Read Online A Valentine's Wish by Betsy St. Amant - Free Book Online Page B

hardly an excuse not to keep up with a high-schooler—though Jeremy did have at least four inches on him.
    Andy checked the ball back to him, and Jeremy shot again. Nothing but net.
    “Nah, you’re not too old.” Jeremy spun the ball on the tip of his finger. “Maybe too old for football. Wouldn’t want you to get hurt, Pastor.” He grinned.
    “Very funny.” Andy pulled one arm in a stretch over his head. Goofing around in the gym with one of his youth-group members was much better than sulking in his office, staring at the budget proposal he’d yet to complete and wondering what to do next about Lori.
    Yet thoughts of her still managed to creep into his mind. She obviously hadn’t linked him to the Hershey’s Kisses, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized Gracie was right. Too subtle. He didn’t want to be so obvious with his gifts that Lori felt rushed into a relationship with him, but at the same time, he had to somehow let her know the giver wasn’t Monny. At this point, he was almost tempted to get tips from the guy. Weren’t Europeans all naturally romantic? Women thought so, anyway—and romance was definitely not Andy’s specialty.
    Yet something about Lori made him want to try.
    Plus, Andy was running out of time. Last Sunday, Pastor Mike had casually mentioned setting Andy up with his niece. There was no way he would even consider getting involved with someone in the senior staff’s family. Talk about a disaster waiting to happen.
    No, the sooner he could show the staff he was taking their request seriously and find his own girlfriend, the better—for the church and for the youth group, not to mention for his own sanity. It was hard to devote his full energy to the kids with this kind of pressure hanging over his head like a cloud over a parade. In this case, the parade was his life—and Andy was getting a little tired of the rain.
    The basketball whizzed past his head, and Andy blinked. “Hey!”
    “Focus is key in sports, Pastor.” Jeremy wiped his face with the neck of his jersey. “Or at least that’s what Coach says.”
    Andy jogged to retrieve the ball. “Your coach is right.”
    “Then where’s your head?”
    Nowhere that he could share. The last thing Andy needed was the youth group rallying for him and Lori to get together. Her rejection would be hard enough to take without an audience. Andy shrugged and aimed for the backboard.
    “You’re thinking about Lori, aren’t you?”
    The ball slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. “What?”
    “Haley told me.” Jeremy scooped up the abandoned ball and tucked it under his arm.
    “She promised she wouldn’t tell.” Andy rammed his fingers against his pulsing temples as frustration clouded his vision. He couldn’t believe Haley had gone against her word like that. He shouldn’t have trusted her with something so personal. What if Lori found out sooner than he intended? Panic gripped his stomach, and he swallowed the nerves creeping up his throat.
    “Don’t worry, when Haley got to the part about promising to keep it a secret, I got mad at her for telling me. But she said boyfriends didn’t count as anyone .” Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Women.”
    No kidding. Now what was he going to do?
    “I won’t say anything, Pastor. Relationships are private, I get that. Haley tells enough people about our business.” Jeremy sighed. “Though I guess that’s what I get for being in love with a high-school kid.”
    Andy bit back the retort forming about Jeremy being a high-school kid himself. “I’d appreciate your keeping it quiet. You don’t really understand what all is at stake here.”
    “Hey, it’s about a woman, Pastor. I think I understand as much as any guy can.” Jeremy tossed him the ball and laughed.
    Andy clamped his sweaty palms around the ball’s hard, bumpy surface. Pointless to argue—he couldn’t exactly tell Jeremy about the senior pastor’s request. Now Andy had a second clock