Free His Paradise Wife by Tina Martin Page B

along as if she wasn’t aware who the owner
was.
    “ Dante Champion. He’s pretty
popular around these parks.”
    Yeah, I
bet , Emily thought.
    “ His resort has helped a lot
of people, you know. I sent my mom there after my dad
died.”
    “ Really?”
    “ Yep. She just needed the
therapy aspect of it. She stayed for two weeks, thanks partially to
a grant she received from Mr. Champion’s GHC Foundation, and now,
she’s doing so much better.”
    Emily took another sip of her drink. “That’s
good.”
    “ Yeah. It’s amazing how he
used a tragedy in his own life to focus on helping
others.”
    Hiding a frown, Emily said, “Tragedy in his
own life...”
    “ Yes. Girl, when I heard the
story about what had happened to Mr. Champion, tears came to my
eyes because, he’s such an astute businessman. He carries himself
very well. Very professional. Then I found out his wife died of
cancer. She’d fought it for two years and he traveled the country,
seeking different opinions, looking for a doctor who could save
her, but there was nothing no one could do.”
    “ Oh my gosh. That’s
terrible,” Emily said, feeling sick to her stomach. She’d had Dante
all wrong. He had known the pain of losing someone. He’d lost his wife. When he
chatted with her online, as Armand, he told her that his wife had
passed. He didn’t say how she died, because he didn’t like talking
about it, but he did tell her and he was being truthful.
    Emily couldn’t believe she’d been so rude to
him. She’d jumped to conclusions about Dante, assuming that he made
up the story about his deceased wife in order to get close to her
online but he had not made it up. He even used his tragedy to help
others.
    Emily turned up her drink to her mouth and
took huge gulps.
    “ You want another?” the
bartender asked, smiling.
    “ No. I have to go.” She took
out a twenty-dollar bill, placed it on the bar and said, “Thank
you,” then walked away.
    Taking her phone from her purse, she called
Melanie, listening to several rings before she heard, “Hey, Mrs.
Champion!”
    Emily shook her head. “Hey, Mel,” she
responded in a melancholy mood.
    “ Is everything
okay?”
    “ No, not really.”
    “ What’s going
on?”
    “ Well, I think I may have
put my foot in my mouth.”
    “ Uh oh. What have you done,
Em?”
    “ Okay, so Dante and I were
arguing earlier because I didn’t join him for breakfast this
morning or the marriage workshop. He told me that we could help
each other, but I snapped...told him he didn’t know what I was
going through after losing Melvin, but turns out, he knows exactly
what I’m going through. He was married before...lost his wife to
cancer.”
    “ Oh my gosh. I didn’t know
that.”
    “ Exactly. And this entire
time, I’m thinking he’s just an arrogant pig, looking for the next
woman to sleep with when, the reality is, he’s the complete
opposite. I truly believe that he feels we can help each other and
all this time I’ve been so mean to him.”
    “ Well, the least you can do
is apologize.”
    “ Yeah. I know.”
    “ And then, cut the man some
slack, Emily. Who knows? You just might learn to like
him.”
    Emily sighed heavily. “Yeah, you’re right.
I’m going to go look for him.”
    “ All right girl.
Bye.”
    “ Bye.”
    Emily began her walk back to the resort,
pondering how she would approach Dante for an apology. But what if
he wasn’t receptive? What if he’d had enough of her? What if he’d
given up and left the resort altogether?
    When she walked in the suite, it was quiet
and dark. Her first thought was that Dante had fallen asleep but he
wasn’t on the couch. She continued on to the bedroom and he wasn’t
there either. Then she peeped out onto the balcony. He wasn’t
there.
    Back into the living room, she noticed his
bags were still there. Maybe he’d gone to get a drink as she’d
done. Deciding to just wait until he returned instead of going to
look for him, she walked back into