Page 11 of Irresistible Second Chance

“Thanks for understanding,” I said.

“I have to head out to meet Lucia,” he said reaching for his wallet and phone. “I’ll be back in a few hours. There’s a national park not too far from here, a few of the trails allow horses, would you like to go horseback riding?”

My eyes grew wide. I hadn’t been on a horse since I was a kid. I nodded, “I would love that.”

“Good, I’ll see you then.”

I waved goodbye to him, tried not to think of why he needed to meet up with Lucia and started cleaning up after us. A moment later a knock sounded at the door and a woman with beautiful curly gray hair and a cute button nose stood at the door waving at me.

“Hi,” I said, as I opened the door.

She pointed at the breakfast, “I’m here to clean up breakfast. Are you done?”

I nodded, “Yes, and it was all delicious. Thank you.”

She smiled and made her way over to the dining room and began to clean.

“What’s your name?” I asked her, leaning against the counter.

“Anna Maria.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

Her smile widened. “Thank you.”

“Anna Maria, I have some time to kill. Do you know anywhere quiet around her where I could relax and maybe read a book?”

She nodded, “There’s a beach on the other side of this house. A private one for the guests.”

My eyebrows raised. I hadn’t known that.

“I would love to see it. Is it open now?”

She nodded, “Yes, of course.” She smiled then and said, “Enjoy.”

I thanked Anna Maria for the information, took a quick shower, put my swimsuit on and made my way to the beach. I had a towel in my hand, along with a book that I’d been meaning to read for the past 3 months. I just hadn’t found the time. It was a little breezy so the large beach hat on my head tried to escape a few times. I raced after it, laughing when it happened for a second time, feeling suddenly in a better mood now that I was outside exposed to the elements.

The sun kissed my skin as I spread a towel on the sand, under one of the many umbrellas that dotted the beach and laid down. I put on my sunglasses and just breathed in and out. I thought about the one yoga class I had taken and how we had focused on breathwork. At the time, I had just wanted to get out of there and get back to work, but as I laid on the beach, work was the furthest thing from my mind.

I stared up at the sky, noting even through the tint of the shades how cloudless it was. Not a cloud, not a streak. I knew from last night that in the evening the sky would be dotted with thousands of stars. Maybe even millions? I wasn’t sure. I knew close to nothing about astronomy. That had been Mark’s hobby. Angry that he had found a way into my thoughts, I flipped over on my belly and reached for my book.

I hadn’t heard from him today. However, I did get an email from his lawyer. I hadn’t opened it yet. I didn’t plan to while I was here. I would just deal with it when I got back. I couldn’t deal with it now. I needed a break. My brain hurt just thinking about what I would have to do once I returned. I knew I could reach out to my sister if I needed anything. She was divorced and was thriving. Her husband hadn’t left her though, so her situation was different from my own. She just woke up one morning and realized that she was unhappy and wanted more for herself, so she chose to get divorced, moved in with my dad along with her kids, went back to school, and was now running her own business as an influencer. She and her ex-husband were now even friends, but my sister was always lucky like that. She had been the surprise baby and seemed to be the one with all the luck. She was born ten years after me, so we hadn’t really been close growing up. I had spent most of my time hiding from her or studying with my nose buried in a book. My disinterest in her had changed when she moved back home with the kids. Now I couldn’t imagine not having them around. They were a big part of my life, a new chapter, so to speak, in a book about my life that was still being written.

Speaking of books, I was still on page one. Maybe I didn’t like the book very much after all. I pushed the book to the side, turned back over and before I knew it, I was sound asleep.

I didn’t know how long I was asleep before I felt someone nudging me awake. I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. I saw Chris kneeling there next to me.

“Hey, sleepy head, ready to go on that tour we talked about?”

“Tour?” My mind felt cloudy, and I didn’t know what he was talking about. I’d clearly been in the heat too long.

“Yeah, on horseback. Don’t tell me you already forgot?” He stood up then and held his hand out to me. I took his hand, dusting myself off as I rose up.

It all started coming back to me. “My head feels a little cloudy, but I didn’t forget. I just lost track of time. How long was I asleep?”

He shrugged, “No clue,” he looked me up and down and I suddenly felt a little self-conscious in my demure swimsuit. I bet Lucia looked like a Sports Illustrated model in hers. I had no idea why I was comparing myself to her. Maybe I was delirious from the sun.

He frowned and said, “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

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