Page 24 of Sunrise

Brynn heads right to her kitchen area and grabs some wine and glasses. A few minutes later, we are sitting on her bed facing each other with a glass of wine in hand.

"Spill it, and not the wine," she says as she hands me a glass. I tell her everything. Every detail from dinner down to assuring her neither of us had anything to drink.

"I guess we should be happy he didn't agree to the wife suggestion." She shakes her head.

"Yeah, no kidding. But seriously, do I do it?"

Normally, I can read Brynn pretty well, and I was pretty sure she'd laugh and tell me it was crazy. But the look on her face now has me thinking otherwise.

"Honestly? I think, yeah, why not? It will be fabulous publicity for the inns and the town. You get to get out, have a bit of fun, stick it to Travis, and have an amazing story to tell down the road. Just don't go falling for him or anything."

"Not going to happen." I snort.

"I'm just saying because he would be perfect for hot up against the wall sex." She smiles.

"I don't want to be another notch on his bedpost!" I gasp and cringe at the same time.

"Lin, what does it matter if the sex is amazing? You deserve a little fun and then being able to tell people, ‘Hey I slept with Kade Markson.' Who wouldn't want that story to tell?" She raises an eyebrow at me because she knows she's right.

"Fine, let's weigh the good and the bad before we jump into a decision," I say, and she agrees. I grab the notepad and pen off her nightstand and flip to a new page.

Brynn starts. "First the good. It would gain inn exposure, it could fill up off-season sales so we can expand like we have been talking about, it will bring traffic and business to the town, we can use it as a marketing tool, you can have super-hot sex, you will have a story to tell people about banging a super-famous person, you will get out and have some fun, you can stick it to Travis about breaking up with you, oh and it will be your longest relationship in five years."

"That is mostly about me," I say, and finish writing it all down. "And does sex have to be on the list?"

"Yes, we are keeping it. What else good can come from this? Oh, maybe there is someone with a super-secret crush on you who will be devastated when they find out you are dating Kade and when you break up will rush to your side and comfort you, and you will fall madly in love and live happily ever after." Brynn smiles.

"You have read too many romance books. That doesn't even count," I tell her.

"Put. It. On. The. List," she grits out, and I sigh and do as she asks. "Okay, bad things."

"This could all backfire in our face, and everyone in town will hate me. I could have my heart broken, the sex could be bad, fans could get mean and vandalize the place, sales could dry up," I add.

Brynn yanks the pen and paper from my hands and crosses off the last two. "Those don't count, and you know it. The list is obvious that you should do it if nothing else than for the benefit it will bring the whole town. Your dates could feature local businesses and draw traffic on social media."

"Crap on a cracker. I hate it when you make sense." I sigh. "I'm going to sleep on it and talk to him tomorrow. We don't even know what his manager said. For all we know, he could have vetoed the whole idea."

"Okay, ready for my news?" she asks.

"Yep, hit me with it," I say and finish off my wine. She doesn't even ask, just pours me another glass.

"I didn't make it out to check on the houses because my chef quit. He's going to go compete on one of those reality TV cooking shows out in Hollywood. He's off the island the second he can. I am screwed. Oh, and I have to go have lunch with Jasper's mom tomorrow. She is insisting and promised Jasper won't be there."

"Holy shit, maybe we should have led with that," I tell her. "Okay, what does Jasper's mom want?"

"No idea. More than likely to try to make peace, which is fine, but I'm hoping she might know someone on the island who can fill in for me until I can get people out here to interview." Brynn sighs.

"Your chef won't even stay and work until he can get off the island?" I ask.

"Nope, he said he's going to take this time to study all the past show episodes. I told him not to ask for a reference because he won't be getting one. He doesn't care because he's so sure he's going to win."

"I bet he's off the first round. We need to make sure to watch," I tell her. "Okay, we can do some basic cooking between the two of us. You have a good sous chef. See what your current kitchen staff can do. In the meantime, we just go down to a limited menu each night."

"That's what I was thinking," she agrees.

We finish off our wine, then I head back to the Sunrise Inn. Once I reach the side door, I change my mind, and I turn and follow the small path out to the beach and stare out at the water.

With the moonlight reflecting off the water, the breaking of the waves almost looks like they are glowing. The stars are so bright with no clouds in the sky, and it's the exact opposite of what it was last night.

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