He came to file the rejection. He did not come to fall for a woman who keeps calling him "Eric."

Thirty days.

Aldric just has to survive thirty days, file the rejection, and go home with his honor intact.

But Tisha runs the busiest kitchen on the station, treats a scowling Dalgurian warrior exactly like everyone else, and takes unrepentant delight in getting his name wrong on purpose.

Every day the paperwork stays unsigned, the harder it gets to remember why he wanted to leave.