I take her to the restaurant at the Knickerbocker. It’s only two blocks away and the food is good, so it seems like an obvious choice. I want to get somewhere quiet with her, as soon as possible.

Josephine pauses outside the entrance. “I have to make a quick call.” She nods toward the lobby. “Wait here?”

“Take as long as you need.”

She walks quickly back into the lobby. Josie is obviously stepping away to get a little privacy, but I can’t take my eyes off her. She tucks in next to the wall across from the reception desk and pulls her phone out of her purse.

Then something amazing happens.

Josie stands up tall, back straight and chin lifted. Holy shit. This is exactly how she must be at her new job. Confident. Focused. In control.

It almost makes me miss the mess she was that first night on the island, when she needed me to rescue her. It was nice to be needed like that. It’s similar, I guess, at Cash Industries. People rely on me not to let everything devolve into a drunken disaster.

She speaks into the phone with her head held high, and I feel like I’m seeing everything clearly after a lifetime of watching the world through a dirty mirror. 

After a minute, she drops the phone back in her purse and comes back. I don’t bother to hide the fact that I’ve been watching her. It’s worth it to see the grin on her face from the moment she turns around, getting more brilliant with every step she takes. 

By the time she reaches me in front of the hostess stand, Josie’s cheeks are flushed pink and she looks a little shy. For a woman who has straddled me in plain view on a beach, it’s more than a little charming. “Everything okay?”

She nods. “My boss had no problem with an extended lunch.” The hostess leads us toward a table for two in the back. Josie slides in to the seat against the wall and picks up one of the menus from the table. “I got a promotion today.”

The pride filling my chest is almost overwhelming. “Josie, that’s incredible.” She looks up at me from beneath her eyelashes, blushing a deeper shade of red. “How did you land the gig in the first place? Where are you working?”

Josie holds the menu lightly in her hands. “After you left—” She swallows hard. “After we both got off the plane, I realized that it was all—” A tear collects at the corner of her eye, and she reaches up to wipe it away. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

She takes a shuddering breath, then collects herself. “I realized that what I’ve been doing all these years is running from my life. When my sister died I fell into this…habit. It seemed so bleak that the only thing left to do was drink the rest of my days away. And if I wasn’t drinking, I was doing whatever the hell I wanted. Do you know how many hours you can spend watching shitty movies on Netflix?”

I crack a smile. “I have some idea.”

“Our vacation blew up in my face,” Josie says, “and it opened my eyes. I still love a party.” She smiles wistfully. “But that first week, I knew I had to do something. I spent the whole time trying to find a job. I’m still not sure how I managed to get one, but here I am.”

For the first time, I notice the dark circles underneath her eyes, and something clicks into place. “You’ve been working hard, then.”

“Oh, yeah.” Josie gives a little sigh and her shoulders slump a little. “I’ve been going to the gym every day. I’ve been busting my ass at work. My job is in the marketing department at Silver Star.”

“The credit union? That place is blowing up.” It’s true—I’ve seen mini-branches opening all over the city.

Josie beams. “That’s where I work.” She cocks her head to the side. “It’s nothing fancy. But it’s enough for me to have my own place, no strings attached.”

Damn. She really is striking out on her own.

“Are you happy?”

I don’t know why that’s the question that slips out, but it is.

Josie’s smile fades a few watts. “Yes,” she says, with a confidence that seems practiced. “Well, mostly. The truth is—” She bites her lip. “It’s pathetic.”

“Is it more pathetic than lusting after the woman you left on a private jet?”

Her smile returns, coy and sensual. “You’ve been lusting after me?”

I lean in, like it’s the world’s best-kept secret. “Yes.”

Josephine laughs out loud, holding the menu to her chest. “Oh, god, Charlie, it’s been the same for me. I can’t sleep—”

“I haven’t slept in a month.”

“I spend all my waking hours at the gym—”

“I spend all mine at the office.”

“I had to go into therapy to forget about you, and it’s not working.” Her laugher subsides. “No. It isn’t only for that. My approach to life needed some serious fine-tuning.” Now she does roll her eyes. “My therapist thought I should talk to you. Tell you how I feel. I’ve been pretty hung up on you,” she admits.

I want to scoop her up in my arms and take her upstairs to the first available hotel room. I want it so badly that I’m willing to kick down the door to get in. But Josie has made it clear that she’s on lunch, and I’m not going to loosen her grip on a life that has something in it other than an endless vacation.

Once in a while, fine. But she’s been living in her own personal dream for years. I think it finally turned into her own personal hell.

“What about now? Because the more I sit here, looking at you—”

“The more you’re over it?”

“Fuck no. I want you to come stay with me, at my place. I want to forget the last month ever happened. I want to go back to that plane and take you with me when I get off.”

“I don’t.”

It’s a splash of cold water down my spine. “You’re kidding.”

Josie shakes her head. “No, I’m serious. If you hadn’t left me…” Her gaze goes a little unfocused. “I’d probably still be doing the same things I always did. And it wasn’t good for anyone. It wasn’t good for me, and it definitely wasn’t good for you.”

“There’s a balance,” I insist.

She presses her lips together. “What if we can’t find it? What if you were right, Charlie? I’d never forgive myself if I took you down with me.”

It’s obvious—she’s starting to panic a little. I might still be feeling high from the kiss we shared outside the bar, but Josie is trying desperately to keep her feet on the ground.

“Look,” I say, because I can’t come up with anything other than the truth. “I’m just glad to have found you. There’s no pressure to decide anything. We can take it slow.” I give her a look. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?” There’s still a glimmer of fear in her eyes, like I might press her to move in with me. Not a chance.

“Let’s order lunch.”

Her smile is so full of relief that it almost shatters my heart again. “Thank god. I’m starving.”