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Will was their
first date, if it could even be called a date. There was no reason to jump to
conclusions about his intentions, and they had plenty of time to explore a
possible mutual interest. Until such a day came, she had every right to enjoy
his company and fantasies about her secret crush.

Chapter Six
     
    “Knock, knock. Special delivery for Miss Fine.” Will’s voice
sounded from outside the door to Amanda’s office before the knob twisted and
his head popped through. “Tea and crumpets, straight from Windsor Palace.”
    Darn it. Amanda peeked at the wall clock and realized
she had spent more than an hour idly browsing the Internet when she should have
been grading papers. And now Will was here for their three o’clock tête-à-tête . The afternoon visits had become something of a
daily routine over the past two weeks, and she usually had her desk cleared
before he showed up with the authentic English refreshments he favored. Today,
a flash of resentment struck, guilt quickly following. Will had no way of
knowing he had interrupted her in the middle of very compelling online
research.
    Amanda was trying to decide what kind of tattoo to get and
where to put it.
    Minimizing the browser window so Will wouldn’t see, she
dredged up a smile. “Hi. The day seems to be getting away from me.” She pushed
aside a stack of folders to make room and offered him the mug she kept on hand.
    “Then we’ll keep it brief.” A delicate flourish of steam
drifted upward while strong brown tea filled the cup. “I had hoped we would
have time to work up our production schedule.”
    Thanks to his accent, it came out she-djul , a
pronunciation that always amused her. She felt her annoyance lift.
    “We aren’t due to get started until next month,” she
reminded him.
    “Weren’t.” He corrected her. “ Weren’t due to get
started—”
    “It’s here? The collection is here now?” Tattoo forgotten,
she jumped up. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go.”
    Will’s laughter held a note of indulgence. “Calm yourself.
You’ve not missed anything yet. The delivery date has been moved up. The lot of
treasures will arrive in the next two weeks.”
    She ignored the tea, too excited to handle the hot mug.
Pacing back and forth behind her desk, she ticked off a list of preparations
that needed to be finalized. Whirling to face him, hands on hips, she inhaled a
calming breath. “If Professor Mueller—”
    “Timothy.”
    “If Timothy,” she repeated, rolling her eyes, “saw me acting
like a teenage groupie, he wouldn’t let me within fifty feet of those
manuscripts.”
    The humorous glimmer in Will’s eyes darkened to something
more serious. “I find your enthusiasm charming, just as does our esteemed
friend, I’m sure. Your passion for these literary treasures is one of the
things I admire most about you. There are not many eligible young women who
would be thrilled at the prospect of spending the next six months archiving a
musty collection of crumbling old papers. You know full well how much patience
and painstaking effort this project is going to demand and yet you act as if
this is a most extraordinary lark.”
    Setting his cup aside, he leaned forward in his seat.
“Amanda, I have been hesitant to say anything for fear of jeopardizing our
professional relationship and I do hope I’m not overstepping propriety, but I
would very much like to see you outside the office.”
    For some reason she found herself evading his suggestion.
“We already see each other outside the office. We took a day trip up to Napa
just last weekend.”
    “Most of the department employees came along.” Brandishing a
boyish smirk and dimples, he said, “I had something more intimate in mind.”
    Amanda couldn’t tell if the fluttery sensation in her
stomach was anxiety or pleasure. She couldn’t say Will’s interest was unwanted.
The more she got to know him, the more she liked him. He was good-looking,
intelligent, had a clever