Cole couldn’t make it more than a couple of minutes without thinking about Ivy. He fixed eggs for breakfast, berating himself for neglecting to feed her before she left. He cleaned and tidied up his apartment, regretting the fact that it wasn’t pristine for her visit. He wondered what she was doing. Whether she wanted company. Help with any of the things she’d said she neglected while studying for her finals. He marveled at just how dedicated she was to getting her education.

He was obsessed.

He’d never met anyone like Ivy. Sure, he’d been with some real spitfires in his time. Women who’d challenged him at every turn, who’d taught him things about himself and about the female body that he would remember for the rest of his life. But Ivy was the first woman Cole would’ve done anything for.

It puzzled him. He considered himself a gentleman. He’d been told as much several times by women he was seeing. He was polite. He knew to hold doors and offer arms. But all he could think of was what he could do for Ivy, how he could make her life better, how he could spoil her.

He ran through everything from food deliveries to her apartment to texting her to see how she was doing. He was torn between wanting to make sure she knew he cared about her, and not wanting to smother her. Every hour on the hour for an entire day, he opened and closed their text message thread, wondering what to put. Trying to think of the words that would bring her back to him.

It was times like these that Cole wished Jason was around to talk to, but his best friend was still away on a mission. Even so, Cole wasn’t sure that he would’ve opened up to Jason about this. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his friend. He trusted him with his life—literally. Theirs was a bond that was forged in extremes. There was something about firing guns and being in mortal danger with someone that really cemented the bond of friendship.

It was Jason who’d taught Cole the art of having a girlfriend in every port. That way, the girls would never meet and Cole would never have to sleep in a bed alone while he was traveling.

When Cole was a younger man, fresh out of training, excited about traveling the world and serving his country in the process, it was fine. He’d enjoyed the adventure of everything. All of the women who were happy to share his bed on a casual basis. He was too busy to have anything serious or long-term. And there was always the very distinct possibility that he might not make it back alive from some of the missions he was assigned to. He was used to living dangerously, hard and fast, and his dating style afforded him that opportunity.

Now, though, things were different. Cole was retiring from the Navy, looking for a job that didn’t mean putting his life in danger every step of the way.

He would’ve laughed to see himself now, years ago. He’d never wanted an ordinary life. He’d thought desk jobs were for people who lacked imagination and guts. Now he was angling to get one.

Though working for a security firm was a far cry from any old desk job.

The stranger thing by far was how captivated Cole found himself with Ivy. She was the whole package. Beautiful inside and out. He could talk to her all day and not run out of things to say. And he had a sneaking suspicion that he could absolutely lose himself in her body. That he’d never get tired of all the various positions and combinations when they were naked together, not a single barrier between their bodies.

He had things to do, though. Business to attend to—wrapping up his career in the Navy and looking toward his future. Working at a security firm in D.C. had been one of the main draws to moving back here. Now, though, everything chafed at him. They all felt like distractions away from Ivy.

In an effort to do something other than think about her, Cole finally got his resume out to dust off and polish up. He hadn’t needed one of these since a high-school stint in a restaurant kitchen. He had to laugh at some of the things he’d put on it, like “ability to multitask,” based on passing notes in class with friends while pretending to pay attention to the teacher. Yes, this entire thing needed to be revamped. It was probably better to start from scratch.

He cracked open his laptop and made a new document, listing his education and training experiences. His fingers hovered over the keyboard before he grinned, reaching for his phone.

“What’s better?” he typed. “‘Pays close attention to detail’, or ‘always punctual’?” He sent it to Ivy, and was surprised to get the indication she was typing back. He must’ve gotten lucky, catching her while she was looking at her phone.

“That all depends on the context,” she sent back. “I thought you paid very close attention to me, and you were very punctual in making me come.”

Cole laughed aloud. “I guess they’re both equally important, then. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What are you working on?”

“Resume.”

“Planning on handing it to the security company guy on the night of the ball?”

“No. Should I?” He frowned. That would probably be too forward. Come off a little too eager. He wanted to give the impression that he was genuinely interested in a position with the firm, not that he was desperate for a job.

“Probably not,” Ivy texted. “But it’s good to have it ready, just in case he asks you to apply.”

“Just what I was thinking.”

“Great minds. Make sure to include just how good you are with your mouth.”

Cole laughed. “I don’t think that would be something I’d want my potential boss to know about me.”

“I think it’s one of your best qualities. Good with mouth, good with hands, good with cock.”

He grinned, his cock stirring at that ringing endorsement. “Maybe I’ll make another resume to send to you.”

“Whatever position you’re applying for, you already have it,” Ivy replied. “No resume required.”

Cole shook his head admiringly. Maybe he’d been waiting all his life to meet someone like Ivy. Going back and forth with her via text messages was just as good as talking to her in person. Her voice shone through the words, and she didn’t rely on emojis to do her emoting for her.

He’d just never met a woman he’d wanted talk to for hours on end, as well as spend every waking moment with. Ivy was the full package. It stunned him to realize it, to realize how much he liked her given the short amount of time he’d actually known her. Cole realized that there was maybe a little more to all those love at first sight stories he’d discounted from various people over the years.

“Can’t wait to see you again,” he sent. “I don’t know if I’m looking forward to the ball or to you.”

“It’s all I’ve been able to think about,” Ivy texted back, and Cole had to let out a breath at the jolt of recognition. There was something there if she was thinking about him as often as he was thinking about her. He just didn’t want to get his hopes up. He didn’t even realize he had hopes for something like this. He wished there was some kind of class he could take on knowing when he was ready for these kinds of feelings. A point he could emphasize on his resume.

Against his better judgment, Cole opened up his email and fired a quick message off to Jason. He didn’t expect a reply anytime soon. There was no real way of knowing just how long a mission would last. But if Jason did get a chance to check his email while he was abroad, at least he’d have something to laugh at. Because this entire thing? Cole twisted up in knots over a woman he hadn’t known a week yet? It was laughable.

“There’s this girl,” he’d written. “Gorgeous. Blond hair, green eyes. Keeps up with me both in bed and out of it. How do you know when it’s past the realm of infatuation and into really having feelings for someone? Asking for a friend.”

He sent it before he could think too much about it, even if he was overthinking this whole thing. He shouldn’t feel like he had to put a label on anything, especially not at this point.

Just because he had a connection with someone didn’t mean it was true love. It probably had more to do with the fact that Cole’s Navy career was ending, that his life was transitioning into something different. He wouldn’t have access to any of those other girls all over the world anymore. Not if he wasn’t going abroad for missions as a SEAL. Ivy just happened to be the first person he’d really hit it off with in his time in D.C.

Only time would tell how everything would play out. And it felt like there were too many minutes between now and the military ball for him to accept.

Cole glanced at his phone again, unable to keep from it. He reread Ivy’s last message: “It’s all I’ve been able to think about.”

“Me too,” he typed, hesitating just a moment before sending it.