“And why is that, do you think?” Ellie asked as she rang up his boxes of Valentine candies.

“Well, I’m fortunate enough, or unfortunate enough depending on how you look at things, to get first-hand information through my best friend from Rebecca’s sister. It seems that she thinks I’m irresponsible and have a spending problem.” Not to mention the issue she had with the six-year age difference between them, and the fact that he played computer games for a living, which didn’t fit into her image of a professional occupation.

Ellie took his credit card for his purchases, but hesitated before running it through the register. “Do you have a spending problem?”

Connor laughed at the woman’s straight-forward question, feeling as though he was talking to his level-headed grandmother instead of a stranger he’d just met. “No. I have a lot of nice things because I can afford them.” However, he’d come to realize over the past year that he tended to buy expensive items and toys to make up for what was really lacking in his life: a strong, solid relationship with a woman. And no fancy imported sports car or pricey electronic gadget could make up for that kind of companionship.

It also didn’t help that he was holding out for the one woman who didn’t want to have anything to do with him. Yeah, he really was pathetic.

“It sounds as though she needs to get to know the real you.”

He signed the sales receipt and slipped the credit card back into his wallet. “Great advice, but I’m afraid that’s easier said than done.” Getting Rebecca to go out on a date with him had proved fruitless and frustrating.

“Well, I’m a firm believer that one way to a woman’s soul is through chocolate, and she did seem to favor the chocolate-dipped strawberries.”