“Sure,” Victoria said, squeezing his arm. “I’ve never met him.”

He loved that little squeeze, how her breast pressed against his muscles and her fingers gripped him. It was difficult not to flex under her grasp. “Mr. Holmes, I presume.”

The old man looked him up and down before replying, “And Zorro! John, have you met a friend of the library, President Kowalski? Mary Anne, this is John Donovan, the head of our Children’s Library.”

The cat-woman slid her mask to her chin. “Hello there.”

Victoria’s grip tightened around John’s arm. “President of Pembroke University?” he asked, extending his hand.

“That’s right,” Mary Anne said with a strong shake. She glanced at Victoria who shrank against him in an effort to look smaller. “Professor Reese?”

“Dr. Kowalski,” Victoria said, straightening up. Her hand was still wrapped around his arm, quite different from the time they ran into her nemesis on the street. “You’re also a friend of the library?”

The woman smiled warmly and nodded. “Of course, I’ve been on the board for nine years, pestering Howard, here, the entire time. And yourself?”

“Only for two years,” Victoria said. “I’m actually—”

“—wait a minute, now,” Wegman interrupted. “Are you Dr. Victoria Reese? The professor who reached out about the internship?”

“I am,” she said quickly. “I’m working with John on that right now.”

“What internship?” Kowalski asked.

“I was going to pitch the idea to you,” Victoria said as her body began to tremble. John snuck his thumb to her hand and rubbed her skin until she relaxed. “As a Four-Week Initiative project.”

Mary Anne gave her an appraising nod. “Give me the elevator pitch now.”

Pembroke’s president was all business, even in a cat costume. No wonder Victoria constantly walked a tightrope at her job. John continued to stroke her hand with his thumb, quietly urging her to stand tall and assert herself. Surely some performances were necessary. Victoria cleared her throat. “My aim is to create an internship for the English students of Early Childhood Education and Children’s Literature to work with John’s department. I believe their chances of job placement will be increased if they’ve had one-on-one interaction with young readers. Of course, this is an internship that could extended to more than one area of study. Working for a public library is beneficial to all kinds of students.” When she finished, she let out a shuddering breath.

“I’ve been working closely with Dr. Reese to ensure the work duties are aligned with your university’s learning goals,” John added.