AUTHORS POV

Tessa had barely finished telling George the final chapter of her painful entanglement with Pedro when her phone began to vibrate across the table.

The screen lit up with Camila’s name and a photo of the two of them laughing in a sunlit park—taken months ago but feeling like a lifetime away now.

She sighed and picked up. “Hey, Cam.”

“Tessa! Where the hell are you?” Camila’s voice was urgent but playful. “Jamie and I have been knocking on your door like lunatics. We thought you’d died in your sleep or got kidnapped by a coconut thief.”

Tessa smiled despite herself. “Relax. I’m fine. I just stepped out...