Shipped(53)

I open my mouth, but what words could possibly be sufficient in this scenario? I lift my gaze to his, letting him see my utter sincerity. “I’m so sorry.”

Inhaling deeply, he starts walking again. “Actually, I was one of the lucky ones. She was diagnosed the summer before my senior year of college, and I had another seven years with her. Most patients don’t even last five.”

That explains the college transfer his senior year—he was coming home to take care of his mom. On an impulse, I reach for Graeme’s hand. His palm is hot and heavy in mine and he stops walking.

I look up into his steely blue eyes. Behind the acceptance, grief hangs over him like a ghostly shadow. I squeeze his hand, putting every ounce of sympathy I can muster into the gesture. “The fact that you’re standing here right now, working, thriving… you’re the strongest person I know.”

His eyes widen and his jaw goes slack, but he squeezes my hand once in silent thanks before letting go. Running a palm roughly over the back of his neck, he resumes his slow, meandering gait.

“I wrote to my cousin Ryan. He lives in Seattle. I haven’t talked to him in a while, so he’ll be surprised,” Graeme says, patting his pants pocket where I can see the faint outline of a postcard. Ryan must be the one from Instagram. “I don’t know why I brought up my mom. I don’t usually like talking about her.”

“Too painful?”

He shakes his head slowly. “I can’t stand the pity. It’s why I quit social media.”

“People offer sympathy because they care,” I say quietly.

The corner of his lips twitches again. “Always looking on the bright side. You’re a good person, Henley.”

I pluck the strap of the tote across my chest and squint at the setting sun’s reflection on the water. “I’m really not.”

“Trust me, you are. You’re always the first to jump to a coworker’s defense whenever James goes on the attack. You organized that meal train for Barbara when she was out for chemo last year. You ask people about themselves and offer a kind word if they seem down. You’re thoughtful. I’ve seen it over countless video conferences and here in the Galápagos too. Like how much you watch out for Walsh.”

Heat flushes my cheeks. I can’t believe he noticed all that. “I forgot my grandma’s birthday this year,” I mumble.

He lets out a hearty laugh. “You win. Rotten to the core.”

The sound of his laughter dances through my body until it coils in my lungs.

We’re close. But not close enough. Every cell in my body urges me to eliminate the distance between us. No, I can’t. But I want to.

My breathing turns jagged. When I peer up at him, our gazes collide. His smile fades and his eyes grow hooded. Golden light dances across his stubbled jaw. I find myself leaning closer, closer…

Sucking in a breath, I stumble back. “We shouldn’t do this.”

“Why not?” He steps back, brow furrowed. “There aren’t any rules in the employee handbook preventing consensual romantic relationships at work. I checked.”

“There doesn’t need to be. I already know what will happen. We do this, then Gustavo finds out. Then he tells James. And James loses the last dregs of respect he has for me and my career at Seaquest will be over.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.”

Confusion flickers behind his eyes and he frowns.

My stomach plummets. He’ll never understand if I don’t tell him the truth.

“It’s—it’s why I left my last job.”

Shock registers across his face for a handful of heartbeats. “What happened?”

“A guy named Sean happened. It was four years ago. I was working for an insurance company, Prima Health. Sean started several months after me, and we were assigned to work on the same big project: the digital rollout of a new branding concept. There were sparks from day one, but we didn’t act on it. Not right away. But then there were a lot of long nights, extra time spent together… one thing led to another…”

My thighs tense as I stare out at the blue-gray ocean. “For a few weeks, I thought he was it. He was funny and charming and seemed so interested in me and supportive of my ambition. Looking back, he was mostly interested in my ideas for our joint project. We spent almost every night together. I started thinking of him as my boyfriend, but it was all a sham.

“When it came time to present the project to our boss, he completely steamrolled me. He talked 90 percent of the time and made it sound like our presentation was his alone, and that I only helped even though I actually did the bulk of the work. I tried to speak up, to assert myself, but our boss just seemed annoyed by that. As if I was wasting his time by splitting hairs.”

Sucking in a long breath through his nose, Graeme briefly closes his eyes. “Everything makes so much sense now. Why you thought the worst of me when it looked like I was taking credit for your work on the video. I wish you would have said something sooner, but I understand now why you didn’t.”

My mouth goes dry, and I nod once. “That’s not the worst part though. When I confronted Sean later about how he behaved, he called me dramatic and tried to convince me that what he did was no big deal. Like he was presenting for both of us and I should be grateful.”