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bittersweet in Mitch’s mind as his intentions formed, hardening like granite. It’s going to be your last.

Chapter Four
    Hayley awoke at dawn with a heavy heart. Beside her lay a man who had spent the better part of the preceding eight hours satisfying her every sexual need, but as the sky beyond their suite’s window turned a pinkish gray, all she felt was empty. Tequila had made her decisions for her last night. Now that it had well and truly worn off, Hayley was less than proud of herself.
    She’d assuaged her longing for one man by using the body of another. What kind of person did that? The answer was simple—a desperate one. All Hayley had wanted was to forget about Mitch, to pretend every feeling she’d ever had for him hadn’t returned in a rush the second she’d laid eyes on him in Bar Evoke. She’d thought Ty could make that happen. Yet what little sleep she’d had last night had been plagued by dreams of Mitch.
    Hayley slipped out of bed, unsurprised when Ty didn’t stir. He worked hard, played harder and dropped like the proverbial log when sleep called. Besides, there was no reason Ty’s slumber should be disturbed by guilt. She was the one who’d behaved dreadfully.
    After taking a quick shower, Hayley dragged on the first sarong and tank top she found, and silently slipped away from the source of her guilt. The salt-scented air outside balmed her soul as she breathed it in. She strolled lazily through the grounds, letting the tranquility of her surroundings sooth some of her disquiet. Bilby Island was a beautiful place. Perhaps she ought to consider Kylie’s offer and take a job here, for a few months at least. Until she figured out what she really wanted to do.
    Back when she’d worked at Mitch’s intern, she’d thought she’d had her future all mapped out. She’d thrived on the demands of corporate life, and she’d longed to make a name for herself, be a success. The transient life she’d lived over the past two years, a life devoid of possessions and schedules and goals, had shown her the only thing that truly mattered was the moment, the here and now. The future didn’t exist until it became the present, and the past couldn’t hurt you if you didn’t let it.
    Were you true to that edict last night when you let the past consume you?
    Hayley released a weighty sigh. Thinking back on all she’d said to Mitch as they’d danced, she was forced to face how bitter she’d sounded. And recalling how she’d drunk too much and made a spectacle out of her relationship with Ty purely for Mitch’s benefit made her face heat with shame. Perhaps Mitch had been right to reject her two years ago. Maybe she was simply too immature to handle a man like him.
    As she turned onto the path that would take her down to the beach, a flash of movement to her left arrested her attention. Her steps faltered as, through the plate glass windows encasing the resort’s gymnasium, she saw a man running on a treadmill. Although those windows would provide a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean, the man’s head was bent, his gaze intent on the machine’s digital display.
    From this distance she couldn’t have signed a sworn statement that it was him, but Hayley knew immediately the runner was Mitch. Who else would sprint on a treadmill indoors when one of the most gorgeous shorelines in the world lay only meters away? So maybe she was impetuous and emotional and a tad immature. Mitch Wood didn’t have it all together, either. He never had known how to let go, to forget his responsibilities and have fun. In his own self-contained, uber-successful way, Mitch was just as messed up as Hayley was.
    “Oh, Mitch.” Hayley sighed as everything inside her turned soft. The eldest of six, Mitch had been assigned by birth order the role of leader, and with that came an awesome sense of responsibility. It was that sense of responsibility that had made him turn her away two years ago. She’d been young, an employee and