Free A Second Chance With Emily by Alyssa Lindsey Page A

Everyone invited her to stay with them but she couldn’t stand for one more person to look at her with pity. She did not truly understand humiliation until last night.

    The long flight was emotionally and physically exhausting, and it took two hours to move through customs in Costa Rica. She was so thankful to see her driver outside, waiting with a sign. She closed her eyes on the journey to the small and exclusive resort on the west side of Costa Rica. She already knew her room was on the second floor with a private balcony that overlooked the bay, but she no longer cared. She barely noticed the hotel’s owner as he personally greeted her. Sylvester ? Was that his name? The only thing she clearly noticed was his confusion as he looked around. “Your husband is outside still?” Once in her room, she stripped off her wrinkled travel clothes and climbed into the bed, her head spinning from being awake for almost twenty four hours now.

    It’s not every day you find a beautiful woman fast asleep in your bed. Adam stood frozen halfway across the room, his keys in his hand, ready to throw on the desk. Could Sylvester Cruz have something to do with it? His best friend had a wild sense of humor.  
    He pulled his phone from his pocket to call Sylvester when the woman rolled onto her side and moaned. The sound was soft, feminine and sent a shiver through him. But he quickly became worried when she reached up to her head. She stiffened, opened her eyes and screamed.  
    She slid right off the bed and hid on the other side.  
    Adam still didn’t move. He knew her. Emily! Emily Greer from high school. His heart jumped but fell as quickly. She was the girl he’d fallen for as a teenager and the one he left behind when he went off to make his fortune.  
    “Emily?” he asked quietly. Maybe she had somehow tracked him down. “Is that really you?”
    Her head came up just enough to show her eyes. “Who are… Adam?”
    He grinned. “Yes.”
    “Well, get out of my room!”
    Whoa. She was still angry after a decade. “Emily, sweetheart, this is my room.”
    Now her entire face came up. “No, it isn’t. I reserved this room and checked in with the owner himself.” Her sweet face, framed by that dark chestnut hair, smirked in triumph. True to memory, her lips were plump, pouty and sensuous.  
    “Tell you what,” he said, sighing with a strange, deep down frustration, “I’ll go talk to Sylvester and see what on earth is going on.”  
    He left, locking the door behind him, and headed downstairs with her face in his mind. She’d grown even more beautiful, if possible. And of course she still had no idea how sweet and tempting she looked.  

Chapter 3
    Emily stood and stared at the door. She was shaking and feeling faint again. That made her growl and reach for her suitcase. After throwing it on the bed, she yanked the zippers until she got it open. She pulled clean clothes on as quickly as possible, wondering if he would dare to waltz back in here.  
    She should leave. Just pack up and go home, and take her parents’ offer to stay with them a while. But the long flight…she still felt a bit sick from the turbulence.  
    She was so tired of men pushing her around and taking advantage of her feelings. Lloyd was probably off somewhere fun, laughing at her and living it up with her former friend. How could she be so stupid? This is definitely the worst Christmas ever. She sighed and it somehow turned into a sob.  
    No. She would stay. She was entitled to a little fun of her own, wasn’t she? It was light outside so she brushed her teeth and hair and headed out in the shorts and tank top she’d thrown on. The beach was right below, with bright sunshine and white sand.  

    Adam found Sylvester with a beer in his hand and a wicked grin on his face.
    “You did this!” Adam pointed. “But why?”
    “Well,” Sylvester wiggled his shoulders and hips in his sly aren’t-I-grand dance. “The idea came to me when I