Hi my lovely readers! Thank you so much for tuning in to this special chapter. Before you read, I would love to ask a huge favor: If you are enjoying this book, please please please go read my new story, If I Didn't Know Better. I'm so excited to write it, and I think it's going to be amazing. I'm pretty sure if you like this, you'll like that too! I've been really worried it's not reaching you all, and Like I said think if you like this, you should enjoy that! I really appreciate it!

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Matt rapped his knuckles on the wood, and moments later he saw her head pop out of the slightly opened door, looking surprised. 'Mattie? What are you doing here? It's after eleven."

He held open his arms and grinned, "I couldn't resist. I have a Valentine for my valentine."

Genevieve looked him up and down, confusion spreading over her face, "Umm, what?"

He felt his face fall in disappointment. "You don't get it?" He paused, looking at her blank face. "You're my valentine," he said, pointing at her, before pointing back at himself, "And my last name is Valentine."

She bit her lip, and she looked down in what he assumed was embarrassment. "I, uhh, you never told me your last name."

He couldn't help but burst out in laugh. "Really? Well that's a little embarrassing. What's it been, over three months since we met?"

She giggled, "I've been seeing you for nearly two. I guess that's bad form on my part." She smiled, leaning against the door. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here? I thought we said we weren't doing anything."

"I just thought that..." He trailed off when he noticed she still hadn't opened the door "Am I interrupting something?"

She looked confused "No? Why do you ask?"

"It's just an odd feeling I have. Maybe because you're keeping me out here." He added with a grin.

She looked inside at her feet, then back up at him, she sighed. "Just so you know, I wasn't expecting company. Don't judge," and with that, she opened the door.

He suppressed a laugh by tightly pressing his lips in a line, though in crept a smile. She was wearing faded flannel pyjama pants covered in smiling cookies, tucked into mismatched spotted socks. She rolled her eyes and walked over to the couch, flinging an arm over her face.

"It's late, and I just wanted to be comfortable!" She looked over at him accusingly. "Don't laugh at me!'

He held up his hands in surrender, but she narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Fighting the urge to smile, he looked up from her socks and shrugged, "I just figured that for the first time in a long time I have someone who I wouldn't actually mind spending Valentines Day with, even if she does think it's corny."

"It's not that I think it's corny, I just lost interest after so many alone," she said glumly.  She looked up at him, his hands tucked into his pockets, bird poking out of open shirt and grinned. "I guess you can stay, after you came all this way over here."

He leaned over the couch and kissed her, lingering over her slightly longer than was required. He smiled and kissed her forehead, the softly said "Happy Valentines Day Gen."

She bit her lip to try and surpress the size of her smile, but noticed the smile left his face. On the screen was Julie Andrews, arms outstretched on a hill. He looked down at her, "You've got to be kidding me."

She shrugged sheepishly. "I wasn't expecting you to come. We can change it if you want."

He sighed, but sat down next to her, putting an arm around her and pulling her in close.

Just as she pressed play, he pulled a small box out of his pocket and balanced it on her leg. Genevieve reached out for it, but didn't open it. "I thought we agreed..."

"Yeah, I know. It's just a little something that I found," Matt said nonchalantly. She gingerly opened the box, and on a velvet cushion lay the outlines of an open rose bloom on a delicate gold necklace. She pulled it out and smiled, rubbing her thumb over the rose, "It's beautiful."

She held it out to him, and pulled her hair up for him to put it on. He fastened the clasp, and pressed his lips softly to the back of her neck. She jumped up and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Gen?" he called out, concerned he had crossed the line.

She came back with a spotted tin and an envelope, and placed them in front of him. 'I may have gotten you something too,' she exclaimed. 

He raised his eyebrow and took the envelope. 'And what would you have done if I hadn't got you something?'

She grinned 'I would have given it to you anyway.' He ripped open the tab and pulled out two tickets to a tattoo convention in the city for the next month.

"I heard you and Mark talking about it the other day, and I know you weren't keen to take time off work, but I figured that if you had tickets you'd have a reason to go. Every now and then you need a day off."

He leaned back on the couch and looked at her inquisitively "Now is this for me, or for Mark?"

"Well if you don't want to go, I'm sure Mark and I will have a swell time. Perhaps I might find a nice artist and get a piece done or something."

He gave her a shove with his elbow and laughed, "You could try."

She pressed play on the movie and crossed her arms, but didn't lose her smile. "I'm sure one of those fellows would be much more appreciative,"  she claimed, turning away from him in mock disdain.

Matt opened the tin and his face broke into a large smile. "Now this is what I was really hoping for!" He exclaimed, reaching in and taking out a salted chocolate chip cookie. He took a bite and groaned.

"This is honestly all I wanted today," he said as he pulled her in close and kissing her cheek with a mouthful of cookie, "You and one of these little things."

"I think I was secretly hoping you'd stop by."

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As the movie went on, they both casually rearranged themselves, seeking both comfort and closeness, to the point where he was on a 45 degree angle with his legs on the coffee table, and herself flat on the couch with her head in his lap.

She didn't even mind.  As foreign as it was to her to seek comfort in another, she enjoyed having him there, and more importantly, him wanting to be there.

She couldn't imagine many people, men or women, understanding the way her mind worked - sometimes even she struggled - but he, even he didn't fully understand, still wanted to be with her. Sometimes, she felt that was nearly enough to make her forget any previous ideas or fears she held onto.

These thoughts had her drifting off into her own little world, but it was only when she heard him mutter, 'You can tell she was a nun' that she woke up. '

"Hmm?" she questioned.

"Only a nun would marry a guy with all those bloody kids. She has to be a saint." He said, voice dripping with disdain.

"She was nearly a nun. That's why she was allowed to marry. And besides, she loved him, and she loved the kids," she protested, looking up at him. "You don't want kids?"

He fidgeted uncomfortably. "I had never really planned on them."

Genevieve turned her head back to the screen. "Fair enough. I always liked the idea of fostering a kid though. Maybe even a few."

She felt him stiffen beneath her, and she looked back up at him. He didn't look at her, but asked, "Not your own? You'd want someone else's child?"

She felt her own face stiffen as she raised an eyebrow. "Someone else's child? Matt, those kids in the system don't have anybody to love them. That's why they're there. It's not like I'd say no to a child of my own, but there are people in this world that need love, and not nearly enough people are willing to give it to them."

Without warning, he got up and stormed off into the kitchen. She sat up and stared after him, dumfounded. She paused for a moment, but decided to then followed after him.

She found him standing at the sink, looking out the window. "Matt? What's wrong?" She asked timidly. 

When he didn't answer, she continued, "I don't know what I said, but I'm sorry. Do you want to talk about it?"

He scoffed, "That's a bit rich, isn't it?"

She hung her head in embarrassment, but then said softly, "I may not like to talk about my problems, but I'm more then happy to listen."

When he said nothing, she went back out to the couch and pressed play.

As Maria was walking down the church isle, he came back in and sat down, leaving a foot between them. He leaned forward, and began playing with his hands for a good while. He slowly began, "I was a foster kid, did you know?"

She turned to him, eyes wide in surprise "What?"

"My parents died when I was 10, and my brother was only 3. We went in the system together."

She looked down at her hands, and whispered, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

Genevieve paused and looked at him,  "I didn't know you have a brother."

He clenched his fists together, and blew out a large breath. "We went in together and lived with a family for five years. Then our foster father got  diagnosed with cancer, and were moved on."

Matt paused, quickly looking up at her face before continuing. "They said it was best for us, even though he wanted us to stay. We were sent to a group home for three months, when our case worker told me that they found a family who was happy to take my brother and adopt him, but they didn't have the room for me."

He took a deep breath and looked ahead. "I knew that was what was best for him, so I gave him a hug, told him I loved him and that I would see him again soon. After that I was bounced around from home to home, until I got into a bit of trouble when I was 17."

"My old boss met me not long after that, and took me under his wing. He gave me a place to stay, a job, and taught me everything I know. When he died, he left me the shop. And here we are."

She didn't say anything for a while. She wasn't sure whether it would be ok to invade his private thoughts. But then she had a question. "Where is your brother now?"

Matt looked up at her, and she noticed him trying to get rid of the tears rimming his eyes. "Gen, I haven't seen him in twelve years."

Genevieve felt her jaw drop. "What? How is that..."

"I can't find him." He interrupted, preempting her answer. "His family moved away. I don't know what happened, but I haven't been able to track him down."

He looked back down, trying to cover the sounding of his heaving breaths. She moved across the couch and enveloped him in a tight hug, but didn't say anything.

He didn't move for a moment, but then she felt him bury his face in her neck. "How could I have a kid when I don't even know what its like to be taken care of. I couldn't even take care of my own family." He had whispered this, ever so quietly.

She brought his face up to her eye level and put a hand on each cheek. "You listen to me right now, Matthew Valentine. You were a child. You needed to be taken care of, and you weren't. You were able to sacrifice your own happiness because you knew your brother had the opportunity for life, even if it meant a lonely future for yourself. That's more love than most people could ever hope to get."

She then grabbed his hands in her own. "As for being able to love a child," she went on. "everything I've ever heard you say about your parents has been nothing but good. I don't think you've forgotten what it was like to be loved by them. When it comes to it, I think you'll remember exactly what it felt like to be loved by them, and you'll be able to make your own kids feel like you did one day."

Genevieve smiled at him, and he reached out and touched her cheek, pulling her in so he could kiss her hard.

Matt rested his forehead on hers and looked at her. "I love you, Gen. Do you know that? I know you're probably not ready to hear that, but you need to know that that I think I've fallen in love with you."

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Eeeek! I actually wrote this chapter before I started this book, because I was so excited for it! What did you think? Were you expecting that?

Please vote and comment your thoughts below.

As I mentioned earlier, my new story, If I Didn't Know Better is out, and I think readers of this will really enjoy that story too. By chapter three it really starts to get interesting, and I promise you will love the drama/romance/excitment behind it all (and I really really really need some feedback from my regulars such as yourselves)

Love G xxx