Emily stared out the window at the ocean waves crashing against the sand. “I don’t know,” she said, honestly. “But I needed some way to figure it out and . . .” She shrugged even though her sister couldn’t see her. “I think Ezra and I needed some time apart. We can’t seem to connect right now. We don’t understand each other. And . . . and he told me I should sacrifice my own happiness for other people’s.”

“Well,” Ari said. “I don’t agree with that.”

“Yeah,” Emily said. “Me neither.” There was a couple on the beach asleep together on the same towel. That used to be her and Ezra.

“Do you think he really meant it?” Ari asked.

The man on the beach rolled slightly closer to the woman.

“I think he did in the moment,” Emily said. “Once he has time to think about it, I hope his feelings will change.”

“Me too,” Ari said. Then after a moment she added, “Where are you staying?”

Emily braced herself for her sister’s disapproval again. “At his villa,” she said. “But in a separate room. With a separate bathroom.” She didn’t tell her sister how she could sense Rob’s presence, even through the closed doors.

“Em,” Ari said. She said it the way she said Emily’s name through their whole lives when Emily made a choice her more-responsible sister wouldn’t have chanced.

“I’ll be fine. It’ll be fine,” Emily said. “He’s sleeping upstairs, and I’m sleeping downstairs.”

“And neither one of you knows how to climb stairs?” Ari said.

“We’re adults,” Emily told her sister, watching the waves crash against the shore.

“I wasn’t questioning your age,” Ari said. “Just your decision.”

Emily knew her sister was trying to look out for her, the way she always did. “I love you,” she told her.

Ari sighed. “I love you, too,” she said. “And if you need me, for any reason, just call. I can get on a flight to Cancun pretty quickly from up here.”

Emily smiled. “Thank you,” she said.

“You ready?” Rob called out.

“One second!” Emily called back.

“I’ve got to go,” she told Ari as she slipped off her clothes, “but I’ll call you soon.”

“Okay,” Ari said. “And really, if you need me, I’ll be there.”

“I know,” Emily answered. “And same goes for you. Always.”

Emily slipped on the green bathing suit she’d gotten in the shopping village and threw on the cover-up and flip-flops she’d found, too. Then she opened the door. “I’m ready,” she said.

Rob was standing there in a pair of short swim trunks and a tight white T-shirt.

He looked at her, his eyes intense, and shook his head. “Not for what I’m ready for,” he replied.