Page 13 of My Perfect Valentine

“Don’t do that. We won’t be making light of it. I can’t believe your parents wanted you with that asshat. Now tell me, what else has he said about you? Has he been inappropriate with you?”

I clench my fists under the table praying he didn’t touch her, a slimeball like him, well I wouldn’t put it past him. He talks shit about Addie but isn’t good enough himself to get a woman, so of course he’d belittle her, making her think she’s only going to get somebody like him.

Well, guess what asshole, there’s me.

Addie sighs and slumps against the back of the booth seat. “To be fair, my father didn’t care either way. He let mother do her thing, but he wasn’t aware of half of the things my mother did to get us together.”

“What did she do?”

“Oh, invite the both of us over for dinner, even though she told me it would be a family dinner. Or invite me as Mason’s plus one to parties and get-togethers, knowing I won’t want to embarrass her.” She chuckles, but sadness is all I hear. “Well, I can’t say that now, can I? I royally embarrassed her tonight.”

I lean over the table and grab her hand. “No, you didn’t embarrass her. Mason did, and she did, by forcing the issue. Did you tell her you weren’t interested?”

“All the time, but she didn’t listen. I never told her what I would overhear him saying or how he acted with me. So she never knew why I wasn’t interested in him.”

I tip my head to the side as I rub my thumb over her knuckles. “Why didn’t you tell her?”

Addie stares at our hands and takes several deep breaths, but before she can say anything, the server stops by. “Okay, we got pie and we got drinks.” She unloads her tray for us, forcing me to release Addie’s hand, upsetting me further.

I don’t want pie, but if it’ll cheer Addie up, then pie it is.

“Thank you. They look delicious,” Addie says.

The server winks. “There’s some extra whipped cream on top for you.”

Addie smiles. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Let me know if you need anything else.”

She walks off and Addie ignores the pie and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. I snicker as the whipped cream forms a mustache on her upper lip, and a small dot lies on the tip of her nose. I grab a napkin and hand it to her. She gives me one of her genuine laughs and cleans it off well after her pink tongue sneaks out and licks her upper lip. My cock twitches and pushes against my zipper.

Fuck, she’s so sexy.

We sit in silence as we both play with the pie. I’m watching her while she keeps her head down. The last thing I want to do is push her. She’s dealt with enough high handedness for a lifetime, it seems like. For her, I’m patient and can wait for when she’s ready.

We take tentative bites of our pies, but at the rate we’re going, it will take a week to finish the damn things.

“I’m never good enough,” Addie mumbles, but I’m so in tuned to her she could’ve been shouting right in my face and it wouldn’t have been any different. I hear every word.

The fork in my hand is about to bend. I put it down and rest my arms on the table. I want to argue with her, but it’s not what she needs right now.

She sets her fork aside and slumps back into her seat. “My parents are these renowned doctors, and I was never any good in school. I hate the sight of blood, and the idea of diagnosing people all day scares the shit out of me. What if I did something wrong and didn’t heal them? Worse, what if they die in my care? Being a doctor was always an expectation growing up. Especially with my mother, but I just couldn’t make myself do it.

“Add in the fact my mother is slim and beautiful. My father is a very handsome man, and then there’s me.”

“What the fuck do you mean, then there’s you?” I scowl as I try to wrap my head around how she can’t see what a goddess she is.

Addie scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Oh, come on, Logan. You met my parents. I’m a far cry from how they look. I used to always believe I was adopted. If it weren’t for my dad’s sister and cousins looking more like me, I’d still imagine so.”

“I don’t know what you’re saying. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on. Fuck, I’ve been obsessed with you from the moment I met you. Why in the hell do you think I come into the gym five days a week and only on the days you work?”

Addie’s eyes snap wide and her jaw drops for a moment before she gathers herself and sits a little straighter.

“You do?”

I chuckle, push the pie and cups aside, and reach for her hand. She lets me hold on to her and my body buzzes with the connection. “Of course, you’re my little beauty that I can’t get enough of. It’s not a coincidence I found you on the site. I saw it on the screen after I overheard you talking to Cole. The idea ofyou being with another man, albeit as a fake relationship, gutted me. I couldn’t let it happen.

“I’m too old, and you probably want nothing with me, so I’m satisfied to take what I can get, but like hell I’m going to sit here and let you talk or even think badly about yourself. I won’t ever accept it. I won’t let anybody hurt you, and that includes yourself.”

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