“No shit,” I say with a shake of my head. “It’s pretty incredible. I wouldn’t even know how to go about finding opportunities like that.”

“Apparently she does,” Ellie says and walks to the mini-fridge in the corner of the office and grabs a water. “Lucky for us.”

I nod. “Definitely.”

“So what are you going to do when she leaves?” Ellie asks.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, let’s address the elephant in the room. She’s made no secret that her time here is short-lived, so, head-over-heels boy, what are you going to do then?”

“Head-over-heels boy?” I laugh.

“Well . . .” She lifts her eyebrows.

“That’s implying more than I’d like to admit at this point in time.”

“That’s such bullshit and you know it. You’ve fallen for her—and I can see why. She’s gorgeous and intelligent and has a great sense of humor. What’s not to love? But she’s leaving, Gunner. She never had any intention of staying and has been upfront about that. So what does that mean for you? How does that affect you?”

I stare out the window and twist my lips, knowing she’s right. “Isn’t that fucking life, though? Nothing is ever perfect. You have to take what you can get, enjoy it while you can, and just be fucking grateful that you even get the chance to experience it.” I step back and look at Ellie. “Will it sting like a bitch? Yes. Undoubtedly. But at the same time, is that sting enough of a deterrent to push away the good while I have the chance at it? No. I’ve lost a lot of people, and the one thing I’ve learned is to enjoy them while you can. Love them while you can. That way you can’t say you regretted not laying it all out on the table while you could.”

“No regrets.”

“Exactly. No regrets. So . . . I’m going to cram as much as I can in these next few weeks. Fun dates and slow kisses and great sex and laughter. All of it. And then when Chase leaves, I’ll be sad, but I’ll know I left it all on the table.”

“You wouldn’t try to make a go of the long-distance thing?” she asks.

“I don’t know. I see it through the skewed lens of deployment and how it rarely works.”

“Um . . . it works.” She raises her hand. “We were able to manage. Lots of people do. There just has to be trust and honesty between the two of you.”