Please let it change things. Graeme has turned out to be the most thoughtful, kind, supportive man I’ve ever met, and I threw him out of my life like garbage. My gut seizes and I force down a sudden swell of nausea.

I like him so much it scares me.

But then there’s Walsh… and the promotion…

How can I choose? Do I have to choose? Can I really be there to support Walsh, give my career my all, and somehow be with the man of my dreams?

It doesn’t seem possible. Especially after last night.

I swallow hard. I have to at least try to make things right with Graeme, even if it’s too late. I owe it to him, and I owe it to myself.

With a stiff breeze pushing tendrils of hair from my face, I climb the final flight of steps to the dirt incline leading to the top of the island. Taking a deep breath, I shuffle over to stand next to Graeme. Wind whips my cheeks and I tuck a stray lock of hair behind my ear.

“Hey,” I say, wiping my sweaty palms on my hiking shorts.

He doesn’t look at me. “Hey.”

“The view up here is really something,” I say lamely. An untold expanse of ocean embraces the rolling green hills of neighboring Santiago Island, spreading out before us.

He cuts me a sideways look as he raises his camera.

I deflate. “Okay, scratch the small talk. I’m sorry—for what I said last night and how I acted. You didn’t deserve any of that.”

Nostrils flaring, he nods once. His camera clicks.

“The truth is… I don’t know what I want right now. I learned something last night, after you left…” I steal a glance at Walsh, who’s pointedly not looking our way. She’s leaning against the railing on the stairs, gazing out at the view.

“It made me realize something. You were right about me. I am scared—of everything. I’m scared I’ll lose this promotion, and I’m scared of what will happen if I don’t. I’m scared of trying new things and of failure. I need to make some changes in my life. Big changes.”

Something skitters under the railing to my left. It’s a little black lizard with a splotch of red on its muzzle. Apparently, the island isn’t devoid of life after all.

I swallow the dry lump coalescing in my throat. Graeme still won’t look at me. “I—I understand if you don’t want anything to do with me. I wouldn’t either, if I were you…”

Graeme’s shoulders stiffen. Behind his camera, his face is an impassive mask.