Four years ago, Dimitri Petrov had his leg blown off by a landmine while in military service. Suffering from PTSD, he doesn’t do crowds, and he doesn’t do people. If he had his way, he’d never leave his house at all. Dimitri’s sister, Irina, runs a dating agency, and despite that it would be better for business if they had a pretty woman working the front desk, Irina insists Dimitri’s the man for the job.<br><br>In a whirlwind of pink shirts, flapping hands, and outrageous flirting enters Elian Hubert. Elian needs a date. Invited to speak on love through time in fiction at a Valentine dinner, there is no way he’s showing up alone. When Dimitri tells him The Single Pursuit is unable to help on such short notice, Elian suggests Dimitri be his date.<br><br>Dimitri doesn’t do dates, and he doesn’t do dinners, but Elian’s made him happier in the last few minutes than anyone’s been able to do in years. He might not do Valentine's, and he might not do gatherings, but maybe he can do Elian ... a favor and accompany him to his presentation? If things go too badly, he can always hide behind a curtain and pretend he’s somewhere else.

Be Still, My Heart

“Not in the way you mean. I’m not afraid he’ll hit me. A guy like me has been smacked around more than once—” The world went black before Dimitri’s eyes, every hair on his body stood on end, and he scanned the area for threats. No one was getting close to Elian while he was there. “—but, yes, in a way, he scares me. This was unlike him. He’s a lot more cunning than to walk up to someone and be unpleasant. Most people doesn’t realize he’s a homophobe. He hides it behind a charming fa?ade.”


“Let’s eat, then get out of here.” Dimitri pictured Elian in his home, in his bed, safely sleeping. He might not be the man he used to be, but he would do everything in his power to make sure Elian could sleep without worrying.


Chapter 8