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“Thanks. My uncle got me wearing them when I was a teenager. At first, I did it to piss off my teachers. Then I realized they were comfortable.” He chuckled. “During the winter, I wear jeans. Inside projects let me enjoy the freedom earlier than usual.”
Zoe’s head tilted as she tried to understand what he meant. Then she got it and blushed again. Her mouth formed anOand he winked.
“I’m kidding. I’m not as daring as Uncle Sheamus.”
“That’s comforting. You climb ladders all day.”
He laughed hard and shewishedshe could hear what it sounded like. His entire face transformed fromattractiveto downrightgorgeous.
Nathaniel was a working man with manners and serious good looks. The kind who generally looked right through her. For just a moment, she wondered what it would be like to be with someone who signed. To be with a man like him.
Not for you, Zoe. Never for you.
She noticed her assistant entering the front doors on the first floor. Beth Simpson was her right-hand person in the world of the hearing.
“I need to get back to work. Thank you again, Nathaniel.”
“Call me Nate. It’s faster to spell.” He smiled again. “Will you go out for coffee with me later, Zoe?”
She shook her head. “I don’t usually go anywhere but home. Besides, you’ve done more than enough.” He was being sweet, going above and beyond to make sure she was alright.
“I see you’re cautious and I respect that. I’ll be here over the next several weeks doing the renovations. If you feel comfortable at the end of the job, would you be willing to have coffee with me?”
“I don’t know why you’d…” Zoe began and Nate raised his brows. With a nod, she signed, “Sure.”
She smiled warily, waved goodbye, and turned to pick up the books she dropped to hide her nuclear blush. Her skin had never been so hot.
* * *
Nate took in the woman with a smile. Some would’ve found her plain, but he could see that shetriedto blend into the background, to make herself unnoticeable.
He returned to the third floor and finished setting up for his team’s first day. It was rare for a woman to keep running through his mind but he couldn’t shake her as he went through his tasks.
Zoe Green.
Her hair was shiny brown of an indeterminate length tucked in a prim bun at the base of her neck. Her eyes were mostly brown but it was hard to tell with the reading glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. The frames were brown, of course.
Her clothes and pumps were brown. She wore a heavy, cable-knit sweater and man-cut trousers. Her figure was unknown.
The only two things he knew for certain were that she had flawless skin and was adorably petite.
Every so often, she caught him looking at her but he couldn’t seem to help himself. The woman was fascinating.
He watched while she worked with the regular high school students in the research section, assisted an elderly group at the library for an ancestry seminar, and how she moved around the building showing patrons how to use the computers, the printers, or the microfiche machines.
All without speaking.
It was clear Zoe Green was unaccustomed to male attention. She did everything possible to avoid it. That was abigchange from the women he was used to.
Hours later, Nate’s eyes searched and found her sitting in her glassed-in office. She lifted her arms over her head and stretched them back.
The movement was completely subconscious, utterly practical, and naturally sensual. He stilled as her bulky clothing formed to her figure. His cock hardened at the compact lines of her and he instantly knew one thing for certain…
He planned to do everything in his power to convince the librarian to be his woman.
Chapter Two
March 2011
