Page 9 of One Night Valentine

I can see the pain in his face, and it matches the look he had last night when he was talking about his retirement. “Okay, so one night. Valentine’s Day you’ll come to the wedding with me and act like we’re together.”

“Yes.” He hesitates. “And then you’ll break up with me afterward.”

I nod. “Yeah, okay.”

6

CRUZ

Even as I make this agreement, I know I shouldn’t.

This is going to blow up in my face, but looking at Tara, I can’t seem to make myself care.

She’s everything I want in a woman, and I know I shouldn’t want her, but I can’t let this opportunity pass me by.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

She looks at me like she doesn’t understand the question. “Why wouldn’t I, exactly?”

I shrug and cross my arms over my chest again. Just talking about it makes me defensive. “I wasn’t lying. I’m not sure what is going to happen on Wednesday. If it blows up in the media, then you may not want my help.”

She shakes her head. “Nope, you’re not getting out of it that easy. You just told my sister you’re my boyfriend. There’s no way I can show up without you now.”

I nod. “Okay, want to go back out there?”

She fists her hands at her sides. “Not really… but I have to.”

I hold my hand out to her, and her eyebrows lift as she looks at me. “Come on. I’ll go with you.”

She puts her hand in mine, and I walk with her slowly toward the office door. I feel her take a deep breath and let it out beforewe walk over the threshold. We don’t get too far into the shop before we’re met with Tara’s sister. She stops in front of Tara and taps her toe at her. “Tara, what is going on here? I don’t know anything about this man. You didn’t tell me you were dating, and you can’t bring a date to the wedding now. You already turned in your RSVP.”

Tara walks past her sister. “First of all, I don’t tell you everything. Second of all, yes, I turned in an RSVP, but I also added a plus one so yes, Cruz is coming with me.”

Tara’s sister holds her hand out to me. “Since my sister is so rude, I guess I’ll introduce myself. I’m Brynn, Tara’s younger sister.”

She’s holding her hand out to me like she wants me to kiss it or some shit. I grab it awkwardly, shake it, and then drop it. Since Tara told her my name earlier, I don’t say it again. She looks between me and her sister. “So how did you two meet?”

Fuck, I guess we should have come up with some kind of story, so I decide to stick with the truth. “Through my sister.”

Tara has to help a customer, and she keeps looking my way worriedly. She doesn’t know me really well, but there’s no way I’m going to fuck this up.

“And how long have you been dating?”

I smile and look lovingly toward Tara. “A few months.”

“And…”

Before she can get the rest of the sentence out, Tara comes toward me, and I grab both her hands. “Have dinner with me tonight? Red’s Diner?”

Tara’s face turns red, and I love seeing the blush in her cheeks. “I would love that, but I’ll be working late tonight.”

I put my hands at her waist and tug her softly toward me. “Please. I’ll come by here, we can walk to the diner, eat, and then I’ll walk you back.” She hesitates, and I pull her closer. “Come on, you have to eat. After dinner, I can come by here and help.”

Surprised, she smiles. “You want to help me make arrangements?”

“I’d like to watch you make arrangements. But yeah, I can help too.”

She’s smiling, and I see the instant that she remembers this is fake. She nods her head. “Okay, yeah, sure. I’ll go to dinner with you.”

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