Deborah stirred sugar into her mug, the spoon clanging on the porcelain. “Allison, I wanted to ask you about the Tinder family? Are they local? Did they just move in?”
Allison blinked. “The Tinder family?”
“Yes. Joaquin Tinder. Max Tinder. Joshua Tinder. They’re listed in your contacts, but I don’t know the name.” Deborah stared at her with wide, unblinking eyes.
Allison’s stomach turned to ice. She looked at the phone she’d left on the table. “You went through my contacts?”
Miss Eugenie pressed her lips together in a flat line. “Well, the phone was lying here. We didn’t know who it belonged to at first. We were trying to find the owner.”
Luke joined them, the bowl dangling at his side. “Sweet dog.”
“Thanks,” Miss Eugenie said. “Now about the Tinders? And who’s Brian Bumble? That’s a strange name.”
“Tinder and Bumble?” Luke arched an eyebrow. “That’s how you list them in your phone?”
Allison snatched her cell off the table. “They don’t give out last names. It helps me remember…”
“Who you hooked up with?” Luke crossed his arms.
“I’ll have you know that, for my age bracket, Tinder isn’t a hookup site.” Shoving the phone in her pocket, Allison tried to will away her embarrassment. But she knew her face was as red as her marinara sauce. “I’m looking for a serious relationship.”
“Serious?” Luke rocked back onto his heels. “With online dating?”
“More marriages happen now that started with online dating,” Allison said. “I’m playing the odds.”
Miss Eugenie’s face cleared. “Oh, those are the dating-site names.” She elbowed Deborah. “I showed you that site I’d thought about joining before, well, you know.”
Deborah exhaled loudly through her nose. The buttons at the front of her blouse hung on for dear life. “Yes. I know.” She turned to Allison. “I always thought those things were for the younger generation. But in your case, I guess you have to use whatever you can. I know how much your mother worries about you.”
Allison’s spine turned to rebar. Her mother had told the Tree Twins, two notorious gossips, how sad it was that her daughter couldn’t find a man? Flippin’ perfect.
She couldn’t even look at Luke. Didn’t want to see the same pity in his eyes he’d shown when she’d belly-flopped in front of him on the sidewalk. “I’ll get a waitress over to take your order. I have to get back to some paper work.”
Chin high, she strode from the front of the house. Reaching her office, she closed the door and banged her forehead against the wood. It was just sad, really. Allison was fumbling through dating sites and awkward texts while Miss Eugenie Shaw no longer needed the help of the internet.
The septuagenarian was getting lucky, and Allison was left holding a pair of deuces.
Pushing off the door, Allison beelined for her bottom desk drawer and the bottle of whiskey there.
* * * *
Allison stomped into her kitchen and glared at her staff. She held up the cardigan she’d been wearing when she’d left The Pantry earlier that morning under her parka. “Okay, who’s the wise guy who put this on my back?” She already knew, or at least had a strong suspicion. And if Luke wasn’t behind the prank, he’d encouraged it.
Jenny leaned forward and squinted. “‘Hello. My Name is No.’”
Delilah snorted and quickly smothered it in the crook of her arm. “You’ve got to admit we’ve been hearing that word out of your mouth a lot lately.”
Allison crossed her arms. “I wonder why that is?” She glared at Luke.
Luke leaned against a counter and upped the ante on her glare with an eyebrow waggle. And a panty-melting smile.
Peeling off the preprinted label that had the word no scribbled in big block letters with a Sharpie, Allison crushed it in her hand and tossed it at the garbage. It fell short by a yard.
Luke bent over and plucked it up, his jeans pulling tight across his butt.
Delilah clapped.
Allison shrugged out of her jacket. “Down, girl.” Totally inappropriate in the workplace. Besides, the coed was much too young for him. Even though Allison supported the sentiment. Luke had definitely upped the yummy factor of her kitchen; he’d also upped her irritation level—which brought her back to the sticker.
“Do you know how many stores I was in without my jacket today? How many snickers I heard but didn’t know why? Finally, Edith Willoughby at the Apothic Garden was nice enough to tell me.”
Jenny covered her mouth.
Allison spun on her. “And aren’t you supposed to be out front?”
The girl held her hands up and backed away. “I’m going. The front’s quiet right now, I promise.”
Allison took a deep breath and nodded. No need to bite the head off one of her best waitresses. “Sorry,” she muttered.
Jenny nodded and sauntered from the kitchen. She tossed a coy look back over her shoulder at Luke, but he was still smiling at Allison.
Turning her back, Allison trudged to her office and tossed her coat on a box. She laid the sweater on top. When had the sticker been applied? In a bustling restaurant, she was jostled and bumped into a lot. It could have happened at any time. But she thought it was when Luke had brushed past her to pour himself a cup of coffee.
She’d become hot and flustered because his hip had brushed hers, and he’d been laughing behind her back. Sweet.
She bounced onto her chair. If it hadn’t happened to her, it would be kind of funny. Maybe.
But that reminded her. She popped up and strode to the kitchen. “And another thing, I said no to the fancy coffee …” The kitchen was empty. “Huh.”
She looked over the service counter into the front of the restaurant. No cooks. Brow furrowed, Allison pushed open the back door. Luke knelt next to a sweater-clad bundle of hair, with Delilah standing beside them, her hands tucked under her armpits.
“What’s going on?” Allison stepped into the alley, the frigid air cutting into her like a knife. She shivered.
“Just giving Shep a treat.” Luke rubbed the dog’s head, and a mop of brown-and-gray hair flopped over Shep’s eyes.
“Why is Shep meeting up with you in a back alley like you’re a dealer?” She looked to the head of the alley. “And where are the Tree Twins?”
“Shopping next door.” Luke held a meatball in front of Shep, and the dog gingerly took it from his fingers. “Shep wandered on down to say hi, didn’t you, pal?”
Allison rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms. She should have put the offending cardigan back on. “But how do you know they’re shopping?”
Luke stood. “When Shep scratched on the back door, I texted Eugenie. She texted back.”
Of course, in Luke’s world, that made perfect sense. That a day after meeting the old woman, he already had her number. And that Shep would scratch at the kitchen door for Luke. Allison frowned. Shep had never done that before. Luke could even charm animals. It was a highly irritating quality.
Luke’s gaze dropped, and Allison looked down. Her nipples were standing at attention beneath her thin t-shirt. She crossed her arms.
“It’s too cold for the two of you to be out here.” Luke gave Shep one last ear scratch. He held the door open. “How about I get everyone a