Page 60 of Sunrise

We decide to do the adult thing and start with the lasagna as we sit on her private porch, and I tell her all about the last twenty-four hours that started with Travis showing up and led to jealous sex against the wall with Kade. That led to being holed up in Kade's room naked as we had sex all over it. In bed, the shower, the bathtub, and even on the balcony at midnight with the lights off, of course. We had no clothes on the whole time, and it was amazing.

I explain it all in detail to Brynn as she sits there shoveling lasagna in her mouth.

"See, I told you he'd be good for up against the wall sex." She points her fork at me. "He has that alpha look sort of like that sexy werewolf from True Blood."

I laugh. "He's been spending some time with me helping around the inn, doing the day-to-day things. He says he enjoys it."

She shrugs. "It's a novelty for him. He can be normal and step out of Hollywood, but he will get bored. He craves the attention only Hollywood can give him. They all do when they move out there."

"He told me I'm his. No more games," I whisper.

She sets her fork down. "When?"

"During sex."

She shakes her head. "Nothing said during sex counts," she says. "In the height of passion, people don't even remember what they say."

I know she's right. We read books and are both hopeless romantics, but at the same time, Brynn is a realist. She refuses to let anyone break her heart again, or mine.

"You're getting attached, aren't you?" she asks as she studies my face.

"The truth is, yeah, I am. I like having him around. I like working side by side with him. I love the sex. I’ll miss him when he's gone, but that's on me. I think even without the fake relationship, I'd miss him. I consider him a friend. He's fun to be around and nothing like we thought he would be." I admit and try to be honest.

Brynn sighs. "You tell yourself that. Just remember the day he leaves town, I will have whiskey and donuts in here with sappy movies, and we can spend a day getting drunk before the season starts, and you are overrun by people wanting the Kade Markson experience. Speaking of which." She forks more lasagna into her mouth and takes a minute to chew.

"We should make a list of all the places you two have gone. Fans will want to retrace his steps." She gets up and gets a pen and paper. "Okay, hit me with them."

"Okay, well, Arch rock. The locals-only cove, so don't put that on there. The beach here at Sunrise. The bakery for donuts, the pier at sunset, Jasper's restaurant, we walked Main Street, he went to the pharmacy with me, the grocery store, here at Sunset, and the newspaper." I list them off.

"Okay, we should get a picture of you two at the table in the dining room, and we can put the photo up and name it the Kade Markson table. I bet we have a massive reservation list for it." Brynn giggles.

"Great," I say and fight rolling my eyes.

"Now on to your, little miss ‘I'll hang out in the kitchen.' Spill it."

"I'm trying to figure out Jasper. His mom made him help out in the kitchen, I know it, but he could have said no. He could have sent one of the guys from his kitchen over, but he came himself. He's hot and flirting one minute, then cold and brooding the next. I feel like I need to watch him, but at the same time, I don't want to be around him."

"Sounds like you need the wine tonight as much as I do," I tell her. "Okay, before we get too drunk, let's go for a walk on the beach and watch the sunset. It will be one of the last chances to do it without tourists until fall."

"Okay," Brynn agrees.

We finish our lasagna, polish off our first glass of wine, and then head down to the beach. Arm in arm, we walk along the water's edge.

"I swear it’s like he has radar on you," Brynn mumbles.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Kade. He's on his balcony watching you," she whispers as though he can hear us from up there.

I look, and sure enough, there he is. I wave, and he waves back.

"How do you know he's not out here watching the sunset like we are?" I ask her.

"Because his eyes are on you, not the sunset. What did he say when you told him you were spending the evening with me?"

I smile. "He practically kicked me out the door. He said it's rare to have people in your life you can trust like I trust you and to never take you for granted." I rest my head on her shoulder.

"Damn. He's perfect. Think we can handcuff him to the bed and keep him forever?" she jokes.

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