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Spending time with Shine was her new favorite thing. She’d brought over lasagna that she’d put together the day before and only needed to reheat the dish.

“That smells great.” Shine hugged her from behind.

She spun, facing him. “It has about fifteen minutes left.”

"I never make homemade lasagna except on holidays. It takes too long, and I'm always impatient at night."

“I put it together last night.”

“How did you keep yourself from eating it all?”

Laughter spilled out. “It’s better the second night. But I do always fix myself a small ramekin for the night I make it. It’s not as good, but it’s decent.”

"Well, it smells great, and you look sexy."

Laughter spilled out, and she put her hand on his chest. “I do?”

“Oh yeah.”

He pulled her close and brushed his lips over hers. She melted against him. Being in his arms felt wonderful. She wanted to move past just kissing, but dinner was almost done, and she knew they couldn't really start anything. But holding him and kissing felt amazing.

He pulled back and met her gaze. “I feel a lot of things for you.”

“Same. I couldn’t stop thinking about coming here tonight. I admit I was a little distracted.”

“I was, too. The guys had to yell at me at one point.”

“Oh.” She shook her head. “That’s probably not good.”

He shrugged. “We were on a run. I got distracted. It’s okay. I know how to keep my focus.”

She ran her finger over his shoulders to the middle of his chest. “I bet you do.”

The timer on the oven beeped, interrupting them. Disappointment slid through her, but she knew they needed to eat so they could cool off a little.

Shine pulled the food from the oven and set it on hot pads they’d set out earlier. “Is it done?”

She moved closer. “Yes. The cheese looks perfect in the middle. Now we need to wait about ten minutes for it to cool.”

“Oh, you’re killing me. It’s like the scent is clawing at my insides.”

Her laughter came easy. “You’ll survive.”

He reached for her, and she went willingly. With his arms around her, she snuggled close. They were building their relationship with these moments, and she didn't want to hurry it along, but she really liked Shine, and she knew her mind. Of course, things could change, but right now, she wanted him.

History and experience told her people rarely showed who they were at first. Some people hid their true selves for decades. Both of them had layers they had to peel back to discover who they really were. And it took time to dig deep. They needed more than just good times together. They needed disagreements and full-on arguments to know each other. She wasn't going to pick a fight, but they needed balance if they wanted a future.

“You’re thinking deeply.”

She glanced up, meeting his worried gaze. “Sorry. Just thinking about how well we fit together.”

“And that made you scowl.”

She shook her head. “No. Not that.”

“What then?”

She stepped back, trying to give them space so she didn't just cling to him like Velcro. "These feelings I have for you went deep fast. I know we need more than lust and desire to make a relationship, but you have me hooked. Our past comes into play, drawing me closer to you, but Shine, I have the depth I didn't even get when I was married. And I'm scowling because I wonder if I'm fooling myself, and I want to see how we react during an argument."

His eyebrows knit closer together. “I remember you pressing your lips against mine as tears ran down your cheeks. Heck, they were running down my cheeks, too. That was one of the bravest things anyone has ever done for me, and that’s saying a lot. I remember that. I know that plays into how I feel about you.”

"I've had a few what-if fantasies that play out from that kiss. If that wreck hadn't happened, we might have stayed in contact."

“I know I would have wanted to keep in contact with you.” He drew in a slow breath. “So yeah, we both are probably more committed to each other than we should be at this point in our relationship.”

She cupped his face and stared into his eyes. “I don’t want to push for more than we should give, but I have feelings for you.”

His lips were on hers, and then the timer she’d set rang. He pulled away, but the reluctance was obvious. His gaze stayed on her even though he stepped back.

“We should eat then go for a walk. I think spending time together in my house is too tempting.”

A shiver slid through her. “I agree.”

Shine told her more than once the lasagna was the best he'd ever had. It had taken her a while to perfect it, but she was glad he appreciated the work she'd put into it. His appreciation made her feel better about them. He drew her in even if he didn't mean to.

After washing the dishes, they headed out for a walk. It was nice walking hand in hand next to Shine. She felt like she belonged with him.

“I like this.”

Shine squeezed her hand. "I do, too." They were approaching a house with a man outside doing something on his car. He looked up and wiped his hands on a rag before moving toward them.

At first, she was worried about the big guy who looked threatening—no, not threatening. He had a beard and hair that was pulled up in a knot at the back of his head. If she met him on her own, she would probably try to shrink and hide, but his smile was genuine. She'd read him wrong at first.

"Shine, how are you doing? It's been a while." The big man shook Shine's hand and then turned to her.

“And you are?”

“Wild, this is Rowan.”

Wild took her hand. He was gentle at first, then matched the strength she put into the handshake. She liked that about him .

“It’s nice to meet you, Rowan.”

“Do you work with Shine?”

“We’re not on the same team, but yes, we’re both SEALs.”

Another man who was jogging slowed and moved closer. “You must be Rowan. Shine told us about you.”

She turned to the newcomer, taking in the way he looked. “Hello, yes. I’m Rowan.”

Shine shook the new guy’s hand. “This is Apple.”

“So you work with Shine.”

Apple nodded. “Sure do. He is impressed with you. Said so himself.”

She raised her eyebrows and turned to Shine. “Really? You’re impressed with me?”

He pulled her into a hug and kissed the side of her head. “Very.”

“I didn’t know you were dating someone,” Wild said.

Shine shrugged. “I wasn’t.”

The front door of the place opened, and a woman stepped out followed by two kids. “Hey, I’m Ava. I don’t think I’ve met you.”

She smiled and moved to shake the woman’s hand. “I’m Rowan.”

“How long have you known Shine?”

"Known. Since we were seventeen."

“Oh my. But?—”

“I just ran into Rowan after all these years.” Shine put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She would be lying to say it didn’t feel perfect.

The girl standing behind Ava gave her a shy smile. She liked how the men acted around each other. They gave hugs easily and seemed very comfortable with each other. There was no posturing at all .

“So you’ve known each other since you were kids. How did you get together?” Ava asked.

“I went to see her in a professional capacity,” Shine said.

She wasn’t sure Shine wanted her to tell everyone what type of work she did so she kept quiet. She never liked outing her patients. It was just something better kept confidential.

“She’s an aerospace psychologist,” Shine said.

Ava smiled and squeezed his shoulder. “Okay, that’s cool. But you do more than astronauts, right?”

"Yes. Anyone working in flight of any sort. So, air traffic controllers to NASA employees. However, since I'm here in California, I don't do too much with NASA. I did fly out to Florida for a few days with them."

“That’s exciting.”

Rowan chuckled. “Astronauts are boring. I mean, they are great people, but they are very much geeks, and not like SEALs are geeks. Astronauts are very technical. And they should be because their job is very technical.”

Wild chuckled. “They are a different breed.”

“It was good meeting you. I need to finish my run,” Apple said before waving goodbye and taking off.

Shine took her hand and squeezed. “We should get back to our walk.”

Wild nodded. "I need to get this finished before the sun goes down."

Rowan smiled and waved. “It was nice meeting you all.”

After saying goodbye, they continued their walk. She liked how close the men were. It spoke of healthy relationships between the guys. She’d met with individual special team operators in her course of work. It would be interesting to see them in action. Not that the military would allow that. She wasn’t with Shine for that, but it would be an interesting part of dating him.

“So, what do you think of them?”

“You know, they seem real. I like them.”

"I do stuff with guys on other teams, but mostly hangouts are with the guys on my team. We drink together a few times a month and try to do something on the weekends. Jay and Sharp both have women they're involved with. The other three guys aren't with anyone."

“I’m looking forward to meeting them.”

“Good. Maybe this weekend.”

Nervousness sizzled through her, but it passed quickly. She was secure in her feelings for Shine. They had only recently gotten back together, but they had a very traumatic experience binding them forever.

In that moment when the plane had been going down, they'd really seen each other. Her relationship with Shine wouldn't follow normal timelines. She could almost guarantee it. She knew she would be in bed with him long before she would have sex with anyone else she dated. Trusting Shine wouldn't be an issue. He had already proved she could trust him and more.