Before she could reply, John loosened the grip he had on her emotions. He pulled back on the charm and replaced it with a small measure of professionalism. “Of course, we’ll want to create a template or some guidelines regarding job skills and learning goals. I’ll bet you can manage the latter while I come up with duties your students can perform.”

Victoria nodded silently. Of course, she could manage it.

“And when would you like to present this to your superiors?” he asked.

“Um, I have four weeks, but I’d like to finish in three so I can polish the final draft.” She circled a date on her desk calendar. “Let’s aim for October 28.”

“Excellent. Until then, I think it would be best if you shadow me at the library. We can start in the adult section learning the catalogue, shelving, and doing intake. When I feel like you’re sufficient with that, we can move to the children’s section and talk more about youth reading programs. I’d like you to get an idea of what your students have in store.”

His suggestion was outrageous. “Wouldn’t it be easier to put all of that in an email?”

“Easier, yeah. But wouldn’t you rather be thorough when you advertise this to students and your bosses?”

Dang it. Victoria did like to be thorough. But the idea of shadowing him presented more challenges. If she reacted like this upon meeting him for the first time, how could she expect to spend more time with him? She couldn’t imagine what it might feel like to be stuck with him, between shelves, handling books. Him towering over her with his piercing gaze, while she tried to control her breathing. She may have been behaving foolishly in this moment, but she wasn’t a blind fool. John Donovan was a beautiful man. “When do you suggest starting?”

“If we have three weeks, let’s start tomorrow. Tuesday nights are my lighter shifts. The patrons start to filter out a little after 6 p.m. Like I said, we can start where you might be more comfortable—the adult section.”

Victoria wasn’t imagining his double meaning. Was she? “Okay.”

“Great.” He stood up, as if that was his cue to end the meeting. Another move that Victoria didn’t appreciate. Surely there was something else to cover. “Oh, one more thing.”

She relaxed slightly in her chair. “Yes?”

John crossed his arms over his barrel chest. “It might be in poor taste to become a temporary library worker with your...record.”

“Excuse me?”

The merriment returned to his forest green eyes. “In my email, I mentioned your overdue book. What was it? For the Duke’s Pleasure?”

Victoria shot up from her chair. “For the Duke’s Convenience and I definitely returned that book.”