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

“Tell me what you want to do to me once we get out of here.” Elian had gone back to being pale. His fingers dug into the sleeve of Dimitri’s suit. Distraction, he was asking for a distraction.


“Well, first off, I was thinking I’d take you…” Elian grinned at him. “…to my favorite diner, the one I was talking about the other day. I won’t be able to eat here, so once we’re done, I’ll be hungry.”


“Oh, that sounds like a lovely plan. I was hoping you’d say you’d fuck me on one of the tables in the diner, but I think you’re right, food will probably be good once we’re out of here.”


Chapter 23