The sun had just crested the dark blue horizon by the time Annica sat down in the cool sand of the beach. Overnight, she had grown to mistrust the sea and its outward beauty. Somewhere beneath the waves lay its horrific capabilities. It looked calm today, but surface appearance hardly mattered. She had learned how quickly a moment of calm could descend into madness.

She was reassured, at least, that the water had not receded again. She watched the tides carefully, noting the utter normalcy of it all. She had learned, if the tide were to mysteriously pull back, to run for high ground no matter what she was doing or who she was hiding from, or whose sexy body she was underneath.

Just a few hours ago, there had been no waves to separate them—but for the ones they’d made for themselves. Waves of pleasure. Waves of heat, washing over the bed. Ripples through the mattress. His force rippling through her body. Those were the good kind of waves. Waves she hadn’t expected to feel in Hawaii. But nothing about this trip was in the realm of expectations—save for the natural beauty of the beach. She stared out as the sun climbed higher and warmer, the day opening up before her. A beautiful day. A dangerous day, too. Perhaps the most dangerous yet.

She leaned back on her palms, enjoying how the soft sand spilled through her fingers. The wind, toying with her hair. Through it all, even the darkest parts of the adventure, some part of her enjoyed it. The excitement made her feel more alive than any number of years growing numb and hunchbacked in front of a laptop.

Between waves, she heard someone calling her name. Ethan ambled down the footpath, waving shyly. The last she’d seen of him was another of his close and serious interviews with Kalani. He came up to her now with a wry smile. “Good morning.”

“Came out for the sunrise?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I barely slept.”

“Nerves?”

He sat down next to her. “A lot of things.”

“Kalani?”

“What?” he said, laughing nervously.

“Nothing.”

“Actually,” Ethan said, “I wanted to talk to you about that.”

“You do?”

“Just about . . . you know . . .”

“I have no clue,” Annica said, wanting to laugh but not knowing if it would crush him somehow. “Why don’t you tell me?”

Ethan chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “I was getting the feeling last night that I was being talked about. Questioned.”

“Questioned? Like as a journalist?”

“My professionalism,” Ethan said. “We were all just having a good time and everything, but, I was just wondering if you really felt that way. That I could be . . . unprofessional?”

Annica took another look at him, trying to see beyond the surface calm. Beyond the surface waves of the sea, to the inner turmoil. What exactly had he meant by “unprofessional”?

“All I’ve seen you do is try to work and suss out the story, and just keep being the great journalist you are.” She shrugged and left it at that.

Ethan shrugged, too. And then he chuckled quietly and said, “Okay. I was worried you though . . . You thought I was trying to suss out something else.”

“What?” Annica said, laughing. “What does that even mean?”

His laughter had come to a quick halt. “I’ve never tried to hit on you or anything,” he said, looking away from her as if she’d become the bright sunrise. “I’ve never thought of you like that.”

That was a lie. But she was okay to skirt past it. “It’s okay,” she said. “I know.” It was best for both of them, just get past it and leave it there. Dead on arrival. A non-topic.

“Sorry,” he said, grimacing in the soft light. “I knew this would be awkward.”

“It’s not.”

Another lie.

“But I just had to bring it up,” he said. “I needed to clear the air, especially after last night.”

“That was nothing. You know, just girls being slightly intoxicated girls. Just, you know . . .”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Yeah, I was just worried for a second there. I really respect you. You know that. I think you’re an incredible journalist, and, well, an inspiration. And, dare I say, a role model?”

Annica laughed, thinking about what kind of journalistic role model she’d been with Cole, her latest line-crossing. Hot and nasty line-crossing that she still felt a little sore from . . .

“What’s so funny?” Ethan asked.

“Nothing. Just the idea, I guess.” The sun had climbed higher and she was just starting to feel its warmth on her skin. It felt good. It even felt good to be sitting and talking with her younger coworker, despite the conversation. But maybe it was just the conversation she’d been looking to have with him. She was glad he’d brought it up first. Whatever it was . . .

What was it?

Had he found someone else to busy himself with?

“So,” Annica said, “did you stay up pretty late last night?”

“No.”

Lie? She remembered seeing him last with Kalani, talking. No notebook anywhere in sight.

“I see you found your latest subject,” Annica said.

He smiled. “What does that mean?”

“Just you following the story down its latest twist and turn. Sussing it out, right? I’m glad.”

Ethan nodded. “I’m working.”

“I’m happy for you.”

He smiled again, and then looked away, off toward the sunrise. The day was coming on hot and fast.

Jackson’s voice sounded behind her. “Hey, you two. Comparing notes?”

The sound of the waves had hidden the approach, he and Mira strolling casually toward them along the tide’s edge. Before Jackson got close enough for her answer, Annica re-thought his question. One last round of narrative analysis before her lips loosened with the answer. Ethan, meanwhile, just sat there, staring off against the sun.

Comparing notes?

It seemed fitting somehow, that they had in fact been comparing some type of notes. Getting back on the same page. She was glad they reconvened like this the day of the mission. She felt that much more ready to get on with it, and to put the horrible work segment of this Hawaiian trip behind her. She had things to move on to. Better things.

She decided against answering Jackson, and instead complimented Mira on how calm and collected she appeared after the night’s wild events.

“I wasn’t the one stuck in a disaster movie,” Mira said. “Kudos go to you. And Cole.”

“And Kalani,” Ethan said. “She saved that guy’s life.”

Annica hadn’t told anyone about what she’d done for Cole, though she suspected he had. Especially with the way he’d smiled at her for the rest of the night. The way he’d waited on her hand and foot. He had the look of a proud . . . boyfriend?

And then, after . . .

“Well,” Jackson said, “I’m glad everyone’s in good spirits. We’ve got a big day.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said.

Ethan shot her a quick look, as if to check her sincerity. Then he said, “Me, too.”

Jackson stood at their side, wearing a golf shirt and plaid Bermuda shorts, looking quite like a tourist. Maybe that was the ruse. Mira, on the other hand, wore jeans and a sweater and looked more like a local, still cold in the early morning. The only part of her that seemed foreign was her face: pale, and anxious. When she smiled, the anxiety was still there, marking her deeply.

“You guys ready for breakfast?” she said.

* * *

Annica brought an extra plate into the guest house, setting it down on the wicker nightstand. Cole rolled over and looked at it, and then at her, his eyelids still fluttering to fully open. His hair was a mess. So was his face, all mashed in with sleep. She thought it looked hot.

The man didn’t have a bad side.

“Thanks,” he said, not looking at the plate. He looked hungry for something else, licking his lips now.

“I thought you’d be hungry,” Annica said.

“I am.”

“I thought you’d need to refuel after last night.”

“Come here,” he said, sitting up on his side, smiling. “Come on.”

Today was such a big day . . .

“Come here . . .”

Annica took a few more steps to the end of the bed and said, “You need to eat.”

“I will.” He smiled again, taking Annica’s hand and pulling her onto the bed.