Emma Bennett has a purple ponytail, a chipped World's Best PE Teacher mug, and one ironclad rule: do not fall for the man trying to dismantle everything you've spent five years building.

She's broken the mug twice. The rule is next.

Dr. Max Harrison is precise, annoyingly logical, and in possession of a jawline that has no business existing in a middle school. He has a twelve-page proposal, a $50,000 grant on the line, and absolutely zero interest in catching feelings for the woman who treats his spreadsheets like a personal attack.

He's starting to think she might be the most interesting problem he's ever encountered.

When budget cuts force them to merge Field Day and the science fair — one event, one budget, one very small gym — their arguments develop a disturbing tendency to feel like foreplay. Emma fights for every kid who's ever been told recess doesn't matter. Max fights for every kid who's never been seen as anything but a test score. Somewhere between a PTA showdown, babysitting an opinionated macaw, and making out during a fire drill, they'll both have to decide what they're actually fighting for.

Turns out the most volatile reactions happen when two elements that shouldn't be compatible discover they're exactly right for each other.

Budget Cuts and Midnight Lust — where the real experiment was never about the budget.

THIS IS A STAND-ALONE BOOK WITHIN THE MARCHFIELD SERIES.