Page 46 of A Surefire Love
As the boys conferred, Hadley twisted in her seat to face Blaze and raised her hand. Once Blaze pointed at her, she asked, “What kind of pie?”
“Whipped cream.” Looking pleased with herself, she added, “It’ll be very messy.”
An eighth-grade boy gave a definitive nod. “Okay. We’ll come.”
At least the leadership board would be satisfied. Ansonhanded over the sign-up sheet. They passed it around, adding three names.
“Can we be on teams with high schoolers?” asked a girl whose sister attended Branching Out.
Finally, Blaze’s bright eyes looked to him.
He found himself nodding. The girl and her friend committed to come. At the end of the night, the kids picked up permission slips on their way out the door.
As they filed out, Blaze bumped his arm with her shoulder. A whiff of floral perfume followed. “Wouldn’t it be great if they all followed through?”
“Sure.” Anson rubbed his neck. A glance from her had made him forget his hesitations. Why did she have such a strong effect on him?
“You don’t think they will?”
“They might.”
He’d always thought her face symmetrical, but her hairline was higher on the left than the right, and that eyebrow tended to arc slightly higher as well. Her nose was a touch off-center, and the right corner of her mouth sat a fraction higher. Instead of taking away from perfection, the differences rendered her face more interesting. More uniquely hers.
The lips he hadn’t meant to study stretched into a mischievous smile. “You just don’t want a pie in the face.”
He turned away under the pretense of cleaning up. “A kid almost broke my nose with a pie a couple years ago. We’ll have to put the whipped cream on paper plates and set up a line they can’t cross.”
“Wow. That’s intense. Yeah, paper plates and boundaries.” She popped into his peripheral vision, straightening chairs. “What else do we need to do to make this work? I cantell you’re still not a fan. If that’s because of the pizza, I’m buying.”
He held up one hand. “I can’t let you do that.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to let me give money to the church. In fact, you’re supposed to encourage it.” A tease brightened her tone.
“Not if it’s for the wrong motives.”
“What do you think my motives are?”
He checked for listening ears. Mercy and Hadley had their heads tipped together as they watched something on a cell phone. Nolan chatted with the only other remaining student by the door. He stepped closer to her. “You’re trying to save my job.”
Blaze feigned a horrified gasp. “How awful.”
His failure with the kids ought to bother him. Instead, he pictured catching Blaze’s hand and tugging her closer. He returned to straightening up, but the kids hadn’t left much of a mess. He collected his Bible and notes from the lectern.
Blaze’s voice followed. “Did a lot of high schoolers sign up?”
“Four, but it’s not just the numbers. The kids’ motives matter too. I want them to serve without strings attached.”
“Ah. Well, learning how to make work fun is a helpful life skill. And you know what’s not fun? Watching a group of preteens shut you down.” She poked his chest. “I bet helping people was enough motivation for you, even in middle or high school. Most kids aren’t that generous. Or maybe they have a hard time picturing how big of a difference their help can make.”
He laid his Bible on the counter and picked up his coat from a nearby chair. Blaze’s was underneath, so he passed itto her. “We can’t throw pizza at them every time we want them to show up.”
“Once in a while, though ….” Her smile bloomed. “And technically, you won’t be throwing pizza at them. They’ll be throwing pies at you.”
“Even worse.” He pulled his coat on.
“It’ll be great. I promise.”
“If it’s not, do I get to throw a pie at you?”
