The Replacement Girlfriend

Prologue

Prologue

It was always strange where life took her, but needless to say, Krislynn never imagined the day she'd be sitting on the side of the road in the middle of Mexico with nothing but a photograph and some serious sunburns. She sat anxiously on the curb of the road as a new flood of tourists passed by holding up a picture of her best friend Elizabella and her boyfriend Pedro whatever-his-last-name-is.

"I'm looking for my best friend," she said to the small crowd that had stopped in front of her―if only briefly for the sake of nosy curiosity. She tapped on the picture she was holding lightly, pointing at the girl with a wild flock of brilliant red hair and then to the tanned male beside her. "Her name is Elizabella and she eloped with this man last Sunday. I'm not even sure if she's in Mexico, but have any of you guys seen her?"

Half the crowd gave her funny looks while the other half shook their head before moving along. Krislynn sighed in disappointment. She had been in Mexico for four days and had done this for exactly four days without a single clue as to where Ella might be. She had been gunning on the fact that Pedro would have taken Ella back to his homeland and had spontaneously purchased a ticket with the last bit of money in her savings account to come here.

What in the world would she do if Ella wasn't here? How come she never thinks before she acts?

A sudden laugh brought her out of her miserable thoughts and she looked up to see where the laughter was coming from. Frowning, she stared at the obscenely attractive man standing in front of her who hadn't moved along with the previous wave of tourists. He was tall like a supermodel with chocolate colored hair that curled just slightly at the ends. Unbelievably gorgeous-so not her type.

"Sorry," he said immediately when he caught her glaring. "I just think the situation you're in is plainly hilarious."

Crossing her arms, Krislynn turned the death dial of her glare from a two to a nine. "How so," she asked bitterly. "I don't think it's very funny."

"First of all," he said with a wide grin. "From that pasty look of your skin, you aren't originally from Mexico."

Krislynn bit her lower lip, feeling her temper raise through the roof. If she had extra time, she would rather be relaxing at the resort she was staying at, but instead she was standing on the side of the road listening to some strange and possibly gay male complain about her complexion. "Surprise. Surprise," she snapped. "Pretty boy has got a brain."

She watched with disgust as he smirked at her, obviously taking her insult as a compliment. "So then you know the flaw in your story, right?" He asked. "Why would someone fly all the way to Mexico to find her best friend on the side of the road? Even more ridiculous is that you don't even know if she's actually here! What kind of insane story is that? If you want money, why don't you just beg for it like a normal person."

"Why don't you just move along like everybody else if you haven't seen her?" She growled back. "Why do you care if my story makes sense or not? What?! Do I have to tell you everything about me? Do you need to know that I was born in '87? That there's a heart shaped birthmark on the left side of my butt? Please!"

"Whoa, chill out there." He lifted both his hands up to the side of his head and spread them out, facing his palms toward her as if in surrender. "I'm just saying. If you want to make a few quick bucks you're going to need a more convincing and more emotional story. That or you could parade around in a bikini. I'm sure somebody would be desperate enough to take you home for the night."