A Valentine's Wish Read Online Free PDF Page A

swing by the Chocolate Gator, pick up some brownies and visit Lori. If he could find a way to secretly deliver the gift before the service tomorrow, then he could gauge her reaction while he was there.
    He sat up straight in his chair. Finally, a plan. Now he just needed to figure out what to write on the card and how todeliver it to the shop. He frowned. There was the problem. He couldn’t just stroll inside with a mustache and hat and plunk the vase on the counter. She’d see right through it.
    Right through him. He shuddered. No, he wasn’t ready for that yet. He needed to see how Lori responded before he could open himself to that kind of vulnerability. But who would take the gift and keep his secret? Who did he even trust with his secret? He drummed his nails on the desktop.
    “Who are those for?” Haley leaned forward and brushed the petals of the lilies with her fingertips.
    “Nobody.” The abrupt dismissal rolled off his tongue before Andy could process how suspicious it sounded, and he winced. Maybe Haley wouldn’t notice.
    “Yeah, right.” She stood and leaned over the vase for a better view. “You have a girlfriend or something?”
    Or something. Andy coughed. “No, they’re for…” He stopped. He couldn’t lie to his own youth-group member. “A friend.”
    Haley winked. “A special friend?”
    “Just a friend.” Andy stood as well and gestured toward the open door. “Thanks for stopping by. Don’t worry about getting the dessert. I’ll let you guys slide this time.” He’d probably pay for it later, but the last thing he needed was Haley snooping around and figuring out his plan. Despite her off-again, on-again status with Jeremy, the girl was a super romantic and had at one point tried to set everyone in the youth group up with someone else.
    Haley stayed by the flowers, seemingly oblivious to his attempt at her dismissal. “Come on, who is it?” Her hand stilled on the petals. “Not Tawny.”
    “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