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“What are you going to do?” he eventually asks.
I shrug. “I’m going to use the time to talk to her, but I won’t try to convert her. I’ll let her vent.”
He chuckles. “That’ll be entertaining. She’s fun when she gets all fired up.”
Damn right she is. Those dark eyes of hers sparkle, and she gets that cute little mischievous smile. Then she calls me “pastor” in that low, sultry voice.
Fuck.
I can’t think this way. Not if I’m going to help her.
God, help me to see her as I did before. Give me back those protective instincts that weren’t even slightly carnal.
I can’t lust for her. Not if I’m going to act as her pastor.
ChapterFour
Mariana
“The pencil skirt will be less comfortable,” Livvy says, “but you look like a badass CEO, and I feel like you’ll be more confident than if you wear something looser.”
“I want to look professional.” I narrow my eyes at myself in the mirror and lower my chin, trying my best to look like a badass. “He might be my future brother-in-law.”
Livvy snorts. “It’s so weird that he actually listened to your dad and asked her out. Anyone with eyes can see he’s attracted to you.”
I shoot her a skeptical look in the mirror. Livvy and her sister, Vanessa, have been telling me for months that they think Brandon has a crush on me, which is utterly ridiculous. He treats me like a little kid.
Livvy grins. “How much do you want to bet he’s going to do a double take when he sees you in this outfit?
I flutter my eyelids as I pull my hair into a tight bun at the back of my neck. “He’d be so grossed out if he heard you say that. He thinks he’s my second dad. And not my daddy in a hot way, though I would love it if he spanked me.”
Livvy giggles. “He’s so hot it’s obscene. Sometimes I look at him up at the pulpit and can’t believe he’s my pastor.” Her smile fades. “But I disagree with you about the dad thing. He’s friends with my dad, too. He definitely doesn’t look at Vanessa or me the way he looks at you.”
“Or Sofia, which is strange. Since he’s, you know, dating her.”
Livvy’s dark eyes probe into mine through the mirror. “She’s stalking Finn on Instagram right now. I could see it over her shoulder when I came in.”
A weight pulls at the center of my chest. There’s no mistaking the concern in Livvy’s voice.
“I think it’s normal.” My voice is not quite steady. “She hasn’t dated at all since Finn. We tend to stay hung up on the last person we were in a relationship with.”
Livvy frowns. “She’s in a relationship with Brandon.”
“They’recourting,” I correct. “That’s what Mom and Dad call it, at least. And Sofi.”
Her nose wrinkles. “It’s so weird how she’s still caught up in purity culture. She seems too levelheaded for it.”
“She doesn’t question things the same way we do. Plus, she’s impatient to get married, and purity culture speeds up the process. Saving yourself until marriage means a quick engagement.”
“Not with Brandon, if that’s what she’s hoping for. He doesn’t even believe sex outside of marriage is wrong.”
A naughty smile tugs at my lips. “What a bummer for her thatshethinks it’s wrong. Can you imagine what sex with Brandon would be like? He was kinky before he became a pastor. I’m certain of it.”
Livvy slaps her palm over her face, and her chest shakes with repressed laughter. “Oh, Mari. You’re his intern now. What’s more kinky than that?”
I put one finger over my lips and gesture with my head at my open bedroom door. “If Sofi hears us, she’ll tell my dad. I need them to think I’m serious about this job.”
Livvy wrinkles her nose. “It was so shady that they did this to you. It feels like an ambush.”
