"She's insufferable, actually. But occasionally right." He drummed his fingers on the table, clearly wrestling with himself. "If I agreed to this—and I'm not saying I am—there would be conditions."
"Shocker." Lily's heart leaped, but she kept her expression neutral. "I'm listening."
"You can film the research. The specimens, the reef, the data collection. But not me personally. I'm not becoming some kind of... internet personality."
"No personal shots. Got it."
"And you run the footage by me. I won't have my work misrepresented."
"Fair."
"And—" He hesitated. "You actually try to understand what we're documenting. Not just pretty footage of fish. The real substance of why this matters."
Something in his tone made Lily's chest tighten. This wasn't just about his research, she realized. It was about whether he could trust her with something important to him.
"I promise," she said, and meant it.
Alex studied her for another long moment, then nodded once. "Okay. We can try it."
"Yeah?"
"Don't make me regret this."
Lily grinned, already mentally cataloging her equipment. “You're about to get the best publicity the South Pacific Environmental Conservation Agency has ever seen. My manager, Jessica, is going to have an aneurysm when she finally sees what I've been working on—but the good kind. The 'why didn't you tell me you were sitting on gold' kind."
“Is she the one who booked you on the wrong island?"
"That's her assistant, technically, but yeah. Jess handles the business side—contracts, sponsors, all the stuff that makes my brain hurt." Lily waved a hand. “I’m sure she's been blowing up my nonexistent signal for two weeks, probably convinced I've been kidnapped or joined a cult."
"Is there a difference?"
"Depends on the cult. Some have great snacks."
Alex snorted—an actual, genuine snort of amusement—and Lily filed it away as a victory.
A crackling sound from the corner of the cabin made them both turn. The emergency radio—a battered device Lily had barely noticed before—sputtered to life with a burst of static.
Alex crossed the room and adjusted the dial. Through the interference, a tinny voice emerged: "...tropicalsystem developing northwest... advisories for the southern archipelago... ferry services monitoring conditions..."
The static swallowed the rest.
"What does that mean?" Lily asked.
Alex's jaw tightened. "It means there's weather coming. Could be nothing—these systems form and dissipate all the time. But if it intensifies..." He trailed off, staring at the radio like it had personally betrayed him.
"The boat?”
"Might come early to beat the weather. Or get delayed until it passes." He ran a hand through his still-damp hair. "Either way, the timeline just got uncertain."
Uncertain.The word landed heavier than it should have. Two weeks had already felt too short. Now even that wasn't guaranteed.
"Well," Lily said, forcing brightness into her voice, "guess that means we'd better make the most of whatever time we've got. No more wasting daylight."
Alex met her eyes, and something passed between them—an acknowledgment of the clock now ticking louder.
"Get your camera," he said. "We've got work to do."
Two hours later, Lily found herself waist-deep in crystal-clear water, her waterproof camera trained on Alex as he examined a section of coral reef.
