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Rowan sat back after finishing the third slice of pizza and rubbed her belly. “I’m stuffed.”

Shine chuckled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. This is one of my favorite pizza places. I don’t come over that often, but when I’m in this area, I eat here.”

“I can see why. It’s great pizza.”

Shine took a sip of his iced tea and then flashed her a huge smile. “I’ve had a good time with you today.”

“I liked this. It was good to spend time with you.”

"Would you be willing to go on another date?"

Her heart sped up as excitement filled her. “Yes. I’d like that.”

“So one thing about my job is I could get called out without any real notice.”

She nodded. "I know. It's part of the job. I've had a few clients who were special forces. I know things happen. You get called out, and you have to go."

"So you understand what our work-life balance is like."

Laughter bubbled up. "You mean lack of work-life balance. "

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah. I know it’s intense. I signed up for it. I like the rush. Don’t get me wrong, I know the job isn’t my life, but right now, with some of the operations we’re running, it is life.”

“I really do understand.”

“So you’d be okay being in a relationship with someone who takes off and doesn’t call for weeks on end.”

She reached across the table and held his hand. "If we get together, it will be complicated. We're no longer kids. As adults, we've lived through some stuff. We both have lives we've established. There are things I'll do that will probably annoy you, but if we want something, I think we can work through the hiccups. Even the hiccup of you leaving town for a mission."

He stood, and she didn't understand for a moment until he moved to the seat next to her. His arm went around her shoulder, and he leaned in close, his lips next to her ear. "I would love to see how we fit together. I know we should consider ourselves strangers, but I don't see you that way. I want this to work. Maybe you can come over to my place a couple of nights this week, and I'll come to your place. We'll go from there."

Excitement filled her, and she resisted the urge to squeal. “I like that. I want to see you.”

"Can I come by your place on Monday?"

She pulled out her phone and checked her schedule. “My final client is at two thirty that afternoon. Unless I get an emergency, I’ll be home by four.”

“How about I call at four and make sure you’re okay with me coming over. I’ll bring dinner.”

“Oh no, I couldn’t?—”

He put his fingers on her lips. “I can’t invite myself over and expect you to cook. We’ll figure out a pattern for cooking and getting dinner prepared. I’ll have meatballs and spaghetti sauce. Then we can boil the noodles when I get there.”

She nodded. “That sounds great.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to seeing you on Monday.”

They both stood, and he walked her to her car, giving her a sweet kiss before taking off. They'd had an excellent time together. She knew it would take time for them to get to know each other, but she was thrilled that it seemed like he wanted more because she certainly wanted much more from Shine.