Free Barefoot at Sunset (Barefoot Bay Timeless Book 1) by Roxanne St. Claire Page B

Julia? A few questions about Emma’s engagement? She felt completely confident in the “game” when Mark was next to her, but didn’t want to blow it with a mistaken fact, even though Lacey was younger than Mark and not in his class. She still might have some kind of personal knowledge that could throw Emma’s game.
    “What is it?” Emma asked.
    Lacey’s golden eyes searched Emma’s face, all the sparkly warmth fading.
    “Can you explain why you were trying to check into the resort today for a reservation under another name that had been canceled?”
    Emma stared at her, that heat in her chest intensifying, knees weakening, and palms suddenly damp.
    “And when the clerk at the front desk told you the reservation was canceled, you started crying?”
    Emma blinked, speechless.
    “And that one of our security personnel reported you rolling your two suitcases to the villa, but when they went back to check, you were inside with Mark?”
    She felt like a stowaway discovered by the captain, dragged out of a storage closet, and thrown onto the deck for all to see.
    “You see,” Lacey continued, her voice very soft, private, but dead serious. “We have security cameras at the front desk, and I always review them at the end of the day so I know who our guests are.”
    “That is…smart.” And something she and Mark had never even thought of.
    Lacey lifted her brow, waiting. No accusation, but no sly grin of shared conspiracy, either. Could Emma trust her? Or would their little secret be blown, making things even worse for Mark?
    Considering she’d already lied openly to Lacey once, telling her the truth now would make them both look bad.
    “I was so confused,” Emma said quickly. “You know Mark and I have been traveling so much, all over the world as he does, and we flew in on separate flights because he was in…” She gathered a breath. “Somewhere I can’t even remember, but he told me the villa was Blue Casbah, and I saw that on the reservation list over the clerk’s shoulder, and I read the name… Chambers, was it? Anyway, I thought maybe Mark had registered under an alias, because he does that sometimes.”
    Oh Lord, only a copywriter could lie like that on demand.
    “That makes sense, sort of,” Lacey said. “But you were so upset.”
    “Oh, the wedding planning is killing me,” Emma said. “I’m so tense. It’s so close. We haven’t known each other that long, and you have no idea how much I’ve looked forward to this vacation. This resort! It’s fabulous.”
    “Thank you. We’re proud of it.”
    “You should be! Ever since Mark brought the brochure home, well, I’ve practically memorized it! ‘Sweeping views of soft sandy beaches and sunsets that will melt your heart and your stress.’”
    Lacey finally smiled. “You think we went overboard with that?”
    “Not one word. It’s genius.”
    “Oh my God, Lacey, you snagged her!” A woman came out from the hall, presumably leaving the bathroom, her eyes bright with just a touch too much wine. “You know that every woman here is dying to talk to the future Mrs. Solomon.”
    “Well, here I am,” Emma said quickly, insanely grateful for the diversion. “Emma DeWitt. What’s your name?”
    “Karen Stevenson, class of ’82. Congrats on getting the ungettable.”
    Emma felt her smile freeze and her unstoppable chatter suddenly dry up.
    “You know,” Karen said, lowering her voice and getting closer. “Mark spoke at Julia’s memorial service here on Mimosa Key and, honestly, the women were circling like hawks, but I knew he wouldn’t be one of those men who gets remarried in a year. Or ever. You know why?”
    “Karen,” Lacey said, putting her arm around the other woman’s shoulder. “I don’t think Emma needs to hear the details—”
    “Oh, she needs to hear,” Karen insisted with that slightly wrong emphasis fueled by an extra glass of wine, or three. “How else will she know what she’s up against?”
    “What am I