I’d slept like the dead. There was no other way to put it. Every inch of me ached, which told me I hadn’t moved much from the time my head hit the pillow. Sleeping that soundly left my head feeling as if it were filled with cotton, along with my mouth.

I could have closed my eyes and gone right back to sleep had it not been for the sound of voices down the hallway. A tinkle of laughter woke me the rest of the way up. It was a woman’s laugh, and one I was sure I’d never heard before.

After a few failed attempts, I managed to sit up. It would have been easier to fall back over and close my eyes, but my curiosity got the best of me. Especially when I heard Eli’s animated tone as he spoke.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I pushed the covers back and made to stand.

The thick padding of my socks muffled my footsteps down the hallway. I swayed like a drunk coming home from the bar and had to steady myself with one hand against the wall until the giddiness passed.

My slow procession gave me a few more seconds to pull myself together. It also made me feel as though I were eavesdropping on their conversation. Which wasn’t the case at all, since I couldn’t help overhearing what they said. And if it were something they didn’t want overheard, I didn’t imagine they would be talking so freely.

But still… I made to clear my throat, or maybe even cough so they knew someone was listening, when Eli asked, “When do I have to leave?”

It sort of felt as though my world had completely crashed down around my ears. I must have made some sort of noise because the next thing I knew, he was there in front of me, tipping my chin up. “Hey, sleepy head.”

I wanted to jerk free from his hold. Wanted to demand he tell me what was going on. Yet, I did neither of those things. Instead, I hugged him, breathing in the scent of his cologne, enjoying the way he pulled me against his chest tight enough that I could feel his heartbeat against my cheek.

I fought to keep my emotions in check when he kissed the top of my head and then pulled back enough to look down at me. “Jared and Murphy are here. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”

I didn’t want to meet Jared and Murphy, not right then, anyway. What I did want was a rewind button that took me to the previous night when it had been just us, sitting under a sky of diamonds, black velvet, and the eerie glow of dancing lights. Or even further still to the days in Haiti that we shared under the blistering heat of the sun.

“It’s nice to meet you, Nova,” Murphy said, giving me a smile that could have rivaled any toothpaste commercial.

She was beautiful with her poised stance and perfect features. Beside her, I felt like a frumpy pile of unwashed socks.

“So, Nova, are you ready to join us in the super-secret underground world of Cole Enterprise?” Jared bluntly asked, dodging Murphy’s elbow.

“Jared,” she said, giving him a look that made him smirk back at her.

“I…” I had no idea what to say.

“Jared, leave her alone about it,” Eli said, hand coming to rest on my lower back as if his touch alone would give me the strength I’d need in order to deal with Jared.

“Is there a place I can put our bags? I’d like to get unpacked and settled in. It’s been a long couple of days,” Murphy asked.

“Sure, you’ll just have to give me and Nova a few minutes to move some stuff from the spare room,” Eli said.

I followed him into my room. Once the door was closed, he pinched the bridge of his nose and said, “Nova, I’m sorry about all this.”

“Sorry about what?” I asked, wondering if he meant Jared and Murphy showing up, or if he was fixing to tell me he was leaving.

“I had no idea they’d be here today,” he answered.

My heart sank a little. “You don’t owe me an apology because your friends are here.”

He closed his eyes tight, hands settling on his hips as he rocked on his heels with an explosive sigh and said, “I’m being relocated.”

Everything in me froze.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, or if they’ll even send me back. Jared and Murphy will be taking over here since Jared can’t go in the field,” he said as he stepped back and leaned his shoulder against the door.

The torn expression on his face told me he didn’t want to go, but would do it anyway because that was his job. I had to respect it, even if I didn’t like it. “Where are they sending you?”

His head tipped to the side as he processed my question. I didn’t think he’d expected me to ask him that.

“Siberia,” he finally said, wincing when I shook my head.

“And you thought Alaska was cold?” Siberia? What in the actual hell did he need to go to Siberia for? Did they not like him or something?

He pushed away from the door, and caught my hand up in his. “Nova, I don’t want to go, but I have to.”

“Do you know when?” Surely he’d have some idea.

He shook his head. “Medic teams get called in last minute. It’s uncommon to be put in place ahead of time. It does happen occasionally, though.”

“Do they at least tell you what you’re going in the field for?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

“They do. We get briefed on the mission when we’re en route to wherever we’re going. And we stay on until the patient can be transported, or released.”

“And then?”

“And then we go back to our home base,” he answered. “Mine was Chicago, until they moved me here. But with them moving Jared and Murphy here, I’m not so sure anymore.”

“Can’t you ask your boss?”

“Believe me, next to this upcoming mission, that’s at the top of my priorities,” he said, giving my hand a brief squeeze and then letting go.

Was it fair of me to want to know what he planned to do? It might have been had I been able to take him up on the job offer. But I couldn’t. Noni needed me.

“Is it okay if we move your things into my room, so Jared and Murphy can use this one?” Eli asked.

“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”

He sighed, giving me a tender smile. “Nova, I just told you I was leaving. I’d be a real bastard if I kept on acting as if I were staying. If you want, you can take my room and I’ll take the couch.”

“Is that what you want?” I asked, wondering if that was his way of taking a step back without having to be blunt about it.

“No. Selfishly, I want to go to sleep with you in my arms, and wake up with you there.”

“Selfishly, I want that, too,” I said. “Now, help me get everything moved so they can settle in.”

“I don’t deserve you, Nova,” Eli said, coming up behind me to put his hands on my hips and pull me close. “But I’m damn sure going to try and be everything you need.”

“You already are,” I whispered.

“Where’s Jared?” Eli asked, noticing Murphy at the table by herself.

She looked up from the tablet in her hand, eyes bloodshot and puffy from rubbing them. “Checking his eyelids for pinholes.”

“I’ve made the bed. If you’d like, I’ll help you with your suitcases so you can get some sleep,” I said, extending the tentative olive branch to what I hoped to be a friendship.

She gave me a weak smile and nodded.

“I’ll get the bags, Murph. Nova can show you to your room. I’m sure you’ve already scoped out the rest of the house by now,” Eli said.

“You act like you know me,” she scoffed. “By the way, you’re almost out of toilet paper.”

“Damn,” he hissed under his breath. “Guess it’s back to the store for the tenth time in three days.”

“Gotcha covered. Check one of those boxes,” Murphy said over her shoulder as she followed me.

Murphy sat down on the edge of the bed with a bounce. “Thanks for giving up your room.”

Eli set the suitcases in the closet and left with a, “Night, Murph.”

She yawned in reply.

“If you need anything at all, just let me know.”

She politely thanked me, then keeled over onto her side and was out like a light. I slipped out the door so as not to disturb her.

It took a bit of prodding, but Eli finally got Jared up on his feet and down the hallway. A few loud bangs and muttered curses later, Eli was back in the living room and opening the boxes pushed against the wall.

“Shouldn’t you wait?” I asked.

“Nah, it’s just supplies,” he answered, flipping open the first lid and digging out enough toilet paper to last for at least a month.

I settled in beside him. Opening the box he pushed in front of me, I hauled out non-perishables.

“Oh, man, Riley must really miss me,” Eli said as he hugged a box to his chest.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Care package. I’ll put it on the table, and we’ll open it last,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

I laughed. “Must be some care package.”

Once everything was put away, Eli opened the box on the table. “Yes! She didn’t forget.”

“Hot chocolate?”

He gave me a mocking look. “This isn’t just any hot chocolate. I’ll have you know it’s my favorite.”

I peeked inside the box. “You’re a junk-food junkie. Look at all that sugar.”

“If you’re nice to me, I’ll share it with you,” he said, smirking.

“Just how nice do I have to be?” I bantered, fluttering my eyelashes.

He backed me against the kitchen counter, pinning me in place. The corner of the box of hot chocolate dug into my shoulder as he kissed me.

My hands slipped into the back pocket of his jeans and I gave his backside a brief squeeze.

He broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against mine. “That’s at least worth a honey bun.”

“Oh? How do I go about getting you to share your hot chocolate?” I asked.

He pushed the box into my hand before lifting me off the ground. My legs wrapped around his hips, one arm looping around his neck as I put the box between us, and then I wiggled close enough that our bodies pinned it in place.

“For God’s sake woman, whatever you do, don’t drop that box.”

I laughed when he smacked me playfully on the backside and then carried me to our room. He lowered us to the bed, pausing briefly to toss the box of hot chocolate over the side of the mattress.

With Jared and Murphy arriving, our lives took on a new schedule. I split my mornings and afternoons with Noni. In between those times, I sat with Murphy and Eli going over property details. The next Cole Enterprise location had become forefront with Murphy.

Jared was sort of all over the place. He’d pop over Murphy’s shoulder and give his opinion every now and then, or tell a joke to see her laugh when the monotony of the job put a scowl on her face.

I hadn’t forgotten Eli’s comment about Jared not being able to go out in the field, but I hadn’t found a way to ask why without feeling like I was being nosy.

When Jared wasn’t buzzing around like a demented bumblebee, he played his guitar. I enjoyed those moments best. It brought a sort of peace around us that soothed everyone.

Murphy and I had been in deep conversation over one of the front-running pieces of property she felt hit all the requirements the new facility would need. She ticked each reason off as if it would somehow cement her decision. She’d made it to number four when she stopped midsentence and turned in her seat to look at Jared.

He sat on the floor. Bent over his guitar with papers spread out in front of him, he jotted something on the paper and then slipped the pencil between his teeth.

She watched for a few more seconds before turning back to what we were discussing. A hint of something like pride flushed her face. “I can’t remember the last time I saw him writing a new song.”

“Does he miss playing music?” I asked. Shrinking back in embarrassment, I added, “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. I shouldn’t have asked.”

Murphy gave me an odd look. “Don’t apologize. You’re curious. I would be too if I were in your shoes. And trust me, before it’s all said and done, you’ll be sticking your nose into everyone’s lives just like the rest of us.”

I shook my head.

Murphy wasn’t deterred. “Decisions, life-changing ones, don’t happen overnight. And sometimes the things that hold us back will also be the ones that push us forward.”

“Who’s pushing who forward?” Jared asked, setting his guitar down and getting up from the floor with an exaggerated groan.

“Shower’s free, Nova,” Eli called from down the hallway.

“That’s my cue.” I got up from the table, grateful for the interruption.

“Hey, Nova,” Jared called, stalling me.

“Yeah?” I asked, turning just enough to look at him over my shoulder.

“When do we get to meet Noni?”

“Uh…”

“I was thinking today’s just as good as any day,” he said, nodding as if the decision were already made. Not giving me time to answer, he added. “Good, Murphy and I will get ready so we can go with you.”