Chapter 16
GEORGIA
Ibarely sleep.
Every time I close my eyes, I feel Calvin’s lips on mine. His hand cupping my face. The way he looked at me in the lamplight, like I was something precious.
I kissed Calvin Aarons.
And it was…
God, it was perfect.
I press my fingers to my lips, smiling in the darkness of my tent. Ella is sound asleep beside me, her breathing soft and steady, and otherwise the camp is quiet except for the distant hum of the generator.
I should feel worried. Conflicted. This is my boss. This could complicate everything.
But all I feel is warm and giddy and hopeful in a way I haven’t felt in years.
When morning comes, I’m exhausted but buzzing with nervous energy. I dress carefully in my usual pants and a nicer shirt than usual. Then I laugh at myself. It’s not like there are many clothing options in the desert.
Ella is cranky, fighting me on her diaper change and refusing to wear the outfit I picked out.
“Come on, baby. We need to get dressed.”
“No!”
“Ella—”
“No!”
By the time we make it to breakfast, I’m sweaty and flustered, my carefully chosen shirt already wrinkled, Ella’s hair sticking up at odd angles because she wouldn’t let me brush it.
So much for looking good.
The team is already gathered in the dining tent. Fatima has made some kind of egg dish with flatbread, and the smell makes my stomach growl. I grab a plate, balancing Ella on my hip.
There’s movement out of the corner of my eye, and I look over and catch Calvin watching me from across the tent.
Our gazes lock, and everything else fades away for a moment. There’s something in his eyes—warmth, awareness. Maybe he’s remembering the same moment I was replaying all night.
I feel heat rise in my cheeks and can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. He smiles back, just slightly, and it transforms his whole face.
“Morning,” he mouths.
“Morning,” I mouth back.
“Earth to Georgia?”
I snap my attention back to find Yasmin looking at me with amusement.
“Sorry, what?”
“I asked if you wanted to sit. There’s room here.” She pats the bench beside her, then glances between me and Calvin with raised eyebrows.
“Right. Yes. Thank you.” My face warms. Oh, God. Did she just see that whole interaction?
I settle Ella in her high chair—Calvin made improvements to that too, adding padding and a better safety strap—and start cutting up her pancake and eggs.
“So…” Omar says casually, but there’s mischief in his voice. “Good morning, everyone. Did you all sleep well?”
There’s a chorus of affirmatives around the table.
“Dr. Halford? Mr. Aarons? You both look… refreshed this morning.”
I nearly choke on my tea. “I slept fine,” I manage. “Why?”
“No reason.” But Omar is grinning now. “Just noticed you two seem to be in particularly good moods today. Sharing secret smiles across the breakfast table.”
Oh, God. So, we really are that obvious.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say, focusing very intently on Ella’s eggs.
“Mm-hmm.” Dr. Akkhad joins in, clearly enjoying this. “You know, usually when the project leaders start smiling at each other like that, it means something big is happening with the dig.”
“Is it funding?” Tariq leans forward eagerly. “Have we secured additional funding?”
“Or publication interest?” Yasmin adds. “Did National Geographic reach out?”
“Maybe a museum wants to sponsor us?” Omar suggests.
“There’s no secret about the project,” Calvin says, his voice carefully neutral. But when I glance at him, I can see he’s fighting back amusement.
“Then what’s with all the smiling?” Dr. Akkhad presses.
“Can’t two people just be in good moods?” I ask, trying to sound innocent.
“Not after two weeks of you two bickering like an old married couple,” Omar points out. “Something changed.”
“Maybe we just got a good night’s sleep,” Calvin offers.
“Or,” Edmond says thoughtfully, having stayed quiet until now, “maybe they’ve just finally learned to work together without wanting to strangle each other. That would explain the improved mood.”
“Yes!” I latch onto this explanation gratefully. “Exactly. We’ve just… reached an understanding about the project. Better communication was what we were missing all along.”
“Right,” Omar says, clearly not buying it. “An understanding.”
“Definitely an understanding,” Yasmin agrees with a knowing smile.
I bite into my lower lip, trying to suppress my grin, and focus on Ella, who’s gotten maple syrup everywhere.
“How do you even do this so quickly?” I mutter, grabbing a wet cloth to wipe her sticky hands.
When I look up, Calvin is watching us again, and there’s something soft in his expression. Fond. Like the sight of me wrestling with a syrup-covered toddler is somehow endearing.
Our eyes meet, and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from grinning like an idiot.
“Can we please just eat breakfast?” I plead.
“Without everyone analyzing our facial expressions?” Calvin adds.
“Fine, fine.” Dr. Akkhad waves her hand. “We’ll drop it. For now.”
After breakfast, I take Ella to our tent to clean her up properly. The team disperses to prepare for the day’s work, and I’m just buckling Ella into fresh clothes when I hear a soft knock on the tent pole.
“Georgia? Can we talk?”
Calvin’s voice.
My heart does a little flip. “Come in.”
He steps inside, looking around surreptitiously. It feels intimate suddenly, him in this space that’s so thoroughly mine and Ella’s. Our clothes, our toys, our little world.
“Hi,” I say, suddenly shy.
“Hi.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “So. Last night.”
“Last night,” I echo.
“I don’t regret it.”
The words come out in a rush, and I feel relief flood through me. “I don’t either,” I admit.
“Good. That’s… good.” He runs a hand through his hair. “But we should probably be more careful. The team is already suspicious.”
“They think it’s about project funding, though. Or something else related. That’s good.”
“For now. But Omar’s sharp. He’ll figure it out.”
“I don’t like sneaking around,” I say slowly and quietly. “But it could complicate things. Make people question professional boundaries, wonder if you’re showing favoritism, worry about the project’s integrity if we… if things don’t work out between us.”
“Agreed.” He nods solemnly, staring at the tent wall. But I also want to keep seeing where this goes,” he says, meeting my eyes. “But maybe… discreetly? For now? Until we figure out what this is?”
“Yes,” I agree. “Discreet. We can do discreet.”
“Good.” He pauses. “Also, I wanted to offer to take Ella today. All day, if you need. I’m realizing that’s what I should have been doing all along.”
“Calvin, you don’t have to—”
“I know. But I want to.” He takes a step closer. “I was hovering before because I had nothing to do. I was anxious and useless and making everyone miserable. But now I realize a happy Ella means you and your team can focus on work. And honestly? I’m learning things from her.”
“Learning things? From a fourteen-month-old?”
“Patience, for one. Present-moment awareness.” He smiles. “She’s good company.”
My chest feels tight. “That’s… that’s really sweet, Calvin.”
“I’m not saying it to be sweet. I’m saying it because it’s true.” He glances at Ella, who’s now attempting to put both feet in her mouth. “Plus, you need to work. Really work, without constantly being pulled away. Let me do this.”
“Is this because of last night?” I have to ask. Have to know. “Are you offering to spend time with Ella because we kissed?”
“No.” He says it firmly, without hesitation. “The kiss has nothing to do with it. I’d have offered this morning regardless of what happened last night.”
Relief washes over me. Because that was my fear: that he was trying to win me over by being nice to my daughter. That his interest in Ella was performative.
“Although,” he adds, and his voice drops lower, “I wouldn’t mind another.”
“Another what?” I ask, even though I know exactly what he means.
“Kiss.” He’s moving closer now, and my pulse quickens. “If you’re amenable.”
“I might be amenable.”
“Might be?”
“Definitely am.”
He cups my face with one hand, and just the touch of his palm against my cheek makes my breath catch.
“The tent entrance is open,” I whisper. “Anyone could walk by.”
“Then we should be quick.”
He kisses me, and it’s just as wonderfully overwhelming as last night. Maybe more so, because now we’re not tentative, not testing. We know what this feels like, and we want more of it.
I rise to my tiptoes to get closer, my hands fisting in his shirt. He makes a low sound in his throat that does things to my insides.
When we finally pull apart, we’re both breathing hard.
“We should stop,” I murmur against his lips.
“Probably.”
Neither of us moves for a long moment, but then he kisses me once more, quick and sweet, then steps back.
“I should go,” he says. “Before I forget all the reasons why I should go.”
“Probably wise,” I laugh.
He glances at Ella, who’s watching us with wide, curious eyes. “Ready to hang out with me today, Ella?”
“Cav-cav!” she chirps happily.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He looks back at me, and the warmth in his eyes makes my heart stutter. “Go do brilliant work. I’ve got this.”
After he leaves with Ella, I stand in the tent for a moment, touching my lips, trying to process everything that’s happening.
I’m not ashamed of what we’re doing. Not at all.
Calvin is wonderful—more wonderful than I expected, more than I thought possible when I first met him.
But I understand why we need to be careful.
The team would worry. They’d wonder if my judgment was compromised, if Calvin’s expectations were based on personal feelings rather than professional standards.
They’d fear that a relationship could complicate the dig, create conflict, potentially sabotage everything we’re working toward.
And they might be right. This is risky. Kissing your boss is the kind of thing that could blow up spectacularly.
But as I head out to the excavation site, I catch sight of Calvin sitting with Ella in her play area, tracing something in the sand with a stick, and I can’t bring myself to regret it.
Some risks are worth taking, even if they could end badly. Because the possibility of something real, something genuine, something that could actually make you happy… sometimes that’s worth all the risk in the world.