Alien Adoration Read Online Free PDF

staring at him when she passed by on her evening jog.
    She reached for the door handle, and he leaned toward her. “You’re going to be at the coffee shop tomorrow morning?” That’s all you can think of?
    Her eyes appeared so soft and innocent when she glanced back at him, reminding him of the night he’d first met her. “Yes. I’m there every morning.”
    “Well, maybe I’ll see you there.”
    A smile lit up her entire face. “I’d like that.” She slid out of his truck, and climbed the steps to her porch before he could think of anything else to say.
    He didn’t want to let her leave, not without asking her to dinner. But he wouldn’t push his luck. He would see her in the morning, sense her emotions, and ask her then.
    He backed out of her driveway, hoping she’d turn around and wave. She never did. And she didn’t appear in her bedroom window either. Why did she have to be such a freakin’ mystery?
     
    ***
     
    Disappointment clutched her gut. Luke hadn’t shown up at the coffee shop as he’d said he would. No, he’d used the word maybe. That meant no guarantee. She should never have gotten her hopes up.
    Rachel took a drink of her coffee then shuffled some papers. She had no appointments until ten, but had to be at work earlier for possible walk-in clients. More time to think about how her neighbor stood her up.
    After he’d dropped her off at home the day before, she’d stumbled into her house with rubber-like legs. He’d touched her. Closing the door behind her, she’d slumped to the floor.
    Even now, her skin tingled with the sensation of his hand on her back.
    When the chatter of women caught her attention, she rolled her chair to the farthest corner from the doorway. The church ladies came in every Monday morning, and she dreaded Mrs. Norris demanding answers as to why her date with Sol didn’t work out. The woman was the last person she wanted to see when thinking about Luke. If Mrs. Norris couldn’t see her in her office cubicle, maybe she would leave her alone.
    “Rachel, my dear, what happened yesterday?” The woman waltzed into her office.
    She cringed. No such luck.
    Opening a blank file on her computer, she typed away, trying to look busy. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Norris, but Sol and I just didn’t have anything in common. Then he left to hang out with his friend.”
    “He said you dismissed him, told him it wasn’t going to work.”
    Not until after I fell into the river and he only laughed at me. “No point in wasting his time, right?”
    “I guess not.” She pursed her lips. “I just wish you would have told me you were leaving. But listen, there’s a dance over in Allentown on Friday night. Always a bevy of single men there. I want you to come with me, and you can pick your own fella.”
    God, no. Like she wanted to be eyed-up and groped by a bunch of middle-aged and old men. “I, uh… I have other plans.”
    “Is that right? What are they?”
    She bounced her foot. How am I going to get out of this?
    Christine leaned over the cubicle wall and stared at her with an evil smirk. “Yeah, what are your plans?”
    Traitor.
    She drummed her fingers on her desk. Why couldn’t she be quicker on her feet?
    “Well?” Mrs. Norris asked.
    “She’s having dinner with me.”
    She gasped. Had she heard his voice, or just imagined it?
    Luke stepped past the old bat, and into her office. “Good morning, Rachel. I’m sorry I missed you at the coffee shop this morning.” He nodded to the other women listening. “Mrs. Norris, Miss Shaw. Would you mind if I have a few moments alone with this beautiful young woman?”
    Christine ducked away immediately, and Rachel swore she heard her friend squee. Mrs. Norris, on the other hand, gave him a ferocious glare. “I’ve heard about you. You’re no good for her.”
    Tension blanketed her small cubicle, but Luke grinned back at the old woman. “I believe Rachel can make her own decisions.”
    With one last glare, Mrs. Norris huffed