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

“Do you want some pie?” When Elian didn’t respond, he continued, “There’s an old diner close to my house that’s open around the clock. I go there when I can’t sleep.” Which meant most of the time. “I…” He grimaced. “I get these phantom pains.” He motioned at his leg. “Pie is a good distraction.”


“I…” Elian frowned. “I don’t know if I want to be around people, and the dinner is over so you don’t have to—” He waved a hand, and Dimitri took it, palm to palm. He wrapped his other arm around Elian’s waist as if they were going to dance, and stood there, not caring about the people passing them by. Though, Dimitri monitored them to make sure no one looked suspicious.


“What are you doing?” Elian’s whisper made Dimitri smile.


A few seconds later, Elian breathed out a shuddering breath and rested his head against Dimitri’s shoulder. He was the perfect height to do so without having to bend his neck.


Chapter 10