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THE RIDE TO ROBIN’S HOUSE WAS QUICK and comfortable. All of the tension from their morning had dissipated. They talked about old times and laughed together. It was as if no time had passed between them and they picked up where they left off.

Garrett held onto her hand as he drove, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

She smiled every time they touched, which still wasn’t enough for her.

Isla’s heart sank into her stomach at the sight of a familiar car in Robin’s driveway.

“Shit,” she murmured, holding her head. “Oh no.” She didn’t need this. Not now. Not when things were getting good again.

“What is it?” Garrett asked, following her gaze to the black Jeep.

Isla felt the color drain from her face as Garrett pulled in along the street and parked. She exhaled.

“Clark,” she said with dread. She held onto the car door handle. “My ex-boyfriend.”

“Oh,” Garrett said, his eyes widening. “This is going to be awkward, isn’t it?”

“Probably,” she grumbled, sitting there, not quite ready to get out of the passenger’s seat. She suddenly felt ill. “Unbelievable. What is he doing here?”

“What do you want to do?”

Isla opened her door. “I guess I better go in and see what he wants. You stay here,” she said. “Clark is a hot head. I do not need him flipping out.”

Garrett lifted a brow, turning off the ignition. “Yeah...that’s not going to happen. If this dude is a hot head, I’m not letting you go in there alone.”

Isla stood there, knowing that there was nothing she could say to make him change his mind once he stepped from the car.

“Come on,” he said, coming around the car to head up the driveway.

Isla cursed under her breath and followed Garrett. Her mind raced at what she would say. She didn’t do anything wrong. They were over. Technically, she’d just left, but that was enough for him to understand that they were no longer together. Did she need to actually say the words?

Worry filled her belly. Neither Garrett nor Clark was one to back down.

She folded her arms across her chest as they stood before Robin’s glass door. Clark was right there in the foyer, talking to Robin.

Isla tapped the glass. The look on Robin’s face alarmed Isla. She glanced at Garrett, and then to Clark who turned to see her.

His eyes went from her—still in her outfit from the day before, disheveled hair and ruined makeup—to Garrett.

Robin pushed the door open, eyeing Garrett, her face pale.

“Come in,” she said, ushering her black cat out of the way.

Isla couldn’t look Clark in the eye as she stepped inside. So, she stood there, unsure of what to say.

“Who is this?” Clark asked, nodding to Garrett.

“Garrett Thorne,” Garrett answered, holding out his hand.

Clark’s jaw tightened, but he shook Garrett’s hand nonetheless, surprising Isla.

Civility. Good start.

Garrett had put on some muscle since she’d last seen him. Clark, however, was built like a linebacker, and a few inches taller than Garrett.

They sized each other up and Isla just wanted to run away. She wasn’t ready for this kind of confrontation.

Clark shot her a glare that made her freeze. “Isla, we need to talk. Alone.”

Chewing her bottom lip, she nodded, looking to Garrett.

“You don’t have to go,” Garrett said.

“Nobody asked you,” Clark retorted.

Isla held her hand out, motioning for Clark to go. “It’s fine. I’ll be right back.”

She followed Clark back outside before Garrett could take the bait and engage in an argument with her quick-tempered ex.

Outside, Clark led her to the beach, which was quiet and empty except for a woman doing yoga a few yards down. The sun wasn’t quite at its full brightness yet, the sky still a dull gray.

“What the hell is going on?” Clark asked once they were far from Robin’s house. “You run off and I see you with another man.”

Isla sighed. It was too early for this. She rubbed her arms, looking toward the ocean.

“I’m living my life,” she replied. “Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be deploying somewhere?”

Clark grabbed her by the elbow. He spoke to her through clenched teeth, his fingers digging painfully into her skin. “I tried to tell you that I don’t leave for another week, but you ran out like a lunatic. You’re so god-damned impulsive.”

Isla’s brows furrowed as she wrenched free from his tight grasp. “So what? I can do what I want. We are done. I didn’t think I had to spell it out for you. Or maybe your skull is too thick to get it.”

“Really funny,” he said. “I only said that to you because you are so irritatingly irrational. I told you that I would be back, and I expected you to wait for me.”

“Why?” Isla scrunched up her nose. “Why would I wait?”

Clark sighed. He turned away from her.

She glanced from his back to the windows of Robin’s house in the not-so-faraway distance. When she looked back to Clark, he faced her, a box in his hand.

She gasped, completely taken aback. Her eyes widened. “What is that?”

She hoped that it wasn’t what she thought it was.

Clark held the box out with one hand and took her by the waist with another. “Okay,” he said, lowering his voice to an almost tender level.

Isla covered her mouth with her other hand, looking back at Robin’s house, hoping Garrett wasn’t witnessing this.

How embarrassing.

“I was going to wait to do this for the date I had planned. But you ran off like a little girl before I had a chance. Despite your mood swings, there is something special about you, and I couldn’t leave the country without you knowing that. I always thought you’d make a nice Mitchell. What do you say?” Clark asked. “Will you be Isla Mitchell? Will you marry me?”

Isla was speechless. He opened the box to reveal a modest engagement ring with a single stone on a petite band.

Crap, it was the exact kind she would have wanted. How could he get it so right, yet be so wrong?

“Clark,” she began, her lips parting. She licked them, unsure of what to say as she stared at the glittering diamond. “I can’t accept this. I’m sorry.”

She really was sorry. Rejection didn’t feel good for anyone, even if he’d hurt her more than once.

Clark let go of her hand. His brows bunched in consternation.

“Tell me you didn’t leave me for that guy in there. Where did you find that guy anyway?”

Isla looked up, stunned by the hint of hurt in his voice. Her cheeks grew hot as his blue eyes searched hers for answers.

“You slept with him,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Of course you did. Didn’t you?”

“Remember when I told you about my ex that died in the war?” Isla asked carefully. She closed the ring case and put a hand on Clark’s broad shoulder.

“Yeah. What about him?”

“That guy in there is my ex. Turns out he’s alive, and we decided to give our relationship another try.”

Clark frowned. “What? You’re not serious, are you? You haven’t seen that asshole in years. How does that work? He just pops back up like a fucking pimple and you go running back to him. Are you that desperate?”

“I can’t accept this ring, Clark. I appreciate it. I really do. But we were never right for each other. And yes, I was desperate. Once. That’s why I stayed with you for so long.”

“Nice one, Isla,” Clark murmured. He looked down at the sand, his shoulders slumping.

Isla couldn’t believe it. He really had fallen for her.

“I’m sorry. I really am.”

“Wow,” Clark said, standing tall and straightening his shoulders. “You really are a piece of work. You can just turn your emotions on and off like a light switch.”

Isla shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she repeated, at a loss for what else she could say. She just wanted him to leave.

“No. Don’t be sorry. Get some help. Something is seriously wrong with you. I gave you a home when you put on your little lost puppy act. But that’s what you are, Isla. An actress.” He turned away from her. “I hope that poor guy in there sees that before he falls for your act.”

She watched him leave, surprised by his words. The entire scenario was dumbfounding. After all of that turmoil, Clark loved her enough to propose. She never saw that coming.

Something he said alarmed her. Was he right? Was she just an actress using men to get what she wanted? Not with Garrett. It couldn’t be true.

Isla trudged through the sand back up to Robin’s house, trying to force Clark’s words from her head. This was not a time for doubts, not after the night before. But there it was...a tiny seed that Clark planted, and she feared that it would grow.