"I've been thinking,"he texted late one night. Mara saw it at 0200 after crawling into bed. Responded immediately because for once she actually had time.
"Dangerous habit."
"I'm serious. I've been thinking about that beer I owe you."
Mara's heart rate picked up."Yeah?"
"Yeah. I think it's time I paid that debt."
"You want to meet."It wasn't a question.
"I want to meet. Face to face. No screens. No texts. Just you and me and a conversation that doesn't have to end when you get pulled into another crisis."
Mara stared at the message. This was the moment. The point where whatever this was became real or stayed safely contained in the digital space they'd created. Meeting him would change everything. Would bring their two worlds together in ways that might not work. Would force them to figure out if the chemistry they had over text translated to real life.
Would require her to carve out time she didn't really have. To prioritize this when there were always a hundred other things demanding her attention.
But she wanted it. Wanted to see him in person when he wasn't injured. Wanted to hear his laugh without the filter of phone speakers. Wanted to find out if the connection they'd built was as real as it felt.
"Where?"she typed.
"Anywhere. I'll come to you. You pick the place and time and I'll be there."
"You're still recovering."
"I'm cleared for travel. Doc says as long as I don't do anything stupid like get in another firefight, I'm good."There was a pause."Say yes, Mara. Let me buy you that beer."
She could say no. Could keep this contained and safe. Could protect herself and L'Abri Sûr and everything she'd built by keeping Logan at a distance.
But she didn't want to.
"There's a bar in New Orleans,"she typed."Quarter Moon. It's quiet. Good beer. We can talk without the whole place listening in."
"When?"
Mara pulled up her calendar. Three operations in the next two weeks. Briefings. Resident care. The normal chaos of L'Abri Sûr. She found a Saturday with nothing critical scheduled. Hoped nothing would come up.
"Two weeks. Saturday. Eight o'clock."
"I'll be there."
Mara set down her phone and stared at the ceiling. Six weeks of texts and calls and getting to know someone who felt like he understood her in ways most people didn't. Six weeks of chemistry and laughter and late-night conversations that madeher feel less alone. Six weeks of Logan being patient while she juggled operations and responsibilities and the constant demands of keeping ninety-four people safe.
And now she was going to meet him. Going to find out if what they had was real or just a product of circumstance and adrenaline and two people who'd shared an intense experience.
Her phone buzzed one more time.
"Can't wait to see you, Mara."
She smiled and typed back,"Same, Logan. Same."
Then she set an alarm, climbed into bed, and tried not to think about Saturday. Tried not to worry about what would happen if an operation came up. If she had to cancel. If the reality of her life made this impossible.
Tried not to hope too hard that this thing between them could actually work despite the fact that his world was recovery and waiting and hers was chaos and constant motion.
But she was hoping anyway.
Because some things were worth the risk. And Logan Reed was starting to feel like one of them.
