Be My Valentine Read Online Free PDF

she tried for the third time, loud enough to catch the waitress’s attention. The woman appeared and splashed more coffee into their nearly full cups.
    â€œI’m not purposely being dense,” he said. “I’m just not sure what you mean.”
    â€œTry to look as though you find me attractive,” she said, leaning halfway across the table and speaking in a heated whisper.
    â€œI see. So that’s what ‘besotted’ means.” He took another sip of his coffee, and Dianne had the feeling he did so in an effort to hide a smile.
    â€œYou aren’t supposed to find that amusing.” She took a gulp of her own drink and nearly scalded her mouth. Under different circumstances she would’ve grimaced with pain, or at least reached for the water glass. She did none of those things. A woman has her pride.
    â€œLet me see if I understand you correctly,” Steve said matter-of-factly. “For an extra ten bucks you want me to look ‘smitten.’”
    â€œYes,” Dianne answered with as much dignity as she could muster, which at the moment wasn’t a lot.
    â€œI’ll do it, of course,” Steve said, grinning and making her feel all the more foolish, “only I’m not sure I know how.” He straightened, squared his shoulders and momentarily closed his eyes.
    â€œSteve?” Dianne whispered, glancing around, hoping no one was watching them. He seemed to be attempting some form of Eastern meditation. She half expected him to start chanting. “What are you doing?”
    â€œThinking about how to look smitten.”
    â€œAre you making fun of me?”
    â€œNot at all. If you’re willing to offer me an extra ten bucks, it must be important to you. I want to do it right.”
    Dianne thought she’d better tell him. “This isn’t for me,” she said. “It’s for my ten-year-old daughter, who happens to have a romantic nature. Jill was so impressed with the story of how we supposedly met, that I…I was kind of hoping you’d be willing to…you know.” Now that she was forced to spell it out, Dianne wasn’t certain of anything. But she knew one thing—suggesting he look smitten with her had been a mistake.
    â€œI’ll try.”
    â€œI’d appreciate it,” she said.
    â€œHow’s this?” Steve cocked his head at a slight angle, then slowly lowered his eyelids until they were half closed. His mouth curved upward in an off-center smile while his shoulders heaved in what Dianne suspected was meant to be a deep sigh of longing. As though in afterthought, he pressed his open hands over his heart while making soft panting sounds.
    â€œAre you doing an imitation of a Saint Bernard?” Dianne snapped, still not sure whether he was laughing at her. “You look like a…a dog. Maybe Jason’s right and you really are a flake.”
    â€œI was trying to look besotted,” Steve said. “I thought that was what you wanted.” As if it would improve the image, he cocked his head the other way and repeated the performance.
    â€œYou’re making fun of me, and I don’t appreciate it one bit.” Dianne tossed her napkin on the table and stood. “Thursday night, six o’clock, and please don’t be late.” With that she slipped her purse strap over her shoulder and stalked out of the restaurant.
    Steve followed her to her car. “All right, I apologize. I got carried away in there.”
    Dianne nodded. She’d gone a little overboard herself, but not nearly as much as Steve. Although she claimed she wanted him to give the impression of being attracted to her for Jill’s sake, that wasn’t entirely true. Steve was handsome and kind, and to have him looking at her with his heart in his eyes was a fantasy that was strictly her own.
    Admitting that, even to herself, was a shock. The walls around her battered heart had been reinforced