“I missed you,” she said, her head turned to the side, cheek settled in the little crook between his shoulder and pectoral muscle.

“I missed you too,” he said with a little laugh.

“What’s so funny?” she said, chuckling but pulling back to look up at him.

“Well, it’s not like I’ve been off to war or something. It was just a three-week training evolution.”

“So . . . I’m not allowed to miss you unless it’s a month or longer?” she said, her tone defensive but her smile playful.

“That’s not what I meant,” he said and quickly redirected. “You look really good by the way.”

And she did, dressed in black leggings and a fuzzy rose-colored fleece. She had her hair pulled back into a sporty ponytail and was wearing Nike trainers.

She demurred. “Really? These are just my workout clothes.”

“Yeah, well, you look hot.”

“Thanks,” she said, her cheeks instantly flushing with color.

“Should we order?” he said, turning toward the counter. “What do you want? My treat.”

“That’s sweet, thank you,” she said, gave him her request, and set off to grab them a table.

He ordered, paid, and carried their coffees to the two-person bistro table a few minutes later.

“Why did you pick this place?” she asked, accepting her coffee from his outstretched hand. “I mean, it’s fine, but I prefer the little coffee shop we met at last time.”

“I know, but I had something to pick up in the neighborhood, so this was convenient,” he lied.

“What were you picking up?” she asked, smiling over her cup.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, not wanting to get into a discussion about the existence of space assassination lasers. Even if she believed him—which he deemed unlikely—he didn’t want to talk about it. “Let’s talk about you. How’s the recovery going? You back at work and feeling good?”

“Yeah, and very happy about that. Without work and you out of town, um, let’s just say I was going stir-crazy.”

He nodded and took a sip of his nitro coldbrew. “I hear ya . . .”

“Do you like that?” she said, her gaze ticking to his drink.

“First time I’ve tried it, but it’s good,” he said. “I could see this becoming my go-to. Tastes kinda like Guinness but as a coffee.”

“Hmm, interesting. I’ll have to try it sometime,” she said. After an awkward beat she flashed him a coy smile. “Now that you’re back, should we plan another night out? There’s a new restaurant I’d like to try.”

“Yes, buuuut . . . ,” he said, dragging out the word. “It looks like I’m going on another training op soon, possibly in the next forty-eight hours.”

“Is that so?” she said, her expression falling.

“Yep, something’s come up.”

“Don’t you think maybe we’re past the lying-to-each-other stage of this relationship?” she said, her gaze going frosty. “I was at the Cathedral of the Incarnation that day, Jed, remember? I know what you do for a living.”