Sunset Rivalry: The Caliendo Resort (By The Lake: The Caliendo Resort Book 2) by Shannyn Leah Read Free Book Online

There was nothing to talk about. 
    Anya stepped out of his grasp and took off toward to the main exit on the far side, where her father’s office was just beyond. She still didn’t have the key card Quinn promised, the key to her freedom. 
    Her feet didn’t get far before the lights around her flared to life.
    Doors opened. Footsteps and voices invaded the silence.
    Busted.
    Anya turned toward the noise to find her mother and Uncle Carl emerging from Eliza’s suite. They didn’t look surprised or alarmed to find Anya walking around the pool room at this early hour.
    Questions weren’t asked as they bridged the distance and, the closer they moved, the more awake she realized they were...like they had been waiting for her.
    Anya didn’t have to turn and look at Quinn, even though she did, expecting to find his guilty face.
    Quinn looked neither guilty nor remorseful for totally turning her in.
    That ruthless trader. 
    “Anya.” Her mother’s voice swirled with emotions deep that Anya pulled her glare away from Quinn.
    Oh, she was going to have a word with him later. Or maybe she wasn’t. 
    Eliza repeated her name as her hands cupped both sides of Anya’s face, kissing each cheek before wrapping her arms around her in a tight embrace.
    Anya didn’t pull away or protest the affections of her mother. Her instinct had been to cut off the emotions that her mother’s love brought, but, she’d missed Eliza and there was no denying the soothing reassurance that her mother’s loving arms provided, swathed around like she’d done on many occasions when Anya was little.
    Tears burned Anya’s eyes and she closed them, shutting out the demons that resided in her soul. Her arms tightened around her mother, as if begging Eliza to pry into Anya’s life. To silently know that Anya had found some days so hard she couldn’t breathe in the air, let alone live her life.
    Anya’s fight to accept the affection was like a thickening substance moving up her throat and causing her to feel sick.
    She couldn’t partake in what she didn’t deserve. Not when Rebecca was alone, scared, had no one...and it was all Anya’s fault.
    When the time finally came for Anya to part from Eliza, giving her mother a chance to examine her, Anya found that she didn’t want to break the contact. But she smiled and said, “Hi Momma.” 
    Eliza wiped the tears away from her cheeks and Anya did the same. Eliza’s eyes spoke volumes, asked questions, voiced concern, but surprisingly she didn’t ask anything. Nothing.
    “I’m okay,” Anya reassured her and didn’t miss the way her mother’s eyes doubted that was the truth, scanning the length of Anya’s body making her feel like the liar she was.
    Anya’s love for pasta and the carbs that went with them had given her the gorgeous defined thick curves that she’d once been proud of. She knew her mother noticed her current weight loss.
    “I’m okay,” she repeated.
    Carl hugged her next. He had always been closer to her than just an uncle. He’d treated her and her siblings like they were his own children. When Robert had been present at essentially every meal, the same couldn’t be said about the other aspects of his children’s childhood. Robert hadn’t been there for recitals, or practices. He hadn’t hugged them or asked how their day was, but Uncle Carl always had. 
    Don’t cry. Don’t cry. 
    “Sweetheart, I’m so glad to see you’re alright.” He kissed the side of her head before letting go. “Welcome home,” he said. 
    Welcome home? Welcome home! She wasn’t home. Not to stay. She wasn’t even staying the night, but they didn’t know that. 
    Anya stepped back trying to break the Caliendo family tug. It was hard to deny the strong bond that connected them all.
    She could so easily slip back into this life and forget the outside world. But it wouldn’t be fair to Rebecca. Anya had to stay focused on her plan. 
    How was she going to get out of this? How was she