When Jace headed to California for forty-eight hours on Navy business, the last thing he was looking for was a woman. As a Navy SEAL who was also busy completing his PhD, he had no inclination for a one-night stand. Circumstance threw him together with the smart but shy Riva Montalvo, an archaeologist who works for the Smithsonian. While Jace had stopped looking for a relationship, Riva actively avoided men, but she had made a promise to her best friend to set aside her previous experience and be open to possibilities. With both of them in California, sparks fly. All too soon Jace is deployed and trouble finds them both. In this modern romance, both Jace and Riva learned to trust and let their love carry them to a place where neither has been before.