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“What was so great about him back then?” I ask, changing course.

She pauses to bob in the water. “One thing was his laugh. You know? His good nature pulled everyone into his orbit. He was so confident at nineteen, so sure of himself and his talent, and I hadn’t met anyone like that yet.”

A faraway look brightens her eyes, like happy memories are playing in her head.

My stomach turns over, and I feel sick.

“Most people don’t fly around the world to find an old flame,” I say.

She glances at me, the hope still alight in her eyes, and I die a little knowing it’s for him. There’s a wrongness about it.

If she only knew. If there were some way to make her see.

She asks, “Do you ever want to go back in time to understand why you made certain decisions? Maybe you’d see where you went wrong or even where you went right? I’m doing it to understand something about myself.” She chuckles softly, but when she sees my look of confusion, she says, “I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. You won’t get it.”

Before I can ask for more detail, she plunges beneath the water’s surface and swims away. She doesn’t emerge until she reaches the shoreline.

The problem is that I do get it.

I understand what it feels like to want to reevaluate past decisions and relationships. If I could, my entire life would be different. The problem is, I’m not willing to face those demons, not like Sophia.

She’s braver than me.

For her, I play the part of a devoted Adam-hunting sidekick all afternoon.

We walk the beach, the pier, and the town of Hanalei, searching for signs of the one who got away. Sophia asks locals if they know about the music video shoot, but of course no one does. It was something I made up without much thought. It’s a choice I regret, because as the afternoon winds down and it becomes clear she isn’t going to find him today, she shuts down.

“Did you find him?” Casey asks when we return home.

“It’s not going to be as easy as I thought.” Sophia drops her tote and leans on the dining table, appearing crestfallen.

And my God, something aches in me too, like I’m personally responsible for her happiness. This makes my next statement certifiably insane.

“Good news. Tina found Adam’s address. She’s sending it to you.” I pocket my phone. I’ve texted Tina and asked her to send it to Sophia ASAP, only because I don’t think Adam has plans to come home soon.

“Really? Adam’s home address?” That hopeful glimmer in Sophia’s expression is back. Seeing it feels like I’ve won a prize, even though I had to give more than I wanted.

“The one-and-only amazing and awesome Adam,” I say, though Sophia doesn’t notice my facetious tone. She’s too high on excitement.

With a returned spring in her step, Sophia heads up the stairs to her room. Our room.

When the door shuts and the shower turns on, I swivel to find Matt staring at me from the couch.

“All things considered, Boss, you’re taking Sophia looking for her future husband well.” He settles his headphones on his shoulders.

“Matt, no. Don’t do this.” Casey shoots Matt the what the fuck are you doing eyes.

“Casey?” I turn to her for an explanation, but she scurries away.

Whatever this is, she’s not okay with it.

“Matt?” I cross my arms and peer down at him.

“Er, uh, huh?” He scratches his head, playing dumb. “What?”

“What the hell are you talking about? What future husband?” I move closer.

Matt squirms on his cushions. He tries to stand up to escape, but I push his chest, and he falls back into his chair with a grunt. Finally understanding he’s not getting out of this, he presses a hand to his lips, seemingly considering his words.