Dalton found Tiny lying in a hospital bed with Rosa sitting beside her. His sister was awake, but pale, with dark smudges under her eyes.

Rosa got to her feet when she saw him. “It wasn’t another stroke,” she said. “The doctor said Tiny might just have been dehydrated.”

Dalton let out a long, relieved breath. “Thank God.”

Tiny gave him a weak smile. “I’m okay. Don’t worry.”

“You scared me,” he told her. “What happened?”

“I fell, that’s all.” She waved one hand. “It was nothing.”

“Okay.” Dalton could see from Rosa’s face that Tiny was underplaying it. “I’ll go and talk to the doctor. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Rosa got up and followed him out of the ward. Once they were out in the hall with nurses and orderlies bustling past, he pulled her into a quiet corner. “What really happened?” he asked quietly.

“She was in bed, and I told her the buyer was arriving,” she said, flicking him a guilty look. “I’m sorry. I thought she deserved to know. But she got upset and tried to get up too fast. Her legs crumpled and she hit the floor pretty hard. I think she passed out. When I tried to help her, she didn’t respond for a few minutes.”

Rosa looked pale, and her eyes were more silver than green, as though all the color had drained out of them. If he wasn’t so damn angry, he’d put his arms around her and tell her everything was going to be okay. But he’d told her not to upset Tiny. And her Dalton Project notes were still in his pocket. Had she ever once been honest with him?

“Did she hit her head?” he asked, keeping his temper with an effort.

“I don’t think so. She fell forward, onto her knees first, then she tipped. According to the doctor, it was dehydration and low blood sugar, combined with upsetting news.”

He blew out his breath. “At least it wasn’t more serious.” It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but he was still going to get Tiny on the first plane out of here.

“There’s the doctor,” said Rosa, indicating a man hurrying along with a clipboard in his hand.

Dalton stopped him, and the doctor confirmed what Rosa had told him.

“I’d like to keep her in overnight for observation,” the doctor said. “All going well, you’ll be able to check her out in the morning.”

“Can she fly?” asked Dalton. “I’d like to get her on a plane to Sydney tomorrow.”

“I can’t see why not.”

Rosa was staring at him, her eyes wide. “Tomorrow?”

“Thanks, doctor,” said Dalton as the man moved away to the next ward. Then Dalton turned to Rosa. “You should go back to the resort now. Smythe is asking for a lot of documents, and Mere won’t know where to find them. Most will be in the filing cabinet in my office, but some…” He stopped. He had to. Her expression was so stricken, the words in his throat faded and died.

“I don’t understand.” There was a hitch in her voice. “What’s happening?”

Dalton put his hand in his pocket and touched the piece of paper he’d ripped from her notepad. He wanted to ask her about it, but what was the point? It was easier this way. Better to end it with her now, before things got any more complicated.

Still, when he spoke again, his tone was gentle. “As soon as they discharge Tiny, I’m taking her to Sydney. I want you to be in charge of the resort until the sale goes through. I’ll send people to pack up Tiny’s things for her.” He stopped again. Rosa’s face was pale and she was worrying her hands together in front of her. “Are you okay?” He touched her arm. “You need to sit down?”

“So that’s it?” she asked. “It’s all over?”

“It has to end. Surely you get that now?” He kept his hand on her arm to steady her. “I’ll make sure Smythe gives you at least three months, but there’s a good chance he’ll keep you on permanently. I can’t see him wanting to take over the role himself.”

“No.” She shook her head, frowning. “How can you sell the place when Tiny hasn’t agreed to it? You can’t do it.”

“I don’t need her to agree. I can sell it anyway.”

“What?”

“It’s complicated. But I can legally take control of the resort and sign the papers.”

Rosa was staring at him as though she’d never seen him before. Her voice rose. “But you wouldn’t do that, would you? Does she know? Have you told her?”

“Not yet. That conversation’s only going to upset her again, but now I’ll have to tell her, and she’ll have to accept it. I intend to save her life, whether she wants me to or not.”

Rosa’s lip pushed out in a stubborn expression that reminded him of Tiny’s. She was still pale, but her back had straightened and her contrite gaze had turned into a glare. “That’s not fair. Today was scary, but not serious. You can’t sell her home behind her back.”

“Once she’s in Sydney, she’ll realize how much better it is for her there.”

“Look, I agree she should go to Sydney. But if you decide for her, you’re saying her opinion doesn’t matter. You’re treating her like a child.”

“Then she should stop acting like a child.”

Rosa’s eyes widened. She stepped forward to jab her finger at his chest. “You refuse to listen to what she wants, because your mind was made up from day one. You never gave her a chance. You never gave the island a chance. And you’re not giving us a chance.”

“There is no us.” A rush of outrage made his response sharp. “The whole thing between us was a plan you cooked up with my sister. The Dalton Project. You really thought if you slept with me, I’d change my mind?”

Her cheeks went even redder and her voice rose. “How dare you? Okay, I admit I was trying to get you to like the island so you’d want to stay. But I never wanted anything to happen between us. I knew all along it was a bad idea, because you’re such a selfish jerk you can’t let your sister live her life her way.” She was trembling with rage now, and some of the nurses had stopped what they were doing and turned to stare. “You have to control everything and everyone, don’t you?”

“Shh,” he said. “Keep your voice down. This is a hospital.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Her volume didn’t drop. “You’re not in charge of me.”

“That’s clear.” He shook his head. Even now, he couldn’t stop staring at her with a kind of awe. She was wild, and stubborn, and he couldn’t imagine she’d ever see sense. But her eyes were incandescent, and her spirit was too big to be contained in such a small body.

“Dalton, don’t you know how I feel about you? But I can’t be with someone who’d—”

“I told you, I don’t do complicated. Besides, how can I believe a word you say?”

“That’s unfair, and you know it. I’d never use sex to get something I want.”

Her volume switch was still turned up too high, and the word ‘sex’ seemed to echo down the halls. Pretty soon the nurses would be cooking up popcorn and pulling up chairs.

Dalton shook his head. She was impossible to reason with and completely wrong for him. It was going to be difficult enough getting Tiny on that plane without Rosa’s disruptive influence. He had to get her out of here.

“Come on. You need to get back to Lantana.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the exit. “I’ll get you a water taxi.”

She yanked her hand from his grip and started back toward the ward. “I’m going to talk to Tiny. She has a right to know—”

“Stop.” He put one arm up in front of her to create a barrier, his hand against the wall. “You can’t. Tiny already collapsed because you upset her. If you rush in there like this—”

“Because I upset her?” Rosa glared at him, both hands on her hips. “Because I told her what you were doing behind her back.”

“Can’t you ever, just once, do what I ask?”

“Not if you’re wrong.”

“Would you let it go already?” His temper was rising. “This time, you don’t get to do whatever the hell you want.”

“So, I should only do what you want? What a surprise.”

He reigned in the rise in his own voice with an effort. “I won’t let you see her again unless you’re calm and reasonable.”

“You think you can stop me?” She shoved the arm still blocking her way, and he tensed to keep it where it was. With a furious exclamation, she rounded on him. “I’m calm, See? Cool as the Fonz.”

He waited, keeping his arm up, until she let out a long, frustrated breath and slumped with her back against the wall. The anger drained out of her as quickly as it had arrived.

“Okay, you win. I give up.”

There was a note in her voice he’d never heard before, and had never expected to hear. Defeat and resignation. Coming from her, it sounded all wrong. And it made his own anger fade just as fast.

“Please don’t do this,” she said softly. “If you make her leave, you’ll break her heart.” Her eyes were luminous and wide, her expression so open and vulnerable, it hurt to look at her.

Dalton couldn’t breathe. His chest was bound with iron bars. He wanted to reach out and touch her cheek, but he clenched his fists, fighting the urge. Arguing with himself.

If he gave into it, he could fix all this. He could have what he now knew he wanted. He could have Rosa. And Tiny would be happy, at least for today.

But at what price? Tiny would stay on Lantana, and without the help she needed, she’d be withdrawn and miserable, slowly pulling further away from him like his father had. And if she had another stroke, it would be his fault. Another unforgivable mistake.

It took him forever to form words and force them out through the tightness of his throat. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This is the way it has to be.”

The words landed on Rosa like a blow, and he saw her flinch. His arm dropped because he didn’t have the strength to hold it up any more, but she made no move to rush back into Tiny’s room.

“Then you’ll have to tell her goodbye from me.” Her voice was hoarse. Her eyes were transparent and he could see the tears trembling behind them. He could also see her fighting to keep them in, refusing to let them overflow. She turned slowly, her back ramrod straight, and walked slowly to the door. Her chin was high, and her movement stiff. Every step she took sent a fresh pain coursing through his chest.

He didn’t stop her. “This is the way it has to be,” he murmured again, although there was nobody to hear it but him.