Page 43 of Sunrise

I stand there stunned. No one has ever stuck up for me like that other than my parents. The fire in her eyes that she was upset for me makes my heart race.

"I can't believe you did that," I whisper.

She mistakes me for being mad. "I'm sorry, but I just snapped. How anyone could turn that moment today into something dirty I just—" I cut her off the moment our lips collide.

I didn't plan it. My body just seemed to have a mind of its own. My heart propelled me forward no matter what excuse I tried to give on what a bad idea this was.

Wrapping a hand behind her head and pulling her closer, I kiss her gently but passionately. It's a thank you and a plea to give me more of a chance to prove I'm not just the playboy everyone thinks I am.

When she isn't kissing me back, I start to move away, and that's when her arms wrap around my neck, gripping fists full of hair and pulling me back to her. I coax her lips apart and explore her mouth. She nips at my bottom lip, drawing a groan from me.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I pull her close so there isn't an inch separating us, and I know she can feel how hard I am. I don't try to hide it. I wonder if she is wet for me and how she'd react if I tried to find out, but I keep my hands where they are.

I don't know how long we stand there wrapped up in the best kiss of my life, but when we finally pull apart to breathe, and I find her lips swollen from me, it's such a turn-on. A small way I've claimed her. I kiss her forehead before stepping back and putting physical space between us.

She brings a hand to her lips to touch them as though she can't believe what just happened. I get it; I can barely believe it myself.

"What was that for?" she whispers.

"For believing in me enough to stick up for me. No one has done that besides my parents. I wasn't thinking. I just was feeling." I try to explain.

"Don't you dare apologize for that kiss because then I will be mad," she says.

I nod and give a relieved sigh.

I take her hand as we walk the beach a bit more. She's so lost in thought I let her work it out. Hopefully, she isn't trying to find a way to end our agreement because, after that, I don't think there is a way I will be able to let her out of it.

"You said you have been trying for a year to change your image?" she asks.

Not what I was thinking would come out of her mouth.

"Yeah, but nothing seems to help."

"How old is Gina?" she asks.

"About my age, why?"

"Ever sleep with her?" she asks, and I stop dead in my tracks.

Is she jealous? She has to know I have a history, but I was honest about trying to be better. Does she not believe in me like I thought she did?

"No, why?" I ask, a bit more guarded.

"Well, that call didn't sound like a publicist upset at her client. It sounded like a jealous lover's fit of rage," Lin says and tries to drop my hand, but I don't let her.

"Where is your mind going?" I ask.

"I don't have a huge public relations background. Hell, Brynn does more of that for the inns than I do, but we were able to change our brand after our parents died and focus on us in about six months, and we had no idea what we were doing. There is no reason an experienced PR person can't have your image turned around in a year. I don't think the problem is you. It's her. Get a new PR person."

"Gina just does things differently." I hear myself repeating one of the many excuses I've gotten from her assistant.

"Kade. I know I'm not a Hollywood big shot, but what happened with Cassie? She isn't releasing a single statement on your behalf. That should have been done before even talking to Cassie and Mark. She's not on your side, and who was on the beach today? You, me, and Brynn. Who did we miss? One photo from a guest maybe? No matter what angle it was taken from, how can that be made so dirty?" She shakes her head, but I feel like a bucket of cold water has been thrown on my head.

"Let's get back to the inn. I have some thinking to do."

My mind is racing over every headline and public event. Times the press has shown up, and I have no clue how they found me. Gina's insistence of going to the club that night when I stressed over and over that I didn't want to. If she was trying to improve my image, wouldn't clubs be the last place she'd want me seen?

I walk Lin to her door and mindlessly walk back to my room. I pull up my phone and hunt down the photo taken of us on the beach. We are both kneeling in the sand, and it's clear I'm hugging her. Her face is buried in my chest, and I'm resting my chin on her head, my face clear as day. I was facing the inn. The account who posted it looks like an inn guest, and it was taken from the back porch.

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