“You made me come after you, and I’m here,” he said. “But we’ve got to get back because I have to be in Phoenix by the end of the week, then Dallas after that. Both of our cars are scheduled for a tune-up, and you know my mom always comes to visit on the last week of this month.”

Quinn felt exhausted just listening to him. Being in Maui had definitely opened her eyes to another way of living than what they were used to. Here, if there was a big swell coming or a day of sunshine after a week of rain, everyone dropped everything and headed to the beach. If someone had a small good thing happen to them, they gathered with family for food and celebration. No one lived on a tight schedule of must-dos and must-haves.

At first it had felt strange to her, even unsettling. But now she looked at Ethan and thought about how buttoned up their lives really were. How regulated. Boring, even.

“Do you ever get tired of outlining our life?”

“What are you talking about, Quinn?” He sounded irritated.

“I’m saying why aren’t we ever just spontaneous?”

“In what way?” He sounded like she was asking him to solve the world’s most difficult equation.

“Never mind, Ethan,” she said. “Look, say what you need to say because I’ve got important things to tend to.”

“Like the house fiasco?” he asked, grinning sarcastically. “Still working on that one, huh? You ready for some help?”

“Actually, no. I think I know just what to do. Things have taken an unexpected turn, and I’ve got a few ideas under my hat.”

“Care to share them with me?”

“Not really,” she said. “Next?”

“Quinn, forget about this damn house and this island. You need to come home where you belong,” he said.

“Why would you even want me to come home when you obviously have the skinny, perfect Gina at your beck and call?” She hated the jealousy that escaped with her words. Betrayal tasted bitter.

“Gina meant nothing. It was just sex, and I didn’t mean for it to happen.”

At least he had the decency to lower his head as though he were ashamed. But that wasn’t enough. She knew that Gina was everything that he always challenged her to be. Healthy. Slim. Driven.

The fact that Quinn wasn’t enough for him hurt more than anything.

“It’s never just sex,” she said. “I want to know how many times you’ve slipped like this, and if you want even a chance of working things out, I need you to be completely honest and transparent. You’ve done a lot of travel. Sometimes I’ve had an uneasy feeling. A woman’s intuition, if you will. But stupid me, I trusted you.”

He sighed, his eyes still on the sand at his feet.