The front door opened as I closed the back one and watched NB run off the tiny deck into the backyard. He always had so much energy in the mornings. Did I need to get him filtered water? Or maybe I needed to drink more water. Or coffee. For me, not him.

"Why do you think NB has so much energy?" I asked Broadrick without turning.

At least I hoped it was Broadrick. No one else should open the front door and just walk into my place. To be safe, I whipped around to check. Yup. Broadrick.

He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and dropped two heavy army green duffle bags. I stared at them and my stomach dropped.

"He's a high-energy breed. You need to run it out of him more. The morning walks help."

"Yeah, yeah." That didn't matter anymore. There were bigger elephants in the room. "What are those?"

I didn't have to point at the bags to get my question across. They were huge. Almost as tall as me if I lay down beside them. And they were just hanging out in my living room. Like they belonged there or something.

Broadrick shrugged. "I packed for my trip."

He said it so simply, like it was just a random morning, but I knew what those bags meant.

My stomach rolled, and I breathed through my nose. The world went a little tippy and I didn't want to fall over. "That's a lot of bags. I thought this was a quick mission."

I expected a weekend bag. Or a small carry-on.

Broadrick glanced down at the bags and kicked one with his foot. "It's only two bags."

That caused another stomach clinch. It seemed my guts had taken a seat on a rollercoaster. I wanted off the ride.

"Why do you have them? Did you get the call?" I asked, but knew the answer.

Even if he hadn't gotten it yet, he would soon. And then it was roll out. He left, and I stayed here, twiddling my thumbs until he returned. If he returned.

"No." His head jerked upward, and he met my gaze. "Shit, Vonnie. I didn't think about it."

NB scratched at the back door and I turned to let him in so Broadrick didn't see the fear in my eyes. I wasn't ready to deal with it yet, and I certainly wasn't ready to talk about it. It worked much better when I shoved all those concerns deep down inside my gut to never be seen again.

"I figured if I brought my bags here, I wouldn't have to rush home and waste time packing when the call happens," he said as I closed the door.

When I turned around, he was right there in my space.

"That's my B. Always thinking of me," I said with a genuine smile. He was such a planner. One of us had to be, so I appreciated that he picked up my slack. Unless his plans somehow got in my way. Then that was really annoying.

"Can I leave them here?" he asked, pushing me up against the counter and kissing my neck.

Man, I had to stop being a weirdo. "Of course. It just caught me off guard, but I'm fine."

He had me boxed in with his hands against the kitchen island and I wrung mine together, unsure of where to put them. I wanted to run them down his chest and untuck his black polo shirt, but NB circled our feet, wanting to be fed. And I still had a killer to catch at the baseball field.

We didn't have time for any of that at the moment. I'd have to feel him up later.

I fidgeted with my hands together, not sure what to say.

Broadrick grabbed them and held them in his. "It's going to be okay."

I nodded, even if I didn't feel it in my gut. "I have to get used to it. Your job is always going to be dangerous."

Even after he left the military, Broadrick arranged to take a job with Ridge. His life plans were going to include running into danger.

He lifted his shoulders. "It's who I am."

It was.

And it probably had a lot to do with his ability not to get mad when I did similar things. He never-mostly... rarely yelled and generally supported me when I needed a hand. He let me do my thing when I didn't. It's why we worked. I couldn't wish that away when it made him so much of the man I loved.

I kissed him on the bottom of his chin and bit down.

"Feisty," Broadrick said and tipped my head back before leveling his lips on mine.

Those important things would have to wait. He tasted like spearmint and sex. Could a man even taste like sex? Would that be a good thing? I didn't know, but it sounded good in my head.

I grabbed on to his upper arms to steady myself against him.

My butt vibrated.

Damn it. Broadrick tried to pull away, but I held on to him, digging my fingertips into his skin.

"Don't you have to get that?" he asked when it vibrated again.

I let him move his head and sagged my shoulders in defeat. The warm butterflies that took up residence in my stomach died sad and tragic deaths.

"Fine." I scanned the text messages that just came in. "Shit, I have to go."

"What's up?" he asked as I ducked under his arms, grabbed my black leather jacket from behind the kitchen chair and walked toward the front door.

I didn't have time to lay out my genius plan to him if I wanted to make my deadline. It wasn't dangerous-probably-so I didn't think he'd talk me out of it, but I didn't have time to find out.

"I have a chance encounter with a future fiancée." I opened the front door and checked for rain. It was April in Maine, and I planned to wear leather.

Broadrick held the door open. "What?"

Clouds covered the sky, but they didn't look dark and rainy. I leaned back in, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then stepped outside onto the porch. "I'll tell you later. Promise."

The drive to Clearwater took the standard twenty minutes, and I didn't hit any traffic. I didn't plan to hit traffic, but I enjoyed it when life met my expectations. Those were the perks of small towns and the lack of back-road congestion. The text from Conner didn't give me much time.

Finding the nail salon took a bit more work. Clearwater had something like three different areas they considered downtown, but with fancier names. In reality, they just had a crap city planner. I finally found the nail place squeezed between a dog salon and a secondhand clothing store.

To set myself up for the best location, I parked at the end of the row of shops and then hid behind the corner. The narrow alley put my body in the shadows but gave me an exceptional view of the entire row of stores. When someone opened the salon door, I'd be ready.

The only problem with my idea?