Katarina accidentally walks in on Garrett kissing Ellis Dean on the beach after the event. Ellis immediately leaves so Katarina and Garrett can talk, and Katarina quickly makes clear that she will not expose him. Garrett admits that he wishes Katarina were his type, and Katarina realizes that his lack of romantic interest explains years of confusion and jealousy. She offers to let people keep assuming they are together, effectively volunteering to be his cover.

With the immediate crisis eased, Garrett opens a bottle of stolen champagne and the two sit together on the rocks outside the hotel. Instead of going back to the party, they talk more honestly than they ever have before. Garrett sympathizes with Heath, while Katarina admits how uncomfortable she feels around wealthy skating patrons and how deeply she still feels marked by her small-town Midwestern background.

The conversation shifts from Katarina's insecurities to Garrett's family. Garrett reveals that Sheila did not come from glamour or privilege at all: she grew up in Sugar Land, Texas, above her family's office supply store, and her original name was Lin Li-Mei. He believes Bella probably does not know. Katarina understands that Sheila has hidden an ordinary past to create the legend of "Sheila Lin," and instead of feeling disillusioned, Katarina takes the revelation as proof that total self-reinvention is possible.

By the end of the night, the champagne has left both Katarina and Garrett unsteady, and Garrett's easy care makes Katarina feel closer to him than ever. She realizes that, if she had not already seen him with Ellis, she might have considered kissing him at midnight. They decide to head back toward the hotel for food, walking arm in arm, but their private moment is abruptly interrupted when Heath appears ahead of them and blocks their path.