Page 54 of Sunrise

"If this is for Lin, we are all in. I can get my husband to help too. He is working on the landscaping outside. Lin is amazing and deserves a break every now and then," Bertha says, and Dale nods his head.

"Perfect. Here is what I'm thinking."

???

Lin has been at Sunset all afternoon, and I hope she hasn't forgotten about our dinner date.

No, not a date. Our agreement to get dinner together.

The thought of it being a date doesn't scare me as it would have in the past. I didn't date. But none of them were Lin. The thought of dating Lin doesn't scare me. The fact that dating Lin doesn't scare me is what scares me.

I head to my usual table, and as I enter the dining room, Jasper is standing at the kitchen door. He looks at me with a blank look on his face for a moment before he nods and goes back to glancing over the dining room.

I sit down and check the time. I'm still a few minutes early, so I scroll emails on my phone, relieved when Lin sits down across from me a few minutes later. Only when I look up, it's not Lin. It's Brynn.

"Lin wanted me to tell you it will be a few more minutes, plus me sitting here will drive Jasper crazy, so win-win for me." She smirks, but her eyes follow Jasper.

I shake my head. "Do I need to worry about him spitting in my food?" I ask.

"Nope, I'll watch him, I promise," she says. Then she turns her eyes to me. "Listen, Lin tells me everything." She pins me with her stare that says she knows what happened this morning. "She hasn't had it easy, and she doesn't date at all, so don't play with her. She might think she can keep her feelings out of it with this fake dating, but I know her. The more intimate you get, the less she’ll be able to control her feelings. You have plans to go back to Hollywood, and she will be staying here. Don't break her heart, no matter what your agreement is."

In the back of my mind, I knew everything she was saying, but I just didn't want to admit it. But my heart is saying I have the chance to be hurt just as much, only I've always been the one to hurt the person.

"I promise not to hurt her intentionally." I give her the best I can, and she slowly nods.

"That's all I can ask." She stands up with a smile and takes the long route over to Jasper.

I'm watching Brynn so intently to see what her next move is that I miss Lin approaching the table.

Pushing my conversation with Brynn from my head, dinner flies by. Lin tells me about the issues with the system and that Brynn finally agreed to replace it, so they spent the rest of the afternoon researching new booking systems and finally ordering one. The only downside is that they can't get it here until the bridge is fixed, which they say will be another week. The state has fast-tracked it since it's our only way on and off the island.

After dinner, Lin walks back to Sunrise with me, and I stop her in the lobby.

"I had a little help from Bertha and Dale this afternoon to put together a surprise for you. You up for it?" I ask.

Her whole face lights up like a kid at Christmas.

"I love surprises! Brynn is horrible at them. She can't keep a secret from me! Oh, I'm so excited. Can I see it now?" Her enthusiasm is contagious because now I can't wait to show her.

I lead her to one of the event rooms and pause outside the door.

"Ready?" I ask and take a deep breath when she nods.

I open the door and show her the room that has been turned into a makeshift club. There is a little DJ station where I can hook my phone up to the playlist I made, and the lights are low. With a click of a button, the strobe lights start.

I lead Lin to the center of the dance floor as she looks around. Starting the music, I plug it into the speaker and make my way back to her.

"What is this?" she asks over the music.

"It's a club. You should experience a club at least once. I would take you, but I think my new PR manager would kick my ass and yours if we did." I smile.

"And then some." She laughs.

"Okay, so imagine the place is packed with people all around us. Can I get you a drink? Normally, anything goes but go easy on the bartender tonight." I wink at her.

"Rum and Coke," she says, following me to the bar.

After I make her drink and hand it to her, I lead her to the dance floor and start dancing. She's a little shy at first, but slowly loosens up. With her back pressed to my front and one hand on her hip, we slide and grind to song after song.

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