He doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t need to. His deep sigh says it all. Graeme pushes to his feet. I stand too and he faces me. “I—” He swallows. “You have to understand, I was a mess after my mom died. I quit my job and shut everyone out. I barely talked to people. Barely left the house. It was bad.”

Sympathy curls around my heart and I want to reach for him, gather him in my arms, but I hold myself still.

“The only reason I took the job with Seaquest was because the life insurance money ran out, and I could work from home and wouldn’t have to be around people. At that point, I was completely numb. I tried to shut out the grief over my mom by closing myself off from the world. Do you want to know what finally changed things for me?”

“What?” My voice is barely above a whisper.

Dappled sunlight falls across his face, highlighting his flushed cheeks. “I met someone. She’s about five-six, golden brown hair, devastating smile. The kind that warms you from the inside out. And she made me so mad. Not two weeks after I started the job, she called to grill me about a story I posted on Facebook. She insisted I edit it because I didn’t get the wording right.”

He adopts a mock falsetto voice. “ ‘It isn’t the “Panama Canal” cruise. It’s “Panama Canal and the Wonders of Azuero.” Fix it, please.’ ”

My muscles go limp and my knees nearly buckle.

Because he’s talking about me.

“Finally, someone who wasn’t walking on eggshells. She actually snapped at me, and it was like she snapped me out of my fog. I may have been unnecessarily combative after that, just to get a rise out of her, but I started to feel again. Irritation, at first, but then more. After a while, I began getting out of the house. Seeing a therapist. Playing hockey. I adopted Winnie—best decision ever. I actually started looking forward to waking up in the morning.”

Graeme steps closer, but I’m glued to the spot. Heat sizzles through my veins when he reaches up to run his knuckles along my cheek.

“And staff meeting Thursdays? They became my favorite day of the week. Because I got to see her face.”

My heart is hammering and my lungs seize. The sound of guests approaching rumbles closer, but I don’t look away.

I swallow past the lump that’s lodged in my throat. “After this cruise, they’re my favorite day of the week too.” Reaching up, I run my fingers lightly along the hand that’s cupping my cheek. Graeme’s eyes widen and his lips part.