the five o’clock shadow look, and it makes him ruggedly sexy.

My mother, thankfully, left us alone for most of the night. Father would come around to check in and talk a little more with Logan about bikes, which shows a side of my dad I didn’t knowexisted. Apparently, he used to ride when he was younger, but after a year in the ER and with a new wife, he thought it was best to sell it, especially if they were to have kids.

A part of me wonders if my mother convinced him to sell it.

Logan continues to spin me around the dance floor. I’m not the greatest dancer, but the way he leads, he’s never going to have a bad dance partner.

“Okay, tell me why you’re so good at this. I mean, this can’t all be natural.”

Logan sighs as we sway to the music. “When I was a kid, my mom enrolled my sister, brother and me in ballroom dancing. My parents couldn’t afford much, but she used to clean the studio and got a great deal for our classes. She wanted us to do something since we couldn’t do all the sports and extracurricular activities. Apparently, I’m a natural, and the instructors spent more time with me. Now don’t laugh, but I even competed as a teenager.”

I drop my jaw. “No way. I don’t believe that. Really?”

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