Graeme is standing off to the side, in the shade of a short, scrubby tree. When he spots me, the corners of his mouth twitch. Can’t I have even five minutes to myself on this cruise without him popping up?

Adjusting his cap, he sidles up to me. “What happened to going our separate ways? Let me guess, you can’t get enough of my sparkling personality.”

“I’m here against my will. Gustavo guilted me into it.”

“Yeah, poor you. Forced to hike in paradise.” He throws his arm out, gesturing at the scenery.

I have to admit, it is beautiful. A yellow-and-black lighthouse rises from the brush-covered lava rocks hugging the shore, framed by an impossibly blue sky. Farther down the beach, a mother sea lion nurses a squealing pup, and gulls circle overhead. It’s otherworldly. Pure wild.

“Okay, everyone, remember to stay together as a group, don’t wander from the path, and do your best to keep at least six feet away from all wildlife. Ready? Follow me.” Juan Luis marches down a rocky path that winds up and away from the beach. I hang back to let the others go first, including Graeme. The sun is strong, and I’m sweating even though our pace is slow to accommodate the older passengers.

I shuffle along the gravel path, bringing up the rear. Keeping Graeme’s broad shoulders and the rest of the hikers in my peripheral vision, I pull out my phone and start a pro/con chart for the advertising idea I had for my proposal.

Pfwwwth.

Water droplets sprinkle my shin and I squawk. Stumbling back, I drop my phone and it lands directly in front of a massive black lizard. Roughly three feet long from nose to tail, it’s perched on a low boulder next to the path. It slowly closes its eyes, its leathery skin wrinkling as it adjusts a clawed foot. I recognize it from our marketing brochures as a marine iguana, one of the famed Galápagos species. And it sneezed on me.

Smacking the moisture off my leg, I reach for my phone, but it’s not where I dropped it. I whip my head around. “What the…”

“Henley Rose.”

Running my tongue along my top teeth, I straighten from my crouch. Graeme is standing not three feet away, holding my phone. I extend my hand, but he doesn’t give it to me. Instead, he taps it against his palm like a disapproving schoolteacher.

I fold my arms across my chest. “Yes, Graham Cracker?”

“Get your nose out of your phone and look around. Work can wait for a few hours. You should enjoy this—who knows when you’ll get a chance to experience the Galápagos again? Appreciate where you are. Go ahead, breathe in that salty air.”