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“You should have plenty of room,” I say.
She frowns. “There’s more than enough room, but…” Those piercing dark eyes meet mine. “Why don’t I have Daisy’s office?”
I avert my eyes from hers. “I wanted to give you a good experience as an…intern. You said you wanted to learn theology.”
“You think I’ll learn theology from you better all the way over here?”
It sounds so ridiculous when she puts it that way, and I wish I had thought of a better excuse. “I figured you wouldn’t be bothered so much with the noise. You can read articles and do research for my sermons.”
She nods slowly, but I sense that she’s still perplexed.
“Well,” I start, needing to get the hell out of here. “Daisy put everything you need to know in here.” I hand Mariana a three-ring plastic binder. “You should be set for the next few hours. Do you need help with that?” I gesture at the computer.
Mariana glances at the computer, then back at me. “Do I need help…turning it on?”
I smile to hide the real reason for the question. That computer is an old piece of shit, and she actually might need help turning it on. But fuck, I can’t tell her that.
Then she’ll know I put her in here for no good reason.
Those big eyes grow heavy-lidded. “I think I’ve got it covered,Pastor.” She says “Pastor” with that irreverent cheekiness that’s always amused me.
Not anymore. Now it resurrects dangerous memories of my wicked past. I want to use my authoritative pastor voice to command her onto her knees.
Fuck, I need to get out of here.
With effort, I smile. “Let me know if you need anything. Harper can help you too if I’m busy.”
Just as I make it to the door, her voice halts me. “Oh, no.”
My stomach sinks. “What happened?”
“The computer just shut off.”
Why didn’t I anticipate this? “Yeah, it gets overheated pretty easily. Hold the power button down for several seconds.”
She follows my instruction, and nothing happens.
“You kind of have to…jam your finger in there.”
Still nothing.
“This thing is a little…old.” I walk over to the desk. She scoots her chair aside to make room for me, but she’s not nearly far enough away for comfort. I lean down to press the monitor button, jamming my finger in hard and counting to ten. But as her scent washes over me, the numbers in my mind fade into the abyss.
She smells like something tropical. Beach spray, I think an old girlfriend called it. The smell of tanning oil and orchids. It makes me wish we were lying on a tropical beach, and I was running my hand along her oiled-down skin.
Oh, Jesus. What would Hector think if he knew I imagined these things about his baby daughter, the one he wants me to guide spiritually?
I let go of the power button, and the screen flickers, which is a good sign. “It’ll take forever to start up, and you should shut down every program that pops up or else it will overheat.”
She smiles primly. “Got it.”
I nod. “Need anything else?”
“I was wondering…” She licks her bottom lip. “Never mind.”
“What?”
“Dad’s always teasing you about your tattoo sleeves, and I was thinking…” Her little brow knits as her gaze shifts to my left biceps. “What does that one mean?”
