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“I figured it’s the least I can do to honor my mom. And I have some ideas. Wanted to see if you’d like to have lunch to discuss them.”
Still hesitant to spend too much time with him, yet certain she could handle it, she gave a firm nod. “It’s a great way to honor your mom. I was just about to take my lunch break.”
He held up a bag from the local sub sandwich shop. “Brought your favorite.”
“You don’t know my favorite anymore.”
He widened his eyes at her, looking quite pleased with himself. “Really? You don’t give me enough credit.”
“I no longer order ham and cheddar.”
“No ham and cheddar with mayo, mustard and tomato?” he asked with a cocky grin.
She shook her head, admittedly pleased he at least remembered her old favorite. “See? You’ve been gone too long. Things have changed.”
“Then I’m glad I ordered you the turkey and Swiss instead. With light mayo, honey mustard, spinach and green peppers.”
“How on earth?”
He shrugged and glanced across the room awkwardly. “I care enough to find out what you like.”
Her stomach swooped up and around, doing a few curlicues in the region of her heart. She opened her mouth but, unable to find words, she snapped it shut.
The fact that he knew her new favorite sandwich really should not make her so happy. She was acting ridiculous.
Luke suddenly gave her a big flirty wink—a Luke Jordan trademark, as if the whole embarrassment thing had been for show. “I also had to promise Mike a place to stay when he comes up for a concert in Nashville.”
Of course. Mike. The owner of the sub shop where she’d eaten regularly for the past year.
She snatched the bag out of his hand with a laugh. “You’re incorrigible.”
“The weather is perfect. Let’s go outside.”
She joined him as they headed outside to a picnic table near a walking path for employees.
As he set out the sandwiches and chips, she realized she hadn’t been on a picnic since their college days. They’d frequently eaten together while studying, sometimes in the quad on a blanket. Of course, their last picnic had been a disaster.
“The last picnic I had was when we ate pizza outside the dorm during finals senior year,” he said.
Why did he always seem to know what she was thinking as if their brains were somehow connected? “Me, too. And you ruined that one by bringing along what’s her name.” Which had hurt Darcy’s feelings. Before that day, they’d always kept their friendship separate from dating relationships, had protected their time together.
He grinned and held his hand over his heart. “You wound me. You don’t even remember her name.”
Snorting a laugh, she reached for the can of Coke he’d sat in front of her and popped the tab. “You probably don’t, either.”
He belted a hearty laugh as he pulled Grace’s notebook out of the bag and flipped it open. Then he attacked the wrapping on his ham sandwich. “I think an auction is a great idea for a fund-raiser, but I wonder if maybe we should do more this year. Maybe host a dinner or even a formal dance to coincide.”
She threw her hand up. “Whoa. I only signed on for the auction, which has always included a covered-dish dinner right after church. What you’re suggesting sounds like a ton more work. As it is, I barely have time to breathe.”
“I figured we might as well give attendees other opportunities to contribute. No matter what we end up doing, I’d like to have a special time to honor my mother.”
She envisioned table decorations, caterers, a band. “All great ideas. Honoring Joan would be fantastic. But I can’t let this project eat into my part-time hours at the mall. If you want to do a dinner or dance, maybe I could talk Chloe into taking over for me. She has a lot of business contacts in town.”
His nose scrunched. “That might not go well.”
No, he and her sister hadn’t gotten along since he’d pursued her one summer in college. Luke finally captured Chloe’s heart—breaking Darcy’s—but the big breakup later that fall ruined his and Chloe’s friendship.
“You’re both adults now,” Darcy said. “Surely you could work together for charity.” Yes, they were all adults. So how could the mere suggestion that he work with Chloe still hurt?
“I’d rather work with you.” He looked into her eyes, and like some kind of terrible magnet, his gaze tugged at her heart.
Losing herself in those amazing brown eyes was an all-too-familiar feeling. Even at twenty-five, she was still vulnerable to his charm.
She couldn’t allow it. He would distract her. Hurt her. She had to stay focused on her goals.
“We’ll have to work around my two schedules.” Darcy forced her attention to her sandwich. She needed to work the two jobs to pay off student loans early so she didn’t have to rely on her mother. Noreen was finally acting happy again, and Darcy suspected she’d been seeing someone. She needed to give her mom some space, and despite what Grace said, Prince Charming wouldn’t just show up to sweep her off her feet.
Darcy glanced across the table. Luke with his flirty winks and his flattering words would only set her heart down the wrong path.
“Let’s just stick to doing the auction and lunch. We can manage.” He slapped his hand on the notebook. “So, have you looked at the list of tentative donors?”
“I helped compile it. Now we need to call each one to confirm and arrange a time to pick up the items. We can split the names.”
“I can do the calling. I’ll be around the house helping Dad, so my schedule will be flexible.”
“Sounds good. I’ve already arranged to pick up an unassembled portable basketball hoop from Mr. Lipscomb at the sporting goods store. Can you help with that on Sunday after church?”
“Sure. I’ll see if I can arrange some other donation pickups for Sunday afternoon since we’ll already be out.”
Oh, goodness. She thought of all the hours she, Grace and Joan had spent together on this project over the years. “We need to meet soon to approve the quarter-page newspaper ad, and to try to land some radio spots. Also we have to set up the fellowship hall. We’ll have quite a few late evenings.”
“No problem.” He smiled, then, distracted by his food, he took a big bite of his sandwich.
As they finished their lunch, she told him a little something about each of the donors, and about the Colorado ski trip that had been donated, their big-ticket item. By the time he walked her back inside the hospital, they had a basic game plan.
With the notebook in one hand and the other shoved in his pocket, Luke studied her. “I know how hard you work, Darcy. You give a hundred percent to everything you do. I’ll try my best to make the auction work easier on you, to keep it from eating away all your free time.”
He looked so serious. So earnest. From flirty charmer to sweet, caring best friend in the span of a lunch break. Both equally appealing, neither safe for her heart.
But Food4Kids needed her. Needed them as a team.
For the kids, and against her instinct for self-preservation, she would spend time with her friend. She could do this. “Thanks, Luke. I look forward to working with you.”
Chapter Three (#ulink_ac0b1b8f-8421-553e-a6bb-6c4a22643e25)
Fifteen minutes to closing time. Darcy glanced around Glitzy Glenda’s, empty of customers, hoping to make it an early night. Maybe a few minutes to read that novel that sat untouched, gathering dust on her nightstand?
She folded one last scarf and placed it neatly on top of the stack, enjoying the sense of accomplishment that came with tidying up. Saturday nights could sometimes be a nightmare, but an older crowd had hit earlier than usual. Though she enjoyed working with preteens and young teenagers, they tended to travel in packs, tearing through the place like a tornado, leaving a swath of destruction in their wake. Something Darcy couldn’t relate to at all.
She’d never had a pack of girlfriends in high school. Never enjoyed shopping for jewelry, purses and hair accessories. She’d been tomboyish, a late bloomer who’d spent all her spare time with Luke, fearing he’d see her differently if she suddenly showed up wearing dangly earrings and eyeliner.
Certain he’d never think her as pretty as Chloe.
Shaking off old memories, she headed toward the cash register. One last quick walk around the shop and—
The entrance chime sounded. A group of giggling girls set upon tables of jewelry, and Darcy’s hope for an early evening quickly fizzled. “May I help you girls?”
One, a redhead with pretty hazel eyes set off by the perfect application of makeup, fastened a double strand of faux pink pearls around her neck and admired it in a mirror. “We’re just looking.”
Two of her friends, squealing at fifty decibels, darted to a table of wristlets.
“Oh, look,” screeched one. “The exact shade of green as my new Keds!”
“Buy it. Have you got your mom’s debit card on you?”
“Yeah.”
“Ashley, wait. Come look at this one first,” called a girl from the other side of the store.
Meanwhile, two others stacked bracelets up the arms of a third friend.
There appeared to be a half-dozen of them dressed in stylish clothes, their hair about the same length and all flat ironed. At some point that evening, they’d eaten at a nearby restaurant because several of them had to-go cups they’d set down and quickly forgotten.
She closed her eyes and let out a sigh as the image of that novel beside her bed faded into oblivion.
A crash sounded in the back. “Uh-oh,” said one of the girls.
Crashes followed by uh-oh’s were never a good thing.
Darcy rushed to the back and found a rack of earrings turned over and gold and silver hoops scattered across the floor.
“I’m so sorry.” The girl’s mortified expression sent her friends into a fit of laughter.
“Don’t worry about it,” Darcy said.
While the three girls meandered to the next table, chattering and playing around as if nothing had happened, Darcy scooped up packs of earrings. The chime sounded again as someone else entered. Great.
“I’ll be right there,” she called.
The last of the earrings had landed under the display case. She got on her hands and knees and, with a grunt, made one last-ditch effort to reach them.
“Need some help?”
Luke. And she heard the grin in his voice.
“Luke Jordan, if you were a real gentleman, you’d already be down here helping me.”
“You’re right. My apologies.” He chuckled as he knelt down beside her and reached underneath the display, his breath tickling her neck as he angled his head out of the way.
She bolted to her feet. “A pack of…uh…earrings. Do you feel it?” She touched her neck. How many times had they wrestled around or goofed off without her ever once thinking about the feel of his breath against her skin?
And now—
“Is this what you’re looking for?” He stood and handed her the earrings.
“Yes. Thank you.” The fact he could set her on edge made her angry. At herself. And, though unfair, at him.
She tugged her shirt back where it belonged. Straightened the collar. “I need to check on my customers.”
“Go ahead. I’ll wait at the cash register.”
She caught up with the six girls near the front and tried to feign calmness she didn’t feel at the moment. “Are y’all ready to check out?”
“I think so.” The redhead still wore the necklace.
“So you decided to go with the pink pearls? They look great on you.”
She fingered them, looking around at her friends for confirmation. “I do like them.”
“They’re too classy for you,” said one of her supposed friends with a sneer before turning to the brunette nearby and laughing.
The girl looked stricken as she removed the necklace. “But they’re kind of expensive.”
“Come on, let’s get out of here and see if the yogurt place is still open,” said the mean one. She was the obvious leader, because everyone followed without questioning her order.
They also left without purchasing anything. Instead, they all set their items on a table near the door before quickly exiting to catch up with their boss.
Darcy growled as she rolled down the metal gate that closed off the shop from the mall.
“Tough night?” Luke asked.
“A little slower than usual, but that last group was typical. I’m afraid I’m not good at sales with the younger crowd.” She nodded to the discarded items. “They were going to buy those, but the pack leader declared it was time to go.”
“Next time, tell her to back off.”
Darcy laughed. “I’m sure that would go over really well. I’d probably get reported to my boss by a credit-card-toting teen.”
His eyes sparkled with mischief, as if he’d love to see the event. “Yeah, but you might make the sale.”
The main problem was that all these girly things were new to her, something she’d always been too embarrassed to admit she loved and longed to wear. “You know me. This feminine stuff is a steep learning curve.”
He looked her up and down with an intensity that made her squirm.
“You look plenty feminine to me. A natural beauty. You don’t need all this sparkly—” he gestured around the shop “—paraphernalia.”
Stunned, Darcy looked into his eyes. He’d always complimented her on being smart, but never had he praised her looks or femininity. Even that afternoon at Grace’s, he hadn’t said she was pretty.
“Accept the compliment, say, ‘Thank you,’” he teased, his smile softening.
