You’d been early. You always were.

The coffee machine gurgled in the corner as you reviewed the mission brief again—a joint operation with a field agent you didn’t recognize. New transfer. Unknown variables.

Aventurine stepped out, coat draped over his shoulders like a second skin, blond hair catching the fluorescents. His gaze swept the floor. It stopped on you. On your hand. On Corin’s hand.

The smile didn’t leave his face. It never did.

But the air changed.

He crossed the floor with an easy, unhurried stride, ignoring everyone else like they weren’t there. He stopped just short of your desk, head tilted, that ever-present smirk playing at his lips.