Page 27 of A Very Grumpy Navy SEAL

“I’ve got time.”

I laugh as he kisses his way down my neck, but something about his words niggles at the edge of my mind.“Wait, when do you have to leave?To go back to base?”

He pulls back, and his easy-going smile from a moment ago is gone.“Sunday.”

Sunday.

The word hits me like a brick in the chest.

That’s in two days.

“Oh,” I whisper, looking away.

He doesn’t rush to fill the silence, and that makes it worse.I already feel the ache of him leaving before he’s even gone.

I’d started to imagine what it might look like if he stayed.Ifwestayed.

But now that feels like a dream with an expiration date.

“I’ll go with you to the Baker Sisters,” Koa says, his voice low and soft.“Make sure everything goes smoothly.”

I nod and swing my legs out of bed, moving toward the bathroom.“Thanks.That would be nice.”

We get dressed in near silence.Not angry, just quiet.Like neither of us wants to break the bubble.

Once I’m ready, we head into town together.The Baker Sisters’ shops are all lined up next to each other on Main Street.I spot Olive inside the bakery, and she grins, waving us in.

She greets me with a hug and a huge smile.“You ready to make this official?”

“More than,” I say, returning her grin.

She passes me a stack of onboarding forms, and I settle onto one of the chairs by the window to go over everything.Koa takes a seat beside me, lounging as he watches me work.

The sisters rotate in and out.All three of them are warm, funny, and full of vision for the future of their businesses.

By the time I hand over my final signed form, I feel like I belong here.Like I have a purpose again.

Koa stands when I do, and Iris offers me one last smile.“We’ll see you on Monday, Lula.Welcome to the team.”

“Thank you,” I breathe.

We step onto the sidewalk and into the late morning sunshine.I’m still buzzing with adrenaline, but the weight in my chest hasn’t lifted.Not completely.

Because now I know I’m staying.

And Koa… isn’t.

We walk the few blocks back to the hotel in silence.I clutch the paperwork in my hand, my mind going a million miles an hour.We climb the stairs side by side, and I follow Koa to his room.

“Lula…”

I want to beg him not to say anything.I want to stay frozen in this moment.I don’t want to have to think about what will happen in a day or two or three.I just want things to stay the way they are.

“We need to talk,” Koa says, bursting my dream of remaining in our little bubble.

My heart lurches.

God.Please don’t let this be him ending things before they’ve even started.

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