Page 51 of Better Watch Out
“Give me a minute.”
Frannie hurried to a table, emptied her bags, and quickly wrapped the items.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m donating these.” Frannie stacked her packages on the table for children the same age as Jisoo. “My niece has more than enough.”
“But what about the Ella book?” Andrew picked up the book. “That was special.”
“Eloise.” Frannie took the book and placed it on a square of wrapping paper. “I can get her another one in D.C. Besides”—she taped the last edge and set the gift with the others—“my luggage was already close to the maximum weight.”
This time, Frannie slipped her arms into her coat and caught a glimmer in Andrew’s eyes that looked very close to adoration and it made her heart beat a bit faster. She fumbled with her scarf, placing it around her neck to hide the climbing heat.
“Two hot chocolates to go.” Loretta met them at the door and handed them two foam cups with lids. “I know we’re not St. Patrick’s but I hope you felt the Presence of joy and peace while you were here.”
“I did.” Frannie’s entire body felt light and while she could credit part of that to the way she’d caught Andrew watching her, she knew that the real lightness had everything to do with the unexpected gift of being able to bless those in need. “Thank you for letting me help.”
Frannie and Andrew said their good-byes and exited the church. Outside, the frigid air stung her cheeks but she didn’t mind. The sun was setting, leaving the city in the glowy haze of twilight, and Christmas lights were already beginning to twinkle from the rooftops and skyline.
A black SUV pulled up to the curb and Andrew’s eyes lit once more with a sparkle that turned the cold air around her into a balmy breeze.
“You ready for the next part?”
She had no idea what the next part was but she set her hand in Andrew’s open one and let him lead her to the waiting vehicle. The driver stood by the door he’d just opened. This was not an Uber. Her nerves tingled with excitement as she climbed into the blissfully warm back seat.
“What’s the next part?” Frannie blew on her cup of cocoa before taking a sip. The warm chocolatey drink slipped smoothly down her throat. “Mmm, this is good.”
“Enjoy it.” Andrew settled into the leather seat next to her, his knee grazing hers. He tipped his chin in the direction of the windshield and the sea of brake lights ahead of them. “We’ve got some time.”
Frannie took another sip and sighed in contentment. “The red lights actually feel festive tonight.”
Andrew chuckled. “Have you always had such a positive outlook on life?”
“Ryan calls it blissful naivete and says it’s why he has prematurely gone gray, but I say it’s his fault for always trying to control everything.”
“I have a sister, I get it.”
Frannie eyed him and suddenly Andrew didn’t look so confident in his decision to back her brother. “Ryan followed me on a date. In his squad car. And then used his speaker to embarrass me when my date leaned in to kiss me on my cheek.”
The back of the SUV was dark but not so much that she didn’t see something flash in Andrew’s eyes before the corner of his lips curled into a smirk.
“It’s brother code. Protect sisters at all costs from jerks.”
Rolling her eyes, she playfully bumped him with her shoulder. “Chris wasn’t a jerk. And now I hear he’s at the top of his class at med school.” She exhaled. “He was outside of my league.”
“If a little brotherly intimidation scared him off then he wasn’t even close to being worthy ofyourleague.”
Frannie’s cheeks flamed at the compliment, her eyes searching Andrew’s face for any hint that he was just saying that to make her feel better but the way his jaw muscle flexed and he swallowed, something told her he wasn’t being flippant.
She didn’t know what to do with that or the way it was fanning her mixed-up emotions.
“Did Ryan like Calvin?”
Running her thumb over the lip of her drink, she sighed. “He didn’tnotlike him but I could tell Ryan was hesitant. It didn’t really bother me because Ryan’s never really cared for any guy I’ve dated so I just figured he would eventually learn to like Calvin. Especially if … we got serious.”
“And your family? Did they like him?”
A tiny rush of defense rose inside of her. “Does that matter? I’m the one dating him. The one who has to love him, not Ryan or my mom, right?”
