A Valentine's Wish by Betsy St. Amant

Author:Betsy St. Amant
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-09-06T04:00:00+00:00

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 it 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.

“Want to go dancing?” Eva shimmied in her seat, Andy supposed as an example of her dancing ability. “Or catch a late movie?”

“I don’t really dance.” It was true, he didn’t. Not with blind dates, anyway.

“Then what about ice cream? Or coffee?”

“I’m really full.”

Eva’s face darkened. “I see.”

A sudden burst of sympathy overrode the lingering annoyance, and Andy reached against the table toward her. Just because he couldn’t get past his thoughts for Lori didn’t mean he had to be rude. “Listen, Eva, it’s not personal. I’m just not really in a good position to date right now.”

“Then why’d you take me out?”

Andy opened his mouth, then shut it, not wanting to rat out Ms.

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