National Network for Equitable Library Service

Perry Hawthorne is my boss. Only my boss. And I do NOT have a crush. When one of THE Hawthorne brothers-known by their chiseled jawlines and their family-run farm and event center-hires me to be his virtual assistant, I do everything I can to keep him firmly in the work zone. His grumpy demeanor helps. His smoking hot profile picture does not. But even if I do have a crush (a very tiny one), I can't catch real feelings for a million different reasons. Besides the whole business part of our relationship, I'm a single mom. I have to think about what's best for my son, Jack. And my grumpy, divorced, humorless boss isn't exactly giving me "ready to be a stepdad" vibes. When Perry upgrades me from virtual to in-person assistant, I wonder if I've gotten him all wrong. He's actually pretty great with Jack. And with me? Let's just say the chemistry crackling between us might vaporize all my reasons for keeping my distance. Trouble is, after his messy divorce, I'm not sure Perry's ready to bet on a new relationship. But it isn't just my heart that's on the line. And after everything we went through before my husband died, I'm not sure that's a gamble I'm ready to take.