Page 71 of Sunrise

If I thought the day on the set was bad today, that has nothing on this photo shoot. They want me bare-chested with the romantic interest hanging all over me. They want her pressed up against me wearing almost nothing. After the fourth pose, I push her away.

"I can't do this anymore. It's still early enough. You need to recast me." I turn to the director. "I'm not sure why you needed me to be a family man only to turn around and advertise me as a playboy still, but this isn't going to work for me. I quit. Send the contract to my lawyer and I'll pay the fees to break the contract."

Then I turn and walk toward the parking lot, texting my driver that I'm on my way. I feel better and lighter with each step I take away from the set.

Just like every day on the way home, I pull up the inns' social media pages and flip through only, there isn't anything new today, and none of the posts with #TheKadeMarksonExperience have Lin.

I throw my phone down and lean back in my seat and close my eyes, pulling up one of our walks on the beach. Her hand in mine. Memories of watching the sunrise and how peaceful I felt.

I get home and walk around my house, looking at it with fresh eyes. Not one room in this place is me. I didn't decorate it; some designer did. There are photos and some memorabilia that I bought, but really, none of it is me.

Trying to find that calm I had just a few short weeks ago, I grab my keys and drive a few minutes down to the beach. Taking off my shoes, I head to the shoreline and start walking.

The sand is different, darker, grainier, and not filled with as many shells. The water is warmer, there are no sharks' teeth or sea glass to be found, and it all feels so wrong. There is nothing calm and relaxing here.

I try to clear my head, but after walking twenty minutes in one direction, I give up and head back toward my car in defeat. It wasn't just the beach that was so calming. I think I always knew that. It was the place; it was Lin.

The problem is, I don't know how to get back there. I should never have walked away the way I did. I should have had one last dinner with her, stayed, and said goodbye. Made love to her and kissed her one last time that night. I screwed up more than just leaving could ever have.

That night I toss and turn, and when I finally fall asleep, I'm dreaming of Lin and me living in her house, the house she grew up in. Kids running down the hall to wake us up in the morning. Dinners at the dining room table, Christmases in the living room, and summers spent at the inn running it together.

I wake up in a cold sweat because I saw it all clear as day, and now, I'm back in Hollywood, back in my lonely house, back to a life without Lin, and I know this isn't what I want.

I want the life I saw in my dreams tonight. I want to run the inn with her, raise a family in her parents' house, and be part of the community that welcomed me with open arms simply because I made Lin happy.

I want to be surrounded by people I trust and can rely on. I want to sit on the porch during the storms with the girls and catch Josh while he is metal detecting after the storm. I want date nights walking Main Street. I want to be by Lin's side when she presents her case to save Main Street to the state.

Now, how the hell do I make it happen?

Chapter 33

Linly

I smile at yet another group of girls checking in for the weekend.

"Oh my gosh, it really is you!" She holds her phone open to a photo of Kade and me on the beach.

"Yeah. What name is your reservation under?" I ask politely.

It's been like this for a few weeks now. It's almost a perfect script. A group of girls come to check in and compare me to a photo from Kade's social media. Then during check-in, they make sure that they are staying in the same room Kade stayed in.

When I reassure them they are, they let out a squeal and a giggle. Sometimes there is bouncing up and down. Then one will ask what he did while here, and I hand them the paper Brynn thought to make and insisted I hand it out.

The Kade Markson Experience is at the top with a hashtag to tag photos and a list of things he did, including watching the sunrise on the balcony, walking the beach, and eating dinner at Sunset. There is a list of places he visited in town, and the townspeople he talked to, what he ate from the bakery, and the restaurant are on the list.

On cue, the blonde asks, "Where is Kade now? What is he doing?"

I have a generic answer for this too. "He's back in LA and just started filming his new movie. He was really excited about it."

They then talk about the movie and ask me questions I don't have answers to.

Sometimes they will ask to take a photo with me before they head up to the suite.

Jasper is still cooking at the Sunset. Brynn has explained what is going on to me, but it's all been a haze. Everywhere I turn, there is Kade. I can't get rid of him.

Once the group has gone up to their room, I collapse on the chair behind the check-in desk.

"To be young and have that much energy again." Dale smiles at me.

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