Andy hesitated, then met her eyes across the table. “Actually, she was setting me up on a blind date with her great-granddaughter.”
Lori’s half-eaten cheeseburger knotted in her stomach, and she paused, holding a fry near her mouth. “Really?”
“Apparently she thinks I’m perfect for Eva.” Andy laughed, but it sounded forced. “I guess we’ll see.”
“You mean you’re going?” The fry dropped to the table, and Lori desperately tried to discern the pounding of her heart—jealousy, pure and simple. It wasn’t fair. Years of friendship left Andy completely oblivious to Lori, yet all it took was one meddling grandmother to make the perfect match for him and someone else.
She should have called her own granny years ago.
Andy took a sip of his drink. “I don’t really have a choice.”
Lori’s head throbbed in her temples, and she shoved her food away, suddenly not nearly as hungry. “How can you not have a choice?”
“Are you mad?”
“Why would I be?” The answer sounded snippier than she meant it to, and she cleared her throat. “I mean, no.” It’s not like he had actually kissed her Friday night or shown any sign of feelings whatsoever. Andy was fair game.
To everyone but her.
Andy reached over and snatched a fry from her dismissed pile. “Then what’s the problem?”
Lori drew a slow, steadying breath and forced herself to pick up her burger. Even if the idea of the date bothered her, she couldn’t let Andy see that. Her mind raced with a suitable response. “I guess I’m just tired from working so much and this was surprising news.”
“Take a day off. I’d be happy to fill in for an afternoon, if Summer couldn’t cover for you.” Andy swallowed a mouthful of fries. “Maybe you should go out with Monny.”
“What? Why would I do that?” Lori reeled back in the booth. Had he seen through her jealousy and was now trying to push her toward another man? Since that near kiss, he was probably desperate to fend her off. Too bad she couldn’t get a job in scaring men away. She’d be rich.
“I thought you had a thing for Monny, back when you thought the gifts were from him.” Andy shrugged, but his eyes looked distant, like his mind was elsewhere. That, or there was something else he wasn’t telling her.
Lori shook her head. “No, there’s nothing. Monny and I are friends.”
“Really?” Andy’s voice squeaked and he cleared his throat. “I mean, you should take an afternoon off then anyway, have some alone time.”
“No, that’s okay. I can handle the store.” Lori bit into the rest of her burger, but it tasted like sawdust. Sure, she could have alone time, while Andy and this Eva person mixed it up over dinner, laughed over candlelight. Her hand would brush his on the pristine tablecloth and—
“So, where are you two going?” Lori couldn’t take it anymore. She had to know.
“Who?” Andy frowned.
“You and Eva.”
“I don’t know.” Andy shrugged. “I’m surprised Widow Spencer didn’t map out the entire evening for us right there in the church.”
Was that discomfort on his face? Lori leaned closer in an attempt to discern Andy’s features. Maybe he wasn’t as excited about the matchmaking as she’d first thought. She edged farther toward the table, eyes narrowed in concentration.
“Careful, your hair is getting in your ketchup.” Andy handed her a napkin and gestured toward her long brown hair now brushing against the messy wrapper.
Great. She dabbed at the red-tinged strands and forced a smile. “Thanks.”
“What are friends for?” Andy winked before sliding out of the booth and picking up his paper cup. “Want a refill?”
Lori shook her head, watching as he wandered toward the soda dispenser near the front counter. She felt silly now that she had ever even considered Andy as her secret admirer. It was clear he never had—and never would—think of her in such a way.
She rested her head wearily against the back of the booth and closed her eyes. His parting words repeated in her mind, a numbing echo. Friends.
That’s all she was ever destined to be with anyone.
“Need some help?”
Summer’s voice penetrated Lori’s concentration. With a start, Lori turned from the window display she was building. She’d been so involved in the chocolate construction and in reliving the details of yesterday’s lunch with Andy that she hadn’t even noticed it was time for Summer’s shift. Funny, since earlier she’d been thinking of ways to torture Summer for her sudden departure from the church.
“Sure.” Lori pursed her lips, not yet ready to give up her wild card. “Hand me the biggest of those red baskets over there.”
She kept a sharp gaze on the younger girl as Summer handed over the basket. Who knew what other tricks Summer had up her sleeve? In a way, though, Summer had done Lori a favor. Her abandonment had paved the way for Lori to erase any lingering doubt about whether or not Andy could be her secret admirer. After hearing about his upcoming date with Eva, that last bit of hope had darted away faster than a crawfish from a net.
Lori tried to keep her expression casual as she took the basket and stretched to place it next to the glass pane. “How was school?”
“Fine—for a Monday, anyway.” Summer shuffled her feet on the tile floor.
Silence filled the space around them.
Summer cleared her throat. “How’s business today?”
“Decent.” Lori stepped off the window’s platform and picked up the heart-shaped confetti she’d found on sale over the weekend. “I hope this new display will bring in some window-shoppers.” She sprinkled it over the floor of the display.
Summer fiddled with a plastic bag of shiny red cut-out lips. “I’m sure it will.”
Lori stepped back to admire her progress. “I’m actually considering taking your advice and applying for a loan for my own shop soon. It never hurts to try, right?”
“Really? That’s great.” Summer smiled, then her eyes turned wary.
Lori kept working—and waiting.
Suddenly, the bag dropped to the floor at Summer’s feet, and she blew out her breath in a huff. “Okay, okay, let me have it. I know you’re just dying to get me back for leaving you yesterday.”
“Last time I checked, Cupid didn’t need a helper.” Lori crossed her arms over her chest and tried to keep her frown. But Summer’s nervous expression just made her want to laugh.
Summer picked up the bag of lips and tossed it on the window platform. “I know, and I’m sorry. I saw an opportunity and took it. I just really think you and Andy—”
“It doesn’t matter what you think.” Lori ripped open the plastic bag, her frown suddenly feeling much more natural. “Andy’s a friend. That’s all he wants to be. Okay?”
Summer passed her a stuffed teddy bear. “If you say so.”
“I do.” Lori set the teddy bear in the big red basket and forced a smile. “It’s not meant to be, all right? And that’s how I want it.”
The lie burned her lips, but Lori kept from offering further explanation as they worked on the display. Summer didn’t understand. She thought she’d been trying to help, and maybe in a way she had. If Andy was going to be dating this Eva person, then maybe Lori could finally shove him out of her thoughts for good. She could keep being Andy’s friend, and hopefully he’d never know the difference, never know she’d fallen for him.
Maybe Andy’s constant obliviousness could be a good thing, for once.
Lori crawled into the window to spread another layer of confetti over the platform. Her back pressed against the cool glass, and she scooted the basket with the bear farther to the left.
“Ready for the candy?” Summer held up a brick of chocolate wrapped in the Chocolate Gator’s signature foil.
Lori gazed around the side of a giant stuffed alligator, wearing a red bow. “Yes, and that roll of ribbon.” She caught the spool Summer tossed and used scissors to create festive curls. Then she tie
d the pink ringlets to the handle of the basket, now stuffed with fluffy cotton. The chocolate brick sat in front, nestled amidst the loose confetti. The Valentine’s display was almost complete, but Lori still didn’t like where the stuffed gator was positioned. He should be front and center, as was the name of the shop.
She frowned. “Summer, would you go outside and see what you think from the sidewalk? Something needs to be changed, but I don’t know what. It’s just not working.”
“Sure.” Summer pushed open the door and stepped outside. Lori scooted to the far end of the platform so Summer could view the arrangement, but the high heel of Lori’s shoe caught in the weave of the basket.
Summer tapped the glass, and Lori craned her head to see behind her, one leg stuck awkwardly to the side. “Hold on!” She pulled on her shoe, but it didn’t budge.
This was great. Hopefully the sidewalks full of shoppers would remain oblivious to her predicament until Lori freed herself. The store needed attention, granted, but not the live-action kind. She tugged harder.
A loud but muffled voice snagged her attention, and Lori peered over her shoulder again to see Summer taking a wrapped gift from the same little old lady who had delivered the last one.
Her hopes lifted, and she momentarily forgot about her shoe. Lori beat on the glass. “Summer!”
Summer waved her off and kept talking, but her voice wasn’t audible through the window. Lori pressed her face close to the window, eager to catch a few words. Maybe Summer was asking the woman who had given her the present to pass on information about its sender. Would today be the day Lori’s mystery man was finally revealed? Her heart pounded.
And her ankle hurt. Lori groaned at her trapped foot and turned so her leg wasn’t twisted at such an angle. What was Summer saying? She peered back over her shoulder and ignored the cramp in her neck.
Summer had balanced the blue-and-brown polka-dotted box on her hip and was gesturing wildly with her free arm. The elderly lady backed away, shaking her head, her bright red lips pursed. Summer stepped forward, still talking, but the woman turned and started down the sidewalk, purse banging against her side at her fast clip.
There went their only lead. Had Summer lost it completely? Lori wanted to know who her admirer was, too, but she wasn’t about to pester old ladies to get the answer. She slipped her foot out of her shoe and grabbed it with both hands, yanking with all her strength. She never thought there would be a day where she actually regretted not wearing sneakers, but today was pretty close.
The heel popped free of the basket, and Lori fell against the window with a thud. She straightened just in time to see Andy and a horde of tourists laughing at her through the other side of the glass.
Andy took the chair opposite Lori, while Summer perched on the edge of a nearby table. He’d stopped by the shop to check on things and saw Lori sprawled in the front window, a curious crowd gathered to watch, and Summer arguing with an elderly woman. Good thing Aunt Bella wasn’t here, or she’d have flipped.
Actually, she probably would have offered the crowd a sale on chocolate and secured a whole new batch of customers. He mentally beat his head on the table for not thinking of it before he shooed the onlookers away.
Lori rubbed her ankle with both hands. “That window display better be worth it.” She held her foot out for inspection. “No bruising.”
“Yet.” Summer snorted. “Next time, maybe we should hire someone to do the display.”
“If you’d been helping me instead of harassing the elderly, I wouldn’t have gotten stuck.” Lori tried to frown, but a laugh poked through the attempt. “I guess we did look pretty silly.”
“That’s an understatement.” Andy rested his arms on the tabletop. “The window part I get. But is anyone going to explain to me why Summer was bothering an old lady?” He paused. “Now, there’s a question I never thought I’d ask.”
“I wasn’t trying to bother her,” Summer huffed. “I was trying to ask who gave her that gift to deliver.”
Andy’s heart skipped a beat, then thudded with a start against his chest. “What gift?” But he had the distinct feeling he already knew exactly which one.
“That one.” Lori gestured to the front counter, where Andy noticed for the first time the polka-dotted package sitting by the register—the same package Andy had sent Haley to deliver an hour ago.
He tried to keep his expression neutral. “Who is that for?” Stupid, stupid, stupid. His secret-admirer game had almost gotten him busted and Summer in trouble. Haley must have not found an opportunity to sneak the gift inside without being seen and had gone for backup in the form of blue hair and glasses.
“It’s for me.” Lori raised her hand.
“Another secret-admirer present?”
“Apparently.” Lori hopped up—on her supposedly injured ankle—and snagged the box from the counter. She hugged the present to her chest. “This same lady has delivered two gifts now, and while I was trapped in the window, Summer was trying to get her to reveal who sent it.”
Summer shifted positions on the tabletop. “I think I got on the lady’s nerves with my questions, but she seemed nervous before I even started talking to her. I thought she was going to hit me with her purse.”
“You can come across as a little intimidating.” Lori flicked the sleeve of Summer’s black top, revealing another tattoo.
“So I hear.” Summer rolled her eyes.
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 removing 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.
Chapter Thirteen
Utensils 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 i
t 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.
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