Page 1 of Last Second Chance

CHAPTER1

Poppy

“I’m not doing it,” I said, shaking my head. “I amnotgoing to that island for a full week.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared defiantly at my brother, Ben. We were sitting in a cafe near his apartment in Manhattan, having just eaten lunch together. It was something we did at least once a week now that I was back in the city. I spent the last four years going to college two hours away, and it wasn’t convenient to see each other often since he worked full-time as an EMT here in New York. We were both just so busy, but it was nice to have a chance to reconnect these days.

At least, it wasusuallynice. On a day like today, he was driving me crazy.

Ben shook his head at me, looking amused.

“You’re not going to miss the wedding,” he replied, his tone of voice suggesting that I was being ridiculous, which just annoyed me even more. “Besides, I’ll be there all week too.”

“Yeah, because you’re the best man. ButIdon’t belong there for a whole week. It’s just supposed to be the family members and the wedding party until the day of the ceremony.”

Ben’s best friend, Michael, was getting married at the end of next week on a gorgeous tropical island, and I had been so excited to go. The only problem was that the plane tickets weren’t cheap and I was living on a tight budget at the moment. As a recent college graduate, I had student loans to worry about. So, when my big brother offered to buy my round trip ticket, I was ecstatic.

The problem was that he didn’t have me flying to Pompeo Island just for the wedding on Saturday, as I should have been. He had booked my flight to the island for the Monday before the wedding. He’d even gotten me a hotel room for the whole week. I probably should have been grateful, but he didn’t run any of this by me first, and I had my reasons to resist.

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Ben tried to cajole me. “You don’t start your new job until after the wedding, so there’s no reason not to go enjoy yourself in paradise for a few days.”

He was right about the job, but I wasn’t going to give in that easily. He was being a little too reasonable right now, and I suspected that he was up to something.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know good and well why I don’t want to be there all week. I know that Scott is a groomsman.”

“Yeah.” Ben didn’t bother playing dumb. “So what?”

He had to be joking. Of course, I didn’t want to spend a full week around my ex-boyfriend, the guy that ripped my heart out and stomped on it just a year ago.

“Don’t you think it might be hard to enjoy myself if I have to be around that jerk the whole time?”

“Come on, Poppy,” Ben said with a sigh. “Don’t be so hard on the guy.”

I gaped at him, wondering if he wastryingto make me angry. “How can you defend him after what he did to me? He might be your friend, but you’remybrother. That’s more important.”

“I know that,” he said earnestly. “But Scott swears that it was all a misunderstanding. If you’d just hear him out—”

“No way.” I stood up, hanging my purse off my shoulder. “I never want to speak to him again.”

With that, I stormed out of the cafe, leaving Ben behind. I knew I was being a little dramatic—and sticking him with the bill—but I knew my brother well enough to figure out that he was trying to get me to spend time with my ex. He was playing matchmaker.

I couldn’t understand it. He acted like he was on my side when I found out Scott was cheating on me, but every time the guy came up in conversation, Ben suggested that I just talk to him and try to work it out.

No thank you.

One heartbreak was enough for a lifetime. Besides, I would never forgive him for sleeping with another woman, no matter what he had to say. Of all the things that could end a relationship, cheating was probably the worst.

But I wasn’t going to allow myself to dwell on it forever. Ben wanted me to talk to Scott, but I had a better idea. I’d go to the island for the whole week, and I was going to show him that I was doing fine. Completely over him. It was going to be empowering.

Yep. Scott Marino could eat his heart out.

* * *

The flightto Pompeo Island was a long one, and I was flying on my own. Ben had booked his own flight weeks ago, long before he offered to pay for mine, so he wasn’t able to get me on the same plane.

That was okay with me. I spent the four hours we were in the air getting to know Stacey, the woman in the seat beside me. She was twenty-four years old, just like me, and meeting some friends on the island for a tropical vacation. A large chunk of the long flight time was spent watching The Princess Bride on her iPad, which I’d never seen before. I found myself swooning over the hero, his loyalty something that I desperately wished I could find in a man. I wanted a grand love that never ended, no matter the time or distance.

I always was a hopeless romantic. Well, until recently. It was hard not to be jaded after what I’d been through.

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