Page 39 of The Friend Game

“Oh, my.” Belinda’s brow creases. “That’s so sad. Here I was hoping to be the catalyst for their second chance romance, meanwhile she must still be in mourning even all these years later.” She straightens and sets her mouth in a line. “That just won’t do. We’re going to have to help Sydney find love again. Do you agree?”

“Um,” I begin uncertainly, but she barely seems to hear me.

“Anyhoo, now that that’s settled let’s talk about my bone with you. Did you or did you not reject the advances of the eligible cinnamon roll I sent your way yesterday?”

“The… eligible what?”

“Cinnamon roll,” she repeats more loudly, like her volume was the problem.

“You sent me a pastry yesterday? I never got a pastry.”

“Oh Hannah, you call yourself a Gen Z-er but you don’t even know what a cinnamon roll is?” Belinda chides. “I’m talking about Connor Wilhelm.”

“Connor Wilhelm, the middle school science teacher?” Realization is dawning. He did come to my classroom yesterday.

“Yes!” Belinda exclaims.

“You sent him here?” I’m shocked.

“Of course! I told you I’d find you a man, and Connor Wilhelm is an excellent choice. As I said, he’s a total cinnamon roll, meaning he’s sweet and warm and kind.” She holds up her fingers and starts ticking off items. “He’s handsome with that dark hair and those blue eyes. I think his glasses give him a Clark Kent vibe and imagine being the lucky woman who gets to whip them off!” She winks. “But most importantly, he’s available now. Unlike the man I know you’ve been crushing on.”

“Belinda!” I gasp. “You make me sound like some sort of hussy! It’s not like Luke is married or even seeing anyone!”

“Oh so it’s Luke now, is it?” Belinda gives me a knowing smile. “I suppose that means there really is no hope for Connor or any other bachelor I’m tempted to send your way.”

“Belinda, Connor came into my classroom, welcomed me to the school, then asked if I wanted to join him in the cafeteria later for a chocolate milk.”

“He didn’t!” Belinda is appalled. “So literal that one.”

“Literal?” I raise a brow.

Belinda adjusts the belt cinched around her dress, avoiding my gaze. “Connor noticed you at chapel yesterday and asked me about you. So I told him you were new and he should feel free to stop by your classroom and ask you out. Then he seemed a bit nervous, so I jokingly pointed out that he could keep things casual. Just tell her to meet you in the cafeteria for a chocolate milk, I said. I didn’t know he’d actually do it.”

“Well he did,” I tell her. “And let me tell you, turning down someone asking you out for chocolate milk felt a bit like taking candy from a kid.”

Belinda laughs. “You just make him nervous, Hannah. Anyway, you could’ve just said yes. I know you’re pining after Pastor Abbott, but thatdoesn’t mean you can’t date someone else while you’re waiting for him. After all, what if you wait until his contract expires, but he still doesn’t ask you out? You’ll have waited for him for nothing.”

I chew my lower lip, debating how to respond to this. I don’t feel comfortable telling her about the date Luke and I have planned for when his contract expires. I haven’t even told my sisters about it. After Luke left on Saturday, Jill came home looking all concerned and said she’d been talking to another Grace Canyon mom and made a joking comment about how she was trying to set me up with Luke only for the woman to look completely horrified. She then reminded Jill of Luke’s contract, and now Jill is completely mortified that she’s been trying to push us together.

“I just completely forgot about that silly clause,” she said all defensively. “I mean, why would I remember? It’s not like I’m in the market for a husband. You’d better stay away from him, Hannah. You don’t want to risk your job more than you already are with the whole lying thing.”

So, yeah, I’m not telling Jill.

And if I told Brooke, she’d probably encourage me to just date him in secret. An all too tempting idea that I refuse to entertain.

I’m not sure how Belinda would respond if I told her. Most likely she’d tell me about a romance novel she read where this exact situation happened.

Which actually could be helpful. I’d love to know how this is all going to turn out.

But no, I can’t tell her, because I don’t want to risk it getting out around the school. That might be bad for Luke. I could even see the elders viewing our scheduled date as some sort of breach of contract. Maybe they’d add an amendment about not even being allowed toplandates until after the year is up.

“I think he’s worth the wait,” I settle on telling Belinda.

She turns her mouth down in an exaggerated pout, but then nods. “Okay then, I suppose I won’t try to set you up with Mark Hancock then. He’s the gym teacher here, you know. Basically a life-size Ken doll.”

“Wow. Well, as tempting as the idea of dating an oversized plastic doll is, I’ll stick with my waiting for Luke plan.”

“Ooh,My Waiting for Luke Plan, I like that as a book title.” Belinda frowns in thought. “Or perhaps it’d be better asThe Waiting for Luke Plan. No, that’s not right either. Hmm…The Waiting Plan?” She taps her chin, then smiles. “I’ve got it,” she lifts one hand, bracketing each word, “The Waiting Game. Sort of likeThe Hating Gamebook,but without all the sex. If things end well between you, can I have the rights to your story? I’ve always had a secret aspiration to pen a love story. I’d usemy story with Reggie, but I worry I’d struggle to keep it closed door.”

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