Since Piper was the school librarian, she had the unique opportunity to meet all the teachers in their small, private school. Middleton Prep was a K-12 academy with a pricey tuition. She loved her work. Helping kids on their literary adventures was exciting and fulfilling. Today, however, her body shook with nerves. All school textbooks were kept in her back rooms and she often delivered them to each teacher before school started.

Okay Piper, you can do this. He’s just a man. A really, really, really handsome man, but still. Just. A. Man.

Taking a deep breath, she thrust her shoulders back and chin high. With one hand on her library cart, she knocked on the classroom door and pushed it open. Peeking her head in, she glanced around.

“Hello? Mr. Wilde?”

Double checking that she had the right room, she peeked her head back in.

A deep, rumbling grunt sounded from behind the door.

Confused, she shifted around so she could see him. Putting on a nervous smile, she said, “Hi! I’m Piper, the librarian. I’m just delivering your textbooks for the semester.”

Ooh. He’s even better up close! A girl could get lost in those eyes.

He cleared his throat and Piper realized she was staring. Blinking rapidly, she pulled herself together and worked on maneuvering the cart into the room. As luck would have it, one of the wheels got caught in the doorway. Her cheeks burned with humiliation as she tried to adjust the cart while holding the door open with her foot, but her small stature made it difficult for her to lift the wheel.

She registered a loud sigh of exasperation behind her, moments before she felt a heated presence at her back. She jumped and bit back a squeal when his arms came around her and shifted the cart before retreating.

“Small.”

Her eyes widened in shock at his comment. “Excuse me?” Her hackles were raised now. She didn’t put up with jerks, no matter how handsome they were. “I’m plenty big enough for my job, thank you very much.”

He huffed and walked away. Stopping at a side table, he swept his arm over it, an obvious indication of where she should put the books.

Shoving her glasses back up her nose, she tugged on the cart and pulled it across the room. Taking a couple books at a time, she started to pile them neatly on the table.

Another grunt sounded from the tall man, this one sounded impatient. Seriously? How many ways can you communicate in grunt?

When he moved toward the cart, Piper stuck out her arm. “No!” She practically shouted. Taking a deep breath, she plastered on a fake smile. “I’m sure you have more important things to do. I’ll just get these stacked according to grade level and be on my way.”

Rolling his eyes, he ignored her command. Reaching down, he gathered half the books in one load, dumped them on the table, and then proceeded to pick up the other half. After dropping them down, he stalked across the room and held open the door, staring Piper down.

“Hmph.” Great. His grunting is rubbing off on me.  She pushed the cart in front of her and worked her way to the doorway. As she walked out, her arm brushed against him, sending an electrical current down to her fingertips and up to her shoulder. Angry that her body responded to someone so horrible, she didn’t bother to say goodbye as she stomped down the hallway.

He’s like some caveman, beast thing! He and Miranda deserve each other.

It didn’t occur to her until she was back at the library that she hadn’t heard his door close until she was halfway down the hall.

*****

PIPER’S STOMACH GAVE a loud rumble, startling her from her work. Glancing at the clock, she realized she was late for her usual lunch hour. Grabbing her insulated lunch box, she walked briskly down the hall to the teacher’s lounge. During orientation week, some teachers ate in their classrooms, but many would come to socialize with the rest of the staff.

Piper grinned when she opened the door and spotted an empty seat next to Lucy. Her best friend was sitting with several other teachers.

“Hey Pipe! How goes the library today?” Lucy smiled as Piper sat down. “Been delivering books and getting organized?” She took a bite of her salad and began crunching.

“Ugh. Don’t get me started.” Piper rolled her eyes.

“What do you mean? Did you spill a cart or something?”

“If only. Let’s just say I got over my crush really quick,” Piper lied. Despite the fact that Nash was a jerk, she still found herself thinking of him, which ticked her off.

“Really? Did you discover he was married?” Lucy whispered, leaning in close.

“Nope. But when he actually opens his mouth, his good looks disappear. Dude is a jerk.” She took a vicious bite of her turkey sandwich.

“What did he do?”

Looking around, Piper noticed that Miranda was eyeing her and Lucy. Turning her body so she could keep their conversation from outside ears, she relayed the events from the morning.

“It’s not funny!” Piper folded her arms indignantly.

“I’m sorry. But I can just see him towering over you and you getting all huffy about it.” Lucy wiped tears from her eyes, trying halfheartedly to get herself under control.

Suddenly the door burst open and the man they were talking about walked into the room.

“Great,” Piper muttered.

Lucy continued giggling, only stopping when Piper elbowed her in the ribs.

Nash’s long strides took him across the room to an empty chair at an isolated corner table. Rather than moving it to join a group, he sat and opened the bag in his hand.

Keeping her face towards Lucy, Piper couldn’t help but sneak a couple of glances in his direction. Even now, she could feel a draw towards him. It’s like an animal magnetism. All raw strength and power. Giving herself a mental shake, she brought her eyes back to Lucy, who was grinning smugly.

“Got over him real quick, did you?”

Choosing to ignore her insinuation, Piper put her nose in the air and went back to eating her sandwich.

“So, Rory. I should have your science books to you this afternoon.” Piper commented to a mid-size blonde, also sharing their table.

“Great. I’ll make sure I have a space for them.” She smiled, then dropped her voice and leaned forward. “We certainly had a fantastic surprise this week at the meeting, didn’t we?”

“What do you mean?” Piper asked.

Rory’s eyes widened. “Didn’t you notice the large influx of particularly good looking male hires? Weren’t you there when Principal Grimm announced them all?”

Piper thought back. She remembered a couple of new names being called out, but once she had spotted Nash, everyone else had disappeared. She couldn’t think of any other faces or names. She shrugged her shoulders in response to Rory’s question and took another bite of sandwich.

“Oh honey, we’ve gained some major eye candy this year.”

Piper snorted and covered her mouth. The rest of the teachers at the table were also snickering.

“I’m sure there is more to them than just their looks.” A sweet voice floated through the group.

Leave it to precious, little Charlotte. She was the sweetest person Piper had ever met. With white blonde hair and blue eyes, she exuded a sweet elegance that drew in people like bees to nectar.

“Maybe so,” Rory answered, “but I wouldn’t mind a little hands-on experimentation.” She grinned coyly.

Laughter floated around the table. Piper shook her head. Rory was always saying outrageous things. She told Piper it was her experiment in human relations, saying anything and everything that hit her mind, no filter attached. She claimed you could tell a lot about people by how they responded to her comments.

“Oh Nash! You’re so funny!” A high, tinkling laugh broke through the noise of the room.

Piper snapped her head towards the sound. There sat Miranda, her chair scooted closer than appropriate at Nash’s side. With her hand resting on his forearm, she was smiling widely, showing off her pearly whites.

For his part, Nash didn’t look amused or interested. He stared straight ahead, his elbows resting on the table as he continued to chew his sandwich. Turning his head, his eyes locked onto Piper.

Silently gasping, his gaze held her captive. He seemed to see her very soul and instead of screaming for release, her heart tried to pound in his direction, pulling her unwillingly to him.

She sucked in a shaky breath when he turned back around to Miranda, who was caressing his arm and speaking to him. Piper scowled at the display, but immediately berated herself. He’s a caveman. Why would I care if he got together with Miss Perfect Legs?

She had to stifle a giggle, however, when Nash grunted at Miranda and went back to eating his sandwich. He seemed completely unmoved by her forwardness. Piper quickly turned back to lunch in order to hide her grin.

Looking up, she realized the whole table of women were staring at her. “What?” She mumbled, her mouth full of food.

“That man looked like he wanted to eat you alive!” Rory whispered. “In a good way!”

A table of heads nodded in agreement.

“What? You guys are crazy,” Piper replied.

Lucy leaned in close. “Deny it all you want, but every single one of us saw him give you the predatory eye.”

“That is ridiculous,” Piper whispered back. “I delivered books to him just this morning and the guy was a total scumbag. The only word he said the whole time was ‘short,’ making fun of my height. The rest of the time he just grunted. Those are not the actions of a man who finds me attractive.”

“Got under your skin, huh?” Rory smirked.

Piper glared, but Rory’s smile only widened.

“He probably just has trouble communicating. I’m sure he’s a really nice guy underneath?” Charlotte’s soft voice carried across the table.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m not interested,” Piper lied...again. “I better get back to the library. I have a bunch of books that need to be delivered today. See y’all later!” She shoved her garbage in the trash and, using all her willpower to not look back at Nash, pushed through the doorway and into the hall.

“Oof!”

“Oh I’m so sorry!” Piper gushed. Reaching down, she helped pull the plump, gray haired woman to her feet. “I had my head in the clouds and wasn’t paying attention. Are you alright, Mrs. Merryweather?”

“It’s all right, my dear. Accidents happen.” She brushed out the wrinkles in her light pink sweater. She patted her hair, readjusted her glasses, and then peered over them at Piper. Mrs. Merryweather was the only other person in the school who was of a similar stature to Piper. “In a bit of a hurry, were you?”

“Well...uh...sorta, I guess. I was heading back to the library to get back to work, but had my mind on other things, rather than what was in front of me. I’m so sorry. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Quite, quite. Just who or what were you trying so hard to escape from, dear?” she asked.

“What? Oh, no. I wasn’t trying to escape anything, I just needed to get back...” she trailed off lamely.

“Mm, hmm. I see.” Mrs. Merryweather replied, while nodding her head. “Well,” she patted Piper on the shoulder. “It’s alright, dear. Happens to all of us eventually.” She smiled kindly, then shuffled down the hallway.

Piper stood watching her go, thoroughly dumbfounded. How did she know I was trying to get away from Nash and Miranda? And what in the world does she mean by saying it happens to all of us? What happens to all of us?...I adore that woman, but sometimes she is certifiable. Shaking her head, Piper continued back to her original destination.