A Valentine's Wish (5 page)

Monny stepped through the kitchen doorway. “Yes,
mi cara?
You wanted to see me?” He stopped in front of her, close enough she could smell the strawberry crème dotting his apron.

“I just…I…” The words dangled off her lips, teasing them both. He looked so sweet standing there with a smile, calling her “my dear,” that she almost couldn’t bring herself to say anything. She coughed and tried again. “I wanted to say thank you.”

“
Prego.
But for what?”

“For the gifts.” Lori gestured toward the flower bouquet. The petals were starting to dry and brown, but the overall arrangement still brightened the counter display.

Monny’s dark eyebrows meshed into one, and he shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

“You’re my secret admirer. I’m sorry that I figured it out so fast. You might not have been ready.” Lori took a deep breath and offered what she hoped came across as a compassionate smile. “But I’m not ready, either. To date, that is. I appreciate the gifts, but a relationship just isn’t smart. We’re coworkers, and we should keep things professional.”
Not to mention I’m in love with someone else.

There. Now the truth was out in the open, dancing in the space between them just like the dust particles waltzing their
way through the sunbeams on the shop floor. Relief drooped Lori’s shoulders. She’d done it, taken the high road, despite the fact that she had no prospects for Valentine’s Day or the future beyond and no hopes of acquiring any.

Monny edged away from her, both hands held up in a defensive gesture. “I’m sorry,
mi cara,
I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lori stepped forward. “Of course you do. The flowers and the chocolate Kisses. I really appreciate the gifts, but—”

“I did not send them.” Monny shrugged one shoulder and grinned. “I have a fiancée back home in Italy.”

L
ori sat in the darkened shop at the counter, heels tucked against the top rung of the stool, listlessly fingering her wilting bouquet. The flowers drooped as if sensing her feelings of rejection, their petals browning around the edges in sympathy as her dreams for the future withered.

She’d never been so embarrassed in her life. Not even when she tripped in new high heels and sprawled across the stage at the church a few months back. Or even that time she spilled gumbo down the front of a paying customer at the fundraiser last year for the aquarium. No, this was worse—complete and utter humiliation.

I have a fiancée.
Monny’s words churned over and over in her mind like mixer beaters set on high speed. How many shades of red had she turned? He must think she was a moron. A moron who couldn’t bake, a moron who could barely handle managing a store that should practically run itself, and even worse—a moron who was so desperate for love she imagined attention from engaged coworkers.

With a groan, Lori dropped her forehead to her hands. How could she face Monny tomorrow? Suddenly his departure to Italy couldn’t come fast enough.

Her pro/con list wrinkled under her elbows, and she lifted her eyes enough to peer at the paper she’d prepared a few days prior. Pros for her secret admirer being Monny filled the left side of the sheet, a few lines down. Entries included
It would be nice to be taken on a date now and then
and
Someone is better than no one.
Cons for the same took up many lines more on the right side.
Long-distance relationships are hard.
And most importantly—
He’s not Andy.

She should add one more item to the con column:
He’s not interested.

A scuffling noise sounded behind her, and Lori jerked. She’d already locked up the store. Had someone broken in? She whirled around on the stool just in time to see Summer flicking on the light switch.

“Summer! What are you doing here?” Lori pressed one hand to the heart threatening to burst through her thin purple sweater.

“I work here.” Summer arched a pierced eyebrow. “Remember?”

“I meant after hours. Do you have a key?”

“The kitchen door was unlocked.”

Lori briefly closed her eyes. Monny must have forgotten to lock it after he left for the night. No wonder—he probably ran out as fast as he could. And to think she started the conversation with the intention of rejecting
him
.

“I left my iPod.” Summer moved to the counter beside Lori and picked up the shiny silver player from under the register. “Besides, the better question is, why are you sitting here in the dark?” She did a double take at Lori’s tearstained face. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Lori wiped her eyes and winced at the mascara darkening her fingertips. Great. She probably looked as silly as she felt.

“Right—and I’m the next Rachael Ray.” Summer rolled her eyes. “Listen, if you don’t want to talk, whatever. But don’t lie.” She waited a beat. “I’m really tired of liars.”

“Me, too.” Lori sighed. Maybe she and Summer had more in common than Lori first thought, despite the silver stud in the younger girl’s nose and the butterfly tattoo adorning her wrist. Hadn’t the youth group at the church taught her that much? Besides, at this point Lori had nothing to lose. Maybe telling Summer about her embarrassment would lift the burden a little. “I just made a huge mistake.”

“Who hasn’t?” Summer shrugged and leaned against the counter, bracing her elbows against the top.

“A really embarrassing mistake.”

“Again, who hasn’t?” Summer slipped her iPod into the pocket of her jeans. “You’re starting to bore me, Boss.” She winked, lightening the harsh words, and suddenly Lori couldn’t wait to pour out her story.

When she finished, Summer nodded slowly. “You were right.”

“About what?” Lori frowned.

“That was a really huge, really embarrassing mistake.”

Lori laughed despite the fact that nothing had changed. “Told you.” Amazing how much better she felt wallowing with someone instead of alone.

“Here.” Summer stretched over and hit a few keys on the register. The drawer popped open, and she removed the key to the glass display at their knees. “You need chocolate.”

“I can’t—I mean, that’s not ours to take,” Lori protested in vain as Summer slid open the case and plucked two cherry bonbons from a lace doily.

“Take it out of my paycheck, Boss, if it’s that big a deal.” Summer closed the door, handed Lori the dessert and laid the key back on the register.

Lori stared at the piece in her hand, made a mental note to pay for it the next day and popped the chocolate into her mouth. She chewed slowly, closing her eyes and letting the flavors dissolve on her tongue. “Wow, that’s good.”

“You hadn’t had one yet?”

Lori shook her head, mouth full of cherry crème.

Summer made a
tsk
noise. “They’re Monny’s specialty.”

The candy dried in her mouth, and Lori had to force herself to swallow. “Great.”

“The man can cook. Might be a lousy coworker, leading you on the way he did, but he can cook.”

“You really think he led me on? I didn’t imagine all that?” Hope tottered at the edges of Lori’s heart. Maybe she hadn’t been desperate after all—maybe she’d been deceived instead of stupid.

Summer tilted her head to one side and bit into the second half of her bonbon. “Not
all
of it.”

“But some.”

“Yes, some.”

They chewed in silence.

“I don’t understand. He flirted with me.” Lori shifted on her stool, feeling even more ridiculous for discussing her love life with a college-aged stranger. Somehow, though, Summer seemed like the last person who’d pass judgment. “You noticed it, right?”

“Sure I did. But did
you
not notice him calling most of the women customers ‘my dear’ and flashing that Italian smile all over the place?”

No. Lori fought the urge to grab another piece of chocolate. “I’m a bigger dork than I thought.”

“Don’t feel bad. It could have happened to anyone.” Summer brushed her hands on her back pockets. “Guys like Monny are just that way. They don’t think about how we interpret things. There’s a dude in my psych class who did the same thing to my best friend. Chatted her up like he was interested, then went out with someone else in the class days later.”

“But Monny has a fiancée. That’s not a date—that’s a serious commitment.” But even as the words left her lips, Lori realized she’d made his flirtations into something more than he intended. She was so desperate to get Andy to notice her she’d invented a fill-in for Mr. Right in her own mind.

Poor Monny.

Lori scowled at the dying flower bouquet. Probably the heat from the kitchen had wilted them faster than usual. It figured that she couldn’t even enjoy them longer. But now their presence was more annoying than pleasant. If it hadn’t been for those gifts arriving, she would have never taken things so far in her mind with Monny. But if not him, then who? The bouquet was real. So was the silly little Hershey’s Kiss stuffed in her purse under the counter. Speaking of which, she should probably burn the thing. Every time she saw it, she’d remember the achingly awkward moment when Monny had looked at her with stark confusion in his eyes. Her face flamed with the memory.

“Forget about Monny. He won’t hold it against you. It’s embarrassing, but at least you were turning him down and not throwing yourself at him.” Summer touched the brittle petals of the arrangement, wincing as one broke off onto the counter.

True. If Lori had been accepting Monny’s offer—well, imaginary offer—she would have been a lot more embarrassed.

“You should focus on whoever out there
is
your secret admirer. It’s still pretty cool to have one.” Summer shrugged.

“You’re right.” Lori stood, the legs of the stool screeching against the tile floor. The awkward moment of the past was over, and someone out there actually did have a thing for her. She could still enjoy the gifts even if she didn’t intend on reciprocating. The mystery of “what if” was pretty romantic—and for a girl destined to be alone like her, it was probably as good as it was going to get.

One thing was certain: she’d be absolutely positive next time before accusing any more unsuspecting men of loving her.

Summer slapped her palm against the countertop. “No more moping around. I think we should do a little detective work and try to figure out who’s behind the gifts. What do you say?”

Lori picked up the display key Summer had left on the register and shot her new friend a grin. “I say, who wants more chocolate?”

His genius plan apparently wasn’t quite as genius as he first imagined.

Andy tossed the basketball toward the goal at the end of the gym. It bounced off the rim—figured. Sort of like it figured Lori hadn’t called yet. And why should she—because he sent her a stuffed piece of candy and some chocolate? If she believed her secret admirer to be that foreign baker, he might as well give up now. Who was Andy compared to a suave Italian who could whip up her dream dessert in minutes? No wonder she was practically shoving him out the door when he stopped by. She wanted to be alone with the chef.

He shot again and missed. Definitely not on his game today.

“It’s all in the wrist, Pastor.” Jeremy held out his hands for the ball. “Watch a pro.”

Andy bounced the ball across the wooden floor to him, and Jeremy easily nailed a three-pointer. “Come on now—I thought you were a football player.”

“I’m an
athlete.
” Jeremy dribbled twice before shooting again. “We’re naturals at all sports.”

“My mistake.” Andy shot and missed a second time. “I’m too old for this.” And distracted. But that was hardly an excuse not to keep up with a high-schooler—though Jeremy did have at least four inches on him.

Andy checked the ball back to him, and Jeremy shot again. Nothing but net.

“Nah, you’re not too old.” Jeremy spun the ball on the tip of his finger. “Maybe too old for football. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt, Pastor.” He grinned.

“Very funny.” Andy pulled one arm in a stretch over his head. Goofing around in the gym with one of his youth-group members was much better than sulking in his office, staring at the budget proposal he’d yet to complete and wondering what to do next about Lori.

Yet thoughts of her still managed to creep into his mind. She obviously hadn’t linked him to the Hershey’s Kisses, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized Gracie was right. Too subtle. He didn’t want to be so obvious with his gifts that Lori felt rushed into a relationship with him, but at the same time, he had to somehow let her know the giver wasn’t Monny. At this point, he was almost tempted to get tips from the guy. Weren’t Europeans all naturally romantic? Women thought so, anyway—and romance was definitely not Andy’s specialty.

Yet something about Lori made him want to try.

Plus, Andy was running out of time. Last Sunday, Pastor Mike had casually mentioned setting Andy up with his niece. There was no way he would even consider getting involved with someone in the senior staff’s family. Talk about a disaster waiting to happen.

No, the sooner he could show the staff he was taking their request seriously and find his own girlfriend, the better—for the church and for the youth group, not to mention for his own sanity. It was hard to devote his full energy to the kids with this kind of pressure hanging over his head like a cloud over a parade. In this case, the parade was his life—and Andy was getting a little tired of the rain.

The basketball whizzed past his head, and Andy blinked. “Hey!”

“Focus is key in sports, Pastor.” Jeremy wiped his face with the neck of his jersey. “Or at least that’s what Coach says.”

Andy jogged to retrieve the ball. “Your coach is right.”

“Then where’s your head?”

Nowhere that he could share. The last thing Andy needed was the youth group rallying for him and Lori to get together. Her rejection would be hard enough to take without an audience. Andy shrugged and aimed for the backboard.

“You’re thinking about Lori, aren’t you?”

The ball slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor.
“What?”

“Haley told me.” Jeremy scooped up the abandoned ball and tucked it under his arm.

“She promised she wouldn’t tell.” Andy rammed his fingers against his pulsing temples as frustration clouded his vision. He couldn’t believe Haley had gone against her word like that. He shouldn’t have trusted her with something so personal. What if Lori found out sooner than he intended? Panic gripped his stomach, and he swallowed the nerves creeping up his throat.

“Don’t worry, when Haley got to the part about promising to keep it a secret, I got mad at her for telling me. But she said boyfriends didn’t count as
anyone
.” Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Women.”

No kidding. Now what was he going to do?

“I won’t say anything, Pastor. Relationships are private, I get that. Haley tells enough people about our business.” Jeremy sighed. “Though I guess that’s what I get for being in love with a high-school kid.”

Andy bit back the retort forming about Jeremy being a high-school kid himself. “I’d appreciate your keeping it quiet. You don’t really understand what all is at stake here.”

“Hey, it’s about a woman, Pastor. I think I understand as much as any guy can.” Jeremy tossed him the ball and laughed.

Andy clamped his sweaty palms around the ball’s hard, bumpy surface. Pointless to argue—he couldn’t exactly tell Jeremy about the senior pastor’s request. Now Andy had a second clock ticking a warning in his ears. What if it was too late? Word was spreading, and since she hadn’t called, Lori obviously wasn’t ready to reciprocate his feelings—even though she seemed more than willing to do so with Monny’s.

The gym seemed to close in on Andy, and he shook the damp hair out of his eyes. He had to step it up a notch. Maybe send gifts more often, give better hints. If his competition was a foreign charmer with really great hair, then romance was going to be key. It was all in the details.