AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I think I can manage that,” a low voice replied.
Allie squeaked as she jumped and spun toward the visitor. Luke leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb, grinning at her like he always had.
“Based on what I’ve seen with Molly’s school work, I have no problem shouting it from the rooftops.”
She flushed not only deeply, but hotter than she’d ever recalled. A burst of laughter escaped her lips but she couldn’t move, her feet were stuck in place. “Kate Mason keepsborrowingpens from me. I swear I keep buying them just for her.” Shoot, that sounded like a fake excuse. “Personally, I think she’s just stashing them like a chipmunk or something.”
Luke gave her a funny look and her blush intensified.
Why did she have to keep digging deeper? She’d already dug a hole big enough to hide in. Allie looked away and cleared her throat. As much as she prayed for her blush to fade, she knew that wasn’t a possibility. She’d just have to deal with it like she always did.
She pointed toward the table where her stack of folders lay. “Please take a seat. We can go over everything Molly has worked on this year so far and at the end you can ask whatever questions you’d like.”
He lifted his brows and smirked at her playfully. “Anything?”
“Well, yes, of course. I want you to feel confident and comfortable with Molly’s education…” her voice trailed off as it dawned on her that Luke might actually be flirting. He’d never done anything like that before.
She had to be wrong. There was no reason for Luke to change his ways so suddenly. She was just imagining things.
And just like that her blush returned with a vengeance. It wasn’t fair! Why did she have to get Molly on her roster? Life was so much easier when she’d see Luke in passing, or occasionally when Pippa had a family get together where she’d invite Allie to tag along.
Allie didn’t know what she could do besides what she’d rehearsed, so like the idiot she felt she was, she shoved the folder with Molly’s name on it toward Luke. The folder flipped open, and a few pages fluttered to the ground.
She gasped and lunged toward the papers at the exact same time Luke did.
Their heads collided, sending sparks of pain ricocheting through her skull. Luke grunted and she sucked in a sharp breath.
“I’m so sorry,” she stammered. “It’s not supposed to happen this way. Normally I can get through a conference in a few minutes. I honestly don’t know what’s going on.”
Luke was still rubbing his head, but at least he was smiling. “It’s fine, Allie.” His brows creased. “Or should I call you Miss Patrick?”
Allie waved a dismissive hand through the air, though even she could tell it trembled a bit. If she were honest, she’d tell him she loved the sound of her name on his lips. But that would be highly inappropriate. Instead, she settled for something that wouldn’t get him staring at her like she’d lost her mind. “Um, Allie is fine.”
“Right,” he murmured. “Man, how long has it been?”
“Twenty years.”
“That doesn’t sound right.”
She nodded. “It’s true. I met Pippa and the rest of your family when I was nine.”
Luke whistled low and slow. “Wow. Twenty years. That’s gotta be some kind of record. Usually friendships fade before then, don’t they?”
“I wouldn’t know,” Allie murmured, fighting the urge to point out that her friendship with him had faded about ten years earlier. She swallowed hard and pointed at the papers in front of him—anything to get his focus off her and on the matter at hand. “This is only the first conference of four. We’ll do one every ten weeks or so, including at the end of the year. The reason for that is to let you know what to expect as Molly heads into fifth grade.”
“She’s already in fourth grade,” he uttered softly. “I can’t believe I’m old enough to have a fourth grader.”
“Well, you certainly don’t look it.”
His head lifted and he stared at her.
Shoot! Had she seriously said that out loud?
What waswrongwith her?
“Anyway, the good news is that Molly is a great student. She loves to read. I’d say she’s at least three levels above where she’s expected to be right now.” Allie beamed at Luke, though she didn’t know why. This wasn’t something she could take credit for. Most of the time kids who had higher reading capabilities was because their interests exceeded the requirements for school.
“That’s great, right?”
