Becca’s skin burned from Ethan’s proximity. How many times had she imagined this? Seeing him again, wondering what it would feel like, if she’d feel the same, or better, or worse. If she’d be torn with desire or hit with the realization that time had exaggerated her memories, building him up into something he wasn’t.

She wanted to step away, but her body refused to comply, her every atom attuned to the man who’d once held every piece of her heart.

“Becca.”

“What?” She snapped back into reality, the heat from his fingers soaking through her sleeve.

Em sidled past, firing a discrete thumbs-up in Becca’s direction.

He dropped his voice. “Can we speak for a minute?”

The rest of the group made their way into Operations, leaving Becca standing alone with Ethan.

Chills flashed through her, a complex cascade of delicious anticipation, tinged with a flush of dread.

She swallowed hard, sucked in a breath. She could smell him. Still the same. Like ocean and fresh air and something else, an undertone of male sweat, of skin and sex that was as addictive as it had been ten years ago.

Physically, he’d filled out. More defined. Broader. He wore a protective military-style vest over a black t-shirt that highlighted packed muscles beneath the fabric. Bold black ink arced down the inside of one arm finally coming to a halt under the strap of his watch. His knuckles were bloodless, even though his grip was gentle.

He released her then shifted from foot to foot in an uncomfortable shuffle as he tugged a hand through his dark hair. “Becca. I’m sorry. I had no idea. Your name wasn’t on the mission briefing. I…”

Time and circumstances had marked him. There were lines around his eyes that hadn’t been there before, but her traitorous body had already decided that this was an improvement. Desire, something she’d ignored for so long, raced through her body. What the hell was that about?

She managed a thin smile and rubbed a hand across the knotted muscles at the back of her neck, torn between not wanting to be here and wanting to drink in every inch of him.

He hovered over her. “I’m as surprised as you.”

Surprised? Understatement of the century. She sucked in a shaky breath. “You look good.”

His gaze softened.

God, why did I say that that? What if he reads more into it?

“You too.” He reached out and traced a finger along the line of her jaw. A shiver spiraled down her spine and she fought the urge to tip her cheek into the security of his calloused palm like she’d done so many times before. He stroked her cheek and she saw him. Really saw him. Her husband. The one who’d captured her heart when she was nineteen.

She huffed out a slow breath. “We’re both adults, and I know I can rely on you to be professional.” She straightened, tugging her sleeve over her wrists. “The past is done. A closed book. We’ve both moved on. What happened...”

“Becca…”

She placed a hand on his chest. His heart raced against her palm, and for a moment, she almost weakened. Wanted to dip her head against his chest, for him to cup the back of her neck and pull her close. She lowered her voice, eager to say the words before he said something that would erode her resolve. “Ethan. Stop. Just stop. I left because I needed something different, and I have that now. I’ve made a new life. You have too. So let’s do our jobs and go home, back to our own lives.”

Something flared in his eyes. Something sharp.

He nodded. “Of course.”

Her gut twisted. If she’d let him, would he have said something different? Something that had everything to do with dragging her close and letting her taste him? Something that wasn’t professional and ignored their destructive history?

His voice was a low whisper. “Maybe this was for a reason.”

Becca folded her arms across her chest, creating a physical barrier. Disconnecting herself from his proximity. From the cascade it triggered in her bloodstream. She needed separation from him. She steeled herself, made her words brittle and hard. “I’m a scientist, Ethan. Things don’t happen for a reason. They just happen.”

Ethan sighed. Stepped back. Lifted his weapon. “Whatever you say.”

He turned away, leaving Becca on the threshold. Alone.

It had taken so long to push him from her mind and soul, but she’d done it. She’d fought to focus on her career and find a new way forward without him. And she’d succeeded.

Becca worked her jaw. She had to move on.

Ethan was her past, not her future.

She straightened her back, lifted her chin, and followed him into Operations.