Page 41 of Mr. February

“I had no idea. You never said anything!”

“We were working on a project together. If you weren’t interested, I didn’t want to make things awkward, so I planned to wait until it was done. That way, it’d be easier for you to avoid me if you were horrified.”

“Why would I be horrified?”

“Uh, because you’re gorgeous, and I’m the ‘King of the Nerds’?” He used air quotes around Jeff’s nickname for him, even though it amused him. “And when I found out you had a boyfriend, I was glad I never said anything. Especially since I’m not your type.”

“Jerks?”

“I didn’t know right away that he was a jerk. But we look nothing alike. I’m short with long hair and glasses, and I tend to wear jeans and a T-shirt. He looked like a lawyer on a TV show with his gelled hair, shiny suit, and fancy shoes.”

“Suzanne and I look nothing alike, either,” Jenny pointed out.

“Thank God. There’s nothing fake about you. Speaking of that, I’m still a little surprised you were willing to pretend we were dating. Why did you do it?”

Jenny’s blush grew stronger.

“Once you told me about Suzanne, I would have helped you regardless, but I was hoping you’d see me in a different light.” Her eyes dropped to their hands. “After that embarrassing conversation at work—“

“The one about the book you were reading?”

He snickered when he said book, and Jenny’s eyes widened.

“You knew?”

“I didn’t intend to eavesdrop. When I came out of Elizabeth’s office, I overheard some of your conversation with Gloria.”

Jenny squeaked. “How much did you hear?”

He smirked instead of answering, and Jenny’s mortification grew.

“Oh, my God, I’m so embarrassed.”

“You shouldn’t be. I was glad you weren’t interested in getting on a hookup app like Gloria suggested. Somebody else would have snapped you up in a minute, and I would have lost my chance again since I thought you were still dating that jerk.”

It was Jenny’s turn to snort.

“No, Chad broke up with me shortly after the holiday party.”

“But wasn’t he sniffing around last week?”

“Oh my god, you really did hear everything.” Jenny tried to hide her face in her hands, but Wade still clung to them.

“Please don’t be embarrassed. I was thrilled when I found out you were single again and positively ecstatic when Elizabeth recommended you for this trip.”

“That was Gloria’s handiwork.”

“Damn, she’s scary good.”

“You know she tried to hook us up, right? Did you know about that part?”

“No, damn it,” Wade laughed. “I would have enlisted her help or made a move much sooner.”

“Once she put the idea in my head, well, it was hard to think about anything else. Chad stood no chance because all I could think about was you. When I met Suzanne, it seemed impossible that you’d be interested in someone like me.”

“But that’s not—“

“I know.” She gave an embarrassed laugh. “I wanted so much to impress you, but I’m a disaster. First with that conversation with Gloria, then with the audiobook, and getting drunk…”

---