Page 45 of Mr. February

“I wasn’t kidding about missing you, Wade,” she interrupted. “I don’t know what’s going on with you and Jenny, but I heard you weren’t dating anyone. Is there any chance you’d be willing to try again?”

“As in you and me?” he asked incredulously.

A faint blush tinged her cheeks, and she hesitated before she nodded.

“Where did you get your information? Never mind. It doesn’t matter because it’s wrong. Jenny and I are together, and I really like her. I will not take kindly to you—or anyone—trying to screw it up for us.”

Suzanne took a deep breath and looked at her hands again before she raised her eyes to his. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for the trouble I caused you and for not appreciating you. I hope she knows how lucky she is and that she doesn’t fuck things up like I did. You’re one of the good ones.”

Wade’s heart softened a very little toward his ex.

“Suzanne, those things you liked so much—respecting you, listening to you, believing in you—everybody deserves that. It’s not unique to me.” He gentled his voice and said, “Date people who like you and want to be with you for you, not for what you can do for them. I wish you luck in your future, Suzanne. I just don’t want to be part of it.”

“I understand.” She cleared her throat before she stood and offered him a tremulous smile. “Why don’t I trade places with Jenny since there’s nothing else to say? You guys can salvage your dinner.”

“Thanks. That’d be nice of you.”

“I hope you two have a great Valentine’s Day.”

Fuck!

Chapter 15: I Haven’t Changed My Mind

JENNY

Jenny watched Wade and Suzanne while her tablemates talked. She somehow found the chattiest group of geeks. In most circumstances, she enjoyed meeting new people. Right now, though, she just wanted to know what was going on with Suzanne and Wade.

Wade smiled at her periodically, which helped. Gah, they’d only been together for a matter of hours, and she was already insecure about their relationship. To be fair, though, she’d never had someone like Suzanne waiting in the wings before.

Generally, she liked how she looked and felt good about herself, but it was hard when compared to Suzanne. The other woman was gorgeous and intelligent.

It was a good thing Suzanne had already left In-Tech before Jenny brought Chad to the holiday party. There was no telling how that meeting might have gone, since Chad would havetried to impress her with his family’s money within seconds of meeting her.

“Are you okay?” the guy next to her asked.

Jenny pasted a smile on her face.

“Of course. Just thinking about something at work.”

“None of that here. We’re supposed to be getting to know each other.”

The rest of their table cheered, and Jenny focused on their light-hearted conviviality. She still occasionally snuck glances at Wade and Suzanne, but time passed much faster when she concentrated on her tablemates rather than her new boyfriend and his ex.

“My girlfriend is so upset I’m here for Valentine’s Day, but I have a surprise planned for her when we get back,” one of the guys said.

“Oh, really? Do you have something scheduled for tomorrow, a phone call or delivery, so she doesn’t think you forgot?” the woman next to him asked.

Jenny’s mind blanked. Oh, no, was she supposed to do something for Wade for Valentine’s Day? Would he think she expected something from him?

They had just started dating, had barely kissed. They could just ignore the day altogether, right? Or would he expect to get physical since it was a romantic holiday, and they were in a romantic relationship?

She was interested in exploring a physical relationship with the handsome geek, and not just because she couldn’t get Gloria’s comments about geeks out of her mind. But she didn’t want to feel pressured by him or society’s expectations. She didn’t want him to think he had to do anything, either.

Neither of them needed any pressure with things so new. Maybe she should tell him she was glad they were spending timetogether away from their usual environment since the Hallmark holiday made people act out of character.

Satisfied with her plan, she returned to the animated conversation at her table. Jenny was startled when a subdued Suzanne appeared next to her. Up close, she could see that the woman in front of her looked subtly different than the glossy, picture-perfect woman she met before.

Suzanne smiled at her awkwardly. That was also new. Previously, the confident woman either ignored her or pretended she wasn’t worth remembering.

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