“Josie. Wake up.” There’s a gentle hand on my shoulder, shaking me free from a long and complicated dream about finding my sister in a mansion with a layout that kept changing. The more I searched, the more rooms I found, and I knew I was running out of time.

What comes out of my mouth is closer to a feral growl than anything else. My body is still heavy from the dream. Who the hell is waking me up in the middle of the night?”

“Josie,” she calls, a last echo, and then I force my eyes open. 

Charlie stands at the side of the bed, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, the screen of his phone casting a blue-tinged glow onto his face. “Hey,” he whispers with a smile. “Wake up.”

“What are you thinking?” The words are slurred with sleep, but he gets the gist. I throw my arms up over my face, but he moves them out of the way with a gentle push.

“We have somewhere to be.”

I prop myself up on one elbow, squinting at the clock on the bedside table. “It’s not even five in the morning.” I feel off-balance, even lying in bed. Last night was exactly the kind of party I wanted—drinks to keep myself buzzed, sex with Charlie—but it’s the kind of party I want to sleep off until noon. “Where on earth do we need to be?”

“Come on.”

He won’t take no for an answer, needling me until I throw my legs over the side of the mattress and stomp into the bathroom to brush my teeth and toss my hair up into a messy bun. It’s cool in the suite, so I shrug on a hoodie that was miraculously retrieved from my bungalow and follow him out into the hall, scowling.

In the elevator, Charlie nudges me with his elbow. “Brighten up, sunshine. I thought you were all about having the time of your life.”

I force my eyes to open a little wider so I can glare at him. “Sleeping in is my idea of a good time right now.”

“It’ll be worth it, I promise.”

I curl my lip.

The elevator comes to a stop on the main floor, and Charlie curves his arm around my shoulders. “I promise.” He plants a quick kiss on my temple, sending a tiny river of heat down my skin. 

I can’t help but love hearing those words on his lips. 

* * *

We head for the trails.

The resort is different at night, cloaked in black with warm lights bobbing at intervals along the beach and by the pool. Even the trail has a few here and there, cleverly hidden among the trees. But between the lights, it’s pitch dark. 

No—not quite pitch dark. As we walk, the light changes by degrees, like cream being slowly added to coffee. The birdsong is beginning, a few piercing calls, like they’re waking up too.

It’s a dreamlike walk, following Charlie along the path. We start out in the same direction as the waterfall, but halfway there he turns and starts heading in a different direction.

“Oh, shit,” I say out loud, and he slows his pace to walk beside me.

“Did you just realize you were outside?”

“No, that you could be the serial killer you were so worried about at the waterfall that day.”

He laughs, a short exhale. “Being a serial killer would be bad for business.”

“That’s what you’re going to say to me when we’re out here alone?”

Charlie’s face goes serious in the moonlight. “I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I know. I was kidding.”

There’s a pause.

“You weren’t kidding about this vacation, though.”

He’s on the partying thing again, but out here in the dark, everything seems…open. There’s not so much tension between us. That’s probably why he woke me up at this ungodly hour. How did he know it would feel like this? I haven’t been awake this early in years. Or, rather, I haven’t woken up this early in years. 

“No,” I admit. “I’m not.” Then I laugh, the sound echoing through the trees. “Isn’t that the dumbest thing you’ve ever heard? A serious vacation?” Another laugh bubbles up behind the first one.

It looks like Charlie is smiling. “I’ve been taking this vacation pretty seriously.”

I scoff. “Liar. You’ve been taking work seriously. For years, or so I hear.”

“Fine. I could probably stand to…dedicate myself to relaxation. For an hour or two a day.” He shakes his head. “But there’s no way I’m going to let my family down. We’ve had enough of that.”

Enough of that? “What do you mean?” I search my memory for anything about Charlie Cash, but honestly, aside from a couple of times in passing, I haven’t heard anything mentioned about him since high school.

He takes a deep breath, then moves closer, nudging me toward the left side of a fork in the trail. “It wasn’t my dream to run all of Cash Industries.”

That makes zero sense. “Then why are you so obsessed with it?”

His eyes flick toward me, and I can feel him weighing whether he wants to say this out loud. But he must feel the same freedom in the dark as I do, because he continues. “My dad…had some issues.” His voice wraps tightly around the words. “The board, at the suggestion of my brothers and me, removed him as CEO before things got bad.”

“That sucks,” I murmur. “It’s hard when someone’s health gets in the way of—”

“Oh, it wasn’t his health,” Charlie says quickly, the slightest hint of a sneer in his voice. “He’s still perfectly healthy. He’s just not fit to run the family business. I’m the oldest, so it fell to me.” This last part comes out in a way that makes me think Charlie Cash had other plans for his life.

So did I.

The pressure builds. I want to tell him about what happened with my parents, but I can’t. For one thing, it’s essentially the opposite situation. I’m trying to get into their good graces, and he’s in everyone’s good graces, though against his will. 

I want to tell him something. 

“You must be pretty good at it,” I offer.

He laughs, and this time it’s low and sultry. “I’m pretty good at other things, too. People forget that.”

“I didn’t.”

Charlie breathes out quickly, one sharp breath. “Don’t tempt me…”

“At least I can tempt you.” I say it like I’m kidding, but even putting those words between us lessens the thudding in the back of my head.

“What could you possibly mean by that?” We work our way up a slope. I’m breathing hard. He’s not. Naturally. “You tempt everyone. Men have been all over you since you got here.” I can feel him smiling. “I’m no exception.”

I take in a deep breath. “I’m here because—” I’m right at the precipice, but I can’t tell him the whole truth. Not yet. But I can tell him this. “I caught my fiancé cheating on me.” The pain arcs through my chest again. I thought I was over it, what happened with Rolly. Why waste tears on something that was never real in the first place? But saying the words out loud takes my breath away.

“Shit, Josie,” Charlie breathes out, stopping dead and wrapping me up protectively in his arms. “That’s the fucking worst.” Hot tears prick the corners of my eyes, and I wait for him to make a joke, or distract me with some other bullshit, but he doesn’t. He stands there, arms around me, until I shift, taking in another breath. “We don’t have to talk about it, if you don’t want.”

“I…kind of do,” I admit, and brace myself for another wave of pain. I hate that pain. Maybe if I tell Charlie everything, then—

“Look at one thing first.”

He takes me by the hand and turns me to the side. I didn’t realize it, but we’ve come to a flat overlook on top of what’s probably a small mountain. The sun is pooling on the horizon, a stretched-out brightness that gets bigger with every moment. It’s incredible. I gasp at the sight, my hand flying to my mouth. The ocean is so big, so black, and the dawn comes anyway, mighty and strong.

“I told you it’d be worth it,” Charlie says.

“You were right,” I whisper. “You were right.”