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Allie’s thoughts immediately drifted toward Luke and how he’d managed to get so woven into her life since his daughter became her student. The worst part was their little meeting outside of the church a little over a month ago. Why did she have to go and flirt with him in the first place?
“Ah… see? I can tell something’s up.” Pippa scooted to the edge of her seat, her smile broadening. “Is it a guy?”
Allie glanced toward her friend then heaved a sigh. “You know what happened a little while back? I bumped into Luke and Molly at church.”
Confusion flickered across Pippa’s gaze then understanding. “I thought you said you didn’t care anymore. Do you still have a crush on him? You do, don’t you?”
Allie flushed and looked away. “I don’t know. I thought I was over it then I talk to him and… it all comes rushing back. I’m such a mess, aren’t I?”
Her friend reached for her hand and squeezed it. “You’re not a mess. He’s an idiot.”
It was hard to suppress the smile that came with that statement. “You don’t have to say that.”
“Sure, I do. Luke is a lot of things but sometimes he’s not the smartest guy in the world.”
“You know what happened when we ran into each other?”
Pippa shrugged. “He proclaimed his undying love for you?”
Allie snorted, giving her a flat look. “No. He punched me in the arm—like you did.”
Her friend snickered.
“Why does everyone is your family do that?” Allie moaned, digging her hands into her hair. “It’s like all he sees me as is just his sister’s friend and that’s all he’s ever going to see.” Her blush intensified. This wasn’t how this lunch was supposed to go. She had planned on showing up and hanging out with her friend, a rare treat seeing how busy they were, but instead she’d gone straight to venting.
Allie lifted her face to peer at her friend.
Pippa’s expression was nothing but sympathetic and Allie couldn’t decide if that was worse than Pippa making fun of her for her crush in the first place. “Hey, it’s not like you don’t have a shot.”
Allie snorted again, but this time it got stuck in her throat. She coughed and sputtered, reaching for her glass of water but unable to make her coughing fit resolve.
The smirk she got from Pippa was to be expected. Not even she could control herself when something funny like this happened.
When Allie finally got her coughing fit under control, she took in a deep breath and set a firm gaze on Pippa. She prayed her stern gaze was enough to make Pippa believe her when she said, “No. I have just as much of a shot as I did when he started dating Shellie. The second they met, he was hooked and I was never going to get close to him.”
Pippa rolled her eyes, settling back in her seat with a huff. “Well, to be fair that was sorta your fault, right? You were the one who introduced them.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me. I didn’t think they’d hit it off! I just wanted… I dunno. Maybe I thought if they could be friends then I would have had more opportunities to spend time with him. But that doesn’t matter anymore. That was ages ago.”
Pippa didn’t say anything. In fact, she’d gone so quiet that Allie wouldn’t have been surprised if she had gotten up and walked away.
She glanced up toward where Pippa was sitting, finding her staring at her with a funny kind of look on her face. Her brows were furrowed, but her eyes were thoughtful. “You know, I think this is just a problem of him not seeing what is right under his nose.”
“Pippa—” Allie started, but was cut off.
“No, listen to me. Luke has a kid. He’s got a career. And he’s not getting any younger. He’d be lucky to have you.” It was clear Pippa was trying to encourage her, but Allie could only feel pity from this whole conversation. “Think about it, Allie. You’re a teacher. You’re good with kids and you have a career too. He wouldn’t have to worry about drama. There’s literally no one better for him.”
“Thanks, but—”
Pippa gasped. “I know. You should totally ask him out.”
“What?” Allie snapped.
“Yeah, why not? You should just bite the bullet and ask him out on a date. Tell him you’ve liked him for ages and that you’ve finally got the nerve to do it. How much would you bet that he’d say yes.”
Allie shook her head, her heart going into overdrive simply by the thought of doing something so ridiculous. Her hands shook and she clasped them tightly together to quell them. “Now I know you’re just making things up.”
“I’m not. Luke is dumb. He’s not going to come up with this idea on his own. But if you asked him out then he’s smart enough to know when he’s got a good thing going for him.”
