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CHAPTER10
Icould hear Doc breathing in the silence. The back of my neck tingled as I pretended not to notice that he sat less than six feet away.
Staring down at the microfilm machine, I tried to keep focused on the task at hand—finding an article on the second “Missing” girl, the one who disappeared last January.
I pushed a big, green button on the front of the monitor.
Nothing happened.
I spun a knob just below the green button.
Nothing happened.
I pushed a button with a plus sign on it beside the knob.
The screen widened. At least I got a response that time.
I moved a lever under the knob to the left and right.
The screen’s focus shifted left, then right.
The back of my eyeballs started to ache. Technology and I made cantankerous bedfellows. One of us usually stomped off in a huff after smashing the other into pieces with a club.
I tried to turn another knob that looked like a wagon wheel, but it wouldn’t budge.
“Damn it.” Maybe I could read the spool of film by holding it up to the light.
“Need some help?” Doc asked.
Not from him. “Yes, please.”
As he came around behind me, I kept my gaze glued to the monitor, catching his reflection in the screen. He leaned over my shoulder and grabbed a knob on the side of the machine.
I glanced at him, his cheek mere inches from mine. I hadn’t remembered his eyelashes being so long.
“You smell good today,” Doc said, his tone low, his voice just above a whisper.
He did, too—like sun-dried sheets instead of his usual woodsy cologne; but the fidgeting elephant parked on my chest kept me from telling him … and breathing. He was so close. Too close.
He inhaled. “Mmmmm. Makes me hungry.”
I gulped. Had I heard him right? Was he really flirting so blatantly with me? I locked my fingers together and stared at a jagged scar below his elbow. It’s not like I was new to flirting. I mean, I did have two children who weren’t conceived due to any miracles. However, Doc was different, dangerous. I got the sense that behind his dark eyes lurked a beast I dared not pet, let alone poke.
“Do you have a date?” he asked.
How did he know about my dinner date with Wolfgang? My cheeks warmed, my skin tight and uncomfortable. “Umm, yes, but not until this evening.”
The weight of his stare made my shoulder twitch. “Violet?”
I met his grin. “Yes?”
“Am I making you nervous?”
“No.” Standing so close, he had to be able to hear my heart pummeling against my ribs.
The brush of his fingertips across my wrist made me jump. His chuckle came from deep within his chest. “Liar.”
Frowning, I whirled on him. “Listen, you’re a nice guy.”
