A Valentine's Wish

by Betsy St. Amant

  Lori plucked at a loose thread on her purse. Nervous? Maybe she felt the same way he did after all. Maybe the gifts weren’t a bad idea and he should have taken Gracie’s advice and told Lori how he felt from the start. Maybe—

  “Do you need me to work the spring retreat in April?”

  Andy’s jaw slacked, and he stared unseeing across his desk. Her words beat against his brain until finally comprehended. She wanted to talk about the upcoming youth event. Not secret gifts. Not confessing true love. He licked his lips and forced his words through clenched teeth. “Sure. That’d be great.”

  He was definitely going to need more time.

  Lori took a second piece of chocolate from Andy’s bowl and unwrapped it with a frown. What was with Andy’s suddenly pale face? He was probably overworking himself, spending too many hours at the office planning the retreat. It was one of the biggest events of the year for the teenagers, hence the reason she’d stopped by to see if he needed more volunteers. Summer had also offered to help, but she knew Andy would want to meet with her first. He always screened new workers.

  Which was what she’d been trying to talk to him about when he suddenly resembled death on a plate.

  She crinkled the silver foil in her hand. “I have another volunteer that could come, if you need the extra help.”

  “You should know with teenagers, the more help the better.” The blood finally returned to Andy’s face, and his smile looked a little more natural. Still, something shadowed his eyes. She really couldn’t pry, though, not after she refused his offer to talk last Sunday. At least he hadn’t stopped by the Chocolate Gator so far this week to check on her again. Was Bella having him spy? No, that was ridiculous. Bella called for updates herself every few days.

  Though not since the freezer fiasco. Lori was dreading having that conversation, but she couldn’t exactly skip it. It was amazing Andy hadn’t found out yet, either.

  “Who’d you have in mind to help?”

  Lori jerked back to the present. “My coworker at your aunt’s store. Summer Pierce.”

  “The Goth girl?” Andy’s eyebrows shot up on his forehead.

  “She’s not Gothic. She just likes making statements.” Lori threw the balled-up chocolate wrapper at him and grinned. “Something that should strike a chord with certain youth around here.”

  “Point taken.” Andy tossed the foil back at her, and she ducked. It bounced off her purse and onto the floor. “Sure, bring her to church Sunday. I can meet her then. Or maybe I can swing by the shop tomorrow.”

  Lori shook her head so fast her head hurt. “No, I’ll bring her Sunday.” The last thing she needed was Andy coming by the store, waiting for her to mess something else up. At this rate, it was almost inevitable.

  A wrinkle wove a fine line between his brows. “All right.”

  Lori stood and hiked her purse on her shoulder. She was being too obvious. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be around Andy—she just didn’t want him checking up on her as if she was a little kid. It was bad enough he’d never see her the way she always wanted him to. Poking around like a nosy big brother just poured salt on her existing wounds.

  She said a quick goodbye and left the office before Andy could respond, her heart fluttering like a caged bird attempting escape. She was tired of being overlooked. Tired of being rejected. Tired of being the Friend and never the One.

  Lori’s heels clicked on the tile floor of the church, and she picked up speed before Andy could follow. It’d be best to focus her full attention on the shop for now. Forget about her secret admirer, whoever he was, and pour her energy into making the Chocolate Gator a success. Bella was the only person she needed to impress. The mystery gift-giver, if he was even real, was probably no different than any other guy. He’d get close and then hurt her, too. Just like Jason. Just like Andy.

  Lori pushed through the doors of the church and headed for her car. She refused to look back toward Andy’s office. From now on, she was only looking forward.

  Chapter Ten

  It’d been a slow day so far at the Chocolate Gator. The few morning regulars hadn’t shown up, and Lori refused to think about why or wonder if it was her fault. At least they’d recovered from her mistake with the freezer—though a ton of supplies weren’t exactly necessary when there weren’t any customers to purchase them.

  Maybe she should chalk it up to the chilly February air and leave it that. In the meantime, she’d work on some ideas of how to get business booming again—and fast, before Bella returned and wondered where her livelihood had gone.

  Lori’s scrawled penmanship filled the paper with black ink.

  1. New window display.

  2. Gimmick for sales—maybe a buy two, get one free offer? * Ask Bella first.

  3. Offer gift wrap for holidays or special occasions.

  What else could she come up with? Lori tapped the pen against the counter. The customers that frequented the shop seemed relatively satisfied with her service and with the products they were buying. But there had to be something she was missing. “Summer, what makes a store interesting to you?”

  “Black lights.”

  “I’m serious.”

  Summer looked up from the table she was wiping down and smirked. “So am I.”

  “Let me rephrase. What makes you want to visit a specific shop over and over?”

  Summer’s hand on the rag stilled. “Hmm. Good deals. Good customer service.” She tilted her head to one side and grinned. “A cute salesclerk.”

  “We have all that.”

  “I’ve never seen a cute salesclerk around here.”

  “Thanks a lot. I meant the other stuff.” Lori sighed and tapped harder with her pen. “I need something fresh.”

  The kitchen door opened, and Monny breezed through with a tray of chocolate cream puffs. “What about a sale?”

  “I considered a buy two, get one free offer.” Lori twisted on the stool to face Monny, proud of the way she didn’t feel her cheeks burning. She could finally look him in the eye and not mentally kick herself for her blunder last week.

  He set the cream puffs on the counter and dusted his hands on his apron. “Bella has made offers like that before. She puts a sign outside. It usually works well.”

  “Go for it.” Summer resumed her cleaning.

  “I should probably ask first.”

  “You’re the temporary manager. It’s your call, isn’t it?” Monny paused by the kitchen door.

  “I’m not sure.” Lori worked her lower lip between her teeth. After the freezer incident, the day of lost profits and the baking disasters, she hated to assume anything.

  “Come on, Lori. Be assertive.” Summer tossed the damp rag across the counter to her.

  Lori caught it and wound the rag between her fingers. Maybe she should make a list. Pros—she could avoid bothering Bella while the woman was caring for her family. Plus, a few extra ingredients spent at the gain of more business would probably put them ahead profitwise.

  Cons—it could seem presumptuous to make this kind of decision without Bella. But what was the worst that could happen?

  “Let’s do it!” Lori threw the rag back at Summer with a smile. “Monny, double your usual batch of chocolate crocodiles. We’ll put the sign out this afternoon and run the sale for the rest of the week. We’ll make it an early Valentine’s special. Summer, find that board Bella uses to advertise, and some colored chalk. We’ll make the advertisement now.” She plucked a cream puff from the tray on the counter and held it up in a toast. “Here’s to us!”

  Lori took a big bite of the pastry as Monny and Summer hurried to follow orders. She might eat her words later, but for now, she’d focus on the cream puff.

  Lori’s dark brown hair glimmered with gold highlights in the sun as she crouched on the sidewalk, scrawling on a chalkboard in big, swirling letters. Andy slowed his pace, not wanting to interrupt her until she finished.

  Valentine’s Sale!

  Chocolate Crocodil
es—Buy 2, Get 1 Free

  Limited Time Only!

  She stepped back from the board, clearly admiring the advertisement written in hot-pink chalk.

  Andy stopped a few feet away, hands in his pockets. “I’ll take a dozen.”

  Lori whirled to face him, revealing a brush of chalk on her cheekbone where she’d swiped her hair off her face. “Oh, really?”

  “That’d be, let’s see…six free chocolates?” He smiled.

  “Doesn’t work that way.”

  “Then you might want to add that to the fine print.”

  “I only have the big chalk sticks.”

  “Then it looks like you’re out six pieces of chocolate.”

  Lori planted her hands on her hips, the chalk sticking out between her fingers. She was cute when frustrated, and probably didn’t even realize she was marking on her jeans pocket as she stood there pouting. “Have you always been so stubborn?”

  Have you always been so adorable? He just smiled, afraid to speak lest his thoughts jump out of his mouth.

  “I guess I can make an exception for the boss’s nephew.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Mature. I think you’ve been hanging around the youth too much.”

  “Says the pastor who started a whipped-cream fight after the service.” Lori grinned.

  “Started and finished,” Andy corrected. “Besides, that was months ago.”

  “Right, and you’ve grown up so much since then.” Lori swiped at his arm with the chalk, dusting the fine hairs pink.

  “Hey, I can start a chalk war just as easily.” He reached for it, and she dodged out of his grasp, laughing, nearly tripping over the sign.

  “You better not hurt my board!”

  “It’s fine.” Andy straightened the sign to align with the shop window, then stepped back to view it fully. It would definitely catch attention with that hot-pink writing. “Why did Aunt Bella want to run a sale while she was gone?”

  The teasing smile faded from Lori’s lips. “She didn’t. It was my idea.”

  “Are profits down?”

  “A little.” Her expression tightened, and so did Andy’s stomach. She was on to him, had to be. It explained her sudden distance and guarded response every time he asked about the store. What would he do now? He couldn’t tell on his aunt and pass the blame. No, he’d just have to ease off a little, not check in so much. The shop would be fine—his friendship with Lori however, was growing questionable. Hopefully movie night this upcoming Friday would smooth the rough edges.

  “I’m sure this sale will help. It’s a good plan.” Maybe a few compliments would bring the smile back to Lori’s face. If not, then the gift that was waiting in his car for the opportune moment surely would.

  She relaxed, her eyes thoughtfully studying his. “Thanks.”

  “Can you take a break for lunch?”

  Lori opened her mouth, then paused. She looked over her shoulder at the store, then back to Andy. “Not really. I need to be around when this sale takes effect.”

  His heart dipped. “Right.”

  He wanted to hug her goodbye as usual, but knew better—not after such an obvious rejection. Did she really think a mob of chocolate consumers would be beating down the shop door in the next twenty minutes? Something was definitely up. Maybe she wanted to go to lunch with Monny instead.

  Or maybe Lori had figured out the gifts were from him and didn’t want them to be. She had been so withdrawn these last few weeks; the timing seemed too close to be coincidental. They used to go to lunch together all the time, back before he realized what Lori actually meant to him. Could she see the difference in his eyes?

  Andy’s head started to throb at all the maybes. He rubbed his hand through his hair in an attempt to shove back the frustration at Pastor Mike. If only the staff had left him alone about his love life, he’d still be happily ignorant of his heart’s gravitation toward Lori. Naïveté was definitely underrated. Now he felt like a teenager with a crush. Except this wasn’t a highschool fling. This was love. He swallowed hard. “I guess I’ll see you tonight at the youth service, then.”

  “I might be late, but I’ll come as quickly as I can.” Lori’s lips turned up in a smile that didn’t quite register in her eyes. “See you there.” She lifted her hand in a wave before slipping back inside the store.

  Andy slowly shuffled toward his car parked in a lot a block away, kicking at a pile of dead leaves in his path. If Pastor Mike could see how hard this whole courting thing really was, maybe he’d get the church staff to ease off the pressure. He needed a break.

  He unlocked his car door and sank onto the worn upholstery. The wrapped present on the passenger seat beside him caught his eye and felt like a punch in the abdomen. Part of him wanted to rush back into the Chocolate Gator with the gift and confess everything. But the louder, wiser part of him knew after Lori’s behavior today, that would be the worst timing possible.

  Andy tilted his head to rest against the back of the seat and closed his eyes, blocking the present from his view. He’d have to keep up the game awhile longer. Haley could deliver this one for him later this afternoon, and maybe after Lori saw the contents she’d be more open to him and his feelings.

  There he went with the maybes again.

  He started the car and eased out of the parking space, casting a long glance at the chocolate shop’s window as he passed. Lori stepped onto the sidewalk, sliding sunglasses on her face and hiking her purse on her shoulder before taking off down the street.

  Had to stick around for the sale, huh? Andy pressed his lips together and steered the car toward the church, his mind spinning almost as fast as the tires.

  And maybe he was just a glutton for punishment.

  Lori rubbed her finger over the gift card and frowned. A pair of trendy high heels marched across the front of the white plastic. It was hard to stay distant from her secret admirer when he just provided her with shopping money.

  She had only been back from lunch for twenty minutes when an elderly woman brought the gift inside. The lady told Lori she was asked to deliver it anonymously, so her ruby-red lips were sealed. The twinkle in her eye hinted that was probably the most fun she’d seen in weeks, so Lori gave her a free crocodile for her trouble. The woman left happy, with chocolate crumbs stuck on her glossy lips, while Lori remained puzzled over the mysterious appearance of yet another present.

  “This guy is good.” Summer leaned against the counter on the opposite side from Lori and craned her head to see the gift card. “He must really know you well.”

  “It would seem that way.” Which made it all the more frustrating not to know his identity. Lori tapped the card with her fingernail. “No signature, again.”

  “Not surprising. Don’t worry, we’ll figure out who it is sooner or later.” Summer stretched, then paused, her arms still high in the air. “Wait a minute. What about that guy who you were talking to outside earlier?”

  “Andy?” Lori snorted. “He’s the youth pastor at my church.”

  Summer’s arms lowered to her sides. “Why wouldn’t it be him? It seems like he’s always in the shop.”

  “We’re just friends, and I help him with the youth group. He would never think of me that way.” After years of hanging out and working together, that much was painfully obvious. Lori’s eyes narrowed. “Besides, he’s just here to check up on me for his aunt.”

  “He’s Bella’s nephew? Wow, small world.” Summer adjusted one of the coils of spiked hair on her head and grinned. “He’s cute, though.”

  Yes, he was. But that wasn’t the point. Lori tucked the gift card in her purse under the counter. “I think we should get back to work.”

  “Right, because business is just booming.” Summer rolled her eyes at the empty shop. “I think I hit a nerve, Boss.”

  “Keep going and you might.” The last thing Lori needed to think about right now was Andy and the frustration that boiled over every time he poked around the store. Why couldn’t he
just come visit her because he wanted to see her? Because he missed her? He had to be spying for his aunt. Every time he showed up, he was asking about business. That was exactly the reason why she hadn’t felt up to lunch with him earlier, and the reason she was already dreading movie night. She hated turning Andy down for lunch—especially since he usually paid—but today she wasn’t up for defending the store or her methods of managing.

  And she really didn’t want Andy reporting back to Bella about that impromptu sale. After the freezer fiasco, Lori wondered how many more strikes she’d get. Hopefully the rules of baseball didn’t apply to shop managing. At this rate, she’d blow through three strikes by next week.

  Summer straightened from her slump against the counter, jerking Lori from her thoughts. “So, did you talk to Andy yet about my helping with the youth retreat?”

  Lori nodded. “Yes, and he wants to speak with you about it on Sunday.”

  “Sounds good.” Summer hesitated. “Are you sure your church won’t mind—” she gestured toward her dark clothes and tattoos “—me?”

  “You’ll fit right in with the younger crowd.”

  “Right, because you’re so ancient and all.” Summer crinkled her nose at Lori.

  “You know what I mean.” Lori laughed. “Why don’t you pick me up at nine o’clock?”

  “Nine o’clock?” Summer moaned. “I always sleep until at least ten on Sundays. My church meets on Saturday nights.”

  “Exactly my point. If you’re my ride, you have more motivation to get up.” Lori reached under the counter and handed a crocodile to her. “Hush, and eat this.”

  “We’re going to eat all our profits from the sale.” Summer’s protest didn’t stop her from shoving the chocolate in her mouth.

  Lori’s gaze roved over the shop, taking in the sparkling clean floors, the perfectly arranged candy displays, the chairs tucked neatly under the shiny tables—and the obvious lack of patrons. She sighed. “What profits?”