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me, Wills,” he
    warned, placing his palm flat on the cold
    glass, and making no effort to
    acknowledge what I’d said. Ugh, I was
    glad I hadn’t apologized to him.
    I squeezed my eyes closed and
    counted to three. “I don’t like flying over
    water,” I said, and Cooper released a low
    groan and a curse.
    “Please tell me you’re not afraid of
    water.”
    If we were on the ground, and if there
    weren’t still a razor sharp tension cutting
    through us, I might have said yes. It would
    have been worth getting a rise out of him.
    Instead, I shook my head to each side and
    whispered, “No . . . just being forty
    thousand feet over it.”
    It was the truth. Somewhat. Flying
    over water had been number three on my
    list of biggest fears when my rehab
    counselor had told me to write them out a
    few months ago. Silence had topped that
    list, but it was really second—I’d been
    too afraid to put down number one. Today,
    I’d faced three of the things that always
    seemed to shake me apart into a million
    pieces, and I’d done so un-medicated.
    I could do this.
    Maybe . . . maybe I wasn’t as weak as
    I believed.
    “Get some rest,” Cooper said, his
    voice low, his warm breath fanning my
    ear, the side of my face. Instinctively, I
    shivered, my neck cricking to the side
    where I felt him. I hadn’t realized he’d
    moved away from the window.
    “Why?” I said.
    “Because you’ll need it when we hit
    the beach tomorrow.” This time when his
    lips came close to my skin, I didn’t show
    a reaction, though I felt it—a deep burn
    that started in the center of my stomach,
    unfurling until it completely took me over.
    “I’ve worked on a lot less sleep,” I
    replied, opening my eyes.
    “Not with me, Wills. I’m not going to
    let you fail.”
    I snorted. “You get paid regardless of
    how stupid I look doing this.”
    “Who said it has anything to do with
    money?” he asked. Then, he shifted in his
    seat—moved away from me—and was
    quiet again.

    ***
The plane touched down in Hawaii
    three hours later, at 7:15 p.m. As we
    walked to the baggage claim together,
    with Miller a few steps away, I said
    jokingly to Cooper, “What? No lei?”
    He gave me a look that radiated
    cockiness. “You’ve got no clue how much
    I wish there were, Wills.”
    I’d walked my ass right into that one.
    Feeling my face light up in mortification, I
    glanced down at the slick, polished floor
    to gather my bearings, as he added,
    “You’ve got to pay for leis.” I looked up
    in time to see him pointing at a man
    holding an armful of flowers and a SALE
    sign.
    “So much for the welcome in the
    movies, huh?”
    “If you want, I’ll give you a lay.”
    “I’m sure you will,” I muttered,
    slowing my stride so that he could walk
    ahead of me. I fell in beside Miller. He
    was all business—stony expression and
    hulking muscles—and glancing his dark
    eyes around cautiously, though it didn’t
    seem like anyone was paying us any
    attention.
    We collected our bags without a
    single camera or phone coming out, much
    to my relief. Miller went off to a rental car
    kiosk to pick up the keys for our car, so I
    followed Cooper out a set of sliding
    doors, toward the rental car garage. A
    blast of warm, muggy air hit my face,
    moistening my skin, and I coughed. Next to
    me, Cooper pulled out his phone, punching
    away at the smooth digital keyboard. He
    still hadn’t mentioned what had happened
    back in Los Angeles but it was bound to
    come up at some point during the next
    several weeks when he bitched about
    disliking the film industry. What would I
    even say?
    My stomach rolled. I needed to clear
    the air between us and I needed to do it
    right now.
    “Cooper,” I started, and he lifted his
    chin a little. “Look, I—”
    “I don’t think it’s going to be what
    you’re used to,” Miller said loudly from
    behind us. I turned, shoving away my
    frustration at having been interrupted, as
    my bodyguard wiggled a set of car