A Valentine's Wish (3 page)

“No, not Tawny.”

Her breath exhaled in a whoosh, and she continued to fluff the arrangement. “Good. She’s not your type.”

Andy agreed. It was debatable if Tawny Sinclair was anyone’s type, especially after what she did to his best friend,
Carter. Gracie and Carter’s relationship was almost over before it began, thanks to Tawny’s seductive meddling, but it had all worked out. At the end of the day, she was still a woman in need of God’s grace, a more conservative wardrobe and a healthy relationship—just definitely not with him. Thankfully Tawny’s youth-group volunteer days were long over.

“Then who are they for?”

Haley wouldn’t quit. Andy came around the front of the desk and steered her toward the door. “Isn’t it enough I’m letting you off dessert duty?”

“No.” She grinned. “I’m a teenager, Pastor Andy. You know it’s never enough. Come on, spill it.”

“Never.” He opened the door wider, and it caught the rug at their feet. He kicked to free it while Haley continued to meddle.

“I’ll do Wednesday desserts for two weeks.”

Andy straightened, feigning interest. “Make it four.”

“Okay, four.”

“Nope, still not telling.” He grinned back.

“Pastor Andy!” She huffed.

“I’m not telling you, because there’s nothing to tell.” A headache started at his temples. Why did he suddenly feel like he was in high school himself? The girl was persistent—no wonder Jeremy looked frustrated all the time. Going against his girlfriend had to be tougher than any opposing school’s quarterback.

“Will this tell me?” Haley dangled a small white card in front of his face.

The delivery card with Lori’s name on it.

The blood rushed to Andy’s head, and his temples pounded harder. When had she—He sucked in his breath. The little minx, when she’d been playing with the arrangement! He’d dodged a zillion buckets-over-the-door and glue-on-the-toilet-seat pranks, but this one he never saw coming.

“Haley, give me that card.” He held out his hand, but she pranced out of his reach and lifted the flap.

“For Lori?” She squealed, then clamped one hand over her mouth. “That’s so perfect. Why didn’t I think of it? And just in time for Valentine’s Day!”

His anger at her disobedience fled. “Perfect? You think so?” He quickly shook his head. Now he was encouraged at the approval of a high-schooler? Still, no one knew him and Lori better than the youth group.

“You guys would be great together.” Haley handed over the delivery card. “And I won’t tell. I promise. I want to help.”

“How in the world could you possibly…” Andy stopped as an idea formed. He looped one arm around Haley’s shoulders and leaned down. “Ever had experience as a delivery girl?”

L
ori stared at the flowers sitting on the counter. Where’d they come from? She’d gone into the kitchen to ask Monny about sugar-free chocolates, and when she came back, the flowers had appeared in all their fuchsia and burgundy glory. The store was deserted, as it was almost closing time, so it couldn’t have been a customer. Maybe Bella had ordered them for the display before she left for Shreveport.

“Summer? You know anything about these?” Doubtful. The twenty-year-old, multipierced college student usually had her nose buried in a magazine during the store’s late-afternoon lull. Or was jamming with her iPod.

Summer straightened from her slump against the counter and shrugged a thin shoulder. The fluorescent lights above glinted off her eyebrow ring. “Beats me. I must have been in the stockroom. Though I’m surprised I didn’t smell those things coming a mile away.”

Lori inhaled the spicy aroma of the lilies as she searched for a card among the pristine leaves. Smell? That was too harsh a word for this fragrance. The flowers were so pretty they almost seemed fake. She plucked the card from the greenery and blinked twice. Her name, scrawled in unfamiliar handwriting.

“What is that strong smell…?” Monny stepped through the kitchen and stopped short as Lori held up the bouquet.

“Someone sent me flowers.”

“I see that.” He coughed and backed away. “Very nice.”

“Stargazers, my favorites. But I don’t know why someone would have sent them. It’s not my birthday.”

“Anniversary?”

Lori frowned. “Anniversary of what?”

“Don’t tell me Americans don’t celebrate
amore.
” Monny patted his apron over his heart and grinned, his teeth appearing extra white in contrast to his olive skin.

Summer snorted and turned back to her magazine, shaking her head.

“Of course we celebrate love.” Lori paused. “But I’m not dating anyone.”

Monny’s smile seemed to brighten, and Lori quickly averted her eyes back to the flowers. Was the surprise gift from him? They barely knew each other. But why else would he be interested in her dating status?

A dried petal fell to the counter, and for the first time, Lori noticed another card lying under the vase, a full-sized envelope like one would buy at Hallmark. She tugged it free and slit the light blue flap with her fingernail, noting from the corner of her eye that Monny slipped back inside the kitchen. To hide his knowing smile when she read his card, or just to check the brownies?

She was silly to think he’d be interested in her. No, she only attracted men with fast words and lying lips, men who broke promises and cheated on their fiancées.

Lori pulled her lower lip between her teeth and read the card, the bitterness of the past tainting the cute message. No signature, other than the words YOUR SECRET ADMIRER written in big block letters, an obvious attempt to hide the owner’s handwriting.

Would Monny send a corny note like this one? Everything
else he had said or done during their days working together had been smooth. Sauve. Sophisticated, like his accent. But who was to say he didn’t have a silly side lurking beneath that savvy exterior? She really didn’t know him at all.

Couldn’t truly know any man at all.

She slid the card back into the envelope, then thought twice. She pulled it back out and, after making sure Summer wasn’t watching, stood it open beside the cash register. Might be silly, but if Andy—the man she
wanted
to notice her—never would, at least she could appreciate romantic efforts from a coworker. Even if she had no intention of following through with them.

Lori set the vase in a prime spot on the counter, then grabbed a dust cloth and began to wipe down the display case. Monny started humming a tune from the kitchen, and the melodic sound blossomed a sprig of hope beneath her doubt. If Monny could be interested in her, who was to say Andy might not come around one day? She absently joined in the song under her breath, swaying slowly as she cleaned.

Andy stood outside the Chocolate Gator and hesitantly peered through the window. Lori stood at the counter, head ducked as she counted bills at the register. Strands of her long brown hair, pulled halfway back, skimmed her cheeks as she rhythmically placed bills into stacks. Her lips moved slightly as she counted to herself.

Andy drew a deep breath. He’d been unable to sleep well last night, wondering if he’d done the right thing by sending Haley as a delivery girl. What if she told his secret? What if she wasn’t subtle enough? What if Lori saw her and put two and two together? He wasn’t ready for Lori to know his thoughts, his plan—and he definitely wasn’t ready for her to hear what Pastor Mike had suggested about his love life.

Maybe it was too late. Maybe Haley hadn’t been able to take the flowers yesterday afternoon at all. Or maybe they’d
already died. Maybe he’d killed them with his secrets and his schemes and…

No, if the stargazer lilies were already dead, it was no doubt they’d collapsed from their own aroma.

Andy shoved his hands in his pockets, then realized he needed them to open the door—unless he stayed outside, which seemed like a good option at this point. Lori knew nothing, and he hadn’t invested anything in this wacky plan except for the forty-three dollars and twenty-seven cents he’d spent on the flowers. Forty-seven dollars, if he counted the card. He could check on Lori for his aunt another time and just go home, forget about it all.

And then what—forget about ever finding a wife? Forget about his job? Forget about the way Lori’s smile wreaked havoc in his stomach and her playful punches stung his arm like a thousand arrows from Cupid’s bow?

Not likely.

Andy stole a peek through the window again, and his heartbeat spiked. The vase of flowers was on the counter opposite where Lori stood, part of a display with wrapped chocolate bars. That had to mean she liked them, right?

Lori stuffed the money inside a deposit bag and shut the register drawer. His stomach clenched. If he didn’t go inside now, she’d leave out the back and he’d never know what she really thought of the flowers. Not to mention the youth group wouldn’t have any dessert after their service tonight.

He ran his palm over his hair, winced at its clamminess and knocked on the door before he could change his mind. Lori looked up from the display with surprise, then hurried over to unlock the door.

“Hey, there.” Her smile warmed his insides like the winter sunshine had moments ago warmed his clothes. “I just closed up. You almost missed me.”

He returned her smile, trying not to read too much into her
greeting. She had no idea—he’d almost missed her by a lot more than ten minutes. If it hadn’t been for Pastor Mike and the church board, he might have missed her by a lifetime. How could he have never noticed the parade of nerves inside his stomach while in her presence all these years?

Andy suddenly realized he had yet to speak and cleared his throat. “Oh, right. I came to get a dessert for the youth service tonight. Sorry I’m late.” He wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t stopped to second-guess himself the entire way here. But she didn’t need that information.

Lori frowned. “You should have just called me. I could have brought it and saved you the trip.”

Andy leaned casually against the counter. “Well, I was just going to, you know, say hi. Or whatever.” He couldn’t tell her about Bella’s request. Hopefully Lori wouldn’t require further explanation. He cleared his throat again to stall, his eyes scanning the area behind the display even though he wasn’t exactly sure what he expected to see. The flowers were already out front and center. What better reaction could he hope for?

“You’ll see me in a few hours.” Lori pulled a plastic glove over her hand and slid open the display case. “Just because I’m a shop manager now doesn’t mean I’m going to skip out on my responsibility to the youth group.”

“Of course not.” Andy rubbed at his throat. What was that lump doing there? Other than blocking everything he was trying so hard to say. “I never thought that.”

“Good.” Lori snapped the edge of her glove against her hand with a flourish. “What’ll it be, sir?” She grinned.

He opened his mouth to order three dozen chocolate-filled crème cookies. But the words lingered on his lips, unspoken. The silly cartoon card was propped against the register, where Lori could easily see it all day.

His neck warmed, and he tugged at his polo collar. “Uh…”

Lori quirked an eyebrow, her hand hovering over the display,
waiting to know which item to grab. “Sorry, we’re fresh out of
uh
. I must have burned them with the sponge cake yesterday.”

Andy shook his head to clear it, forcing his eyes not to dart back to the telltale card. Or was he reading more into it than he should? He suddenly remembered all the reasons why he hadn’t dated in so long. This was complicated stuff. “What’s a sponge cake?”

“It’s supposed to be a very light, airy cake. But because of me, it was a very dark, hard cake.”

“Bad day?”

“An eventful afternoon, to say the least.” Lori snorted. “I think I still have fudge in my hair.”

Andy’s stomach clenched again. Fudge in her hair—did that mean a food fight? He imagined Lori and that smooth-talking Italian flinging batter and dough and laughing together in the kitchen, the camaraderie and teasing maybe leading to a kiss. He swallowed. “I thought that guy did all the cooking?”

“Monny does do all the baking. But I was helping out, and well—it was disastrous.” Lori rolled her eyes. “I don’t know how much inventory I wasted. I probably won’t be doing much baking anymore.”

Good. Andy cleared his throat. “Sorry you had a tough time.”

“Oh, it’s gotten better. Monny and Summer are showing me how things work. It’s been fun.”

Great. Private tutoring. He straightened his shoulders and tried to ignore the way his heart began a slow descent toward his toes. “I guess I’ll take a few dozen of those cookies there.” He tapped the display window with his finger and tried to cheer up. At least Lori seemed to like his gift. Otherwise she would have thrown the card in the trash, right?

“Here you go.” Lori bagged his order, then tossed the used glove in a wastebasket and punched buttons on the register. “At least I haven’t messed this part up yet. If Summer and I can keep this drawer balanced every night, then I won’t feel I’ve failed Bella’s business.”

Andy handed her his business credit card and watched as she swiped it through the machine. “You’ll be fine. You can do anything you put your mind to.” Too bad she hadn’t put her mind to dating him. Or had she? Did she suspect the gift was from him at all? He really should have talked to Haley and gotten the details of the drop-off before coming in here. If Lori had seen Haley with the flowers, the odds of Lori’s figuring out who her secret admirer was were much higher.

He was getting another headache. Maybe this secret-admirer plan wasn’t his best idea. Andy shoved the credit card back into his wallet and took the pink paper bag from Lori’s outstretched hand. “Listen, Lori—”

“Guess what—”

They spoke at the same time. Andy gestured with his hand. “Ladies first.” It would give him time to stall the truth.

Lori shoved loose strands of her hair behind her ears. “I was just going to say guess what happened today?”

“What? Another brownie blowout?” He grinned at her excitement. How had he never noticed how beautiful she was before?

She slugged him in the arm over the counter, and his easy smile faltered at her touch. “No, silly. I learned that lesson.”

He tried to ignore the way his shoulder warmed under his sleeve. “I give up, then.”

“I have a secret admirer.”

Andy nearly choked on his own spit.
Play it cool, play it cool.
He rotated his shoulders and cracked his neck, mentally preparing his confession. Maybe her no-dating stage was nearing an end. Maybe she would consider him after all. “Really?”

Lori glanced over her shoulder. “Yep.” Then she leaned over the counter to whisper, “And I think it might be Monny.”