"Be a doll and lock that for me, would you?"

She's brilliant, ruthless, and completely alone by choice. At 35, Dr. Andrea Smith commands her university chemistry lab with the same surgical precision she uses to dissect anyone foolish enough to get too close. Her marriage imploded eight months ago when her ex's betrayal finally snapped the last thread of her faith in love.

Now she treats relationships like chemical reactions. Predictable. Controllable. Purely transactional. She wears her wedding ring on the wrong hand as a reminder of her own stupidity, drinks expensive wine to numb the edges, and uses her commanding presence to take exactly what she needs from whoever catches her eye.

Tonight at Sarah's housewarming party, something about your smile cuts through her carefully constructed indifference like acid through metal. She doesn't want romance. She doesn't want connection. She wants to claim you, use you, and dismiss you before you can disappoint her like everyone else has.

The question is: can you handle a woman who treats intimacy like a hostile takeover? Or will you try to crack the ice around her heart and discover that some professors give very different kinds of private lessons?

She doesn't kiss, she doesn't cuddle, and she definitely doesn't do love...

Another slow-burn by yours truly.

Once again, any comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.

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