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“Wait. Is this why you’ve been acting so strange? Did something happen?”

I nodded, and the concern that immediately replaced her excitement made my chest ache.

So, I told her. All of it.

I started with meeting Greyson on the shuttle from the airport and pretending he was my boyfriend to get rid of Lance. I told her about discovering who he was, about the misunderstanding with Audrey, and about how Greyson initially tried to keep his distance because of our age difference.

Then I told her about the bungalow, the nights we spent together, and how he called me Starlight. I didn’t give her every intimate detail, of course. There were some things a sister didn’t need to know.

But I told her enough so she’d understand how much he meant to me.

And when I got to the conversation I overheard between Greyson and Christine, my voice started to shake. Angela listened to all of it without interrupting, which was unusual enough to tell me how seriously she was taking this.

When I finished, she sat quietly for a moment.

Then she said, “I can’t believe you kept all of this from me. Such a big thing was happening to you for days, and I didn’t even know about it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again. I didn’t really think about how much it would hurt her feelings to be kept in the dark.

“Then why?”

I hesitated, twisting my fingers together in my lap. “Because I was worried about how you’d react.”

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

I swallowed. “Jess saw me with him, and she… she mentioned what happened with your professor in college. We both thought you might not necessarily approve of my relationship with an older man.”

Angela went completely still. “Oh.”

“She just reminded me that you might have some strong feelings about an older man dating a younger woman. And I didn’t want you to worry about me. I didn’t know if things were even going to go anywhere with him after we left the island, so it seemed like it wasn’t something I needed to mention unless we really became an item.”

Angela looked away, but I saw the flash of pain in her eyes. For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she let out a slow breath. “I guess I can understand that.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I mean, I’m not going to lie. My first instinct when I hear about a forty-two-year-old man hooking up with a twenty-nine-year-old woman is to wonder what the hell he’s doing.”

I winced.

“But,” she continued, “I know that’s not necessarily fair. You’re not some naive college student. You’re a grown woman with a career and a brain in your head and the ability to make good decisions for yourself.”

Something in my chest loosened.

“Thank you.”

She reached for my hand. “No more secret love affairs.”

I chuckled. “And for the record. Greyson isn’t some creepy older guy who goes around chasing younger women.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“No. He’s a good man.”

“Even after what he said about you?”

I looked down at our joined hands.