At a cheap Mexican restaurant, Poppy and Alex enjoy the air-conditioning as much as the food after another miserable stretch in the overheated Palm Springs rental. Their joking about the broken thermostat gives way to more serious conversation when Poppy asks about Alex’s father, and Alex casually mentions bigger changes from the last two years that Poppy never heard about.

Alex reveals that he bought and has been repairing his late grandmother Betty’s house after Betty died and left it to Alex’s father. The news hits Poppy hard because she loved Betty and because every detail she missed during their estrangement reminds her how much of Alex’s life she lost. When Poppy says she wishes Alex had told her, Alex admits he was not sure Poppy wanted to hear from him, and Poppy finally tells him that she did.

The moment opens an emotional space between them, but it closes before either of them can say more when the check arrives. Poppy lies that her company is reimbursing the trip rather than charging it directly, and on the quiet drive back she thinks about how the unresolved pain from Croatia still shapes every interaction. She wants to undo whatever happened between them, but neither of them says it aloud.

Back at the apartment, they discover the air-conditioning situation has gotten even worse, so Poppy cuts through the balcony’s plastic sheeting to let in outside air despite Nikolai’s rules. She tries to reset the trip by proposing plans for the next day and privately resolves to become her old, easygoing self again so Alex will relax and their friendship can recover before the wedding festivities begin.

When Poppy comes out of the bathroom, Alex has taken the foldout chair bed and insists she have the real bed because she paid. Their playful argument turns physical when Poppy tries to shove him off and ends up sprawled partly on top of him. For a few charged moments, both of them linger in the intimacy, but Poppy abruptly pulls away, asks again whether he is sure about the chair, and retreats to bed, leaving the attraction unresolved.