This is a fun and very sweet Valentine's Day offering from Barry Lowe. The main character who tells the story is full of assumptions and fear (not that I can blame him after what he's been through!) but he tells it with such a sense of humor that some of his observations and comments made me laugh. The stranger who should be totally fearsome is actually really charming, and the romance that develops is as sweet as it seems unlikely. 'He Won't Send Roses' is one of the most romantic and charming Valentine's stories I have read in a while, delighting me with its charm and a heat level that was just right.

Christopher grew up knowing he'd have to run as soon as his father found out he is gay. When it happens, it still isn’t easy for him. But at least he knows where he is going: Uncle Ben is "just like him", so he figures he should give it a try. Years later, after he inherits his uncle's shop in a rough area of the city, he is confronted with an extremely rough looking delivery man and thinks his life has ended. Christopher has learned to expect the worst, but this one time, he is most definitely wrong.

Ryder, who looks like a biker, ends up helping Christopher out on one of the busiest days of the year for a florist. He is very good with the customers, but that isn’t the only surprise he has to offer. I loved discovering layer after layer of what kind of a man Ryder is, and as for the cute twist at the end? Absolutely brilliant! I laughed out loud and am still smiling.

If you like stories about men who have a haunted past yet manage to build a life for themselves, if you enjoy watching assumptions crumble before a deeper and very human truth, and if you're looking for a Valentine's story that is as sweet as it is funny and hot, then you will probably like this Valentine's short story. ( )