WG2E All-For-Indies Anthologies: Viva La Valentine Edition Read Online Free PDF

like it. No,
all she wanted was to hear that the man she loved – and the man
she’d been living with for the past year – loved her! For God’s
sake, that wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
    Maybe … maybe the time had come to put a
stake in the ground. To see how he really felt, for once and for
all. She wasn’t going to hang around waiting any longer.
    Olivia swung open the door, full of
determination. Good, it was still dark, which meant Jonathan hadn’t
come back yet. She’d have a nice bath, pour herself a glass of
wine, and when he returned she’d sit him down and ask – in a calm,
cool voice without any hysterics – if he loved her. And if he
didn’t? Olivia pushed the thought from her mind. He did. She knew
he did. She just needed to hear it.
    As she hung up her coat, her ears cocked at a
sound in the kitchen. ‘Jonathan?’ Was someone there?
    There was a crash and a bang, and then she
heard him swearing. ‘Hi, hon!’
    What on earth was he doing? And why was he
home already? Well, at least she could get this over with. Taking a
deep breath, Olivia strode into the kitchen. ‘Jonathan, we need to
talk. I —’ Her mouth flopped open mid-sentence as she took in the
sight before her.
    Every dish they owned was spread out on the
counter. Steam rose from something bubbling on the hob, while foamy
liquid boiled over the sides of a pot, hissing as it met the hot
burner. A strange smell tainted the air, something like … well,
Olivia couldn’t even identify it. And in the midst of it all, her
usually cool, calm boyfriend was darting from oven to counter and
back again like a caffeinated gopher.
    ‘What are you doing?’ Olivia finally
asked.
    Jonathan gave her a sheepish grin. ‘Making a
mess of things. I wanted to cook you a nice dinner tonight. I know
I’ve been a bit tied up with work lately, and, well … I wanted to
make it up to you. I’ve been slaving away for hours here. But I’m
afraid it’s better suited to the rubbish bin than our dinner
table.’ He grimaced as he glanced around the kitchen. ‘What did you
want to ask me?’ He came over and put his arms around her waist,
drawing her up against him.
    Olivia looked into his eyes. Jonathan didn’t
even seem to realise today was Valentine’s Day. Suddenly, all her
anger and frustration drained away as it hit her that she didn’t
need a special gesture on one day of the year. And she didn’t need
to hear those three words, either. All she needed was the knowledge
that Jonathan loved her enough to show it. Nothing he said could
compete with that.
    ‘It’s okay,’ she said, resting her head on
Jonathan’s solid chest. The thud of his heart filled her ear, and
she smiled. ‘Actually, it’s more than okay. It’s perfect.’
     
    ABOUT TALLI ROLAND
     

     
    Talli Roland has three loves in her life:
chick lit, coffee and wine. Born and raised in Canada, Talli now
lives in London, where she savours the great cultural life (coffee
and wine). Her debut novel, The Hating
Game , was a bestseller and shortlisted for Best Romantic
Read at the UK’s Festival of Romance, and her second, Watching Willow
Watts , is a customer favourite. Build A Man is her
latest release. Talli blogs here and can be found on Twitter
here.

 
     
YOU MAKE ME FEEL BRAND NEW
     
    By Chicki Brown
     
     

Chapter One
     
    Who do you think you’re kidding? Jan
Davis threw her car into gear and headed for GA400. You can’t
possibly be considering this? He’s practically a boy, for crying
out loud.
    “He’s not that young,” she protested
out loud, as if someone were actually sitting in the front seat. “A
lot of women are involved with younger men these days. If he’s
interested in me, why shouldn’t I?”
    Because you’ll look foolish, that’s why.
Act your age and don’t embarrass yourself, the voice
warned.
    She slammed another fifty cents into the
greedy gaping mouth of the tollbooth, annoyed at having to feed the
DOT’s legalized slot machine.
    “Mmm,