"I know, Jane. If it's any help, I'm not going to have an exciting Valentine's either. I'm getting ready to leave on the tour and Aaron's swamped at work, so we haven't really made plans." A pause, then: "George wasn't good enough for you. He really wasn't. Aaron couldn't believe how rude he was to you at the reception. I really do believe you'll find somebody better."

One minute later: "I've always thought Valentine's Day was overrated myself. All it does is make people feel guilty or inadequate, and it jacks up the price of flowers."

Aaron wandered across the room and kissed the top of Martha's head; she smiled at him and took his hand. "You're not whining, Jane. I promise. Are you kidding? After everything you did for me when I left Charles, the least I can do is try to help you. Look. I've got a fundraiser to go to on the thirteenth. Care to join me? It'll get you out of the house…" she gave Aaron an apologetic look. "You never know, you might meet somebody there. I'll pick you up at six." She hung up and turned to Aaron. "I'm sorry about that. She really sounds down."

"I thought you wanted me to go with you?" Aaron did his best to look disappointed, but then their eyes met and he started to chuckle. As Martha well knew, Washington social events were something he preferred to avoid whenever possible.

"I did. I do. But if you don't care, it might be good for Jane. And maybe we'll have more time on Valentine's if you work late the day before?" she ended on a hopeful note.

"You've got a point. The Attorney General and President Gardner have been calling meetings left and right the last few days." Aaron raised an eyebrow. "Besides, I think Mrs. Gardner would have something to say about it if the President canceled her Valentine's evening for anything short of a nuclear war."

Martha started to laugh. She had learned over the years that Beth Gardner was rigidly insistent about celebrating Valentine's Day. Her first unkind theory, that Beth viewed the holiday as an excuse to get an expensive piece of jewelry, had been disproved as time went on and she realized that Beth took equal delight in an unusual card or a single chocolate truffle on her breakfast plate—anything that showed that Hal had thought of her. In contrast, Charles' gift had always been the same: Half a dozen red roses, which Walt Cummings had probably reminded him to order. No matter how many times she reminded him, Charles had never been able to remember that she preferred gerbera daisies to roses. This sour memory was one of the reasons Martha disliked this particular holiday and the only reason she had been envious of the Gardners. "I think Beth Gardner may be a closet romantic in her own way," she admitted. "She does love Valentine's Day."

Aaron looked slightly surprised. "And you don't?"

"No." Realizing the bleakness of her answer, she hugged him and added, "As far as I'm concerned every day with you is Valentine's Day." She kissed his cheek and smiled in response to his startled look. "I don't need a card or a box of chocolate to know that you love me."

"Not even those cheap candy hearts with the messages on them?" he teased, trying to lighten her mood.

Martha made a face. "I hate those things. The messages are cute, but they taste awful."

Aaron put a finger under her chin and gently raised her head. "I promise you one thing. We will be together on Valentine's Day, no matter what. I want you to have some good memories this year."

"I want that for you, too. I promise, no more cynical remarks. I just want a romantic evening with you before I leave." She hugged him again, thinking remorsefully: Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something nice for him.

"Okay, Martha, what's the point of this shindig?" Jane had obediently changed out of her work outfit, touched up her makeup and was now sitting beside Martha en route to the fundraiser. She wasn't particularly enthusiastic about their outing, but it was clear that she was making an effort to appear cheerful and enjoy herself.

"They're raising money for startup business projects in the Third World. It's sponsored by a couple of organizations that specialize in economic studies. I'm sure you'll know some of the people there." Jane's ex-husband, Walter, had worked with several economic groups in the course of his career as a lobbyist.

"And how did you get involved with them?"

"Charles made me do it," Martha answered honestly, "but I found it really interesting. I think they're doing good work, and the funds haven't gotten sucked up in bribery or corruption as far as I can tell. I wanted to keep supporting them."

"Good for you," Jane answered approvingly. "Didn't some guy win the Nobel Prize for that a few years ago?"

"Yes, and he's their keynote speaker tonight." Martha was pleased to see that Jane looked impressed by this news. Their car slid to a stop; escorted by Jon Cardona, they headed into the Economics Institute where the fundraiser was being held.

"Martha!" Startled by the unexpected greeting, Martha didn't realize at first that Mike Novick was embracing her.

"How are you, Mike?" She smiled and gestured toward Jane. "Let me introduce you. Mike Novick, this is my friend Jane Hughes. You might know her former husband, Walt…"

"Ah yes, of course!" Novick smiled and shook hands. "I've met with him a few times, I believe."

"Lucky you." Jane unleashed this riposte automatically, then blinked and gained control of herself. "He has a strong interest in economics."

Mike shot a questioning look to Martha, then answered blandly, "I haven't seen much of him lately."

"We're from Massachusetts originally," Jane answered more calmly. "I think he's been working with the state government the last year or so." Taking her cue from Mike, she slid into an automatic social conversation. "Are you interested in Third World economics?"

"Well, I work with the Institute now, so I'm interested in all aspects of economics," Mike quipped. "I used to be on staff with President Logan."

Jane gave him a quick look of comprehension. "And President Palmer too, I think?"

"Yes, I was privileged to work with him," Mike answered quietly. He looked about to continue the conversation, but at that point they were interrupted by a loud-talking guest who was clearly hoping for an introduction to the evening's speaker. Under duress, Mike politely split him off from Martha and Jane, casting a long-suffering look back at them as he guided their interrupter toward the bar.

"I think I remember him," Jane commented. "Not sure where, though."

"You know how it is in Washington. You might have met him half a dozen times." Martha was standing against a wall, scanning the room for the Institute's director who had invited her for the evening. "Mike's a good guy. He's one of those 'know everybody' people, but there's more to him than that. I trust him more than anyone except Aaron."

Jane looked impressed. "That speaks well for him, Martha, if you trust him."

"He's always been absorbed in his work, but it's gotten worse ever since his wife died…" Martha trailed off, struck by an idea. "Jane!"

Jane gave her a horrified look. "Martha, please, no. No grieving widowers."

"It's been a while. And they were never that close to begin with." Martha was almost dragging Jane across the room in pursuit of Mike.

"For God's sake, Martha, don't play matchmaker with me! It's too embarrassing."

"Well, okay." Martha relented. "Maybe we can meet up with him later tonight. I do have to say, Jane, I think you'd be perfect for each other."

"Because we both breathe oxygen? Or do we have more in common than that?"

"Oh, come on, Jane. You know how things work in this town and so does he. You know a lot of the same people. I'm not saying that's all you need, but at least you could carry on a conversation with him. And I can promise you that he'd never treat you like George did." She broke off the conversation as the master of ceremonies approached the podium and they were forced to search for seats.

"Martha, where's your friend?" Scanning the room for Agent Cardona to signal that they were ready to leave, Martha turned around in surprise to see Mike.

"She met up with somebody she knows from work. They're over there." Martha eyed him thoughtfully. "I brought her out with me tonight to cheer her up. She was dating George Friedman for a while – remember him?" Mike gave a grunt of recognition. "He dumped her, and she's been really down about it. I thought bringing her out tonight might help."

"That's too bad. First Hughes, and now Friedman." Novick looked sympathetic. "She seemed nice."

"She is nice, Mike. She helped me with my move, and I put her in charge of decorating my apartment. She did a fantastic job. I wasn't in the mood to care how things looked, but she told me it would make a difference and she was right."

"I don't suppose she'd be free for dinner tomorrow night?"

"I happen to know she is free, but… you do realize tomorrow's Valentine's Day, don't you?"

Novick looked horrified. "Oh, my God. Thanks for reminding me. Maybe I'll ask her for this weekend."

Martha thought fast. "You're probably right," she answered casually. "There's no way you could get a dinner reservation on one day's notice. Not for tomorrow."

"Oh I don't know," Mike responded without thinking. "I know a couple of maître d's who owe me a favor." Suddenly realizing he'd given himself away, he shot Martha a look.

"Mike," Martha answered honestly, "if you can deliver on that promise, you'll have every single woman in Washington knocking down your door."

"I don't want every single woman in Washington, Martha. I just want somebody I can talk to."

"Then ask her. She's nice, she's smart and she knows enough about Washington for you to have an interesting conversation over dinner." She gave him an innocent look

Novick hesitated. "Well… okay." He squared his shoulders and headed across the room; Martha signaled to Cardona. "Give us another three minutes, Jon?"

The following evening Martha sat Aaron down at the kitchen table (which was decorated with a very large bunch of gerbera daisies, Aaron's gift) for dinner. As she served the strawberries Romanoff for dessert, Aaron sat back with a sigh. "That was delicious." He smiled. "I'm glad you didn't want to go out tonight."

"Fighting five hundred other people for dinner? No thanks." She flashed him a grin. "I do wonder, though, how Mike and Jane are doing tonight."

"You seem to have cheered up a bit."

"There's something about playing Cupid that makes me feel very romantic. Maybe I haven't given Valentine's Day a fair chance." She leaned over and kissed him.

Aaron kissed her back, then picked up their desserts and put them back in the refrigerator. "Can we save these for later?" He took her hand and pulled her up to face him.

"Yes," she whispered, smiling into his eyes. "Let's save them for later."

This is true! Muhammad Yunus of Bangladesh won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, splitting it with the Grameen Bank "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below." Remember, 24 is set a few years into the future, hence "a few years ago."