Felicity stood in her bedroom, her back pressed against her door, her heart racing. How could she have almost kissed Aiden? Had she lost all of her senses completely? She touched her lips. Was it horrible that she wished she’d just done it?

She took a shaky breath and slipped into her pajamas, scolding herself in her head. There was no way she could fall back in love with Aiden. It just wasn’t anywhere in the realm of possible. He crushed her heart, and she couldn’t forget that. Their relationship had been like fire. It felt wonderful and warm at first, but she’d gotten too close and it had burned her.

The sheets were soft as she climbed into bed. She wrapped herself in them. Even though she was tired, it took a long time for her to fall asleep. She lay there, listening to the storm outside, and wondered what she would do tomorrow, spending the whole day with Aiden.

She awoke to an eerie silence. A light in the bathroom told her the power was back on. Felicity peeked outside of her bedroom and found the couch empty, her comforter folded up. Aiden wasn’t in sight. A note sat on the counter in the kitchen.

Felicity,

I’m going to check out the damage to the resort. I’ll come back to get you for the excursion to the jungle. I should be back by ten.

Aiden

She had a couple of hours, so she took a shower and dressed in good hiking clothes. She left her villa to get breakfast at the restaurant. The resort had been hit hard. Palm branches were everywhere, along with trash, broken shingles, and other pieces of debris. The workers were already out cleaning up the mess. Aiden must be helping them. That’s one thing she liked about him. He was a billionaire, for heaven’s sake, yet he was out picking up tree branches with the rest of the crew.

The buffet line was short. She grabbed a bowl of fruit and a yogurt and sat down at a table. Pulling out her phone, she checked her Facebook group. Brittany had posted.

How are things going with Aiden? Are you getting back together with him?

Felicity pressed her lips together and answered.

No. That ship has sailed.

Brittany answered right away.

I heard he has money. Is that true?

He’s a billionaire.

Felicity hit post before she thought about it then wondered if that was a good idea. Aiden wasn’t the kind of guy to go around boasting about that kind of thing. Maybe he didn’t want her spreading that around. But it was too late. She’d already posted it and couldn’t take it back.

I’m coming to stay the rest of the week with you!

Brittany added a smiley face to her post, and Felicity snorted. Wouldn’t that be a nightmare.

Haha, funny, she posted.

Felicity closed the app. Brittany kind of annoyed her, but maybe she needed to give the girl some slack. Her divorce had been hard on her. Brittany was the kind of girl who had a hard time if she didn’t have a man on her arm. Some girls were just like that.

After she ate, she left the restaurant to go back to her villa to wait for Aiden. She picked her way over downed branches and bits of trash. As she slid her key card, her phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and stepped inside.

“Hello?”

“Aiden’s a billionaire? Are you kidding me?” Amy’s voice came through all high-pitched and fast, like she’d been sucking helium.

“Calm down, girl. You’re going to hyperventilate.” Felicity laughed and curled up on the couch.

“Calm down? You almost married a billionaire. You could have been the next Paris Hilton.”

Felicity scoffed. “Do you think I want to be the next Paris Hilton?”

“All right, bad example. I’m just saying, holy Batmobile. A billionaire.”

“I know.” Felicity sighed. “It’s almost too much money to think about.”

“Honey, it’s not too much for me to think about. Aiden could have retired. Think of all the places you could have gone with him.”

Felicity ran her finger along the seam of her jeans. There was a tiny worn spot that would soon become a hole. “That’s just it, Amy. Aiden isn’t like that. He’s too involved with whatever he’s doing. He sold his drone, but then he bought this resort and now this has become his work obsession.”

“Maybe he needs a woman to help him learn to relax.”

Felicity glanced at the clock. It was five minutes after ten. The same disappointment she had known so well all those years ago settled in her gut. “You’re joking, right? He’s actually supposed to meet me right now and guess what, he’s late. What a big surprise. Nothing’s changed.” The words were hard to say, but she knew it was true. Aiden would always put her second.

“Wait, you guys are seeing each other again?”

Felicity stiffened. “No. It’s not like that. Grams hired me to take photos and he’s taking me on an excursion so I can do my job.”

Amy hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Couldn’t you go on your own?”

A foolish feeling swept through Felicity. “I guess I could, but I’d have to go find a ticket, and I’m not sure where they meet or what time the bus leaves.”

“Call the office.”

“I could. It’s just...Aiden and I spent some time together yesterday and...well, maybe I did think he was coming around. But that’s obviously not the case. He’s the same old Aiden. Late again.”

“Aw, sweetie. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” She steeled herself. “It seriously wasn’t a big deal. It’s not like a date or anything. We really aren’t getting back together. Instead of going on the excursion, I’ll just go find some pictures to take around here.” Felicity cringed, thinking of all the debris outside. “But I don’t know what I’ll photograph. We had a storm last night and the place looks pretty bad right now.”

“Then go relax on the beach. When Aiden is done with his work, he’ll take you hiking.”

Relaxing on the beach sounded nice. “That’s not a bad idea.” She had brought her swimsuit.

“There you go. Have fun. Take some you time.”

Felicity brushed her hair over her shoulder. “You’re right. There’s nothing else I can do anyway.”

“Okay. Have fun. I’ll call you later to see how things went.”

“Thanks, Amy.”

Felicity hung up and stared at the ashes in the fireplace, a hollow feeling spreading through her chest. Why had she thought anything had changed? Aiden was still Aiden. He put his work first. She supposed that was why he was a billionaire.

She sighed and tossed her phone on the couch. She’d go change into her bathing suit and take a walk along the beach. Aiden could come find her when he was done with everything that was more important than her.

***

AIDEN’S HEART RACED as he walked along the shoreline, searching the underbrush. “Mabel!” he called. His voice was hoarse from shouting. He didn’t want to think about all the things that could have happened to Mabel out in the storm last night.

When he’d entered his villa this morning and seen his grandmother’s face, he’d known something terrible had happened. Grams had run to him and buried her face into his chest, sobs wracking her body. When he’d finally coaxed out of her what had happened, his heart had stopped. Mabel had gotten out last night right before the storm had hit. She hadn’t come back.

Aiden had pulled on some boots and gone immediately out to look for her. But there was no sign of her. Now he was beyond the resort property line and had no idea if he was even close to where Mabel had gone. She could be anywhere. She could be...no. He didn’t want to think about it.

Why had she run off like that? She usually obeyed when they called her to come. Maybe since he wasn’t home, she’d gone looking for him. The thought made his stomach clench. This might be his fault.

He lengthened his strides. “Mabel!”

She had to be somewhere. He couldn’t accept she was gone. He’d find her. He had to. Maybe she’d found her way back home. He pulled out his phone to check with Grams.

“Hello?” She answered on the first ring. “Did you find her?”

Disappointment crushed him. “No. I take it she didn’t come home yet.”

“No.”

He exhaled. “All right. I’ll keep looking.”

“Aiden?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll find her.”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Right.”

He hung up with Grams and noticed the time. Eleven? How did it get to be so late? He was supposed to be back at Felicity’s villa an hour ago. He called her cell phone, but it just rang until voicemail came up. Frustrated, he left a quick message about not being able to go with her and hung up.

Felicity would understand, wouldn’t she? His dog meant the world to him. And Felicity wasn’t a completely unreasonable person. Except for the day she left him. That had been unreasonable.

He let out a frustrated breath. Felicity was going to hate him. But he couldn’t stop looking now. He had to find Mabel.

He saw a flash of white and ran to a large bush. He crouched down. “Mabel?”

A white grocery bag was tangled up in the branches. He yanked it out and wadded it up, a bitter taste in his mouth. This was going to take forever.

Memories from when Grams had first gotten Mabel surfaced and he rubbed his temples. The little dog had taken to him right away. He’d never had an animal snuggle with him like Mabel had. He’d be sitting on the couch and she’d climb up on his shoulder. She was smaller then, just a little puppy, and she’d fit perfectly there. She would fall asleep and make cute little dog snoring noises.

She was such a small dog. The wind last night had been horrible. How could she have survived? He shook his head and resolved not to think about what might have happened. All he needed to do right now was focus on finding her. That’s all he could do.

With his heart in his throat, he continued to call for his dog.