Talon shrugged slightly but smiled. “So much better now. We have three days before we leave to meet Mom and Dad. She’s so excited that you asked her to help plan the wedding.”
“I asked her to plan all of it,” Riley admitted, smiling widely. “I told her what colors I like and to run with it. We’re going wedding dress shopping before we head back to Burundu.”
"Don’t let her railroad you into something you don’t want. She has a strong and determined personality when she gets fixed on something."
Riley laughed and leaned in closer to him. “Hardly. She’s the sweetest woman I’ve ever talked to. I can hardly wait to meet her in person.”
“I can wait,” Talon growled. He paused, his thumb tracing small circles on her hip in a gesture that was probably unconscious but sent little shocks of electricity through her nervous system. "No more talking about parents," he continued after tucking his finger under her chin and lifting it so she waslooking at him. "This is our time. No one else is allowed."
Riley felt her heart perform that odd, quiet somersault that had become her body's default response to the way he looked at her. After months of coordinating schedules across time zones and international borders, of snatched phone calls between briefings and messages that arrived at three in the morning, the prospect of actually being with her man felt like an almost unimaginable luxury.
"So, we're actually in the same place," she said, letting wonder creep into her voice. "At the same time."
Talon's mouth curved in a smile, carrying the sexy heat that lit her body on fire.
"Exactly, and I have ideas how to spend most of that time," he said, and there was enough smugness in his voice to suggest his plan wasn’t for people with clothes. She was so on board with that idea.
Later,wearing old sweats and tucked under a blanket, they sipped drinks as they watched the sun set across the lake. The sun painted the sky in shades of amber and rose. The slight rustle of wind throughthe leaves of the trees and the light song of night insects wrapped around them. The blissful quiet was comfortable. Talon built a fire in the stone pit just beyond the steps, and now flames crackled and danced in the gathering dusk, sending sparks drifting up toward the heavens.
No urgency pressing at the edges of their conversation. No deadlines loomed in the background. No phones buzzed with operational updates or crisis management requirements. Just the low hum of crickets beginning their nightly chorus and the occasional splash of a fish breaking the water's surface.
"Penny for your thoughts," Talon said from beside her.
Riley smiled and swirled the wine in her glass. She sighed and relaxed into his shoulder. "I was thinking about normal people," she said. "About how they probably take evenings like this for granted. Sitting with someone they care about, no one shooting at them … that would be you and not me … and no international incidents requiring immediate attention."
Talon made a face. "I don’t get shot atthatmuch. Especially now that we’re training. Although some of those guys aren’t the best shot …”
She rolled her eyes and laughed, which she knew was his goal.
“Do you miss it?" Talon asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. "Being normal?"
Riley considered the question, surprised to find that the answer wasn't as obvious as she'd expected. Two years ago, she would have said yes without hesitation. She would have given almost anything to return to a world where her biggest concern was quarterly environmental compliance reports and her most dangerous assignment involved reviewing safety protocols at chemical processing plants.
But that woman felt like a stranger now, someone she'd been rather than someone she was. "I miss the simplicity sometimes," she said finally. "The luxury of assuming people are basically good, that systems work the way they're supposed to, and that the biggest threat to my day is bad coffee in the break room."
She took a sip of wine, letting the flavors roll across her tongue while she tried to find words for her feelings. "But I don't miss my ignorance," she continued. "I don't miss not knowing that people like my father exist, that corporations can be fronts for criminal organizations, that environmental compliancereports can be used to hide trafficking operations."
Riley turned to look at Talon directly. "I don't miss being someone who could be easily fooled. Does that make sense?"
Talon nodded slowly, and she could see understanding in his expression.
"Perfect sense," he said. "Innocence is comfortable, but it's also delicate and fragile. Once you've seen how the world really works, you can't unsee it. The question is whether you use that knowledge to make things better or just to protect yourself."
"And which one are we doing?"
Talon was quiet for a moment. He stared into the fire, jaw clenched, and shook his head. "Both," he said finally. "Guardian is rooting out evil, training people to defend their country and themselves. You’re making sure the environment is protected and cared for … but we're also building something for ourselves.”
He paused, then continued, "This. It works because we both understand what we're choosing and what we're doing to have it."
Riley felt something settle in her chest. The sense of being exactly where she belonged, with exactlythe right person, making exactly the right choices even when some of those choices were difficult.
"You know," she said quietly, watching flames dance against the darkening sky, "this could actually work. This life we're trying to build." She could see it in her mind’s eye. She could almost touch it. A future she never thought she’d have.
Talon didn't look away from the fire, but she could see a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "It will work," he said with the kind of absolute certainty that had sustained her through a year of recovery and everything since. "We'll make it work."
She let the sliver of doubt the time apart had created slip out. "How can you be so sure?"
Now he did turn to look at her, and the intensity in his gaze made her breath catch in her throat.
