Having Aiden made sense. Aiden Ward was the vice president of Dermont Real Estate Development and, at the time, was overseeing the construction of Dermont Plaza, three office buildings off Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City. What I didn’t understand was why Mr. Dermont wanted me to accompany them when he usually limited himself to informing me after his meetings only of those details he wanted me to supervise or investigate.

“If you’re going to lead this project, it’s logical that you be present from the first meeting.”

“Lead?”

My head had started spinning, I swear.

“If you’re interested in real estate development, particularly for commercial projects, you couldn’t have a better mentor than Aiden,” he replied. “Of course, your working hours will be extended since I will continue to need you as an assistant. You can still delegate tasks as long as you don’t overdo it. Also, I think Rachel would like to work more hours,” he added, referring to his weekend assistant, Rachel Peters. “Based on the business plan that Trent submitted for the Bahamas proposal, write your own draft with a timetable. Check the time on your watch. You won’t have it ready before our meal, for sure. But you can raise some discussion topics for us.” He looked me in the eye, and I caught a gleam of humor in his. “Or am I assuming too much? I thought real estate was one of your personal interests, but if you don’t want to move into a management position…”

“No!” I exclaimed, almost without thinking, as I stood up. “No… I mean, yes. Yes, Mr. Dermont, I want to work on this project.”

In fact, what I wanted was not to hyperventilate, although I wasn’t sure I was going to achieve that.

“Good,” he said. We had reached my desk, located before the door of his office. “Call Nigel. Organize the food. We’ll see where this takes us.”

‘This’ had led me in a more or less straight line to this moment. I was officially the project manager for the Cortez resort, owned by Dermont Vacation. At least, I was today.

Hopefully, I’d still be there tomorrow. Because that’s what it was all about, right? Whether the news I got two hours ago would wreck the Santa Cortez project or whether I could save it along with my fledgling career in real estate.

It was too bad I needed Marcus Steele to pull it off.

My stomach flipped over, and I told myself not to worry. Marcus would help me. He had to; everything I longed for depended on him.

Given my frayed nerves, I especially appreciated the soft landing. I put the magazine in my leather bag, unbuckled my seatbelt, and waited for Clark to open the door. As soon as he did, I breathed in the fresh fragrance of the ocean and lifted my head to feel the breeze on my face. I immediately felt better, as if my worries and dizziness couldn’t compete with the beauty of this place.

And there was no doubt that it was beautiful. Beautiful and virgin, with meadows and trees, dunes, and beaches strewn with shells.

Whatever the military had done to this island had not harmed the natural habitat. In fact, the only signs of civilization were right where we had landed. There was a heliport with room for two helicopters, a pier, a metal shed used as a store, and another shed with two chemical toilets. There was also a forklift, a generator, and several other machines that had been brought in to start clearing the land. Not to mention the two surveillance cameras they had installed to please both the Dermont International Security department and the insurance company.

There was a second helicopter and, behind it, a path that left this rickety work area and would take me into the still-virgin interior of the island. And I supposed Nick, his wife, Nikki, and Wyatt Royce, the photographer Nick had hired to shoot his wife on the beach and do a story on the island before we developed it, were already there.

While Clark stayed with the helicopter, I followed the path. Almost immediately, I regretted not changing out of my skirt and heels for something more comfortable before heading out on this excursion. The terrain was rocky and uneven, and I was going to end up with scuffed and damaged shoes. I had wanted to put on jeans and hiking boots, but I had been in a hurry. Anyway, if I managed to get this project back on track, I would consider my favorite blue stilettos a small sacrifice.

The terrain rose in a gentle slope, and when I reached the top of a low hill, I found myself looking at a small sandy cove sheltered by some rocks. The waves hit the stones, and the water droplets that were thrown sparkled like diamonds. On the sand, I saw Nick wrap his arms around his wife’s waist and her head on his shoulder as they both gazed out at the vast blue sea.

Nikki and I had become good friends, so this wasn’t the first time I had seen them together. Still, this moment seemed so sweet and intimate that I felt like I should turn around and leave them alone. But I didn’t have time to waste, so I cleared my throat and moved on.

Of course, I knew they wouldn’t hear me. The sound of the sea crashing against the shore was enough to drown out the drone of the helicopter that had brought me here; without a doubt, it would be able to drown out my footsteps.

As if to agree with me, Nick kissed Nikki on the temple. My heart raced. I thought of the magazine in my bag and the man on the cover. He had kissed me the same way, and remembering the soft caress of his lips on my skin, my eyes stung. I told myself it was the wind and the salt spray, but of course, it wasn’t true.

It was sorrow and nostalgia. And yes, it was fear.

The fear of opening the door to something I wanted with all my might and yet knew I couldn’t control.

The fear of having screwed up all those years ago.

And the bitter knowledge that if I wasn’t very careful, the wall I had built around myself to protect myself would come crashing down, and my horrible secrets would be out in the open.

“Gabriela?”

I gave a small start, startled, and realized I had been standing there for a while, staring vacantly and heading elsewhere.

“Mr. Dermont. Excuse me, I…”

“Are you okay?” Nikki asked as she approached with a worried face. “You seem a bit nervous.”

She stood next to me and took my arm.