Later that afternoon, Olivia pushed back her wide-brimmed straw hat and smiled up at the sky, and at Max, in the lounge chair next to hers. She’d been more stressed about this last-minute vacation than she’d let on to Max. She’d had to get a ton of work done, bring Ellie up to speed on her clients in case she had to cover something while Olivia was gone, and find a swimsuit that not only fit her boobs and ass, but one that actually looked good on her, and all in less than a week. But it had all been worth it. The sun felt so good on her skin. She’d spent so much time this year inside her office building or her house—or Max’s house—she’d barely taken advantage of the L.A. weather. She hadn’t even been to the beach since she’d moved back! Sure, the beach was all the way on the Westside, but that was still closer than Hawaii. She made a pledge to herself to get to the beach more often.

She kept her sunglasses on as she looked around the pool; after the past few weeks in L.A., she constantly felt like she was being watched, which was only partly paranoia, after that one really bad week. She still felt smug about one of the paparazzi pictures, though—someone had taken it as she’d walked toward her gym, brand-new athleisure on and yoga mat in hand. She’d looked sporty and friendly, and like she had no idea anyone was taking her picture. As soon as she walked into the gym, the employees had smuggled her out the back door. When that picture had popped up online, she cheered.

Luckily, everyone—including photographers—had seemed to lose interest in her and Max, so she’d begun to let her guard down. Plus, already this morning she’d seen two people far more famous than Max here at the resort. If they trusted this place, she would, too. Oh wow, and there was a third, over there stepping out of a cabana. Now she could definitely relax. And speaking of relaxation …

She turned to Max.

“Do you see those people over there? They have a drink inside a pineapple—how do we get one of those? No, two of those.”

Max grinned at her.

“You’re getting into the Hawaii spirit, I see. Next time one of the waiters walks by, we’ll ask him to bring us one. No, two.”

Ten minutes later, they grinned at each other over their boozy pineapples.

“Cheers to one of the best ideas I’ve ever had,” Max said as he touched his pineapple to hers.

Olivia wanted to roll her eyes at him, but she was too relaxed.

“Cheers,” she said, and took a sip of … oh wow, that was a strong pineapple drink.