Tuesday morning, it’s back to the fifth floor, and to be honest, I still feel a bit numb and tired. Last night, I couldn’t get any sleep, tossing and turning. I was up past two in the morning thinking about him, wanting him. I woke up at six thirty covered in sweat, remembering a fleeting dream about the time we spent together on the beach.

I was barely able to drag myself out of bed to come here. The only trick I used was by spending twenty minutes looking over photos of us together and trying not to cry. Now, I feel like shit, and I can only hope that it’s more jet lag than heartbreak.

“Hey, Han,” Cassie greets me. Her desk sits across from mine, right next to the small conference area that we use for group work, with Myra’s private office down at the end of the room. I look over, and Cassie looks like me, with bags under her eyes and her hair not looking her best. I doubt she’s gotten four hours of sleep. I sit down at my desk and open my laptop, typing in the password for my welcome screen.

“Hey.”

“How’d you sleep?” Cassie asks, stifling a yawn.

“Not good,” I admit. “You?”

Cassie chuckles sarcastically. “As you can tell, I got ten solid hours of pure beauty sleep.”

I nod, checking my emails and wondering what I can do to fake my way through being productive for the next eight hours.

“I miss it,” Cassie says quietly after a few minutes. She’s been typing on her laptop, and I bet she’s playing Minecraft or something. Neither of us is in the mood to work.

“I miss it, too,” I admit. “Cass—”

Right at that moment, Myra comes out of her office with a stack of files. Dressed sharply as usual, she definitely got all the rest she needs. “Hello, girls. How are my two treasure finders this morning?”

“Hello,” we both say in unexcited unison.

“What’s wrong?” she asks when she sees our attitudes. “Jet lagged still?”

“Nope,” I reply. “But to be honest, I was a little let down when you didn’t stick up for us in the meeting. I thought you would’ve had our backs.”

Myra waves off my being so direct. I guess I’ve earned a small outburst, at least. “I didn’t want to take the risk. What you ladies have to learn about the upper board is that they expect results. You’re not going to get much praise when you give them. You’re just doing your job is how they see it. You girls are heroes in my eyes. And I owe you big time.”

Her words are sincere, and Cassie and I exchange glances. I just wish she would’ve given us a little heads up. “What’s that?” I ask, nodding at the folder in her arms. “I hope I’m not being sent somewhere already.”

“Nope. This,” she says, coming over and setting the folder on my desk, “is what they plan on doing with the property.”

I open the folder, my stomach sinking somewhere down to about the second floor as Myra outlines the plan the board has for Wesley’s property. Their plans are so misguided and totally against everything that I was first told and what I put in my letter to Wesley. “Myra . . .”

“The latest figures show that Aurora can clear the main compound, reconstruct, and still come in at budget and turn a profit in less than two years,” Myra says as my fingers tremble with horror looking at the artist’s renditions. The bamboo buildings, the fruit tree groves, everything . . . they’re completely sanitizing its personality, turning it into a spa resort just like hundreds of other ones across the world. Nothing special, nothing with tradition and honoring the history of the island.

“Once we clear the locals out, we’ll be able to move on with phase two,” Myra says, and I look up at Cassie, who looks as horrified as I do. She’s talking as if the whole area is in horrible condition and it's not. Everyone knew there was going to be demolition and construction, but this is on another level. There’s going to be nothing left, not even the village. It's horrible. They're going to ruin all the best things, bastardizing Wes's legacy.

“Myra, we can’t do that!” I cry out when she finishes.

“Why not? Once the contract’s signed on both ends and the money’s transferred, it’s ours to do what we want. Which, by the way, you’re both going to be getting a sizable bonus. I can’t give you numbers yet, but as soon as everyone signs on the dotted line, I can,” Myra replies. “Projections have that it’s going to make the company millions a year in profit. So why not follow this plan?”

Oh, my God, what have I done?

“Because it’s a beautiful place,” Cassie says. “And those fucking profiteering assholes are going to completely destroy it.”

Myra is taken aback by the venom in Cassie’s voice. “Excuse me?”

“Myra, I know you sent us there to do this job,” I say, desperate to keep her rage off Cassie, “but after seeing the beauty there . . .” I can't in good conscience let this go without speaking my mind. I tell her everything about the property, Wesley, even my love for Tony. I pour it all out, the total story, not just the lines I fed the board yesterday.

Myra is white-faced as she listens. “I don’t know what to say,” she says. “You turned over the letter of intent to the company. They’re in final negotiations with Wesley. Once he signs off on the deal, it’s over. There’s no going back.”

“Tell them that this deal can't happen with this plan,” I plead with her.

She backs away. “You know I can't do that. Our jobs are at stake.”

“Myra, please!” I beg. “They’re going to ruin one of the last truly beautiful places on Earth. It’s like . . . their plan’s like someone replacing the Mona Lisa with some paint by numbers Jesus on velvet!”

“It’s done, Hannah, and you’re just going to have to accept it!” Myra says with finality. She stomps back to her office and slams the door, silence falling like a curtain between me and Cassie.

“What the hell are we gonna do?” she says after a moment. “We can’t let those bastards do this!”

In some karmic way that lets me know the cosmos is jacking with me, at that moment, my computer dings with an email from Wesley Mobber.

Dear Hannah,

How has your return to the mainland been? I hope that the jet lag has worn off. I had a long phone call from the legal department at Aurora Holdings, and while they certainly talked my ear off, it also left questions running around in my head.

You probably wonder what it was that convinced me to choose you. Let me say, it wasn’t just your words. I could read between the lines, and I knew that half of what you said about Aurora’s plans were corporate bullshit. Oh, you believed it, but it’s still corporate bullshit.

You’re smart, Hannah, but naïve and maybe not quite as jaded as I am after so many years in the corporate rat race. I thought this would be another lesson worth learning first-hand. Do not be the tool they use to further their cause, know what your purpose is and how to best utilize your own strengths. You are in charge of your destiny.

Beyond your letter and Aurora’s proposal, there’s something else you need to see, and dare I say, learn from? I think it’s more important than anything else that’s happened since I first laid eyes on you.

There’s an attachment, a PDF file. I open it. It’s the letter Tony wrote Wesley. I see the handwriting, and I read it over twice, letting it soak in.

“Dear Wes, this might not be what you thought, but I don’t want to win your competition anymore. When I arrived in Hawaii, I was so different. I was ready to kick ass and take names. Even arriving, my only thoughts were of getting your property, then relaxing with some fine island honey.

Then I met Hannah again. You see, I met her a little over a year ago, at the wedding of a family friend. And oh, man, did I want to lay the pipe on her that night. It was thinking like that, of course, that got a glass of punch thrown on my tux. All of this you know. We’ve sort of talked about it since my arrival. What you probably saw with your own eyes, though, was that as soon as I saw her again, I wanted her just as much. That first night, after she slipped the Horny Goat Weed into my food, I wanted two things—your property, and to fuck her so hard she never, ever forgot the name of Tony Steele.

Maybe it’s your crazy lessons, maybe it’s the fact I still want to choke your damn bird, or maybe it’s the magic of the land, but somewhere along the way, I realized something. It doesn’t matter which company wins, which side wins. As long as this property, the people involved with it like your wife and her family, and all those people in the village who opened their lives up to us at the festival . . . as long as they win, it’s all good.

And I realized, as I’ve thought about it, that this land has to go to someone who needs it. Who will cherish it and protect it and treat it with the honor it deserves. Who will preserve the magic that is here.

That person isn’t me. Because as much as I love your property, as much as I love this land and the people I’ve met, I’ve come to realize that I love Hannah more. Wesley, if Hannah told me it would make her happy, I’d burn this property to the ground. And you deserve better than that. You deserve better than me.

So I want Hannah to win the contract. She’s an amazing woman, beautiful inside and out, someone who will make sure your legacy and the land will be protected with honor. I don't want to be an obstacle to her happiness, and if by stepping back, I can give her her dream, I want to do so.”

Tears roll down my face as I read the message again and again, seeing the word that I wanted to hear. Love.

“Hannah?” Cassie presses, “What are we going to do?”

I look up, fires hotter than Oahu’s volcanos burning in my belly. “We can’t let the deal happen.”

* * *

“You look . . . big,” I say, hugging Roxy carefully as Cassie and I come into her penthouse. Cassie’s eyes are huge, about ready to pop out of her head as she takes it all in. “Where’s Sophie?”

“On a campus visit to Harvard,” Roxy says with a smile. “I doubt she’s gonna go, but now’s the time to explore options. You said it was important.”

“Hold on,” Cassie says, still looking around. She scrunches up her face, making Roxy look at me with concern.

“Ten seconds,” I reply, watching as Cassie squeals softly, hopping up and down before opening her eyes and letting it all out.

“Oh my gawd, I’m such a fan! I love watching you perform, and this is so amazing being in your house!” Cassie blurts out in a single long stream before taking a deep breath. “Okay, fangirl moment over. I barely held it in last time we went shopping together.”

Roxy laughs, giving me a look. “I can see why you like her.”

We sit down and exchange small talk for a little bit. Roxy shows us some ultrasounds. Her baby is going to be big like the father. Roxy shows me some of the baby clothes that have come in from fans and people at Club Jasmine, and they’re adorable. “But . . . tell me what’s going on? You said it had something to do with the trip. I mean, I’m not even sure what all went on.”

“Oh, it was crazy!” Cassie blurts, grinning. “We met a guy who thinks he’s a pirate, there was a tug of war, and obstacle courses . . . oh, and I got to totally be Katniss. I put an arrow in like, a dozen fish—”

“Liar,” I say with a snort. “You barely hit the ocean with your arrows half the time!”

“Ooh!” Roxy says, and I can actually see her stomach squirming as the baby moves around. “Oh my, feels like I’ve got a twerk off going in my belly!”

“Must be a girl then,” I tease, but Roxy’s eyes darken as she sees me and sees the serious expression on Cassie’s face.

“Okay, you two, what’s up? I can see something is wrong, and your message more or less said it, too. I see hurt in your eyes, Hannah, and Cassie, you look scared as fuck.”

“I think . . . I think I may have made the biggest mistake of my life,” I reply, tears stinging at my eyes. “We won the contract, but . . . what Aurora’s going to do to the land, to the people . . .”

I can’t go on, the pain’s too much, and Cassie takes over, showing Roxy the file folder Myra gave us. Roxy’s eyes go wide with the horror as she understands. “Is this not what the plan was from the start?”

I shake my head. I should’ve known better. “Roxy . . . Tony basically told Wesley to choose to go with me and Aurora. I don’t know why, but Wesley showed me the letter Tony wrote. At the end, he said that he’d give up anything to make me happy, and that he thought I’d be the one to make sure something like this didn’t happen. But also . . . he said he loves me. I never told him. I never told him how I feel, and now I feel like I’m going to lose the most precious gift I’ve ever gotten. My heart’s a dead lump in my chest and I don’t know what to do except fight to protect it all.”

“Well, you know me. I spent all that time not chasing my dreams. It took finding Jake to wake me up again, to get me to start doing what I’m meant to do,” she says. “So we need to get you back on that track. What do you want most?”

Her question shocks me. It’s not what I came here for, but the answer comes to me immediately. “I want Tony by my side.”

“See?” Roxy asks with a smirk. “Why work for that coven of soulless vampires? They lied to you, they lied to everyone to get you all to go along with it. I learned that chasing my dream, and singing brought me more happiness than I ever could have imagined. For me, the decision would be simple.”

“How can I?” I ask. “My God, I took Tony’s dream of helping his family and I almost burned it to the ground. Because of me, he went against his brother. No wonder he left the way he did. He probably dreaded going home to face Oliver.”

“You let me worry about that,” Roxy says with a smirk. “Remember, Oliver Steele is my brother-in-law now, so Tony’s family too. I’m pretty sure if they don’t want me singing about Oliver’s little performance at Club Jasmine that time, they’ll at least listen.”

“Performance?” Cassie, who wasn’t there, asks. “What performance?”

“Let’s just say Oli looks better in stockings than any heterosexual man has any right to be,” Roxy says with a laugh. “But seriously, getting with Jake and following my heart changed my life. I had Mindy, and now you have me.”

“Wait . . . what’s this about stockings?” Cassie asks. “What type of fun do you people have?”

“Stick around a while, and you’ll find out,” Roxy says. “Now, I have one question. If you do this, you’re out of a job, probably both of you. You understand that, right?”

I look at Cassie, who swallows her fear but gives me a nod of support. It’s in my hands now.

“Fuck the job,” I growl, looking at Roxy. “Make the call. I’m gonna go get my studmuffin and we’re gonna save that property.”