Logan watched the couple climb out of the small airplane and listened to them as they excitedly talked about the scenery they had viewed. They thanked the pilot and he could not help but grin, thinking of the number of trips he had done, just like that. He recognized it wasn’t a bad gig, but the rescues were more challenging, as well as rewarding.

Turning the wrench, he tightened the last bolt and glanced at his watch, wondering how Vivian was doing. His thoughts turned to her often and, even with all his SEAL training, he seemed unable to call a halt to her entering his mind constantly.

Grinning, he thought of their new sleeping arrangement. They might have to contend with the dip where the two mattresses were pushed together, but they slept much more comfortably. Hell, the sex was better not being afraid of breaking the bed. So far, they had spent the past week curled in each other’s arms after making love long into the night. Sex with Vivian had surpassed anything he had ever encountered. Sweet sex. Fun sex. Adventurous sex. Wild sex paired with soft kisses. Damn.

“Hey Preacher!”

Looking up, he saw Iggie standing next to Oscar. Waving, he tossed his wrench and walked over. Shaking hands, he asked, “What are you doing over here?”

“I promised Sadie I’d take her on a trip for our anniversary and heard some folks in the bar talking about going up to a lodge in Nome that’s supposed to be fuckin’ gorgeous.”

“Sounds nice.”

Iggie dropped his chin and stared at his boots for a moment, before adding, “We can’t be away from the Saloon too long. I was just going to take her for a night…but, uh…it’s kind of a long drive.”

He grinned and crossed his arms over his chest. “You looking to fly?”

“Well, I was hoping you could take us in your helicopter.”

“You don’t want a plane—”

“Nah. Sadie, she doesn’t care much for flying and I was hoping that maybe you and Vivian would come with us. You two being newlyweds and all…figured you’d like a nice night out.”

“When are you thinking about going?”

“This weekend—”

“Hell, man. You don’t plan too far ahead, do you?” he laughed, shaking his head. Dropping his chin for a moment, he stared at his boots, the guilt of mixing work with pleasure having never occurred in his careers. The chance to give Vivian a night in a nice lodge, on a real bed that didn’t separate when they turned over… He knew the Zamans would observe their Holy day and the others would not be coming for a visit, making it a perfect day for Viv to have a real chance to get away for a break. It’s just one night.

He uncrossed his arms, placing his hands on his hips. Glancing at Oscar, he caught the man’s nod, and stuck out his hand toward Iggie. “Well, all right. Looks like we’re taking a trip this weekend.”

The relief on Iggie’s face was palpable as he shook his hand. “Oh, man, you’ve just made me and Sadie so happy. I thought we’d leave early Saturday morning, get there, get checked in. There are hot springs nearby and we’d have most of the afternoon, evening and then that night. Sadie’s brother can watch the bar on Saturday night and then we’ll be back on Sunday.”

Chuckling, he said, “Sounds like you’ve got it planned.”

Turning to walk away, Iggie said, “Uh, do you think Vivian will want to go?”

For a moment, he thought of her during the past week, each day bent over the laptop, observing the neighbors and taking meticulous notes. Nodding, he said, “Oh yeah. Viv’ll be up for the trip.”

* * *

“Are you crazy?”

Logan looked on as Vivian stood in the middle of the living room, her hands on her hips, her eyes wide and her mouth definitely not in a smile. Not knowing how to answer her rhetorical questions, he said, “Uh…”

“Logan! Spending the weekend, in close contact, with another married couple who think that we’re married? How the hell are we going to pull that off?”

His shoulders relaxed as his mouth quirked up. “Viv, we got this. It’s easy. Fly there, spend time by ourselves, have a great night in a lodge in a bed that isn’t on the floor with a dip in the middle, and fly back. Babe, it’s no problem.” Thinking his words would soothe, he stepped back a half foot when she rounded on him, her hands now waving in the air.

“No problem? Oh, my God! Logan, this is not about sex! How can you even think about sex when most of the weekend we’ll be trying not to screw up our cover!”

Wisely deciding to not tell her how he could be thinking about sex, he remained quiet as she began to pace across the floor, her hands once more waving about.

“This isn’t about us having a whoop-de-doo weekend, Logan. We’ll be stuck in your helicopter for about four hours each way. What will we talk about? Huh? How do we sound like a married couple?”

Walking toward her, he reached out to place his hands on her shoulders to still her pacing, but she ducked away and continued her rant.

“I don’t know you! I don’t even know where you’re from. I don’t know your parents’ names, much less anything about them. Or if they’re even alive…” Swirling around suddenly, her face scrunched as a frown settled on her features. “Oh…are they alive?”

“Yeah, babe. They’re alive—”

Relief flooded her face as she said, “Thank God. But see? I didn’t even know that!”

“We can pull this off. We don’t leave for another two days. We’ve got time to learn about each other,” he cajoled. Grinning as he stepped forward, he added, “We’ve spent a lot of time together in the past two weeks.”

She stepped backward, the back of her knees hitting the coffee table and her body stiffening. “You’re kidding, right? Logan, I hate to break it to you, but a week of sex hardly makes us a couple. It takes a helluva lot more than great sex, and a lot of it, to be able to be a couple.”

Staring into his eyes, which had morphed from bluish to stormy grey, Vivian felt her body quiver.

“What the fuck are you saying, Viv? That what we have isn’t real? Doesn’t mean something?”

Letting out a shaky breath, she shook her head slightly. “I don’t know. I don’t know what we have. We haven’t exactly talked about what’s going on between us. We talk about the job. We talk about the neighbors. We talk about what we’re going to fix for dinner. And we have sex.” Wrapping her arms around her middle, she sucked in her lips, blinking rapidly as the sting of tears hit the back of her eyes. Not even knowing why she was upset, she felt foolish for her rant.

Reaching out, Logan pulled her gently to him, feeling the tension in her body. Saying nothing, he hoped his body would offer her the solace she needed. After several minutes, he felt her relax slightly, her breath leaving her chest in a long sigh.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, her face buried in his t-shirt.

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” he admitted. “First, for leaving you here in the house for so long. And second, for not realizing you…well, us…we need more.”

“More what?”

“More understanding of what we’re becoming.”

She leaned her head back and asked, “When you were a SEAL, did you have to spend days or weeks cooped up, planning, analyzing, being bored until the mission finally came to fruition?”

Chuckling, he nodded. “You just described it perfectly. Everyone thinks we ran around with special weapons all the time, raiding buildings, rescuing whoever the fuck needed it. Taking down the enemy, whoever the fuck it was at the time.”

Vivian watched as his eyes moved from hers to someplace over her head. She licked her dry lips, watching him swallow several times.

“But what no one ever saw were the endless days of planning, or sometimes just waiting…desert, jungle, mountains. Wherever. Just waiting until we could strike.”

“Sometimes I feel so out of my element here,” she confessed. “I’m used to a desk job in the lab. Get samples, run tests, analyze the results. Wash, rinse, repeat. I thought I’d like an assignment working in the field, but…” Her voice trailed off, uncertainty filling her words.

“But you didn’t count on us,” he supplied.

She nodded against his broad chest, loving the way his body gave off such heat that the warmth penetrated deep inside.

“Listen, we’ll work on getting to know each other better, which isn’t just for the trip. I want to know more about you. I’m interested in everything there is to know. We just have to focus on what we are doing here so much, that it doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything else.” He watched her eyes narrow and quickly amended, “Well, okay. We did have time for sex.” Breathing a sigh of relief as her lips curved slightly, he added, “But, Viv, I thought I’d made it clear that this wasn’t just a fling.”

Nodding, she said, “I know. You did. I guess I just can’t quite wrap my head around what it is.”

“Let’s not worry about labels right now. Let’s get to know each other. Kind of a crash course in Logan and Viv.”

Barking a laugh, she asked, “Crash course?” Sighing, she nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. That should do to get us through the weekend.”

“You know,” he added, “a day in a lodge with a hot spring isn’t the worst way to spend the weekend.”

Her smile was her only response, but as he gave her a squeeze and walked back into the kitchen, she thought if she lost her heart to him and he did not feel the same, the memory of the weekend might kill her.