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Chapter Twenty-Nine
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Sunrise Kisses Epilogue
It's dark outside. The stars twinkle and the gray promise of dawn has started. The sun will rise in exactly 9 minutes. I know this because I have had the hour and minute circled on my calendar for the past six months.“Your mother would be so proud of you,” Dad whispers. He's said it at least fifty times already today, and a thousand more yesterday, but I still smile. I wish she could have been here for this. There is an ache in my heart for her, but I know that she's here in spirit. She wouldn't have missed today for the world.“Five minute warning,” Charlotte announces, stepping into the small room where I've been getting ready. “Sunrise in seven, but we have to get you down there.”Butterflies alight in my stomach. I press my palms against the smooth satin of my dress, trying to tell the butterflies to settle once again.Dad clears his throat. He stands in front of me and takes my hands in his. Tears make his eyes glisten and I can tell that he's holding his emotion back. I hug him
Sunrise Kisses Chapter One
What the freaking hell?I stood in the doorway and stared. This had to be a nightmare. A bad dream. There was no possible way this could be real. He wouldn't do this to me. He couldn't do this to me! And yet, there he was...Banging the waitress.While I looked on in horror.I didn't know what to do. I had been so excited about the phone call for the most amazing job ever that I had literally ran the four blocks to Chad's apartment, the one I had a drawer and part of the closet at, to tell him the good news.I had ignored the locked door and the strange sounds I heard inside, my excitement and eagerness at telling the news to my soon-to-be fiancé overriding everything. Well, now ex-soon-to-be fiancé.She moaned, arching her back and flipping her bleach blonde hair around as he railed her from behind. They were both so busy cheating that neither one had heard the front door open. I had no idea what to do next.Do I knock on the bedroom door and ask politely what was going on? Did I tur
Sunrise Kisses Chapter Two
I took a deep breath in, closing my eyes and taking it all in. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long palm-tree shaped shadows on the white sand walkway. Humid, warm air filled my lungs and it was like breathing in pure happiness. A trip to the Caribbean was exactly the thing I needed, even if it was a work trip. The sky was still blue, but the clouds were starting to bronze and crisp with color on the edges. The trees danced on a gentle breeze carrying the smell of ocean salt. I felt warm for the first time in weeks and like things were actually going my way.That isn't to say I wasn't nervous. My palms were sweating and I was glad I had put on an extra swipe of deodorant before getting off the plane, but it was a good kind of stress. The kind that led to good things happening instead of feeling like I was constantly having to play catch-up.I glanced over at my Dad, noticing he was just as anxious as I was. He rubbed at his shoulder, and despite the grin on his face, I could stil
Sunrise Kisses Chapter Three
I closed the front door carefully behind me, listening for the subtle click to indicate it had shut. Dinner had been delicious, even if Charlotte hadn't been able to join us. Dad hadn't eaten much of the conch soup, even though he said it reminded him of Boston clam chowder. I had eaten more tropical fruit than a monkey, stuffing my face with papayas and mangoes fresh off the trees. It was practically a dessert.I stepped out on the big front porch, taking a deep breath of night air. It was humid and moist and everything I needed right now. It wasn't home. I could be someone else here. I wasn't the dumped ex-girlfriend, or the local library book-nerd, or the daughter struggling to save her father's beloved antique business.As my father's only child, I was the proud heir to his legacy. I loved working with antiques and running my father's business with my aunt and cousins. Dad had been attempting to wean himself off the appraisal circuit, but a recent arson fire had set him back. Due
Sunrise Kisses Chapter Four
The room was made of fuzzy gray shapes and indistinguishable shadows. My breath came in short gasps. I sat up, confused and panicked for a moment before remembering where I was. As soon as I remembered I was sleeping in a billionaire's mansion alongside the Caribbean ocean, I sighed and laughed a little at myself. Leave it to me to freak out about sleeping somewhere too nice.I tried to lay back down, but just settling back against the perfectly-stuffed pillows made me antsy. The bed was too soft and the blankets too fancy to be comfortable. I didn't deserve three-million thread count sheets or sleeping underneath what I suspected was a Picasso. I was not billionaire material. I wasn't even Chad material.Besides, I was ready to get started. I needed to show Mr. Belrose that I wasn't just a wanna-be football player who tackled random billionaires taking out the trash. The day was going to be full of exciting work and I didn't want to wait. Not that I could get anything done until Dad
Sunrise Kisses Chapter Five
I glanced at the map as I hurried through the maze of rooms. I was fairly sure that the kitchen was two more rooms to the right, but every room had the same opulent extravagance. Gilded frames and antique furniture all meshed together until every room looked the same. It was all about the display of wealth. It made it hard to distinguish what room I was in without physically checking the art hanging on the walls. Since the map didn't have that information, I had already gotten turned around once.I finally just followed the smells of cooking and coffee. It was two rooms to the right and one to the left. Once in the kitchen, though, I finally felt like I was where I belonged.The mansion's kitchen felt like it had been decorated by someone else. It's simple, rustic charm didn't match the rest of the house. That isn't to say that it wasn't luxurious, huge, or full of gourmet items, but that it didn't feel pompous or overbearing. Of all the rooms in the giant mansion, the kitchen actuall
Sunrise Kisses Chapter Six
Charlotte walked with us out of the kitchen, leading the way to the main foyer. It was there that Dad and I were going to split up and start on our separate rooms. The foyer made a great middle point for us to base our attack around.“Hold on a second kiddo,” Dad said, eying a something along the far wall. “I know this room isn't first on my list, but I have to look at something.”I followed his gaze to see a small table pressed up against the far wall and I instantly knew why he wanted to look at it. It looked like an Alexander Roux piece. He had a definite fondness for the 1800's Rococo Revival style cabinetmaker. When Charlotte had given him the room full of Roux pieces, she had unwittingly given him one of his biggest dreams. The man had a Roux calendar on his wall, for heaven's sakes.“Go for it,” I said, shaking my head and grinning.He nearly ran over to the small table, with me not far behind. Although paintings and art were more my thing, I knew a good piece of furniture when
Sunrise Kisses Chapter Seven
The room I was starting in was huge, as was everything in the mansion. Three immense paintings dominated the walls surrounded by smaller ones scattered tastefully to complement the larger. It reminded me of an art museum rather than a house, but then I had only ever been in art museums this big, not houses.The room had one window, and if I had been the interior decorator, I would have focused my attention on the view rather than the art. While the art was beautiful, the seascape out the window was more dynamic. Sheer curtains floated over the big window, and I was glad to note that a special film had been placed on it to block the UV light. At least whomever had set up this room had designed it to hold the artwork.I stood for a moment at the window, watching the waves break against the shore and sea birds fly through the air. It reminded me of this morning's sunrise and that made me smile and wonder what Mr. Belrose was up to. I couldn't see him out on the water, which meant that he
Latest chapter
- Sunrise Kisses Epilogue
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Nine
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Eight
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Seven
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Six
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Five
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Four
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Three
- Sunrise Kisses Chapter Twenty-Two
