Harris had a maple glazed donut in his hand. “Did you bring these in?”
“Yep.” She stood up and stretched her arms over her head trying to undo the tightness in her back from sitting in front of her computer.
“Thanks.” He took a bite and looked at the clock on the wall. “How long have you been here?”
Well...She’d gone to the donut shop right at six when they opened and had come straight to the office after that. That meant she’d been there for almost two hours before they officially opened. Not that she wanted to admit that to Harris. “A little while.”
“Do you have some kind of project right now?”
Other than trying to stop thinking about Silas?She shook her head. “No.”
Harris’ brows lowered. “So, what have you been working on?”
“I, uh, just finished sending out your vouchers.”
His mouth fell open. “You what?”
“You sounded a little stressed out yesterday before we left. I thought it would be nice to help you out.” Though Miriam was having doubts with the way Harris was looking at her right now.
Soon his shock was replaced with a giant grin. “You. Are. Amazing. Did you know that?” Then he did something that surprised her. Harris pulled her in for a hug. Even though they’d hung out several times, she wasn’t sure that they’d ever hugged. The scent soap and maple overwhelmed her as she hesitantly wrapped her arms around him.
They hadn’t been embracing very long when Harris groaned. “Oh, crap.”
She pulled back. “What’s the matter?”
Harris reached out and brushed his fingers over a small strand of hair. “I accidentally got frosting on you when I went in for that hug.”
That explained the strong maple smell. “That’s okay. I’ll smell like breakfast for the rest of the day. There are worse fates.”
He pulled his hand back and grabbed a tissue off Miriam’s desk to wipe the frosting off his fingers. “Seriously though. Thank you for doing the vouchers. That’s such a big help.”
“You’re welcome. I was happy to do it.”
Harris looked at Miriam’s desk and then back to her face. “Are you going to be behind because of it?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I’m good.”
He stared at Miriam for another moment like he wasn’t sure if he believed her, but he must have seen something in her expression that convinced him that everything was fine because he nodded. “Okay. Well, thanks again for that, and the donut.” He waved what remained of the treat as he walked out of her office and down the hall.
Alone again, Miriam sat back down in her chair and looked at her list of tasks for the day. Most of her day consisted of talking to sponsors and trying to dream up new ways to get the Storm out into the community. Unlike sending out vouchers, it wouldn’t occupy enough of her brain cells to keep her from thinking about Silas all day.
Maybe she could fake a cold and go home sick—not that it was going to help her relationship with Greg or her thoughts from betraying her.
She decided that doing inventory would be helpful. Miriam needed to know how much Storm swag she had, and counting made it difficult to think about other things. She went to the storage closet, sat down on the hard-carpeted floor, and started going through boxes. She pulled out cups, bracelets, and small squishy soccer balls that were in the Storm colors. Soon, there was an explosion of green and black all over the floor of the small room.
One-hundred-eighty-seven, one-hundred-eighty-eight, one-hundred-eighty—
“Hey.”
Miriam dropped the bright green rubber bracelets she’d been counting and looked up to see Silas standing in the doorway. He leaned against the doorjamb and smiled down at where Miriam sat. She frowned back at him. Not only had he made her lose count, but just him being here made her goal of not thinking about Silas impossible.
“Greg told me he thought you were in here.”
Oh, great. Just what she needed after she specifically told Greg that Silas wouldn’t be a problem.
Miriam let out a sigh as she picked up the rubber bracelets she’d dropped and put them in the pile with the rest. Once Silas left, she would start over again.
He bent down and started helping her.
