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He froze. Tomorrow? On a weekend? Before he could think it over, he nodded. “Sure. We can meet tomorrow if you want. Where are you thinking?”
“We could meet at that coffee shop in the town circle.”
“The Cozy Cup?”
“Yeah. That one. How does ten-thirty sound?”
Luke nodded. “I’ll be there.”
They both hung up the phone about the same time, but Luke stared at his phone after the call. Was that strange? Or was Allie just too nice to tell him no? He’d have to figure out a way to show his appreciation for her willingness to meet with him.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Allie splashedcool water on her face then lifted her gaze to the mirror above the sink. Water droplets fell from her face back into the sink and she blinked to shake off a few more before grabbing the hand towel to her side.
She patted her face dry then tossed the towel aside.
Allie couldn’t get Pippa’s words out of her head. All night long, she rolled restlessly from side to side trying to figure out what she was going to tell Luke to help him understand that Molly wasn’t a problem.
Just because she had to separate the girls, didn’t mean anything. This happened quite often when kids were playing around and not paying attention in class. And she wasn’t all that happy about his comment that he wanted to share his expectations for how his daughter should be handled when she was misbehaving. She took the concerns of parents very seriously, but she also wouldn’t let parents make decisions about the basics of managing a class.
And what was she even doing? Meeting with a parent on a Saturday wasn’t the best idea, but meeting with her high school crush was an entirely different ballgame. The professionalism she needed to maintain was only getting harder. It was like the more frequent these little meetings got, the stronger her feelings became. It was like she was back in college again, wanting him to notice her and being thrilled each time he chose to spend time with her.
But this meeting wasn’t about her. It was about Molly.
Allie needed to get her head out of the clouds and just accept that Luke wasn’t interested. At best he saw her as a sister.
At worse… well, he didn’t see her at all.
She picked up her cosmetics bag and rifled through it, trying to pick the perfect shade of eye shadow that would make her green eyes pop. Then berated herself for even thinking about that. What happened to resolving to let Luke just go on his merry way?
Allie stared at her naked face once more. It wasn’t that she was trying to impress him. Had she been in love with him for over a decade? Sure.
But just because he was the one she was meeting with today, it didn’t mean she couldn’t look super good. And if he noticed? Then that was a win-win.
She couldn’t look overdone, though.
A sigh burst from her chest and she put the makeup bag aside. Her thoughts were getting the better of her. Now she was second guessing herself.
Luke was the kind of guy she didn’t think she’d ever stop loving. Why? Why was she so willing to throw her heart at someone who hadn’t given her any kind of encouragement?
Placing both hands on the bathroom countertop, she closed her eyes briefly.
Because there was still a small part of her that thought there would always be a chance something could change. She was a fool and she knew it—an addict to the crumbs of attention she’d gotten when they were closer.
Scowling at herself, she let out a heavy breath then yanked the makeup bag toward her. Who cared if she still had an unresolved crush? And if he knew about it, he certainly didn’t show it—a fact she didn’t think she wanted to delve too deeply in.
She applied a pale plum shimmery eyeshadow over her lids with a darker shade of plum at the edges. Just a touch of dark liner to define her eyes but still appropriately casual for a Saturday and some mascara finished off her eyes. She wore no base makeup but brushed on some bronzer. Stepping back, she was satisfied that she looked polished, but not over-done.
She fluffed her hair and took one last look in the mirror. Satisfied, she hurried to the kitchen and grabbed her purse from the creamy granite countertop. Heading out the door she let out a long breath and hoped for the best.
This was just like the other parent teacher conference. At least that was what she’d told herself over and over as she drove into town. He wanted details on his daughter. He wanted to reprimand her for not having an open line of communication. Then he’d leave and she’d go back to her usual day.
Allie pushed the door open and slipped inside the Cozy Cup. Her eyes immediately found Luke sitting at a window table. She could see part of his side, but most of his back faced her. On the table there were two coffee cups and what looked like a mug.
Her eyes darted around the room, half-expecting to see another woman heading toward him. Or Molly. There had to be a reason for the three cups because surely he wasn’t going to drink all of that caffeine by himself.
She squared her shoulders and strode toward him then pulled out the chair and plopped down. It took everything in her to school her features and not melt as his dark brown eyes landed on her. Luke gave her a crooked grin and pushed one of the recyclable cups across the table. “It’s a latte,” he murmured. “Extra caramel.”
