The Million-Dollar Heart by Rebecca Ryan

Juliet slapped her chest with a promise, "Don't you worry, Mom, we won't let you down!"

Standing nearby, Isaiah sometimes wondered about life itself. Were girls naturally this enthusiastic, kind of like his aunts? No, that wasn't quite right-his uncle was pretty lively, too. Lost in thought, Isaiah suddenly felt warmth atop his head, where Vivienne's hand had come to rest without him noticing.

"Off to school now. I'll come pick you up after, okay? If I can't make it, Dad will be here."

This time, Juliet had no objections, well aware of Vivienne's busy schedule.

"Got it, Mom. Don't forget to eat," Juliet said, planting a kiss on Vivienne's cheek in parting.

Isaiah's goodbye was less fervent; he hugged Vivienne briefly, waved, and then hurried to catch up with Juliet.

Vivienne watched the kids enter the school before turning to leave, noticing Floyd's gaze lingering on her. She pretended not to see and quickly vanished from Floyd's sight.

Back in the car, Percival handed her a USB drive. "Here's everything Soren managed to dig up. Might be useful for your lab work."

Hearing Soren's name, Vivienne immediately thought of Anna. "How have those two been lately?"

"Soren and Anna? Well, Anna's practically living in your lab these days, and Soren's been swamped with tasks at the squad. They probably haven't seen each other much. Plus, Soren's been off since that last mission; I heard he wasn't feeling great yesterday." That explained why Anna seemed so distracted yesterday-she was worried about Soren's condition.

"How's the mission wrap-up going? Maybe he should come help in the lab; I could take a look at his symptoms."

Percival chuckled. "Always worrying about everyone else, huh? How about a little concern for me?"

him. "Haven't I

me as the villain here. Raising kids on my own hasn't been a walk in the park!" Their banter continued until Percival was laughing.

all I've done for the kids?!" Vivienne's eyes twinkled mischievously. "If

was speechless. Vivienne's playful side hadn't changed a bit over the

Vivienne found Anna so engrossed in her work

know how dangerous it is to let experiments run unsupervised. You could have

realizing her mistake, apologized to

have no place in the lab, Anna. You're affecting the work; take a

the right state of mind to argue. She retreated to the break room, while Vivienne, through the glass, saw the sadness in her eyes. Love had indeed distracted her. Why did love have to be so complicated, unlike Vivienne's own

pondered,

feeling?" Vivienne asked, preparing her acupuncture

task at hand than on comparing Soren's physique

Vivienne attended to Soren, while Anna returned to her work, trying to ignore the drama unfolding

Anna's cold demeanor, wondering if he had somehow upset her. Then he remembered failing

Soren's frantic attempt to text Anna, wondering if it was possible Anna simply hadn't recognized him in his distressed

the meds for five days, and you'll be fine," Vivienne declared with a flourish, removing the bandages that Soren had on his back. Soren quickly

turned around, freezing for a moment when her eyes landed on

injuries healed?" Anna's voice

My star pupil, indeed.

better, thanks. I'm here to help with your project. Things have been slow