A Valentine's Wish (10 page)

Andy cleared his throat. “Well, if everything is okay here, I guess I better get going.” He didn’t want to leave, but he wasn’t sure he could hide his reaction when Lori opened that present. This gift was a little more personal, a little more revealing, and he couldn’t afford to ruin everything now by slipping up in front of Lori. She wasn’t ready for the truth yet, not while their friendship was still so sketchy—and especially not after the last movie night. At least now he knew she wasn’t interested in Monny. One less obstacle in his path.

Only three hundred or so to go. If only he could be certain she was ready to date again after Jason. But asking without seeming obvious would be tricky.

“Why’d you stop by, anyway?” Summer brushed her bangs out of her eyes, now lit with a curious gleam. “You just showed up out of nowhere.”

“I was in the area.” He darted a nervous glance at Lori, who was examining the box, probably searching for a name tag.
Good luck.

“And you thought you’d stop by?” Summer smirked. “That’s how it goes, right?”

She was teasing him. Normally he’d tease right back, but Lori was already tugging the bow free on the wrapping, and he had to get away before she saw the leather Bible cover with her name engraved on the front.

“Something like that.” Andy stood so fast he nearly tripped over the chair leg. He caught his balance and continued to backpedal. “I’ll see you girls later.”

Summer waved, but Lori only grunted, immersed in remov
ing the layers of tissue paper from the box. Andy turned and made steady progress toward the door, forcing himself not to look back. He’d go to his office and get some work done before his dreaded date with Eva. Maybe he could make it through the evening if he kept his mind on the future—a future that hopefully involved Lori at his side.

The sound of a box lid hitting the ground and Lori’s excited gasp drifted in his wake as Andy strolled onto the sidewalk, and he couldn’t help the smile that turned up his lips as he continued to his car.

U
tensils clanked on plates, kitchen doors bustled open and shut, and fellow diners hummed with various conversations from their tables. But the busy background noise of the restaurant couldn’t come close to covering Eva’s piercing, high-pitched laugh.

Andy’s eyes narrowed as the pulse in his temples increased. It was amazing the decibel this woman could reach when giggling. If his ears didn’t ache so badly, he’d imagine only dogs could hear it.

“I’m so glad we came,” Eva gushed. She reached for a roll on the table between them and set it on her plate, flipping her long, curly blond hair over her shoulder for what had to be the fiftieth time. “You’re so funny.”

He wasn’t—actually, Andy had been trying his hardest to be completely, one hundred percent boring so as not to invoke that awful screech. No wonder the girl needed her great-grandmother to set her up on dates. She was attractive—until she opened her mouth and made all of the earth’s creatures run for their lives.

Andy sipped from his glass of iced tea and wondered how he could subtly flag the waiter for their check. It wasn’t just the
laugh that had him gritting his teeth, nor was it the constant hair flipping, the ditzy speech and the fact that she had ordered the most expensive steak on the menu. Those weren’t her worst qualities; in fact, she had only one unforgivable characteristic.

She wasn’t Lori.

Widow Spencer was going to be crushed, and Eva was going to be dateless come next weekend. But Andy couldn’t pretend any longer. It wasn’t fair to him or the woman—or his ears.

The waiter appeared at their table with refills for their drinks, and Andy caught his eye and nodded. In a flash, he was back with their check, and Andy reached for his wallet so fast his finger snagged in his back pocket.

“So, what’s next?” Eva shoved her half-full plate away from her, and Andy winced. Might as well be a rolled-up twenty lying there next to the scoop of untouched mashed potatoes. Strange, since he had no problem dropping three times that on Lori’s gifts.

“Next?” Andy hesitated, tapping his fork against his plate.
Next
he wanted to take Eva home as fast as the speed limit would allow and collapse on his couch, alone, with nothing but his favorite pajama pants and the TV remote control for company.

“Want to go dancing?” Eva shimmied in her seat, Andy supposed as an example of her dancing ability. “Or catch a late movie?”

“I don’t really dance.” It was true, he didn’t. Not with blind dates, anyway.

“Then what about ice cream? Or coffee?”

“I’m really full.”

Eva’s face darkened. “I see.”

A sudden burst of sympathy overrode the lingering annoyance, and Andy reached against the table toward her. Just because he couldn’t get past his thoughts for Lori didn’t mean he had to be rude. “Listen, Eva, it’s not personal. I’m just not really in a good position to date right now.”

“Then why’d you take me out?”

Andy opened his mouth, then shut it, not wanting to rat out Ms. Spencer.

Understanding dawned in Eva’s expression, and her lips pursed. “It was my great-grandmother, wasn’t it? She made it sound like you asked about me, but I bet she forced you into this.” Her grip tightened on Andy’s wrist. “She’s so meddling.”

Andy tugged at his hand, to no avail. “Eva, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean for—”

“Well, it looks like you two are hitting it off.” Lori suddenly appeared at the table’s edge, Summer standing a few steps to her right.

“Lori!” Andy wrenched his hand free and rubbed it with his other one. “What are you doing here?”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, yet somehow the movement wasn’t nearly as aggravating as when Eva did it. “Summer was on a vegetarian kick last month and had a meat craving tonight. They have the best burgers here.”

“Yeah, turns out I’m a beef girl after all.” Summer’s gaze drifted to Eva’s half-empty plate. “Hey, are you going to finish that?”

Eva blinked twice. “No, I’m done.”

“Summer!” Lori nudged the younger girl in the ribs and rolled her eyes. “We better go order before she starts snatching food.” She smiled, but it looked somewhat forced as Lori’s eyes darted between Andy and Eva.

A knot welled in Andy’s throat. “Lori, I’m not…It’s not…” His pathetic attempt at an explanation died on his lips as the girls continued following the hostess to a table across the floor.

Eva’s gaze locked on Andy, and she folded her arms across her chest. “Not really dating right now, huh?”

“Trust me, Lori and I aren’t dating.” He rubbed his temples with his fingers.

“But you want to.”

“It doesn’t really matter.” Or maybe it did. That look on Lori’s face couldn’t have been jealousy, could it? He replayed her expression in his mind as he stared absently at his glass of tea. There had definitely been a tight smile and a twitching eyebrow involved. Apparently his date with Eva had bothered Lori more than she wanted to admit.

Maybe it was time to rethink the timing of his secret-admirer revelation. After all, they’d had a great time at lunch together yesterday, and she hadn’t tried to bite his head off when he showed up at the store. That was significant. Maybe he should just put it all on the line and share his heart with her.

Eva snorted, drawing Andy’s attention back across the patterned tablecloth. “Of course it matters to you. I might wear contacts, but I can see what’s right in front of me.” She sighed and mumbled under her breath, “It’s always the cute ones.”

Andy couldn’t help but glance across the restaurant to Lori’s table. She sat facing in his direction, the menu partly covering her face, but there was no mistaking the way her eyes flicked to his and then back down at the laminated plastic. Hope tingled up his spine.

Eva coughed. “Can you at least give me the dignity of taking me home before you start mooning over another woman?”

“Sure.” He stood and pulled out her chair for her, then helped her into her jacket. It wasn’t Eva’s fault he was in love with someone else. Probably wasn’t entirely her fault her laugh could shatter a window, either.

“After you.” He guided Eva toward the front door, mind already drifting to Lori’s table near the kitchen. She’d probably order a salad, then a big chocolate dessert to make up the difference.

And hopefully talk about him between forkfuls.

Lori dropped her fork on her plate, too upset to finish her dessert. She squinted at the towering chocolate volcano and sighed. Whom was she kidding? She grabbed her fork again and
stabbed it into the melting mass of ice cream. The nerve of Andy, flaunting his date and being all gentlemanly. A regular Romeo. And what did she get? Burgers and fries on a Sunday afternoon—dutch treat.

Why didn’t Andy think of her as dating material?
Stab.
Eva was pretty, but she wasn’t a supermodel.
Stab.
What did she have that Lori didn’t?
Stab, stab.
And why did it take a nosy grandmother to fix him up when Lori had been around and available for years?

A blob of ice cream slipped out of the dish and slid toward Summer. She covered her plate with her hand in defense. “Hey, what’d that ice cream ever do to you?”

“Sorry.” Lori scooted the rest of her dessert toward the center of the bowl. “I’m just frustrated.”

“Don’t worry. Andy wasn’t into her.” Summer forked a piece of steak into her mouth.

“That’s not what…” Lori paused. “How can you tell?”

“He looked miserable until he saw us. Like we had rescued him or something.”

Lori shook her head. “I’ve told you before that Andy’s not interested in me.” She glanced over at the empty table Andy and Eva had vacated. “Trust me, we’re just friends. He’s made that abundantly clear.” Way,
way
too many times.

“Whatever. I still think there’s a chance Andy is your secret admirer.” Summer held the ketchup bottle over her plate and pounded on the bottom.

“It wouldn’t make sense. We’ve been friends for years, so why now? Besides, he’s such a prankster.” Lori traced a design in her chocolate with her fork. “These gifts have had a romantic edge to them. It’s just not Andy. He’d send someone a whoopee cushion before he’d send sweet, personalized gift cards.” She smirked. “The only flowers he’d send would squirt water.” All part of his charm. Romance was nice, but laughing together was even more fun. Jason had been stodgy, technical, never given to food fights or fun. Andy was perfect for Lori.

Too bad he was also blind.

Summer leaned back to make room for the waiter refilling her glass of water. “I guess. You know Andy better than I do.”

Lori nodded slowly, but her heart argued. She used to know him. Lately she and Andy had drifted apart, and it started the day she began work at the Chocolate Gator. It was probably her fault. Every time he showed up at the shop, she grew so defensive. But why did he have to check on her all the time? She didn’t enjoy feeling like a failure, especially in front of him.

Lori set her fork on her plate with a clatter. “You want any of this?”

Summer’s eyes bugged. “Lori not finishing her chocolate?” She shook her head. “You really do have it bad.”

“I do not.” The words felt like a lie. Lori sipped from her glass of water as she tried to decipher her feelings. She did have a thing for Andy, and it seemed like the more she fought it, the bigger it grew. A year ago, Lori would have admitted to admiring Andy, maybe even having a crush on him. But it had never gone further than that in her mind because she knew their friendship was an important part of both their lives and didn’t think it was worth risking.

When had that changed? Lori traced a path in the condensation on her glass. At some point, without her noticing, those feelings of admiration and friendship had morphed into jealousy and the intense need for Andy to see her as a competent and successful woman, not just a girl to play ball with or help at the church.

“Earth to Lori! Come in, Boss!” Summer nudged her leg under the table. “If you don’t have it bad, then where’d you go just now?”

“Just thinking.”

“About Andy.” Summer shot her a knowing look.

“Whatever.” Lori shook her head, determined to clear it of all these crazy misconceptions. Her feelings for Andy might have changed, but there was no reason why she couldn’t deny
them until they went away. Letting them develop further was completely pointless. His sitting at a table with Eva moments ago only further proved her point.

Summer patted her stomach. “That was really good. Remind me of this meal next time I get a random vegetarian urge.”

“Will do.” Lori gestured to the waiter that they were ready for their check. She wanted to get out of there and go home before her traitorous mind could imagine what Andy and Eva would do next. Maybe take a moonlit walk around the city, or enjoy a ride on the trolley. Or share beignets at Café Du Monde.

Lori’s lips pressed together. They’d probably even sit at the same table she and Andy always shared, in the back corner—far enough away from the kitchen to be out of the hectic bustle, but close enough to smell the fried bread.

The waiter brought their bill, and Lori quickly slipped a wad of cash onto the check holder, almost forgetting to count it first. Despite the jealousy knotting her stomach, it really didn’t matter whether Andy and Eva became a couple or not—because Lori and Andy never would. The sooner she could discover the identity of her secret admirer, the sooner she could rid herself of these nagging feelings for Andy and move on with Mr. Right.

Whomever he was.

A
ndy tossed a runaway basketball back across the gym floor to one of their youngest youth-group members. “Try to keep it in the court, man. We’ve got ladies here who don’t particularly like getting hit in the head.”

The boy caught the ball and grinned at the flock of junior-high girls frantically fixing their hair from the near hit. “Sure thing, Pastor.”

Andy shook his head as he stacked another couple of folding chairs. Usually the guys helped him clean up the gym after the Wednesday-night services, but tonight they seemed distracted. Summer had visited the church again with Lori, which was probably the reason. The kids thought it was cool that Summer looked like them.

He glanced at Lori as he worked, wondering if she was upset about his date with Eva Monday night or if those signs of jealousy had existed only in his imagination. It’d been torture staying away from the Chocolate Gator yesterday, but showing up uninvited again would probably hurt rather than help his fledgling romance with Lori.

Andy’s cell phone rang from his jacket pocket, and he fished
it out. “Hello?” He shouldered the cell while stacking another group of chairs.

“Andy, my man. What’s happening?” Carter’s cheerful voice boomed.

“Not much, honeymooner. Just cleaning up from the youth service.” Andy winced at the metal clanking as one chair hit another harder than he’d intended.

“This is one honeymoon that’s over. We’re on our way home.”

“Back to the real world, huh?”

“Unfortunately.” Carter paused. “But I suspect the real world will be much more interesting now.”

Andy laughed. “I’m sure Gracie is eager to get back to those penguins of hers at the aquarium, too.” Gracie was a penguin keeper at the Aquarium of the Americas.

“No doubt.” Carter cleared his throat. “Listen, man, I was just calling to check on the whole situation with Lori. Have you told her how you feel yet, or are you still playing the secret-admirer role?”

“I haven’t been able to tell her yet.” Andy glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one could overhear his conversation. “But in the meantime, everyone at the church who even knows someone single is trying to set me up on dates.”

“Bummer.”

“You have no idea.” Andy gave a quick recap of his date with Eva. “And to make matters worse, Lori showed up at the same restaurant and saw me.”

“Ouch.”

“No kidding.”

Carter clicked his tongue. “Maybe you should come clean.”

“Not after the disaster with Eva.”

“I don’t know what to say, man. You’ll have to tell her the truth eventually, and I really believe the sooner the better in this case.”

“I’m not as sure.” Andy loaded the last of the folding chairs
onto the rolling cart and began to push it toward the storage closet. “I just wish I could know she felt the same way about me.”

“Love is a risk, dude. You know that.”

“I do. And Lori’s definitely worth the risk. I just don’t know if I’m ready to handle her rejection. Our friendship means too much to me to risk losing it if she isn’t interested.”

“Maybe she’ll surprise you.”

Maybe. Or maybe she’d break his heart into ten thousand tiny pieces and scatter them across St. Charles Avenue. Andy briefly closed his eyes. “I appreciate the positive thought.”

“No problem. Hang in there, and keep us posted. We’ll get together as soon as the missus and I get settled into our new house.”

“Sounds good.” Andy said goodbye and dropped his cell back in his pocket, then bent to shove the chair cart into the closet.

“Pastor Andy?”

He jumped. The cart, still rolling with momentum, slammed into the back shelf of the storage room. A dozen basketballs and foam bats rolled onto the floor.

“My bad.” Haley scooted past him into the closet and bent to pick up the sports equipment.

“How long were you standing behind me?” Andy narrowed his eyes, hoping Haley hadn’t overheard his conversation with Carter. She already knew about his feelings for Lori, but he didn’t want to broadcast his bad date with Eva.

“Not long.” Haley shoved a ball back onto the shelf, then met his waiting gaze. “Okay, fine, long enough. I heard you had a bad date.”

“Haley—”

“I won’t tell anyone, I promise.” Haley held up both hands in the Scouts-honor position. “But that reminds me. I know a girl who’d be perfect for you, and I really think—”

“No.” Andy tried to keep his voice even, though every frus
trated instinct inside him wanted to slam the door and lock Haley in the closet. “Not a chance.”

“But just listen—”

“No more blind dates.”

“This girl is different.”

“Aren’t they all?” He rubbed his palms down the length of his face and groaned. This wasn’t happening. When had his love life degenerated to blind dates set up by elderly parishioners and meddling teenagers?

“Trust me.” Haley pleaded with her eyes, her hands practically wringing a foam bat. “You won’t be sorry.”

He was already sorry. Andy exhaled loudly, knowing he should count to ten—make that one hundred—before he said anything in anger.

Haley must have taken his silence for interest. “Seriously, she’s great. A friend of a friend—and she’s your age, so don’t worry about that.”

Age was the least of his concerns right now, though he supposed it was the main concern of the senior pastor and the rest of the church staff. Andy pressed his lips together. If that one sorry excuse for a youth minister at that church across town hadn’t made such a poor decision, Andy wouldn’t even be in this mess right now. He should call him up and—

“Pastor Andy?”

He jerked back to reality, where Haley still waited for a response. “Listen, Haley, I appreciate the thought, but I’m not interested.”

“It’s because of Lori, isn’t it?”

He looked over his shoulder with panic, holding one finger to his lips. The teens remaining in the gym were still gathered around Lori and Summer, talking animatedly amongst themselves. Lori tilted her head back and laughed, her long brown hair falling across her back.

Andy clenched a kickball between both hands. He would
prefer getting slammed by one of those foam bats Haley held than deal with the constant, gnawing ache in his stomach every time he saw Lori.

“Your secret is safe with me,” Haley piped up.

Andy raised one eyebrow. “And Jeremy.”

Haley twirled one braid around her finger and winced. “Right. But I tell him everything.”

“I hope he doesn’t feel that way about someone else.”

“We won’t tell anyone, I promise. Lori will figure out the gifts soon enough, anyway. Do you have another one for me to deliver?”

“I think I’m mailing them from now on.” Since the disaster with Summer, the old lady and Lori’s window display, it seemed best to keep it simple, even if it meant his packages took longer to arrive.

“Okay.” Haley crossed her arms and tapped her foot, obviously still waiting.

Andy crossed his arms right back. “I’m not giving on this one. No more blind dates.”

She cocked one hip to the side in her traditional stubborn pose. “Would you just think about it?”

Andy opened his mouth to refuse, then stopped. Pastor Mike was leaning against the counter in the kitchen area of the gym, talking to a few of the parents. One woman looked agitated and gestured wildly with one arm—in Andy’s direction? Andy swallowed hard. The man beside her kept pounding one fist in his hand, and nodding toward his daughter, who stood talking to Lori and Summer.

Was this about him? Paranoia crept over Andy’s shoulders and settled like a dark blanket. What if Lori never accepted him as anything more than a friend? Would he really lose his job if he didn’t get serious about a woman soon? Surely the senior staff wouldn’t be that harsh.

But the stern expression on Pastor Mike’s face caused a
finger of doubt to trail down Andy’s spine. He shifted his weight and glanced back at Haley’s hopeful face. He was running out of options, and fast. What was the worst that could happen? He tried to shove aside the memory of Eva’s laugh and drew a steadying breath.

“Set it up.”

Lori couldn’t help but smile as she watched Summer talk with the youth-group members that stuck around after the service. They were hitting it off great. At this rate, the retreat would be a success, and Andy could have that much more pressure taken off him from being understaffed.

“Lori!”

Lori turned from the conversation in time to see Haley maneuvering through the gymnasium, eyes bright and cheeks flushed. “Hey, there. You look excited.”

“I had a super idea.” Haley tugged Lori’s arm, pulling her slightly away from Summer and the other teens.

Lori ducked her head toward Haley. “Let’s hear it.”

“I know the perfect guy for you.”

Lori let out her breath in a slow rush and checked to make sure no one had overheard. Perfect guys didn’t exist. But no use bursting Haley’s bubble at this young age. “Who would that be?”

“It’s a friend of a friend.” Haley beamed. “He’s meeting you for lunch Friday at Café Du Monde.”

“What? Haley, no.” Lori’s thoughts raced together in a tangled maze. She couldn’t meet a stranger for lunch, supposedly perfect or not. “I can’t.”

“What about Saturday, then?”

“No, I mean I can’t date a complete stranger. Ever.”

“Come on, he’s a great guy. You’ll have a blast.” Haley nudged her arm and winked. “He’s cute, too.”

“Well, in that case…” Lori rolled her eyes.
“No.”
The steady thump of a basketball across the gymnasium echoed her pound
ing heart. Did she seem so desperate for love that she’d resort to a blind date set up by a member of the youth group? How embarrassing. But Haley couldn’t have known about Monny, or her feelings for Andy, or even about Jason and their past. So why the setup?

“Please, Lori, it’s already planned. He’d be really disappointed if you didn’t show.” Haley clutched her hands together. “Just one date. Not even a date, really—just lunch.”

Lori shook her head.

“Seriously. One beignet, then you can leave if you don’t like him.”

Lori nibbled on her bottom lip. It didn’t sound
that
bad when Haley put it that way—unless this mystery man had the same plan and ended up ditching Lori before she could ditch him. She frowned. She was definitely not up for any more rejection, especially from a complete stranger—and especially not with Valentine’s Day breathing down her neck. The holiday would be difficult enough to go through alone, without an extra memory of embarrassment lingering. She had plenty of those already.

Haley held her breath, waiting, bouncing on the soles of her shoes. Lori stopped the
no
hovering on her lips and paused. Haley seemed excited—really excited. What if she knew something Lori didn’t? What if her secret admirer was someone at the church and had put Haley up to this as a means of revealing his identity? She could be blowing her chance by refusing. Better yet, if it was her secret admirer, then she obviously wouldn’t be rejected first, but would have the option of doing the rejecting.

“I’ll do it.” Lori covered her ears at Haley’s squeal. “Just this once!”

“You’ll have fun, I promise. This guy is so perfect for you.” She gave Lori an excited hug.

“Whatever you say.” Lori hugged her back, then held Haley at arm’s length, gripping her shoulders and lowering her head
to Haley’s level so she could see the girl’s eyes. “No more making plans without asking me first, okay?”

“Deal.”

Lori released her grip, and Haley scooted across the gym toward Jeremy. Summer caught Lori’s gaze and raised her eyebrows. “Later,” Lori mouthed. She rejoined the conversation, but her head wasn’t in it. She was already nestled at a corner table at Café Du Monde with her mystery man.

Problem was, in her fantasy, her mystery man had Andy’s face.